The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

 August 30, 2020

Since they were children, Alina Dziak knew she was going to marry Tomascz Slaski because they were perfect for each other.  In 1938, when he turns 18, Tomascz leaves their small town to travel to Krakow to attend the university so that he can become a doctor like his father.  He and Alina become engaged before he leaves, and Tomascz vows he will always return to Alina.  But World War II is looming and the Nazis interrupt their plans when they invade Poland.  Seventy years later, Alina suffers a stroke and what may be her final wish is for her granddaughter Alice to go to Poland to find out what happened to Alina's family.

This is another one of those historical novels that has a historical narrative that alternates with a modern narrative.  It's more like a historical fiction/women's fiction hybrid, since the modern story is pure women's fiction.  This seems to be Kelly Rimmer's style, based on the other books she has written.  It took me a while to get into this one, mostly because I didn't like Alice, the main character in the modern storyline.  She was a bully and a know-it-all, even though she was remarkably stupid at times.  Her husband was almost perfect, like a guy out of a fantasy romance novel.  However, Alina and Tomascz's story redeemed the novel, and although I still disliked Alice, I stayed with the book because I wanted to find out about their story.

Readers who enjoyed The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly, or All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr should enjoy this one, although I thought those were all better books.  Women who like women's fiction will read it for the modern narrative.

Death Beside the Seaside by T. E. Kinsey

July 28, 2020

Death Beside the Seaside by T. E. Kinsey

July 1910 – after two years of prodding, Lady Hardcastle has agreed that she and Florence Armstrong, her faithful sidekick and maid, should take a holiday at the seaside.  They choose the holiday town of Weston-super-Mare, a couple of hours’ drive from Bristol.  In their new and improved automobile, they set out for traditional English holiday fun, including toffee apples, donkey rides, and Punch-and-Judy shows.  When they arrive at their elegant boutique hotel, they are surprised to find an international group of guests, while the sea is noticeably absent (the tide goes out about a mile at low tide).  But more surprises await Lady H. and Flo as their fellow guests begin to vanish one by one, and they are once again pressed into service to solve the mysterious goings on at the hotel, while at the same time not generating any unfavorable publicity.

Interesting that I picked up two books in a row set in an English seaside towns.  But the tone of T. E. Kinsey’s mystery is totally different from the previous title, much lighter and more humorous.  No one at the hotel is who they appear to be, except for the manager and some of the staff.  We also learn more about Flo and Lady Hardcastle's backgrounds and past exploits.  Characters from previous Lady Hardcastle mysteries make appearances, and there is a great deal of fun and wit as always.  I suggest starting with the first book in the series if you are looking for a light read to relax with.

Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan

 July 24, 2020

Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan

Tilda and her mother Grace were never close.  Tilda always suspected it was because she inherited an ability to see the dead from her father, a trait that her mother detested.  After her father’s death, the best thing to happen to Tilda was moving into Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel in Brighton, where Tilda found a second mother in Queenie and a family in the quirky group of employees and guests at the hotel.  But shortly after their move, Grace inexplicably shipped Tilda off to a remote boarding school, wrenching her away from the only real home she had ever known.  After Grace’s death over 40 years later, Tilda fears that she has inherited not only her father’s psychic ability, but also her mother’s mental illness.  She is desperate for answers, and with her faithful canine companion Eli by her side, Tilda returns to Brighton to search for answers about their lives, why her mother always seemed to be punishing her, and what really happened to her father.

My sciatica was acting up yesterday, so I spent most of the day lying down on a heating pad, reading.  I was fortunate to have Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel checked out from the library.  I fell in love with Queenie and her hotel at the first description.  Brighton in the 1970’s sounds like a child’s paradise.  There is a slight supernatural element in Tilda’s ability to see those who are no longer living – she can’t always distinguish between the living and the dead.  Things aren’t always the way you think they are (especially when you’re a child) and the plotline has a number of unexpected developments.  But children also accept some things without question, while adults might be put off or make judgments.

