101 Books to Read Before You Die discussion
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Pictures from a Brewery by Asher Barashhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This novel invites us into a close knit Jewish community at the turn of the last century in what is now Lithuania. A brewery operated by the ideal woman is the hub of this village. We meet a host of characters, glimpse their way of life and religious traditions and gradually feel the foreboding of what is about to come.
The Eighth Day by Thornton Wilderhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In a small Illinois town in 1902, a man is convicted of shooting his neighbor during an afternoon of target practice. While being transported for execution, a gang of unidentified men set him free. From the first pages, the reader is told that there is some doubt about his guilt. This is not a murder mystery; who is guilty of the murder is of secondary concern. Rather this is a novel about the impact of that conviction on the lives of those involved. Or more accurately, this is a novel that explores why life presents turns that often feel unjust, inexplicable, deeply painful. This is a philosophical novel and its pages are filled with dialogue between and within characters which ponder profound theological questions.
Leaving Mother Lake by Yang Erche Namu & Christine Mathieuhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This was a fascinating glimpse into an ethnic group of which I had never heard. The author is a member of the Moso, one of China’s many indigenous ethnic groups. She grew up in a remote area of the border between China and Tibet in the 1970s without electricity, running water, formal education or almost any interaction with the larger world. The Moso may be one of the only truly matriarchal societies, one in which women hold more power and authority than men, a society where monogamy and marriage are foreign concepts, where a lack of generosity or being quarrelsome are causes for shame. The memoirist broke with all cultural conventions by running away from home around the age of 16 to pursue vocal training and a career in music. Now living in the U.S., she shared her story with an American anthropologist for this book. Living in another country allows her to identify those aspects of her culture that would be most peculiar for a western reader.
Menagerie Manor by Gerald Durrellhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The author runs a small zoo on the Isle of Jersey which specializes in animals endangered in their natural habitat. This is a fun collection of anecdotes about the antics of these animals and of the creative human solutions to animal problems.
In This House of Brede by Rumer Goddenhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This novel takes the reader into a cloistered Benedictine monastery in 1957 along with a 42 year old widow who is leaving a life of financial, professional, social and academic outsized success. But this is not the story of this particular character; it is the story of the monastery. More time is spent describing features of this way of life than in developing any plot. I am grateful that this novel resists the temptation to sensationalize monastic life, turning it either into a utopia of feminist empowerment or extraordinary spiritual experiences or a sinister place of abusive cultic practices, of murderous intrigue or of oppressive power dynamics. I was disappointed by how quickly characters retreated from any depth into clichés. Coincidences that moved the plot were so sweet and unrealistic that they became hokey. I had heard great things about this novel. It did not live up to my expectations. 2.5 stars
Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnahhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A 12 year old African boy becomes the indentured servant of a merchant at an unspecified time (I suspect the turn of the 20th century) in an unspecified African land. Taken from his rural family to pay off his father’s debt, he is brought to a larger city where he learns to read and calculate, works at the small general store and travels with the merchant on trading expeditions into the interior parts of the country, meets people of varied races and languages and encounters the highs and lows of life. We watch him mature from a fearful, uncertain, naive boy into a man with aspirations, self-confidence and the seeds of real insights.
Beyond the Sky and the Earth by Jamie Zeppahttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In 1988, the author withdrew from her doctoral program to take a two year teaching post at a remote village in Bhutan. She had no experience working with young children, with international travel, with the culture of Bhutan prior to signing her contract. This is her memoir of moving through terrible culture shock to falling in love with Bhutan and with a Bhutanese man. 3.5 stars
Fifty In Reverse by Bill Flanaganhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a light take on the perennial theme of appreciating one’s life. A 65 year old man travels back in time to enter his 15 year old body in 1970. At first he thinks he is in a dream from which he can’t seem to awaken. But the more he is convinced that some strange act of time travel has occurred, the more he struggles to return to his wife and adult kids in 2020. I expected more ironic humor about observing high school culture from an adult perspective, but the humor was more rooted in his personal situation.
