The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

September 3, 2023

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

At the age of 12, the unnamed main character is married off to a much older man who is part of their Christian community, and sent to live in Kerala. There is an odd affliction in the family: in every generation, someone dies by drowning. Her husband is so superstitious about it that he refuses to travel by boat, even though he spends twice as much time walking to get where he needs to go. Over the next 75 years, the family grows and endures, despite hardship and tragedy.

OMG, this is unbelievable! I read all 700 pages over the Labor Day weekend - I was emotionally exhausted when I finished. I loved Verghese's earlier novel Cutting for Stone so I was a little hesitant to start his new book. How could anything measure up? But it absolutely did. I loved every word. I feel sorry for the next few authors that I read since I'm going to be ruined for anything else for awhile. A family saga, a political and historical novel, a love story but not a romance. Outstanding, highly recommended for readers of literary fiction or family sagas.

Kerala, India

Trials and Tribulations by Jean Grainger

February 20, 2021

Trials and Tribulations by Jean Grainger

In the final installment in the Robinswood trilogy, Sam and Kate Kennefick have renovated part of the Robinswood estate and reopened it as a hotel. But they need help to run such a large house. Siblings Eve and her husband Bartley (seventh son of a seventh son, one of the travelers, tinkers or gypsies), Lady Lillian and her African American husband Beau, and Aisling and her troubled husband Mark all come to the estate, hopefully to contribute. Even Lillian, who at first is referred to as being as useful "as an ashtray on a motorbike" finds her niche. There are joys and sorrows for all of the family members, with a bittersweet conclusion.

I highly recommend this series if you are looking for a sweet, wholesome read, especially if you enjoy family sagas or women's fiction.

Demelza by Winston Graham

January 31, 2021

Demelza by Winston Graham

To the shock of both their families, Ross Poldark marries his servant Demelza Carne. Although she and Ross are genuinely in love, the shadow of Elizabeth, Ross' first love now married to his jerk cousin Francis, continues to hang over their marriage. While Ross struggles to secure mining rights for the local communities, Demelza tries to adapt to life among the gentry. Their first child Julia is born, to their great joy.

Demelza is a wonderful character, caring, selfless, and thoughtful, even to those who look down on her (i.e., Elizabeth and Francis), working to nurse others back to health when smallpox hits the community. She also aids Ross' cousin Verity who has fallen in love with a man that her brother (Francis the jerk) doesn't approve of. Demelza works to help them get together and in the end is proven right. (I don't like Francis - can you tell?)

This is the second book in the Poldark series. It's full of history, romance, joy and tragedy, and I think it will be my favorite book in the series.

Return to Robinswood by Jean Grainger

January 24, 2021

Return to Robinswood by Jean Grainger

It's 1946, and World War II has finally ended. Sam Kennewick, the new Lord Kennewick following the death of his father, marries Kate Murphy, the caretaker's oldest daughter. They return to Robinswood, the family estate in County Clare, Ireland. Sam's mother has attempted to sell the property but it is too run down for anyone to buy it. Sam and Kate decide to turn it into a hotel, but they will need help in order to rehab the decaying house and property. During the war, Sam's sister Lillian had an affair with Beau, an African American serviceman, that resulted in a baby, but they are unable to marry while Beau is still in the military. He returns to the U.S.A. to be demobilized, but ends up in prison. The second Murphy daughter, Eve, is living with a friend, helping to care for her children while they wait for the friend's husband to come home from the war. The youngest Murphy daughter's husband comes home from the war with a severe case of PTSD that results in increasingly violent behavior. When he ends up in jail, Aisling decides to return to her family home in Ireland. Refurbishing the Robinswood Estate and reopening it as a grand hotel may offer salvation for both the Kennewick and Murphy families

This is the second book in the Robinswood series. It's a very enjoyable read with a heartwarming story and familiar characters. I look forward to reading the final book in the trilogy.

