The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

October 22, 2024

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

The mighty red is many things: the river, the local high school football team, history, sugar beets. Crystal works as a trucker, hauling sugar beets from farms to the local processing plant. She named her daughter Kismet, hoping for a better future for her. At least two boys are in love with her, Hugo and Gary, and want to marry her. Kismet, meanwhile, has plans to go to college instead. 

I have an on and off relationship with Erdrich’s writing. I have loved some of her books and a few I really disliked. This one is somewhere in the middle. The first half of the book was really slow - the second half was better. There are many themes:  guilt, shame, resentment, destruction of the land through farming and mining, parental relationships, crimes and passion. I know a lot more now about sugar beet farming than I did a few days ago. Not her best effort. Fans of Erdrich’s writing will still want to read it.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

A sugar beet, one of the villains of the story

Courting Dragons by Jeri Westerson

October 20, 2024

Courting Dragons by Jeri Westerson

Will Somers, professional fool to Henry VIII, navigates the intrigues of the Tudor court. His job is to learn the weak points and secrets of the courtiers, to entertain Henry. But Will has a secret of his own: he is hiding his bi-sexuality, which would be an affront to Henry and would cost Will his job if Henry found out. When someone attempts to blackmail Will, instead of finding the blackmailer at the meeting place, Will finds a dead body.

The first book of a new series by the author of the Crispin Guest historical mysteries. Not as engaging as Westerson's other series, maybe because there is more emphasis on Will jumping in and out of the beds of various members of the king's household of both sexes. Well researched and historically accurate regarding politics and events with fictional characters mixed with real people. The next book in the series comes out in November so I will read that one before I make my final judgment about this series. For fans of historical fiction set in the Tudor period.

Drawing of Will Somers

Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry

October 19. 2024

Old God's Time by.Sebastian Barry

Tom Kettle is a retired detective living in a small town on the Irish Sea. Two young detectives come to visit him to talk about reopening a case from ten years earlier. Their visit stirs up old memories for Tom, about his wife and children as well as his career.

DNF at about 40%. I loved Barry's earlier book Days Without End, but this one just dragged. The narrator on the audiobook seemed flat. Disappointing, not recommended.

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson

October 18, 2024

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson

Constance Haverhill travels to the seaside as a companion to Mrs. Fog who has just recovered from influenza. Since she is still convalescent, most of the time she leaves Constance on her own. Constance soon meets a young woman named Poppy Wirral who rides a motorcycle and sweeps Constance into her circle of friends.

Part of the problem that I had with this novel is that I had just finished reading four really excellent books (The Women, Forgotten on Sunday, The God of the Woods, and The Song of Achilles), and this one didn't compare to any of those. Another part of the problem is that it was just a silly premise: a group of young society women in 1919 who rode around on motorcycles when they weren't going to tea dances or picnicking with eligible bachelors. There were a lot of characters and the story got bogged down somewhere in the middle. Took me forever to get through it, and I gave up and started skimming. I read and enjoyed the author's previous book Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, but this wasn't her best effort.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Motorcycle with sidecar, circa 1919

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

October 18, 2024

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Achilles, hero of Troy, was the son of King Pelleus and the goddess Thetis. At his birth, there was a prophecy that he would be the greatest of the Greek warriors, the best of the Greeks. As a boy, he meets Patroclus, an exiled prince who comes to live at Achilles' father's court. They grow up together and are educated together by the centaur Chiron. When war with Troy breaks out, they travel together to Troy, where Achilles fulfills the prophecy that he is the greatest Greek warrior, but comes to realize that Patroclus is the best of the Greeks.

A retelling of Homer's Iliad, the story of Achilles and the Trojan War, told from the viewpoint of Achilles' companion Patroclus. It's unknown if they were lovers or just besties, but Miller portrays them as both. I really enjoyed the author's previous book Circe, but I think I loved this one more. If you enjoy retellings of mythology or fairy tales, try Costanza Casati's novel Clytemnestra or A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes - the "heroes" don't come off so well in those versions as they did in the Iliad. Recommended for readers who enjoy Greek mythology or fantasy fiction.

Patroclus and Achilles in bronze

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

October 15, 2024

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

The Van Laar family own a large swath of land in the Adirondacks region of upstate New York, where they employ many of the local residents to run their exclusive summer camp. The camp is mainly for the children of their wealthy friends. But when their daughter Barbara goes missing from the camp, panic erupts immediately, because she isn't the first Van Laar child to go missing.

There were around 800 holds on this at the library, so I was skeptical about whether it would be worth the wait, but it totally was. I never went to summer camp, but if it was anything like this, I probably would have hated it. That said, this was a really enjoyable book as well as a quick read that kept me turning the pages. Good storytelling, interesting characters with many different viewpoints, and a dual timeline with two linked mysteries. The reader gets the backstory of many of the characters, which helps explain their actions and motivations. Many of the female characters could have been a little stronger, a little smarter, but they were a product of their upbringing and the time they lived in. The 1970s were a time when women were just starting to break out of the stereotypes of the 1950s and 1960s (aka the dark ages). Even when I graduated from high school in 1971, there were three acceptable career path for women who were college educated: teacher, nurse, or secretary, and those were only acceptable until you got married and had a family. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys a good story.

Pan, the god of the woods, source of the word panic

Forgotten on Sunday by Valerie Perrin

October 13, 2024

Forgotten on Sunday by Valerie Perrin

Justine works as a nursing assistant at an assisted living facility in her small town. She loves her job, and her favorite resident is Helene, an elderly woman with dementia who rarely speaks. But when they are alone, Helene sometimes tells Justine about her life, and that she spends her days at the beach, waiting for her husband and daughter. Justine writes down the story for Helene's family, for when she is gone. Helene's family visits regularly but many of the residents wait in vain on Sundays for a family member or friend to visit - they are forgotten on Sunday. But lately, someone at the facility has been calling the residents' families, telling them that their loved one has passed away. But when the family arrives, they find their family member alive and happy to see them. 

I unexpectedly loved this character-driven story, with its parallel timelines and interwoven stories, and themes of family secrets and lost loves. Valerie Perrin is a celebrated French author whose novels have been translated into 30 languages, although this was the first time I read anything by her. Highly recommended for readers of literary fiction.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.