Of Love And Shadows by Isabel Allende
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A young girl with odd episodes which may be supernatural, two journalists who are lovers, the “disappeared” and their families, brutal members of the police and those members of the police who are brutalized by what they observe, an activist priest, a host of characters find their lives intertwined as the military coup brings chaos and suffering on ordinary people in Chili.
Breadfruit by Celestine Hitiura Vaitehttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is the story of a mid-20th century woman as revealed through her relationships. I was probably in the wrong space for this novel because I failed to engage with the protagonist.
The Wedding by Dorothy Westhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Amazing! Why did it take me so long to discover this author? The writing is outstanding. The characters are complex and fully realized. The story line offers the reader depth while resisting easy answers. This novel explores the complicated terrain of familial and romantic love, of social striving and ambition, of racial identity and self-definition. Set in 1953 in a community of upwardly mobile professional colored families, where light skin is valued as much as wealth or professional success, a family reacts to the unfavorable marriage of both its daughters, one to a very dark skinned doctor and the other to a white jazz musician. The author skillfully weaves the back story of multiple generations of the family to show the ambitions, sacrifices, sufferings and hardships that brought them from slavery to wealth and respectability in less than a century. In doing so, the reader sympathizes with the complicated nature of racial identity, of parental self-denial, of ambition which has formed the current generation which is the first to come of age in a world where middle class aspirations can feel like their right to embrace or reject. 4.5 stars
The Bat: Harry Hole #1 by Jo Nesbohttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I think that a story officially counts as engaging when the reader stays up to 2 AM trying to finish the book. In many ways, this is a typical murder mystery detective novel. But the story was so well spun out that I lost track of time. I could have done without the romance, but even this element was woven into the story rather than just being the requisite add on.
The Cabinet by Un-Su Kimhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Un-Su Kim has a wild imagination, a fantastic sense of humor, an amazing skill with the written word and enormous creativity. I can’t begin to summarize this book. I suspect that it won’t be for most readers. But, I greatly enjoyed it.
Floating In My Mother’s Palm by Ursula Hegihttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a quiet story of a community emerging from the ashes of war and a young girl growing up contentedly in the middle of a loving family, supported by broken but mostly kind neighbors.
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabanehttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a memoir of growing up in the 1960s & 1970s in crushing poverty and brutal injustice and violence at the height of Apartheid’s most repressive years. Naturally bright and athletic with a superhuman drive to break out of the slum in which he grew up. The author is able to attract the attention of tennis stars who helped him to get a scholarship in the U.S.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larssonhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I think I let too much time lapse between reading the installments in this series. I forgot many of the details which left me scrambling for much of the novel. I also lost my connection to the characters. Rather than getting my sympathies, the diminutive superhero struck me as ridiculously over the top.
The Jaguar’s Smile by Salman Rushdiehttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Rushdie visited Nicaragua in 1986. He arrived with strong political leanings that favored the Sandinista efforts. His heart was with the peasant underclass, with the revolutionary poets and priests, with those who resisted the oppression and greed of the Samosa government and the policies of the US in Central America. I enjoyed Rushdie’s nonfiction writing much more than I have enjoyed any of his magical realism. Even if not an unbiased look at what was happening in Nicaragua in the mid-1980s, his championing of Nicaragua’s martyrs and suffering masses shines a needed light on many that history has forgotten.
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristohttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
These are a series of character sketches. In each chapter, the reader meets a new woman, than back tracks to recount her story. These lives are all connected, some more loosely than others. The focus is on British women of color over the past century. The writing is excellent. The millennial angst is exhausting in the voices of the younger characters and the disillusionment and disappointment is palpable in the older women. Despite the quality of the writing, I found that the constant introduction of a new character and story made it hard to engage. I did not spend enough time with any to develop a connection. I often felt as if I was either being “educated” or preached at through the story.