Eli the dog is a wonderful character, and yes, he is fine and living with Tilda at the end of the book.  Queenie also is a marvelous flamboyant character, but she makes only sporadic appearances until the middle of the book.

Although the story has a dark side and there are complex issues here, I found Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel to be a delightful and engaging read.  I finished the novel in a day, and I highly recommend it if you enjoy quirky fiction.

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

 July 23, 2020

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

On the day before New Year's Eve, eight people attend a viewing of an apartment that is for sale.  Each person has their own reasons for being there, ranging from the mundane to the bizarre (including a guy wearing a rabbit head).  They are eight strangers, until a bank robber bursts into the apartment waving a gun, and suddenly they become eight hostages.  As they begin to talk to each other, they realize that they have more in common than it first appears.  But as the situation progresses and the police surround the building, the eight anxious people are forced to decide how they will move forward (in more ways than one).

Although not as good as Backman's A Man Called Ove (but seriously, what could be?), this is a novel filled with the author's signature wit and exploration of complex human relationships.  It's also a sort of "locked-room" mystery that keeps twisting and turning on itself, and just about when you think you have the story figured out, you find out that you're wrong.  The characters are ALL unreliable witnesses (except maybe the young policeman Jack) and probably the worst hostages ever.  Although there are themes of depression and suicide that run through the book, don't let that stop you from reading it, because Backman ultimately delivers a story that is heartwarming and life-affirming.  Probably one of the best books of 2020.

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

The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

July 16, 2020 

The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que

Huong is born into a Vietnam torn by war, and as her parents and uncles go off to fight in a conflict that is tearing the country apart, she is left in the care of her grandmother in Ha Noi. They survive repeated aerial bombings until eventually they are forced to flee to the countryside.  Huong’s voice set in the last years of the Vietnam War alternates with her grandmother Dieu Lan, who shares the story of her childhood and her family, including her flight to Ha Noi with her five children in 1955 and the many times that she has had to reinvent her life.

The only thing that most of us know about Vietnam is the Vietnam War of the late 1960’s/early 1970’s when the United States as well as other United Nations countries became involved in a conflict to oppose the communist regime of North Vietnam.  But Vietnam is an ancient country, and artifacts have been found that date back to the Paleolithic Age.  Vietnam has a long and turbulent history, and in the 20^th century alone, the Vietnamese people suffered through wars, famine, communist land reform where landowners were forced off their land or killed and their property reorganized as collectives, and reunification that resulted in over a quarter of a million residents of South Vietnam being sent to re-education camps that were nothing more than forced labor camps.  In the novel, Huong notes that many of the governmental crimes against the Vietnamese people have been excluded from their history and are forbidden to be discussed.

Readers who enjoyed In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner, When the Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe, or Pachinko by Min Jin Lee will enjoy this multi-generational family history of Vietnam.  The author is a poet and it shows in her writing.  However, you should be aware that there are a number of incredibly brutal incidents that make the reader wonder how much one country can be expected to endure.  Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys historical fiction or books about Vietnam.

Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry

 July 12, 2020

Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry

Career criminals Maurice and Charlie wait in the ferry boat terminal in Algeciras, Spain.  They have been told that Maurice's missing daughter Dilly will be either arriving on the ferry boat coming from Tangier, Morocco, or departing on one of the ferries going to Tangier.  In between handing out missing person flyers and terrorizing the waiting passengers, they reminisce about their long life of crime together.

Kevin Barry won the Dublin IMPAC award in 2013 for his previous novel City of Bohane, set in a gritty Ireland of the not-too-distant future.  Night Boat to Tangier is written in the same Irish colloquial dialect, salted with frequent vulgarities.  Sometimes it's hard to figure out which of the two main characters is speaking/thinking, since the author doesn't bother with phrases like "Maurice said" or "Charlie replied."  If you're easily offended by curse words and disturbed by various types of abuse, Kevin Barry is not for you.

