V.R. Barkowski's Blog

The Girls

The Girls by Emma Cline

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Set in past (1969) and present day Northern California, The Girls is the coming of age story of privileged, aimless fourteen-year-old, Evie Boyd. When Evie becomes obsessed with Suzanne, a member of a Manson-family like cult, she is drawn both into the group and into the manipulative and exploitative relationships that drive it. Estranged from her emotionally unavailable parents, the group provides the sense of connection and belonging Evie yearns for.

Written in first person, Cline does a brilliant job of capturing adolescent angst, specifically female angst—that overarching fight to be noticed and to matter in a male centered universe. The contrast between young Evie’s desire to be of consequence, and middle-aged Evie’s quest for anonymity and distance from her past is especially poignant.

Cline's writing is stellar and the words crackle with emotion and life. While the pacing is off (the middle bogs down, and the book seems not so much to end as to trail off), The Girls is still a fine novel. Recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the
opportunity to read and review this title.



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Close Your Eyes

Close Your Eyes by Michael Robotham

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Close Your Eyes shines as both a fine mystery and superlative psychological thriller.

This is the 8th—and in my opinion best—entry in the Joe O’Loughlin series. Joe, a clinical psychologist and victim of Parkinson's, intermittently (often reluctantly) consults with law enforcement as a profiler. His current case centers around the murders of a mother and daughter at a remote farmhouse. Although a long way from a hardcore procedural, there are enough red herrings and possible suspects to entertain the most avid fan of whodunits.

Series, mystery series in particular, tend to become mired in repetition, static characters, and formulaic plots. But with Joe O'Loughlin, Robotham transcends, consistently providing a smart, unpredictable mystery along with characters of great emotional depth.

It is the human element that makes this book, and the series as a whole, a stand out. The writing here is so immediate, so vivid, the reader sees the world through Joe's eyes. When Joe breaks, the reader breaks. Joe's relationship with his family—ex-wife Julianne, and daughters Charlie and Emma—is complicated, the problems they face real, relatable, and often gut wrenching. Close Your Eyes provides a sucker punch readers won't soon forget.

My only complaint is the US cover. What a shame to throw a derivative cover on such a terrific book.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the
opportunity to read and review this title. Truly a pleasure.









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The Swans of Fifth Avenue

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is the fictionalized story of author Truman Capote and his Swans—his inner circle of society bitches … er … wealthy, entitled, grown-up mean girls, and what happens when, instead of talking behind their backs, he reveals their secrets in Esquire Magazine.

The Swans of Fifth Avenue proves what I already knew: I don’t have to like the characters to enjoy the tale. A good thing too, because Swans is brimming with characters (as in dramatis personae. Ironic because these were real people) who have no character.

I confess I’ve always been intrigued by Capote. In my youth I spent an entire day in an air-conditioned theater watching the movie Murder By Death over and over. Not by choice but as a way to escape the heat of a hellish summer. I was both fascinated and a bit creeped out by Capote as Lionel Twain. That voice! That attitude!

Subsequent to the movie, I watched him on talk shows and realized he hadn’t been acting. He was in fact Lionel Twain. Viewing him on live TV was the proverbial car accident. One was afraid of what one might see yet couldn’t turn away.

I was never able to reconcile Capote's flamboyant public persona with his literary genius. Maybe it's as Benjamin suggests. Late in a life of excess, drugs, and alcohol, all Capote had left was the public facade. Sad for a man so gifted. Sad for us too.

Benjamin captures the period well, and although this is a book about the sort of superficial, disloyal people I can’t abide, that may be in part why I enjoyed it. There’s satisfaction in the veneer being ripped from the beautiful people, revealing the rot beneath. I couldn’t turn away.

Recommended, particularly for those familiar with the players.


Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read and review this title.




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BLACK EARTH

Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning by Timothy Snyder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


True, we must never forget, but we must also understand. Whether the reader agrees with Black Earth’s primary thesis doesn’t matter. Snyder’s work brings home the point that even after 70 years of study, the Holocaust remains an enigma, and the discussions must continue.