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartletthttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I think this account of a man who used credit card fraud and other deceptions to steal rare books would have worked better as a long feature article than as a full length book. The author had to pad the text with a great deal of tangential threads. It was an easy read and I enjoyed learning about the rare book trade. But it did not keep my interest for the duration of the book. 2.5 stars
Laos: Keystone of Indochina by Arthur Dommenhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a brief overview of the history, politics and international significance of Laos. It is dated.
Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keanehttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
No life, no marriage, no family is without its struggles. If you could go back to your wedding day, after several decades of marriage, would you still say “yes” to both the good times and the bad times? That is the premise of the title of this novel. Two families are intertwined by neighborhood, by ethnic background, by marriage and most of all by tragedy. An untreated mental health illness in one family results in great pain for both. But love and family support is stronger than all of life’s tragedies. In the end, despite all life can throw at us, if we are sustained by the love of family, we can know without doubt that we are luckier than most.
Palestinian Walks by Raja Shehadeh
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The author, a native of Ramallah, is a Palestinian activist, land rights attorney and passionate walker. This is a collection of 6 essays organized around 6 hikes through the hills of Palestine over a span of 3 decades. These essays are directed to an international audience addressing the plight of Palestine. In these essays, he celebrates the beauty of the natural landscape and decries its destruction by the building of Israeli settlements, tells of being shot at by Palestinian soldiers and harassed and humiliated by Israeli soldiers, explains the unfairness of the Oslo Accords and their further violations by Israeli expansion, introduces Palestinians who had their ancestral land confiscated in violation of Israeli law or have been blocked from reaching their farm land by walls and check points. The reader leaves with an understanding of the anger, frustration and powerlessness felt by many Palestinians.
The Bridge of Beyond by Simone Schwarz Barthttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is the story of 4 generations of women living in a community which has inherited the scars of slavery. This is a story of poverty, domestic violence, sexual assault, the struggle to know one’s worth. And this is a story of the strength of love, of wisdom passed through the generations, of simple yet profound dignity, of beauty at the deepest level. The language was rich and lyrical, the characters well rendered, the imagery creatively conveyed.
Blood On Snow by Jo Nesbohttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A hit man with a love for story decides that he is sent to kill the wrong person. This sets into motion a wild ride of a plot that careens from slapstick humor to tender vulnerability. The narrator’s quirkiness brings a refreshingly unique perspective to the page. He is both a fun and endearing companion on this trip, if a hit man can be called endearing. The ending took me by surprise, which is always a plus in a novel.
The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheeverhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This was a book group pick. Even though I did not finish in time for the discussion, I was determined to complete the collection. Most of the stories featured middle-aged, middle-class east coast Americans who drink too much. I may have enjoyed them more had I read only 1 story a month, but reading them back to back was overwhelming. They are a blur.
Djibouti by Elmore Leonardhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have never read one of Elmore Leonard’s novels nor have I read a book set in Djibouti, so I decided to give both a try. A couple of yahoo Americans head to Djibouti to film a documentary about pirates. Soon they are entangled with a wild bunch of characters. There is a lot of shooting, a lot of drinking, a lot of shooting, a lot of sex, a lot of shooting, a lot of vulgar language and, did I mention, a lot of shooting. Leonard’s famous ear for dialogue was on full display. But the novel did not work for me.
Sanctuary by William Faulknerhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Faulkner is an incredibly talented novelist. His ear for dialogue is striking. His story lines are complex. But his characters are unpleasant, broken, sad or mean individuals. They live in a world full of bigotry, sexual violence, despair, and just about every kind of destructive behavior. I usually feel tainted or ugly when I close one of his books. This is the story of the trial of a man for the brutal rape of a young college girl and the murder of another man. The small town attorney who takes the case of this indigent man out of sympathy for his partner, may be the only ray of light in this dark story.
The Sound of Her Voice by Nathan Blackwellhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a typical detective mystery. Could a 15 year old mutilated female corpse be connected to more recent female corpses found in the same coastal area? What other deaths or crimes might they lead to? The story and the writing were average. I am not sure why the author felt the need to use the “f” and the “c” word with such frequency. I don’t think there was a paragraph without one or the other. I want to buy the author a thesaurus so that he might develop his vocabulary if he wants to continue writing.
