Thursday, October 20, 2016

October 2.0

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
This is the latest by the author of Room (yes it was a book first before the award-winning movie), and it is a worthy attempt by Donoghue not to get pigeon-holed into one genre.  In her latest novel, the story is set in post-famine Ireland, in a small village where a young girl has not eaten in four months.  Due to righteous skepticism about this 'miracle,' the town council has hired two women to observe eleven-year old Anna O'Donnell:  one is a young widow, trained by the famous Florence Nightingale and recently back from the Crimea war, dedicated to the new modern ideas of nursing; the other is a stodgy nun who adheres to the council's admonitions to only observe, and not to get personally involved.  However, as Nurse Wright becomes drawn into Anna's life through her stories and conversations, she begins to see the consequences of this 'miraculous' girl.  A nosy reporter, an over-protective Irish mother, a dead brother, and a mysterious missing husband all combine to make this an intriguing and unique story.  The twisted ending may surprise you and it will definitely give a book club some intriguing topics to discuss.

The Mothers by Brit Bennett
What a breath of fresh air this book is from young debut novelist, Brit Bennett.  Instead of the stereotypical inner-city, drug lords, high crime, overt racism of the urban landscape, Bennett gives us a thoughtful look at an African-American family in a southern California suburb, as her characters deal with issues of family and societal expectations.  Part of the uniqueness of this novel is the feeling of a Greek chorus, as the 'mothers' narrate parts of the story. These mothers are the older women of the black church called "Upper Room," that provides the central setting around which the story revolves.  We first meet Nadia Turner, as the mothers describe the teenage girl's relationship with the pastor's son and the constantly swirling rumors as the two become deeply involved with one another.  Add in Aubrey, the highly religious young woman with deep familial dysfunction and a co-dependent relationship with Nadia, and a deep and twisted triangle emerges.  Issues of prejudice, abuse, abortion, and religion pull the reader into the well-drawn plot line, and the complex characters that Bennett is able to develop only furthers these themes.  This is a provocative, well-written novel that would satisfy solitary readers and provide incredible conversation to any book club.

Nutshell by Ian McEwan
The author of Atonement, On Chesil Beach, and The Children Act is back with another thought-provoking novel.  Only 198 pages long, this is a short, wicked, rather nasty tale of a marriage gone wrong, an inappropriate love affair, and two morally reprehensible characters.  However, we have all read twisted tales like this so what makes this one different?  Why, the narrator, of course!  It is the nine-month fetus who sees and hears all: the news of the day, the visits of his father, the diabolical plans of Uncle Claude to murder said father, and the acquiescence of his beloved mother, Trudie.  And yes, for those of you familiar with Shakespeare's Hamlet, the allusions are obvious and wickedly accurate: the uncle who wants his brother's place, the weak wife, the fumbling naive father, the son who wants revenge but cannot make up his mind, the ghost who walks among the witnesses, and even a story of some mice (ie The Mousetrap play-within-a-play) that is highly creative.  I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, as the singular 24 hours unfolds to reveal the story of this small fetus and his 'entrance' into the modern world.  Highly original and creative, I highly recommend this lil book.

The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis
If you're looking for brain candy, this is it.  Read in just 24 hours, this is a dialogue-heavy, page-turner of a book.  Split between two narrators and two time periods, it is a look back at the famous Barbizon Hotel for Women in New York City.  Yes, the one where Sylvia Plath lived during her magazine internship, the one where famous models lived under strict rules, and the girls from small towns learning to be executive secretaries slept between long days of typing and short-hand classes.  In 1952, Darby escapes from the small town of Defiance, Ohio and is unfortunately placed on the hotel floor with the perfectly glossed and tressed Ford models, though Darby is here to learn the secretarial world.  She is drawn into the dark world of heroin and jazz music by the hotel maid, culminating in consequences she could never have foreseen.  Interspersed with Darby's tale, comes Rose, the girlfriend of a high-powered executive and a failed television anchor, and when suddenly cast out on her own, becomes obsessed with the mystery of the elderly woman who still occupies an apartment in the Barbizon building of condos.  This is a fluffy read that is just sheer entertainment.

An Ember in the Ashes / A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
I am always a sucker for a good series that engages history, fantasy, and some serious heroes and evil beings. Based on the fall of the Roman Empire, the plot line begins at Black Castle, where two of the three main characters, Elias and Helene, are finishing up their training to be "Masks," the most well-trained killers for the emperor's army.  Unbeknownst to them, the emperor is soon to die, so the mysterious sect that foretells the future decides to throw three of these soon-to-be graduates into a competition for the throne.  Add in a "Scholar" girl, Laia, whose entire culture has been murdered and decimated by the Empire, and whose brother needs to be saved from execution, and you've got the beginnings of a great series.  Author Sabaa Tahir, however, relies not just on historical allusion, but also imbues her story with magic, fantasy, and creatures from the underworld.  In the first book, I wanted a more powerful Laia, one who would fight for justice and stand up to the horrifyingly nasty commandant, but Tahir takes her time to build this character.  By Book Two, Helene, Elias, and Laia have found their hidden talents: Helene can sing people back to life, Elias communes with the dead, and Laia can control her visual appearance, as well as swing an wicked sword.  I was impressed with Tahir's patience to slowly develop these characters, to allow their circumstances to dictate how they learned to deal with sorrow and victory, and to weave magic and fantasy into a rather violent, military world.  I will be anxiously awaiting book number three.

