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Book # 36 She Poured Out Her Heart 4/5 starsI love Jean Thompson's writing. I just do. Therefore, even though this book does not quite make it in terms of it's totality, I am rounding it up to 4 stars just for my enjoyment of her prose.
This is a story of friendship, love, betrayal and desire. Jane and Bonnie have a long and complicated friendship that began in college. They are very different women, and their paths in life diverge accordingly. And although I found some of the character's reactions and behavior to the circumstances in this plot a bit hard to believe at times, I was always engaged while reading it.
Book # 37 Homegoing 3.5/5 starsThis was a very good effort by the author to write a generational saga spanning three hundred years. Some of the writing is beautiful, and for that I would round it up to 3.5 stars.
Two half sisters are born in eighteenth century Ghana in separate villages. Their lives and lineage take up alternating chapters in this book. Each chapter goes to the succeeding generation and alternates between the two sister's children and their descendants. There is a family tree in the beginning of the book, and as I continued reading the book, I referred back to it. There are a lot of characters to follow, and it is more like interconnecting short stories, rather than being swept up into the lives of the same people.
I did like the ending, even though it was somewhat sentimental. I thought it was a very good way to wrap up the novel.
Book # 38 End of Watch 3/5 starsI have read the entire trilogy, and as I looked back, I noted that I gave the other two books 3 stars each. I was conflicted a bit about this book's rating, because I was moved in the end. Perhaps I had gotten to know the characters (that's a lot of reading about them), and therefore felt more than I would have if this was a stand-alone. But my enjoyment level was still at about a 3, so the rating stands.
In this installment, Stephen King obviously felt the need to insert some of his standard supernatural ingredients. These ingredients rule the roost in this story line, switching it over from the straight detective novels he started with. I think that is his comfort zone, although his excellent Misery had no supernatural in it. Since supernatural is not my comfort zone, I was disappointed with that inclusion. Other than that, the three trusty characters are still there, and so is the much-diminished brilliant/crazy villain, who started off as "Mr. Mercedes" and finds his evil powers again.
Book # 39 You Will Know Me 4.5/5 starsI think Megan Abbot hit this one out of the park...4.5 stars. While I really liked her period noir novels, Queenpin and Bury Me Deep, I was less fond of her later novels in contemporary settings (The Fever, Dare Me). But in this one, she combines the excellent writing and terrific feeling of dread that carried me along, avidly reading, until the end.
Abbott has an affinity for writing about teenage girls, mixing all kinds of emotions that swirl around during puberty. In You Will Know Me, the story is told through Katie Knox, mother of Devon, a gymnastics prodigy. For Katie and her husband Eric, Devon is their prime focus in life. And although they have a son, he is peripheral to their burning goal of Devon's achievements, and he appears to accept his place in the family dynamics. But little by little, the layers of the story accumulate, and the reader sees that all is not as it seems. This feeling of dread that Abbott sustains so well, escalates after a violent death within their gymnastics community.
Abbott's descriptions of the young gymnast's bodies permeate this book, over and over. Pungent descriptions of colors abound, and make certain paragraphs pop. This is a very well-written, tense character study and mystery, and it hammers home thoughts about parental sacrifice, ambition, desire, and lies we tell.
Alecia wrote: "Book # 39 You Will Know Me 4.5/5 starsI think Megan Abbot hit this one out of the park...4.5 stars. While I really liked her period noir novels, Queenpin and Bury Me Deep, I was l..."
Great review. I'm adding this to my TBR.
Book # 40 The Heavenly Table 4/5 starsI read and thoroughly enjoyed Donald Ray Pollock's The Devil All The Time. The Heavenly Table is a departure from that book, but I enjoyed it also.
Set in 1917, it is a large-canvassed story encompassing poverty, crime, evil, lust, family love and dysfunction, and many other gritty facets of life. What is in this book that I don't remember from his previous work, is a healthy dollop of dark humor. I found myself laughing out loud in a few parts. This does not negate the violence and dark themes that also run through this book. I was reminded of Joe Lansdale's writing, just a few notches up the gritty realism scale.
Book # 41 Miss Jane 4/5 starsWhen I first started reading Miss Jane, I did not think I would like it. I questioned whether I even wanted to finish it. But, in this case, perseverance paid off. This is a beautifully written, quiet book based on the life of the author's own great-aunt.