This is my second week of retirement, and it's been hectic to say the least.  On Monday, a woman in an SUV hit the front end of my car when she was turning left into a parking lot (or maybe she was trying to make a u-turn).  Tuesday was spent finding a repair shop and getting a rental car, a cute little Hyundai Elantra hatchback.  Hyundai wasn't on my new-car-buying radar but the Elantra is a small sedan, very quiet and nice to drive.  Today I'm venturing out to the library to return a couple of books and to the grocery store for a few items.

On the plus side, my good friend Marj Monaghan stopped by and we had coffee and conversation on my patio in the backyard.  She brought a yummy carrot cake and flowers from Whole Foods.  It's always so good to catch up with her.

The rescue group (As Good as Gold) has identified an adopter that they think will be a good fit for foster guy Tommy.  They are coming to visit him on Tuesday.  Is he a cutie or what?

Tommy, the foster dog

I also talked to Bonnie at the library, who had some good work gossip in addition to needing to vent.  She is going to come over and drink wine on the patio one of these days.  AND I got the first shipment of wine from Winc - the LIT staff gave me a gift certificate as a retirement gift.  So much fun to try different kinds of wine!

Feast of Sorrow by Crystal King

 July 11, 2020

Feast of Sorrow by Crystal King

Thrasius is a Greek slave, purchased by patrician Marcus Gavius Apicius to be his new cook.  Apicius is a gourmand, and also ambitious - he wants to be Caesar's gastronomical adviser for his banquets.  He is blocked by rival gourmand Octavius Publius, Caesar's current adviser, who is threatened by Thrasius' extraordinary cooking skills.  Thrasius unexpectedly finds a home, friends, and a family in the Gavius household, but his happy life is threatened when the entire household including the slaves is caught up in Roman politics and intrigue.

I love books set in ancient Rome, also about food and cooking, with well-developed characters, so this one checked a lot of boxes for me.  It was why I enjoyed Anthony Bourdain's lukewarm mystery Bone in the Throat - the mystery itself wasn't that great, but the descriptions of food and cooking were wonderful.

Apicius is the first known gourmand from ancient times, although there were undoubtedly others when you consider the scope of the banquets that the patricians held.  He left a collection of recipes (that his slave chef undoubtedly developed) that are the first known cookbook, dating from the 1st century C.E.  While there is no record of any of the slaves, there are a number of historical characters throughout the book.  For a look at life in ancient Rome, you may want to watch the PBS series I, Claudius, based on the two novels by Robert Graves, I, Claudius and Claudius the God.  The series is available on Acorn TV (subscription is around $6/month).

I needed a change after reading two mediocre books, and this fit the bill nicely.  Great cover art, too.  Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction set in the ancient world.

Vanishing Falls by Poppy Gee

August 7, 2020

Vanishing Falls by Poppy Gee

Celia Lily lives in the town of Vanishing Falls on the Australian island of Tasmania.  She has it all - she is rich, beautiful, is married to a doting husband, and lives in a mansion.  But then she disappears one evening after returning home from a charity event.  The town residents immediately suspect her husband, who has some expensive hobbies like orchids and art collecting, and at least one unsavory secret vice.  But just about everyone in this town has secrets that they would rather keep hidden.  Did Celia disappear of her own volition, or did someone else make her vanish?

Although the premise really appealed to me, it was a slog to finish this one.  Almost all of the main characters were unlikable, and the one that you were supposed to like was somewhere on the autism spectrum.  Nothing wrong with that, except that she didn't understand sarcasm, irony or other figures of speech, as well as not having a filter.  This is fine at first but her meltdowns and other actions start to wear on the reader.  The atmosphere was oppressive as well - it rained almost constantly, and when it wasn't raining, it was snowing.  I personally don't need to be hit over the head repeatedly about the setting and the rotten characters (didn't have to hear about the guy with the meth addiction scoring drugs and getting high quite so often).  I got bored about halfway through due to the repetitiousness and started skimming.  The solution to the mystery wasn't even all that interesting.  The only reason I read it was that I received an eARC from the publisher, so I felt obligated to finish it.