Simply put, Snyder argues statelessness led to genocide. Where the state was destroyed, particularly in areas that suffered a Soviet invasion prior to the German one, more Jews were murdered. Statelessness resulted in instability and the obliteration of the institutions established to safeguard the populace. The citizenry in these regions, particularly minorities, were no longer protected, creating a perfect stage to carry out wholesale murder and the Final Solution.

Written in the convoluted style embraced by academics everywhere (why say it in five words when fifty will do?), Black Earth is a challenging read. I also found that while the final chapter discussing climate change nicely bookended the early discussion of Hitler and Lebensraum, the chapter’s alarmist tone weakened the book overall.

Still, highly recommended for readers interested in a fresh look at the Holocaust from inception to aftermath.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing/Tim Duggan Books for the opportunity to read and review this title.



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These Shallow Graves

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is a spunky heroine/star-crossed lovers tale set in late 19th century NYC. Jo is rich and beautiful. Her heart’s desire, a reporter she meets while investigating her father’s death, is poor and handsome. Jo is torn between her feelings for the wrong man and what society and family expect of her. The story is chock-full of romance tropes, mystery cliches, and skin-deep feminism. While competently written, the book is too long, and there are no surprises here. The story is predictable from the “bad guy,” to the mystery, to the inevitable ending. Most annoying is the main character, who is supposed to be courageous and determined but comes off as immature, credulous, and self-involved. Having read Donnelly’s beautifully written and elegant Revolution, perhaps I was expecting too much, but this hackneyed, uninspired tale was a disappointment. Three stars for readability and no major historical gaffs.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Delacorte for the opportunity to read and review this title.




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Ghostly: A Collection of Ghost Stories

Ghostly: A Collection of Ghost Stories by Audrey Niffenegger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This collection of ghost stories assembled and introduced by Audrey Niffenegger is a delight. Tales run the gamut from Poe’s macabre masterpiece, “The Black Cat,” to Amy Giacalone’s laugh-out-loud, “Tiny Ghosts” and PG Wodehouse’s, “Honeysuckle Cottage.” A seemingly disproportionate number of the stories have protagonists who happen to be writers. Difficult to say if this was intentional on Niffenegger’s part. Perhaps writers are more likely to be haunted? Reader beware: Ghostly is more a survey of fine ghost tales than an anthology of scary stories. Still, there is plenty here to lift the hairs on the back of the reader’s neck. Given modern technology and today’s political climate, Ray Bradbury’s post-apocalyptic, “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains,” made my blood run cold.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the opportunity to read and review this title.




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The Godforsaken

The Godforsaken by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


In 16th century Spain at the height of the Inquisition, the heir apparent, Don Rolon, pays for the sins of his father via a curse uttered while Rolon was still in his mother's womb. At the height of each full moon, Rolon, despite his devotion to Church and country, secretly suffers the beast within. With his treacherous half-brother, estranged father/king, and the Inquisition all looming, the risk of discovery threatens not only Rolon but those who fight to protect him and his right to accession.

The most compelling characters are Lugantes—a jester, and Rolon's converso valet Ciro Eje. Rolon himself is fleshed out little beyond a single internal conflict. Yes, I was on his side, but only because he had the support of more fully realized players close to him.

The Godforsaken is the first Chelsea Quinn Yarbro standalone I’ve read, though I’ve long been a fan of her Saint-Germain series. The story starts off slow and a bit muddled, in part due to the multiple names employed for several of the characters. There are abrupt point of view shifts and scene transitions throughout, and I occasionally had to backtrack to make sure I didn't miss something. Overall, the first two-thirds of the the book is a solid read, but it is the final third where the tension ratchets up and the story soars.