Jane Chisolm was born with a genital birth defect in rural, early twentieth-century Mississippi. Her older parents were farmers, certainly not planning for the birth of yet another child. Jane's difference, and forced solitary existence is beautifully portrayed by Watson's elegant, poetic prose. Her limitations in life, her brush with love, and the lifelong friendship with the doctor who delivered her are all woven through this poignant, well-told story.
Book # 42 The Unseen World 5/5 starsThis was an exceptional book, told mostly from adolescent Ada's point of view. Ada's father, David, directs a computer science lab in 1980's era Boston. Ada was born to David from a surrogate mother whom she has no contact with, and David is a loving, doting father. Ada is home schooled and taken to the lab every day. She has no interaction with her peers, only adults, and she is quite gifted in all the work her father is doing. Her opinions are taken quite seriously by his co-workers, and she feels like the lab is her second home. David is most importantly working on a program called Elixir, which will become an integral part of this novel.
Fairly early on in this story, we learn that David's mind is failing. Ada is still young, only 12. David has no other family, and his closest friend and work partner is a neighbor he calls (by her last name) Liston. Liston steps up and helps Ada through this dark period. Soon, however, discrepancies appear in David's background, and the thrust of the rest of the novel is Ada's search for the truth of who David really is.
I have read in another critic's (glowing) review, that this critic objected to the explanation given for David's past. The mystery and intrigue were much stronger in the book without this literal explanation, it went on in the review. And although the explanation might slow the book up a bit, I found it to be integral to the whole book. And the ending is quite splendid.
Mod
This was an exceptional book, told mostly from adolescent Ada's point of view. Ada's father, David, directs a computer science lab in 1980's er..."
Sounds really good!
I thought so, and I don't give 5 stars lightly ( you may have noticed;). Give it a try...
Mod
Library has a copy so now I'm on the holds list. :)
Book # 43 The Girls 3/5 starsWhen I was young, I, along with many others, read Helter Skelter, a non-fiction, graphic retelling of the Manson "family" murders. A few years ago, I read a very good (and I recommend it) book, Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson by Jeff Guinn. This book puts Manson and his family in the context of the times, and it was an excellent, nuanced and layered retelling of the story.
The Girls is a fictionalized version of the notorious Manson family murders in the late sixties. Some of the details have been changed, but the story is basically the same. Charles is now "Russell", and instead of killing 9 people, one of whom was the pregnant Sharon Tate, in this version less are killed but one of them is a small child. This event is foreshadowed in the beginning of the book, so this is not a spoiler. There are other substitutions, but the story is the same.
The narrator of this story, set in the same late sixties time period, is Evie Boyd, an unhappy 14 year old from a broken home. Her mother is preoccupied with her now single life, and she pays little attention to Evie. One day, Evie sees a group of girls in the park, and she is struck by their apparent freedom, their clothing and general aura of carelessness. She is especially drawn to one of them, an older girl named Suzanne. Evie eventually navigates herself into the cult, hidden in the hills, where she is mesmerized by the exotic (filthy, run-down) atmosphere. And of course, there is their leader, Russell, who holds all the girls in his sexual thrall.
Cline does a good job of presenting a case for how a lonely, privileged young girl could want to be in this group. The love or other needs they all crave were somehow met by being a part of this cult. The writing is good, but to me, it's a fictionalized telling of a story that was so bizarre by itself, it stands alone. Sometimes truth is stranger (and better) than fiction.
Book # 44 American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst 4/5 starsFor those of us who lived through the wild ride that was the Patty Hearst kidnapping story, this book provides a walk down memory lane. It's all here, including: the SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army), Tania (Patty's moniker while inside the group), Cinque (Donald DeFreeze, the prison-escapee and "General Field Marshall")," Mizmoon", Steven Weed (remember her fiance?) the Hearst family, Ronald Regan, F. Lee Bailey, and on and on. Patty Hearst had her sentence commuted by President Carter, and was officially pardoned by President Clinton before he left office. These two pardons by two different presidents made her case unique.