The Autobiography of My Mother by Jamaica Kincaidhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Kincaid adopts her mother’s voice to tell her story, the story of a young woman who experienced abandonment and rejection from her earliest days. Unable to distinguish love from hate, she turned to the pleasure of her own body and men’s bodies. She depicts her mother as consciously self-absorbed and as knowingly destroying her own children.
Logavina Street: Life and Death in a Sarajevo Neighborhood by Barbara Demick https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I love the way Demic makes the political so personal by connecting the lives of ordinary people to larger national events. In this book, she follows several families from the same Sarajevo neighborhood during the war of 1992-1995. Beyond the headlines, the tragedies that make the TV news, are the daily struggles, the broken psychies, the devastated lives of people who live behind the bombed out windows.
Tangerine by Christine Mangan https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a psychological thriller told in the alternating voices of two former college roommates. Unfortunately, I did not find this suspenseful. Despite hearing the story from both women’s perspectives, I found it difficult to understand what made either tick. I anticipated where the story was going fairly early, even if I did not foresee every bump along the way. There were a few places where I could not figure out how the actual events could have taken place, but maybe I was not reading attentively enough. 2.5 stars
Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen by Linda Heywood
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I was fascinated to learn about this major political figure of the 17th century. I also appreciated discovering more about Angola at this time. The tone was scholarly, a bit dry, but very informative. 3.5 stars
Skylark by Dezso Kosztolanyihttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I stumbled on this book which is considered a classic. Set at the turn of the last century, it is a beautifully subtle exploration of the relationship between an older couple and their spinster daughter. While their 35 year old daughter spends a week with relatives, the parents rediscover their social life. Their reentry into the world of this town allows for a humorous look at the characters that reside there. Against the backdrop of these flamboyant townspeople is situated the sorrow of a family who has settled for a life of quiet drudgery. The translator did an excellent job of conveying the rhythm and assonance of the prose.
Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a collection of short stories which focus on complex family relationships. Although set in a culture not very familiar to me, the themes are universal. The writing is strong.
The Marsh Arabs by Wilfred Thesigerhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The author spent the 1950s traveling by canoe among the people living in the marsh lands of southern Iraq. This is a culture strongly governed by ancient practices. This way of life has been largely obliterated by draining of the marshes, economic forces and war. I am fascinated by unique and ancient societies, so really enjoyed this book.
Chronicles of the Guayaki Indians by Pierre Clastreshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Last book of 2021! In the early 1960s the author lived among and studied this remote and dying community of people native to Paraguay. This is a scholarly account of their rituals around birth, puberty, death and the connection to their founding myths, their understanding of the sources of fortune and misfortune, their attitudes toward gender, illness and sexuality, as well as the mundane practices of daily living. Another interesting introduction to a different culture.
The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitzhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/upda...
This is a traditional Sherlock Holmes mystery. I am not a devotee of the Sherlock Holmes oeuvre. I prefer to see famous characters remain in the hands of their creator rather than be adopted by other authors. Had this not been a book group pick, I would not have chosen to read it. However, I think any fan of Sherlock Holmes who would like to see him continue to live on in new stories will love this book. It had the feel of the original series.
When Women Ruled The World by Kara Cooneyhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Cooney, an Egyptologist, highlights 6 female rulers in ancient Egypt. She mines the limited archeological evidence to recreate their story. She argues that the unjust pressures against women in political leadership in the ancient world continues to hinder women today. I enjoyed learning about ancient figures with whom I was largely unfamiliar. I appreciated when she explained how things like burial chamber contents, titles in inscriptions or depictions on statues could lead scholars to certain conclusions. I was frustrated by the frequent speculation which was not substantiated. It is possible that these speculations are supported by the archeology, but this is not evident to a reader with no background in the field. I had no way to determine which were flights of the author’s imagination and which were grounded in the record. The periodic connections to contemporary female leaders came across as simply the pushing of an agenda. A statue depicting a female pharo wearing a male headdress was compared to female judges in traditional robes. An inscription linking a female pharo’ reign to her father was connected to a speech of Queen Elizabeth doing something similar. Older male pharos with juvenile consorts was linked to society’s acceptance of Trump’s bragging of his sexual exploits. And nearly every observation about ancient Egyptian female leaders was connected to Hilary Clinton. None of the contemporary examples were discussed, just named. For me, these undeveloped contemporary connections weakened the entire book. I found that I was reading more and more through a skeptical lens, wondering how much of the ancient story was being filtered by the author’s feminist outrage.