While the characters are fictional, the Spanish setting and terror of the Inquisition are not. Don't expect your typical shapeshifter tale. The core of the story lies not with Don Rolon's internal struggle, but with the recounting of the Inquisition, and the danger of handing power to men so blinded by faith, they are unable to see their own hypocrisy. An important lesson, particularly in the world we live in today.

This was a 3+ star read for me. It is certainly a cut above average, but because of the issues mentioned above, not a 4.

Recommended for fans of Yarbro's unique blend of supernatural and historical fiction as well as for readers who appreciate political intrigue, detailed historical settings, and don't mind a twist of the paranormal.

Thanks to NetGalley and Open Road Media for the opportunity to read and review this title.



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Those Girls

Those Girls by Chevy Stevens

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The Campbell sisters dispatch their drunken abusive father and go on the run. Along the way, they meet up with a couple of twisted young men who have them believing maybe good old dad wasn’t so bad after all. Flash forward almost two decades and we see the repercussions of what happened back then.

I love my fiction dark, but there is a difference between psychological darkness and gratuitous violence. Here, Stevens manipulates the reader by using violence to communicate psychological terror. She plays off her readers’ (the vast majority of whom are women, I’ll wager) fears in lieu of developing her characters. Yes, the reader is held in suspense, but because the characters are one dimensional, it’s nearly impossible to empathize with their erratic and often inexplicable behavior. I’ve read only one other book by Stevens, her debut, Still Missing, and some of the parallels between these two novels are disturbing: kidnapping, prolonged torture, repeated and violent rape.

Those Girls is a quick read. Recommended to readers who favor plot over character and don’t mind excessive violence on the page.



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The Girl in the Woods

The Girl in the Woods by Gregg Olsen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I don’t typically review audiobooks, but I’m going to make an exception because the narrator for The Girl in the Woods, Corey M. Snow, while outstanding, was the wrong narrator for this book. Most of the characters are women, and the points of view are close third person (in other words, limited to one character at a time). What we end up with is a strong male voice narrating feminine internal thoughts throughout. Males narrating female voices (and the opposite) works fine in small doses—usually for secondary or tertiary characters. Here, it was completely distracting and came off as camp. If you’re a Gregg Olsen fan and want to read The Girl in the Woods, my recommendation is to go for the print or ebook.




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Bull[y]shit

HOPPING ONTO SOAP BOX, ADJUSTING MIC . . .

There have always been bullies, but we hear more about bullying today than ever before. Social media has brought bullying to the forefront by providing endless opportunity for thoughtless individuals to anonymously exercise their personal discontent and need for control.

 

Kate Hannon/Flickr

"I was just being honest," is the frequent battle cry of the bully, but it's a crock. Bullying has nothing to do with honesty. Bullying is not an adjective, it's a verb—an action. It's exercising power to intentionally harm or intimidate another human being.

Respect for others, their beliefs, their work, their differences, does not mean letting go of our convictions. It's simple human decency. At the risk of plagiarizing one of my earlier posts: someone else does not need to be wrong so we can be right. 

Take EL James's recent Q&A debacle on Twitter. Most of us would agree James lacks writing chops, and her subject matter—well, let's just say it's not to my taste. But to attack her (and peripherally, her millions of readers) on Twitter was inexcusable. There was no attempt at civility or communication. The comments were intended to wound and browbeat. This, my friends, is the definition of bullying.

Whether James's books "perpetuate rape culture and sanction domestic violence" is not the point. I repeat: bullying is not about honesty. It's about how we conduct ourselves. It's engaging in behavior that disrespects others.

 

It’s possible to disagree with someone without demonizing her or him…Tolerance and respect are at such a premium in real life. Why do we allow people to trash these values online?  —Porter Anderson

 

No matter how strongly you feel about a subject, please don't bully. When interacting, commenting, or reviewing, hold to the value of honesty always, but do so with respect.

HOPPING DOWN FROM SOAPBOX . . .
 

What are the dangers posed by a social media fostered environment where participants feel entitled to state their opinion without regard for others?

Will/has this sense of entitlement seeped
into our day-to-day interactions?