Patricia Hearst, an heiress to the Hearst family fortune,was kidnapped on February 4, 1974, while a sophomore in college. This is a very well-researched book, and the twisty story moves along pretty well. I am rounding this up from a 3.5 because of the detail and thought that went into it. The main question of her complicity and guilt is answered by the author in this book. The "Stockholm Syndrome" became a term introduced into our lexicon during this time period. For all those interested in reliving this episode, or those just curious about it, I would suggest reading this book.
Mod
I think I am now an expert on the Patty Hearst kidnapping :-). Let me know how you like if if you do read it.
Book # 45 Mortal Fall 3.5/5 starsI am rounding my 3.5 review up to 4 stars. The writing, layered characterizations, and plotting are quite good. But although this 2nd novel by Christine Carbo is a very good read, I think her previous novel, The Wild Inside was somewhat better. This is a stand-alone novel, even though the setting is the same as the first, Glacier National Park.
Monty Harris is a Glacier National Park police officer. When he investigates a body, that of Paul "Wolfie" Sedgewick, he starts thinking that Wolfie's fall appears to be caused by something other than suicide or accident. And when a second body appears in the same area, he explores the possibility that the two cases are connected.
In solving this case, Monty must face issues of his own concerning his family and demons from his past. Carbo is very adept at exploring the nuances of her main characters. This is a well-written mystery that is steeped in atmosphere and character.
Book # 46 Sweet Lamb of Heaven 1.5/2 starsI have read other books by Lydia Millet and even though I did not find her books to be a resounding success, I thought her writing was good. The same holds true here, although in this book, she steps into some sort of supernatural murkiness. This did not work at all for me and the novel is a sort of thriller/supernatural/domestic drama hybrid.
Anna, an unhappily married mother of a young daughter, has run with her daughter from her manipulative, unloving husband. Before she left her home, she was hearing voices, and the voices ceased when her daughter started talking. She finds a hiding spot for herself and her daughter in an isolated motel in Maine. Soon, she discovers that all of the diverse people staying there have heard voices in one way or another and have ended up at this motel. The owner of the motel acts as a host to this group. Meanwhile, her ex-husband apparently has the power to hunt her down. The story veers from wife in distress from devil-like husband to an eerie, incomprehensible (to me) musing on religions, languages, filled with quotes interspersed among the story.
I was truly baffled in parts, and just didn't get it. I would rate this a 1.5, rounding up to a 2 as I actually finished it and some of the writing is very good. I just wish the author would put it all together and produce a novel I think she is capable of doing with her writing talents.
Book # 47 I Will Send Rain 3.5/5 starsI would give this book 3.5/5 stars. It is written very well, and I read it quite quickly. The setting is 1934, in Mulehead, Oklahoma. The Bell family are a farm family facing a drought lasting two months. And then the dust storms begin, bringing their frustration (and other families around them) to the edge of their endurance. Famine begins to force other families to leave, but the Bells hang on.
Annie and Samuel Bell have two living children, Birdie and Fred. Birdie has a romantic relationship with her neighbor's son (even though she is 15, she envisions a life together with him somewhere else). Young Fred suffers from dust pneumonia and is mute. Annie responds to the flirtations of the town's mayor, and Samuel has horrific dreams of an approaching flood.
Although I felt this book conveyed the daily life of these people fairly well, it could have been a bit more layered and "grittier" (no pun intended with all that dust). A lot of the plot was invested in the love lives of the two female characters.
Book # 48 All the Missing Girls 1/5 starsI read almost 200 pages and DNF. The format of this book, going backwards in time, made for much confusion on my part (and felt like a gimmick). The writing was not to my taste, and I just did not care whodunit. I skipped to the end (which I never do) and I found out and still didn't care. This book got some good reviews, so there are obviously people who liked it a lot.
Book # 49 Wolf Lake: A Novel 3/5 starsJohn Verdon is a very good writer, and this elevates the experience of reading his mysteries for me. As with a previous book of his I read, I found this one was a little too long. Also, I thought the ending was convoluted and a bit confusing. But it was a pleasant and enjoyable read for the most part.