The Consolations of Theology edt. by Brian Rosnerhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a collection of 6 essays, each focused on a different classic Christian theologian’s thoughts on a different difficult emotion. The essays span Augustine on obsession to C.S. Lewis on the problem of pain. The essays were good introductions to their topics, providing brief biographical notes, general overview of the man’s theology and a clear summary of his thought on the topic.
Cassandra At The Wedding by Dorothy Bakerhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I had not heard of this book until it was recently chosen for a GR book group read. Never judge a book by its jacket. I would never have picked this up on my own. This was outstanding, thought provoking, insightful. Using the relationship of identical twin sisters and the wedding of one, this novel explores the formation of identity, entangled family relationships, emotional manipulation. Although the story is told in the voices of both sisters, the author does not allow the narrators to simply tell the reader everything. She manages to show us more than she tells us and trusts the reader to draw conclusions. This should be considered a classic.
Crying In H Mart by Michelle Zaunerhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a grief memoir. It is well written, but I was not in the right psychic space for this account. In her mid-20s, as the author is starting life, pursuing a music career and moving toward marriage, her mother is ending life, dying of cancer. Learning of her mother’s diagnosis shifted the author from a rebellious adolescent to a devoted daughter. Essential to her grieving is an exploration of the Korean heritage of her mother, particularly the food.
Murder at Cape Three Points by Kwei Quarteyhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I enjoyed the first two in this series more than this one. The writing is a bit formulaic. I did not feel as immersed in Ghanaian culture. But I still like the main character, so will continue with the next book.
The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backmanhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I recently discovered this in a pile of unread books. I had forgotten that it had been given to me. It is actually a short story published as a small hardback, liberally illustrated book. It presents as an inspirational gift book. According to the author’s introduction, this is the intent, to inspire the reader to consider what is truly important in life. It is a story about the transforming power of love. Unfortunately, I am far too jaded and found this more sentimental than inspiring.
The Ornament of the World by Maria Rosa Menocalhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This book covers nearly a millennium of history on the Iberian Peninsula. Beginning in the 8th century, the author traces the development of a multicultural region of the medieval world. This story is one of both tolerance and intolerance, of conquest and adaptation, of rich cultural flourishing and of destruction. This is an enormous amount of history to cover in 350 pages and I often felt overwhelmed. 3.5 stars
Kick Ass Kinda Girl by Kathi Kollhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The author’s husband suffered a stroke that left him totally paralyzed for 6 years prior to his death. According to the introductory comments, she wrote this memoir of care giving to inspire other caregivers. This is more about the story than the writing which is far from polished. I am not her intended audience, not a caregiver, so it is not fair for me to evaluate how well it provides the inspiration intended. I found that I was wondering how most caregivers might react to this story, those without the limitless financial resources available to this family. Don Koll could be attended by round the clock nursing care at home, receive hours of daily therapy, be visited regularly by top doctors making house calls. How would one receive this account if s/he were facing mountains of medical bills, caring for a loved one with only a few hours per week of home health care, feeling dismissed or talked down to by doctors? It was only in the final pages of this book that she acknowledges that most caregivers do not have her resources and has begun a foundation to assist them. I found the constant name dropping irritating. Her childhood friend was the daughter of Lucille Ball, George Harrison asked her on a date when she was 18, President Bush came over to visit when her husband was ill, etc., etc. etc. The superlatives never ended: the most sought after architect, most sheik, world renown, most fashionable, etc., etc., etc. Do those who are rich have to constantly remind the peasants that they inhabit a realm far above the dust we trod?