Sunday, October 2, 2016

October Books

The Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
If you like exciting page-turning plots, rich and complex characters, and a fantasy setting rife with history, magic, and criminals, then this series is for you.  The finale to last year's huge hit Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo continues her Grisha series with great success.  The story begins where Crows leaves off - the gang of six has just pulled off the greatest heist ever, kidnapping the only chemist in the world who knows the secret of jurda parem, the drug that gives the magical Grisha unprecedented power, as well as an insatiable craving for more of the drug.  This time around, Kaz and his compadres must save the city of Ketterdam and their own hides before the bad guys get their hands on the recipe and destroy the world. Except now his members have a few different obstacles to overcome; the Grisha witch can no longer stop hearts, but she can wake the dead; the compulsive gambler has to explain to his father how he literally bet the family farm; the Fjerdian strongman who was raised to hate the Grisha has now fallen in love with one; and the Wraith, who can climb anything imaginable and appear like smoke, has an assassin on her tail. Think Ocean's Eleven meets Game of Thrones; criminals who have the power to make you root them on, relationships that are romantic, complex, and occasionally hilarious, and an ending that will have you on the edge of your seat. If you're the person who says "I don't read fantasy," this series is guaranteed to make you change your mind...trust me.

Some Writer by Melissa Sweet (Published October 2016)
If you ever read Charlotte's Web, you'll remember Charlotte's famous sayings, woven into her web, to try and save her friend Wilbur from the butcher's knife.  In Melissa Sweet's appropriately named book, she pens a tribute to the creator of some of our favorite childhood characters, as well as the most beautiful essayists of the 20th century, E.B. White.  In this lovely amalgamation of literature (a mix of hand-drawn illustrations, copies of White's own handwriting, photographs, etc.), Sweet shares the life of a beloved author.  I admit to goosebumps as I read how Stuart Little was born, as well as the critical reviews, and when White and his wife buy a farm up in Maine, and fill it with geese, sheep, and yes, pigs, it is obvious how Wilbur, Charlotte, and little Fern came to life.  My favorite, Louis from Trumpet of the Swan,  gets his just due as well.  Admittedly, these three books were truly part of the fabric of my childhood, as they were to my own two daughters.  Thus, this book enchanted me - all I need are some elementary age children for an audience and life would be perfect:)

Doc and Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell
Hmmm...a Western...not the normal genre I gravitate towards, but there's always a first time.  It helped that the author is one of my favorites and she is coming to Village Books in November to talk about her books.  Her first novel, The Sparrow, was my first foray into sci-fi, and it is honestly one of my more memorable reads, with threads of the Jesuit religion drawing the story together, and a shocking ending that one never forgets.  After a sequel to this book, Russell changed direction and wrote a WWII novel, set within the Italian resistance, called Thread of Grace.  Next up, another shift  in Dreamers of the Day, as the world powers slice and dice the Middle East up to their own desires.  Then, Russell moves back in time to the iconic Wild Wild West with her companion books about Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp.  While it is not necessary to read one to understand and enjoy the other, I found that reading Doc definitely added to my depth of knowledge once I started into Epitaph.  (Note on the title:  love the nod to the name of the setting, Tombstone:)  John Henry Holliday, dentist not medical doctor, began life as a petted son of aristocratic southern planters, but his life turns West after a tuberculosis diagnosis.  In Doc, we see Holliday's complicated life of gambling, drinking, womanizing, as well as his relationship with the Earp brothers.  Epitaph unwinds the long, slow march towards the famous shootout at the O.K. corral.  Admittedly, I am a huge historical trivia buff, and I found much of this narrative utterly fascinating.  Mary Doria Russell is an expert at getting inside a character's head, walking us around to see every facet, and showing us 'heroes' with clay feet and 'bad guys' with redemptive qualities.  I highly recommend both books, as well as her talk at Village Books on November 2.

The Lost Girls by Heather Young
Written by a debut author, garnering tons of good reviews, this is a 'thriller' with some gothic tidbits thrown in, as well as a mystery with threads of domestic violence and abusive parental relationships.  Yep, it pretty much has it all.  The story is told by two narrators:  Lucy, an old woman who lives alone out at her family lake house in Minnesota, who is telling the story of their family's last summer together; and Justine, Lucy's great-niece, who inherits the house after Lucy's death and travels here to escape an abusive relationship. Back in the 1930's, the youngest child in the family, Emily, disappeared on the last day of summer.  This destroyed the family in so many ways, and forced Lucy and her sister Lilith to live forever at the lake house.  Upon Justine's return, decades letter, the mystery unspools itself, and introduces two suspicious brothers next door, a stalker boyfriend, and two unhappy little girls.  This is a good 'first novel' that will keep you turning pages.

Mischling by Affinity Konar
I am admittedly torn by this book.  On one hand, it is incredibly well-written for a debut writer, reminiscent of a Toni Morrison with beautiful words, sentences, and imagery that paints a beautiful, yet often disturbing picture.  Yet, the story feels disconnected and fragmented, needing more connections between story lines.  It is, however, an unforgettable book. It begins in 1945 when two identical twins travel in a cattle car with their mother and grandfather, arriving in Auschwitz, only to be chosen immediately by Josef Mengele to reside in his 'Zoo,'  Here, the girls are subjected to the most horrible experiments, and are witness and victim to extreme physical and emotional abuse.  Told through the eyes of each girl, Pearl and Stasha each have their own memories they are in charge of keeping.  Thus, when Pearl disappears, Stasha is left bereft.  Because of its tragic story line, writing style, and questions, I do think it would be a challenging book club book to discuss.



The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
Chosen for Book of the Month club in September and earning rave reviews on GoodReads, I am baffled, flummoxed, puzzled, disappointed, you name it.  This book was arguably just plain terrible; paper-thin characters who spoke and acted in ways that demanded slapping, thin plot line with incredibly predictable 'twists,' and such bad writing that I honestly think my dog Enzo could have done better.  Blech blech blech!