Former NYPD homicide detective Dave Gurney is asked to solve a mystery. A controversial psychologist is being blamed for a series of 4 apparent suicides after each man has attended a hypnotherapy session with him. Gurney and his wife, Madeleine, travel to an Adirondack inn called Wolf Lake Lodge, where the psychologist resides and held his sessions, to investigate. There is plenty of atmospheric winter weather, Madeleine sorts through some old demons of her own from her past, and the inn is stocked with weird and suspicious characters who work there.
Book # 50 Behold the Dreamers 4/5 starsThis book is set right before the economy collapsed in 2008. We meet Jende Jonga as he is going to an interview for a chauffeur's job with an executive at Goldman Sachs. He gets this job, and soon, with the salary he is making, he is able to bring his wife, Neni, over from Cameroon with their small son.
The author does a wonderful job of describing the day to day life of the Jonga family, who live in Harlem. This life is beautifully juxtaposed against the lives of the very wealthy, also described very well in this book. But Mbue is sympathetic to both of the family's lives. I loved the conversations Jende has with his boss and his boss's small son, while driving them around. A great relationship develops between them. Nemi is focused on attending pharmacy school, and does exceedingly well in her college studies. They both love America, and want so much to stay and have their children benefit from all it has to offer.
The difficulties and frustrations that Jonga encounters with immigration, orchestrated by his smooth-talking lawyer, are both poignant and realistic. These people are not superficial, sentimental cut-outs, they are real human beings with both admirable traits and flaws. I grew very fond of the Jonga family, and I was sorry to see this book end.
Book # 51 A Virtuous Woman 3.5/5 starsI would give this lovely little book 3.5/5 stars. It is told in alternating chapters, in the voices of Jack Stokes and then his wife, Ruby. We find out early on that Ruby is dying of lung cancer, and then their back stories, as told by these two characters, fill in the rest of this short novel.
It starts out. "She hasn't been dead four months and I've already eaten to the bottom of the deep freeze. I even ate the green peas. Used to I wouldn't turn my hand over for green peas."
The book flows well, and the great love expressed by Jack for Ruby is quite beautiful. He speaks in colloquial English, as he is from an uneducated rural background. Ruby was raised in a more middle-class background, and her chapters flow a little differently. This is a love story, filled with grit, humor and honesty.
Mod
I would give this lovely little book 3.5/5 stars. It is told in alternating chapters, in the voices of Jack Stokes and then his wife, Ruby. We fi..."
I read this a long time ago! It's funny I totally remember the title and the cover but could not recall the story at all...lol
I gather it was an Oprah Book Club pick some years ago.
Mod
Book # 52 The Wonder 4/5 starsI am rounding up my 3.5 review to a 4 because of the beauty of Emma Donoghue's prose. And her imagination knows no bounds (as those of us who read Room know very well). For me, the ending was a bit of a let-down, and not terribly believable. But all that came before was very engrossing, and Donoghue can perform wonders (speaking of wonder) within the confines of one room.
Lib is a nurse who trained under Florence Nightingale and served in The Crimean War. Her mysterious two week task assigned to her is to watch over an eleven year old girl, Anna, who has refused to eat for four months. Anna has become quite famous, with people visiting her to witness this miracle of a girl. Anna comes from a very poor, religious family, and Lib (not religious at all) is paired with a nun (also a nurse) to take two shifts in order to make certain that the girl is indeed not eating. Lib is very skeptical, certain that a major scam is going on. She knows that no human can exist that long without eating. But, despite herself and her initial hostility, she becomes quite charmed by Anna.
The rest of the novel details her day-to-day involvement with Anna, as she tries to figure out what is going in, and what transpires is beautifully written and very engrossing.
Book # 53 Darktown 3.5/5 starsI would rate this book 3.5 starts. The reason I am not giving 4 stars to this very well-written book is that I felt an emotional disconnect from the characters. Darktown appears to be very well researched and I got a very good (appalling) sense of the pervasive racism in 1940's Atlanta. I have read that this book has been optioned by Jamie Foxx for a television series. It has the potential to be quite powerful.
The first Negro police force in Atlanta consists of 8 men. They are uniformed, but only allow to patrol "Darktown". They are not allowed police cruisers, and so must patrol on foot. And they must have their office in a very old, damaged Y building, as they are not allowed in the white police headquarters. The indignities they experience while trying to police are too numerous to mention here. The racism is layered upon layer for these men and the citizens of this state.