How The Word Is Passed by Clint Smithhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The author explores what he perceives as the untold aspects of the history of slavery in the United States. The chapters are organized around 6 locations where he both explains its significance to the narrative and talks with people of various backgrounds. Smith has a wonderful way with words. Most of what he includes in this book was not unknown to me. Nonetheless, the topics were worth another look.
Havana Gold by Leonardo Padurahttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I am glad to have finished this series. The writing is quite good, but I am tired of the objectification of women and the protagonist’s sexual exploits.
Death Comes For the Archbishop by Willa Catherhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...
This is a fictional account of the mid-19th century establishment of the New Mexico territory into a diocese. It is told in a series of episodes in the life of the first bishop of the territory and his vicar general. Cather paints memorable characters, even minor ones are unforgettable. Her descriptions of the landscape are even more striking.
The Last Whalers by Doug Bock Clark
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By focusing on a couple of families in this remote Indonesian community, the author helps the reader to understand this ancient way of life and the impact that creeping modernity is having on it.
Reading Behind Bars by Jill Grunenwaldhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a memoir of working as a librarian in a minimum security prison for men. The tone is light and positive. But don’t expect any inspiring stories of individuals with life-changing encounters with literature or new insights into classic texts emerging from this context. Although the author does not have a bad experience, she leaves the position in less than 2 years.
Force of Nature by Jane Harperhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Five colleagues go on a mandatory 3 day team-building hike in a remote part of Australia. But things go very wrong and one does not come out with the group. The chapters alternate between the unfolding events of that hike and the authorities search for the missing woman. This was an easy bit of entertainment.
Even In Paradise by Elizabeth Nunezhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I feel guilty for not appreciating this highly acclaimed novel by this award-winning author. This novel of a contemporary Caribbean family closely adheres to the story line of King Lear. When a classic is retold, I hope for a new angle on the original, new insights into the motivations of the characters, a different way of understanding the unfolding events. But I did not find that here. The three sisters and their father lack nuance. Glynis is greedy, deceitful, selfish, cruel, and openly distains every social and racial group except her own. All of her behaviors, facial expressions and vocal tones are described with language that implied some sort of malevolence. Other characters fully inhabited their nitch. I also felt as if the author was trying to educate me. The evils of slavery in the Caribbean was explained numerous times. The reader was given similar lectures on other social ills.
Mrs. Ted Bliss by Stanley Elkinhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mrs. Ted Bliss is a recent widow living in a Florida retirement community when the novel opens. She is a mix of naivety and shrewdness. Over a decade, we watch her get involved with South American drug lords and the shyster who used to be her husband’s partner, come to terms with her son’s death and reconcile with her daughter-in-law. This is described as humorous, but, as usual, I missed the humor. The use of dialect is fantastic and the dialogue is strong. The narrator of my audio book was outstanding. This novel relies on ethnic stereotypes and I suspect it is these stereotypes that were the source of the comedy when it was first published. Had I read it 30 years ago, I probably would have enjoyed it, but today it made me cringe.
101 Books to Read Before You Die
Books mentioned in this topic
Persuasion (other topics)It (other topics)
The Immortalists (other topics)
The Hate U Give (other topics)
Timekeeper (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jane Austen (other topics)Madeline Miller (other topics)
Sarah Henning (other topics)
Sarah McCoy (other topics)
Sarah Pekkanen (other topics)
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In the middle of a summer night, an IRA gang break into the home of a suburban couple. The man is told to drive his car, planted with a bomb, to the hotel where he works and to park it under the banquet room. To ensure that he carries out his instructions, that he does not notify the police, they will hold his wife hostage until the deed is completed. This begins a string of suspenseful events, of moral dilemmas, for all involved. In a relatively short book, Moore gave us complex characters, complicated social and ethical situations and an engaging plot.