What Once Was True by Jean Grainger

January 15, 2021

What Once Was True by Jean Grainger

Two Irish families, the aristocratic Keneficks and the working class Murphys. The Murphy children have grown up at Robinswood, a grand estate in County Clare, Ireland, where their parents work as caretakers. Lord and Lady Kenefick are British and even though Lord Kenefick gambles and drinks away the family fortune, they work hard to keep up appearances. Their once fine mansion is falling down around them and there is no money for repairs. After Lord Kenefick's death, Lady Kenefick decides to put the estate up for sale and moves to London.

With the loss of Robinswood, the Murphys are forced to find a new home and new jobs. With the start of World War II, two of the Murphy daughters move to England to join the women's air force, while the two Kenefick children are forced to reinvent themselves as well.

This is book one of the Robinswood trilogy, a heartwarming family saga. Anyone who enjoys domestic or women's fiction will enjoy this as well as readers of historical fiction.

Ross Poldark by Winston Graham

January 4, 2021

Ross Poldark by Winston Graham

After serving in the war, Ross Poldark returns to Cornwall to find his whole world turned upside down. His fiancee is married to another man, his father has died, and his family home is overrun with livestock and drunken servants. In spite of everything, he decides to stay and start over.

Ross is your standard brooding hero, an angry young man. As he reconnects with the local residents, he begins making some non-traditional decisions about how he is going to live and work.

This is the first book in the Poldark family saga. It was written in the mid-20th century but has recently been re-issued since PBS is producing it for Masterpiece Theater. There are at least eight more books in the series.

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

September 14, 2019

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

After their father’s sudden death, siblings Maeve and Danny Conroy are quickly evicted from the Dutch House, their family mansion, by their vindictive stepmother.  They aren’t even allowed to take the things that had belonged to their own mother who had abandoned the family when they were young children.  Periodically, Maeve and Danny park across the street from the house and just watch, trying to catch sight of their stepmother or stepsisters.  They are not sure why, since neither wants to enter the house or speak with the inhabitants.  The obsession with the Dutch House continues throughout their lives, as does the mystery of their mother.

With its meaning for each family member, the house itself is actually the main character, the common thread in the book, the thing that keeps pulling them back.  It’s like the house has some kind of magic, with glass walls (it’s noted several times that an outsider can see right through the house), a third floor ballroom, and a (hideous) dining room with a starry ceiling.  When their father purchased it, the house came complete with the furnishings, down to the artwork on the walls and clothing in the closets.  Another reviewer mentioned they were creeped out by the cover art, but the painting on the cover is actually part of the story.

The younger sibling Danny is the narrator, and Maeve is the center of the story of Danny’s life, since she stepped in to fill the role of their missing mother.  Danny has a rather juvenile world view in that he has never questioned or considered many of the things about his life (household help Sandy and Jocelyn being sisters, why his mother deserted the family, his impact on Maeve’s life), long after he should have been mature enough to figure things out.  There is a fairy tale aspect as well, with Maeve and Danny being a modern-day Hansel and Gretel, thrown out of their home by their wicked stepmother, spending their lives longing to find their way home, even having three fairy godmothers who look after them in the form of Sandy, Jocelyn, and Fluffy.

I loved this book, and I think it’s of my best reads for 2019.  Patchett does such a great job with characters and big family sagas.  The Dutch House reminded me a lot of Commonwealth, Patchett’s previous novel, switching back and forth between time periods and locations, and also of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt in the wide scope of the story.  In addition to the fairy tale theme, there is a lot of history repeating itself and things coming full circle.  I think this would be a great book club selection, since there is so much to discuss.  The only thing to be aware of is that the story is not told chronologically, so if your book group doesn’t like stories that jump around, this title is not for you.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in return for a review.