The book focuses on two sets of police officers, one white and one black. There is a crime that takes place, a murder of a young black woman. This murder appears to link to other cover-ups and a separate investigation takes place by the black police, and one of the white officers. The book seemed a bit overlong to me, but perhaps that was because of my lack of emotional connection to the characters. The historical depiction of this era seemed spot-on, and that is the real story here.
Book # 55 The Ballroom 3.5/5 starsI would rate this book 3.5 stars. It is told in alternating chapters through the three principal characters, John, Ella and Charles. Set in 1911, in a sprawling asylum for the insane (or "feeble-minded" as some of the residents were called), this is basically a love story between John and Ella. Charles is a Doctor in the asylum. The ballroom in the title is a place where dances were held for the inmates, and Charles led an orchestra for dancing. All three of the characters change from their experiences there, but Charles's character has the most wrenching changes within himself. I thought the chapters on Charles were especially well done.
Although the writing is lovely, the story itself was a little cliched, especially at the end. It was an enjoyable read, but I was just left feeling a lack of originality in the plot.
Book # 56 A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life: A Portrait by His Daughter 3/5 starsAfter attending a delightful "musical talk" on Frank Loesser recently, I decided to purchase this book and read it. Susan Loesser, the author and Frank's daughter, was part of the talk, and she had brought along some of her books to inscribe and sell. I found it to be an honest and engaging tribute to her beloved, brilliantly talented and difficult father.
Book # 57 Another One Goes Tonight 2.5/5 starsI am rounding this up from a 2.5 as the writing is good. It is the plot that got a bit all over the place and went on too long for me.
When two police officers get in an automobile accident en route to an investigation, a civilian is critically injured as well as one of the policeman. The policeman who was the driver is killed. Detective Peter Diamond is assigned to look into the case, and he finds the civilian lying nearby. He gives CPR to the man, and, while the man's fate lies in the balance on life support in the hospital, Diamond purses the case. He feels he may have saved the life of a serial killer and goes about his investigation independently.
Book # 58 The Whistler 3/5 starsThis story of judicial corruption and even deeper corruption connected to an Indian gambling enterprise was done well. I found it a bit overlong (I find myself writing that a lot lately), but for Grisham fans, it's a good story. I've liked other books of his more, but found this readable and well-written for the most part.
Book # 59 The Wrong Side of Goodbye 4/5 starsAs always, reading Michael Connelly's latest Harry Bosch book is a reliable treat. Harry is retired, doing some private work, and he is also working as a reserve officer at a small cash-strapped police department. I think plotting is Connelly's strong suit, and he doesn't disappoint here. He weaves two separate investigations involving Bosch; tracking down a serial rapist, known as "the screen door rapist", and a private job of tracking down a potential heir for a childless, elderly billionaire.
The two different plot lines are interwoven seamlessly without the back and forth chapters so in vogue right now. I found it engaging and well conceived until the end, and I thought both plot lines were resolved well. Keep going, Harry!
Book # 60 Cruel Beautiful World 3/5 starsI thought this book started out strong, with a good premise and some good writing. The second half slowly disintegrated for me, as the writing turned formulaic, and the plot started making little sense. I finished it, and am giving it 3 stars because of the first half of the book.
The year is 1969 and the book begins as sixteen-year-old Lucy Gold is planning to run away with her thirty-year-old high school teacher. The plan is to live in hiding in a remote rural town until Lucy turns eighteen, and they can marry. Lucy and her sister Charlotte have been brought up by a single female relative who adopts them, as their parents died when they were very young. Lucy's leaving shatters the two remaining family members, and the rest of the book describes Lucy's growing unhappiness in her new life. The mystery, of sorts, did not really amount to much for me. I found much of the remainder of the book to be kind of a mess, an unsuccessful combination of meandering romance and attempted mystery.
Book # 61 News of the World 4/5 starsCaptain Jefferson Kyle Kidd is an elderly widower who performs live readings from newspapers to paying audiences. He travels through northern Texas doing this, enjoying his freedom, even though his body aches. He has lived through three wars, and this story is set after the Civil War.