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

Gentleman Jack: the Real Anne Lister by Anne Choma

August 5, 2020

Gentleman Jack: the Real Anne Lister by Anne Choma

Anne Lister, the subject of the BBC series "Gentleman Jack," lived in the early 19th century.  She is best known for having the first recorded same-sex marriage in 1834.  But thinking that was the only thing notable about Anne is selling her short.  She was highly intelligent and read widely, and was unusually physically fit for a woman of her time.  She was a businesswoman and landowner who traveled the world, mingled with aristocrats and was presented to the King and Queen at the Danish court.  Anne was a prolific diarist, recording her daily life in obsessive detail from the time she was in her late teens until her untimely death at the age of 49.  From an early age, Anne knew she was attracted to women and the parts of her diary that dealt with her sexual exploits is written in a code that she devised.

While male homosexuality was a criminal offense in Georgian and Victorian England, lesbianism was largely ignored and virtually tolerated.  Almost everyone who knew her in Yorkshire appears to have been aware of her sexual preferences.  Butch lesbians were called Jacks, hence the title of the series, although Anne seems to have been unaware that the local populace referred to her as Gentleman Jack.

This is the companion book to the BBC series, covering the years from 1832-1834.  There are few portraits of Anne:  if she had lived a few years longer, there may have been photographs of her.  Below is one of the few portraits of Anne Lister, which still hangs in Shibden Hall, her family's estate that she owned and managed.  From a young age, Anne dressed in a black dress and greatcoat, with sturdy black boots.  She had an androgynous appearance.

This is Suranne Jones who portrays Anne Lister in the series.

Gentleman Jack is quite a different picture of 19th century England than usually presented.  The text is well-researched and the narrative flows smoothly.  Very interesting biography.

Memento Mori by Ruth Downie

August 2, 2020

Memento Mori by Ruth Downie

Gaius Petreius Ruso, retired army medicus, is living with his wife Tilla, baby daughter Mara, and two slaves with his wife's Briton family.  He spends his days working on the family farm until his former clerk Albanus arrives with the unexpected news that Serena, wife of Ruso's friend Valens, has been found murdered in the sacred springs of Aquae Sulis (modern day Bath).  Valens is considered to be the prime suspect, and he has sent Albanus to urge Ruso to come to Aquae Sulis to help him.  Instead of traveling alone, Tilla insists on traveling with him, along with the baby, the nanny, and their second slave to mind their luggage.  But when Ruso arrives in the famous resort town, he finds that the situation is a lot more complicated than he expected.  Serena's father Pertinax, who not only loathes Valens but is one of Ruso's frenemies, is already on the scene and howling for Valens' blood.  It turns out everyone in the town knew that Serena had a boyfriend, who has conveniently disappeared.  In addition, the chief engineer, the high priest, and the baths manager all want to hush up the crime so as not to damage the town's reputation and scare away the tourists.  Ruso and Tilla must work together to solve the crime and clear Valens' name so that he can retain custody of his twin sons.

The 8th installment in Ruth Downie's Medicus series featuring Roman military doctor Gaius Petreius Ruso and his British wife Tilla is just as well-researched as previous titles in the series.  It is also a snapshot of two marriages where neither partner understands the other, but Ruso and Tilla care deeply for each other and are determined to continue stumbling forward together, as compared to the crumbling marriage of Valens and Serena.  Valens has treated Serena shabbily and she has fallen out of love with him and found someone who loves and values her; Valens, like many men before and since, doesn't particularly want to be with Serena, but he doesn't want anyone else to have her, either.  A sad but all too common tale.

Recommended for anyone who enjoys accurate historical mysteries or novels set in ancient Britain.