The Best Polish Restaurant in Buffalo by William Kowalski

August 3, 2019

The Best Polish Restaurant in Buffalo by William Kowalski

It’s August, and I needed something a little lighter to read.  This isn't high literature but it's a pleasant read, a family saga based loosely on the author's great-grandmother's life.  Aniela is a Polish farm girl who emigrates to the United States with her mother and sisters, to escape from her brutal father and brothers.  The exact type of abuse isn't stated, but there is a hint of sexual and physical abuse in addition to the women being treated like slaves.  Despite how hard she worked, Aniela loved her life in her small Polish town.  Her mother decides that they will settle in Buffalo, New York, since there is a large Polish community, and it's also smaller and less intimidating that Chicago, the other American city with a large Polish population.

Arriving in Buffalo, the four women find jobs through the Polish community, working hard to create a new life for themselves.  They are employed as house cleaners and laundresses, learning English, finding a place in their new community.  The work is hard, but they all worked hard in Poland, and they are paid fairly for their work and able to save for a house.

Their mother's most important possession is a crock of sourdough starter that she brings with her from Poland.  Aniela and her sisters continue to use and feed the starter, eventually starting their own bakery where they sell authentic Polish sourdough bread and rolls.  The bakery morphs into a famous Polish restaurant that supports the family for decades, until it fails and has to be sold, due to changes in the city's population, and food trends and tastes.

Although the story was interesting, it was disappointing in parts.  The author doesn't describe how the sisters' little bakery evolves into a restaurant (it would have been more interesting to hear about how the restaurant started and flourished through the years, rather than detailing Iggy's wife's sordid affair).  At the end of the book, the story just sort of stops, with Iggy's life in shambles:  the restaurant closes and his livelihood is gone; he is going to have to split the proceeds from the sale of the restaurant with his many cousins; he and his wife have split up and he has moved out.  There is a glimmer of hope that he will be able to start over, since the original sourdough starter has survived all these years, and so will Iggy.

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

July 27, 2019

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope met at the police academy and were rookie cops together.  They weren’t particularly close friends, but end up being neighbors in the New York suburb of Gillam.  Their children grow up together and the youngest two, Kate and Peter, become best friends.  But Brian’s wife Anne is mentally unstable, and when she commits a violent act, the two families are bound together forever.

In hindsight (which is always 20/20), several of the characters realize that they should have seen a tragedy approaching.  There is also a hint of Romeo-and-Juliet, when forbidden lovers Kate and Peter find each other again years later.  As the years pass, several of the characters come to realize that the people they demonized, are just regular people with their good and bad points, and that mental illness is just that, an illness.

Uncle George is somewhat overlooked in all the drama between the two families, but he is actually a wonderful character, the guy who always manages to show up when you need him, no matter what is going on in his life.  He is a hard-working man who takes on his brother’s responsibilities and makes major changes to his life without complaining (Peter realizes that his uncle was only around 30 when he took him in and raised him).  

Overall, I enjoyed the novel but there were a few things I would have changed.  I would have liked to hear from Lena (Francis’s long-suffering wife) about how she felt over the years.  Some episodes are over-explained and got a little long (yeah, the Stanhopes are genetically prone to alcoholism, we got it, no need to explain more).  Less teen-aged angst would have been okay, too.  The ending was a little unsatisfying.  I’m not sure what I was expecting but like a lot of literary fiction, the book sort of just stops when one of the characters realizes that they are all just fine.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames

Monday, June 10, 2019.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames

I finished a great book yesterday, The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames.  It's a family epic based on the author's family legends.  The characters are great - the title character Stella really comes to life, and the supporting characters are wonderful, too.  The story starts in Stella's village of Ieovoli in southern Italy where from early childhood, Stella has a number of brushes with death.  Is Stella just unlucky, or are other forces at work?  I was bothered by the casual violence toward women by their fathers and husbands (the men who should have been protecting them) and how everyone just accepted the way that women were treated.  I highly recommend this title.

I received a pre-publication galley from author Juliet Grames in return for an honest review - she was out on a book tour at the time but was still thoughtful enough to have one of her co-workers get the copy out to me.