He is offered a fifty-dollar gold piece to deliver a young orphan to her relatives near San Antonio. Her parents and sister had been brutally killed four years ago, and Johanna was kidnapped by the Kiowa raiders and raised as their own. Johanna was recovered by the US Army, and all she knows is her Kiowa family, with apparently little or no memory of her life before.
The Captain accepts this assignment, which proves to be arduous and dangerous. Johanna is quite the wild child, but the relationship that grows between her and the Captain make this journey very worthwhile, both for the characters and for the reader.
Book # 62 Be Frank With Me 3/5 starsI loved the character of Frank, a fourth grade boy who loves to dress in quirky styles, knows unending facts about old movies and their stars, and has very little in common with his peers. He is clearly on the autism spectrum, and this story is narrated by Alice, who becomes his full-time nanny. Alice is sent by the publisher to monitor the progress of Frank's mother, Mimi, as she struggles to complete her novel. Her first novel was a huge success, but nothing has been published in many years. Alice is shut out by Mimi and is thrust full-time with Frank.
While Frank's character is by turns amusing and poignant, I thought that the plot (such as it was) could have used some help. This is purely a character-driven book, with Frank being the star. The supporting characters are not as interesting or as fully-fleshed out. Read this one for Frank.
Book # 63 Another Brooklyn 4/5 starsA beautiful short book, more like a poem, this is filled with fleeting glimpses of a girlhood in 1970s Brooklyn. For August, the grown narrator, beauty is found in her relationships with her 3 best friends, although darkness and danger are always lurking in the corners. It is just a lovely read, very special.
Book # 64 The Gloaming 4/5 starsI am rounding this up from a 3.5 as I really liked it until the end. I am not sure what the author intended with the ending and would love to hear some explanations.
But the book was written very well. The first part of the book is narrated by Pilgrim Jones. Her husband has left her for another woman. She is stunned by this development in her seemingly happy marriage. Pilgrim is then involved in a tragic accident and leaves for Africa to try and escape her guilt and despondency.
The second part of the book is comprised of short multiple chapters about characters we have met in the first part. This is a very unique, well written book, and the general theme is coping with grief and loss. But there are other components in the mix that set it apart.
Mod
I loved the character of Frank, a fourth grade boy who loves to dress in quirky styles, knows unending facts about old movies and their stars, ..."
I loved this book! I still think of Frank now and then :)
Book # 65 Last Girl Before Freeway: The Life, Loves, Losses, and Liberation of Joan Rivers 3/5 starsI did enjoy reading this book, even though I found Joan Rivers to be increasingly mean-spirited and rather unfunny, especially as she grew older. When I occasionally caught her on The Fashion Police in her later years, I used to cringe at the awful things she said. I actually saw her when she was young and starting out, and her outrageousness was refreshing and rather amusing. But I still didn't find her that funny. So when this book became available, I was ambivalent about reading it. I did admire her grit, drive, ambitiousness and determination, and that was portrayed very well in a 2010 documentary about her that I had seen.
The bulk of this book is mostly taken from quotes from other sources. This presents quite a bit of rehashing and repetition, which kept me from giving the book 4 stars. Otherwise, it is a well-researched, readable biography about a very interesting woman. There are a few insinuations that have no back-up, so I think they are mostly gossip. But it certainly spiced up the reading.
Book # 66 The Hidden Keys 3/5 starsThis is a quirky, well-written "puzzle" mystery. I found some of the relationships between the characters a bit hard to process (the honorable thief is best friends with the investigating detective), but it is readable, and something different.
Mod
This is a quirky, well-written "puzzle" mystery. I found some of the relationships between the characters a bit hard to process (the honorable t..."
Sounds quirky!
Book # 67 Commonwealth 3/5 starsI think Ann Patchett writes very well, and the first hundred pages of this book made me think I was going to love it. But I found, as the exploration of the five decades about the lives of four parents and six children went on, that the story started to bog down a bit for me. I also had a bit of trouble keeping in line whose kids belonged to which parent (I don't know why, it wasn't that difficult of an equation).
I remember Bel Canto by Patchett very fondly, but this book did not have the same power as that one for me. However, may people enjoy it very much, so I may be in the minority.
75 Books...More or Less!
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I enjoyed much of this novel. The author's writing reminded me of Richard Price.