Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

August 22, 2023

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

In a community theater production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town, Lara Kenison played the role of Emily when she was 16 years old. It becomes her defining role, and led her to a brief acting career that included commercials, a short-lived TV series, and a motion picture. While doing the part of Emily in summer stock in Tom Lake, Michigan, Lara met struggling actor Peter Duke, who would go on to become a famous movie star. Her adult daughters return to the family farm during the COVIC-19 lockdown and while they are picking cherries, the girls ask Lara to tell them about her acting career and her romance with Duke.

Multi-layered narrative that ponders the meaning of the past and how it shapes who we are. I usually run like crazy from books that are selected for one of those TV book clubs but I decided to give this one a try because I have read the author in the past. I loved the fact that Lara didn't regret or apologize for any of her choices. While Lara's story fascinates her children, it forces them to think about their parents' lives before they married and had children, and also about the direction of their own lives. I love Ann Patchett's writing, and while nothing can beat The Dutch House, Tom Lake is very good indeed. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys literary fiction.

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

Cherry orchard in bloom in northern Michigan

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

August 20, 2023

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

Mia and her twin brother John live with their parents and their autistic brother Eugene in a suburb of Washington DC. Their father is a stay-at-home dad who provides much of Eugene's care. Even during the pandemic, he ensures that Eugene continues to receive the therapy he needs. One day, Dad takes Eugene to the local park for his therapy session but only one of them comes home.

Family drama with a twist of mystery. I thought this was going to be a missing person story, but it turned out to be a story about living with an autistic child. (I know you're not supposed to say this, but I don't like books with autistic characters.) The first half of the book held my interest but I found myself skimming the second half. It reminded me of something that would be a selection for Reese or Jenna's book club. If you like family dramas with lots of angst, this one is for you. If you're looking for a mystery or a missing person story, look elsewhere.

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

Assistive technology keyboard for autistic children

The Maltese Iguana by Tim Dorsey

May 30, 2023

The Maltese Iguana by Tim Dorsey

Serge A. Storms, serial killer and Florida-phile extreme, and his stoner pal Coleman are back for another adventure, this time weathering the Covid-19 pandemic at Pelican Bay Condos, their retiree condo complex in the Florida Keys. Serge on lockdown is a different type of adventure. Once they are fully vaccinated, Serge and Coleman arrange a bus tour (known as Underbelly Tours) around Florida attractions for their fellow condo dwellers. Meanwhile, the CIA is planning a clandestine operation in South America with some questionable outside contractors. 

This could have been called Spies Like Us, with everyone spying on everyone else and trying to figure out what they're doing. While there are amusing interludes, there's not as much action or adventure as previous Serge novels. Coleman does give a lecture on beginner's marijuana use that is worthy of a college instructor. The Serge novels are definitely Florida Weird, with computer hackers, big box store shopping, a showdown of Siri vs. Alexa, viral videos, pandemic hoarding, mistaken identity, and pop culture reference galore. One of the weaker entries in the series.

BTW, the Maltese iguana is a bong that one of Serge's neighbors bought at the local medial marijuana dispensary, which Serge comes to believe is cursed.

A Florida green iguana - I understand they're considered to be pests

Little Souls by Sandra Dallas

December 28, 2022

Little Souls by Sandra Dallas

Denver, 1918 - as World War II is winding down and the Spanish flu epidemic is ramping up, sisters Helen and Lutie Hite are coping the best they can. Helen is a nurse, caring tirelessly for influenza victims while Lute works as a graphic artist for one of Denver's leading department stores. Both sisters are engaged to be married. But their pleasant lives are shattered when Lutie returns home from work to find Helen crouching over a dead man with an ice pick in her hand. More disasters await them as they struggle to hide the man's murder.

I have mixed reactions to Dallas' historical novels. I have really enjoyed some of them, others not so much. This is one of the not so much novels. It's not terrible but the characters didn't engage my interest. I figured out the romance angle way in advance of when it actually happened. Also, the child abuse storyline is difficult to read. "Little souls" was a slang term for child prostitutes. Not recommended unless you are a die-hard historical novel fan.

A warning sign from the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic, much like the advice we received in 2020-2021

Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout

July 31, 2022

Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout

March 2020 - Lucy Barton is living her normal life in New York, meeting friends for dinner, visiting her daughters in Brooklyn, working on her next book tour. Out of the blue, her ex-husband William telephones her and tells her to pack a bag, they are going to stay in Maine for while to escape the COVID pandemic. Lucy hasn't been keeping up with the news and isn't aware of the seriousness of the pandemic, but she agrees to go with him anyway, thinking that it will just be for a week or two.

They end up being stuck together for almost a year as the world goes to hell, until they are able to get the COVID vaccine. At first Lucy hates Maine, she and William manage to reconnect as a couple, even as their daughters' lives and marriage crash and burn, and then as their daughters rebuild their lives and become less dependent on Lucy. Gradually Lucy meets people in Maine and after a year, she is able to return to a new version of her life.

Lucy really irritated me at first - she complains about everything, hates everything. Partially I'm just envious. William arranges everything for them and takes care of Lucy - every trip I've ever taken either alone or with family, I am always responsible for everything. Lucy packs the wrong clothes to take for late winter in Maine, and William orders a coat, jeans, sweaters and sneakers from L. L. Bean. Later, because she's freezing in the winter, he gets two down comforters for her.

Coast of Maine

But as the book went on, I really enjoyed it. This is the fourth book with these characters, and I love the fact that they are senior citizens who have interesting lives, a lot better than their daughters and sons-in-law. I have read most of Elizabeth Strout's books and she is a fabulous writer. Highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.

                                       

            New York City in the middle of the pandemic

This is a picture of my sweet little Asia who died in her sleep one night during April 2020. I also lost a close friend who died from COVID before anyone really knew what it was.

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

If The Stand got together with 2001:  A Space Odyssey and had a night of wild sex, Wanderers would be their love child.

Shortly after a comet passes near the earth, certain Americans begin to exhibit signs of a sleepwalking sickness.  Their family and friends are unable to awaken them (when they try, there are disastrous consequences), and the walkers gradually form a group walking west, with the numbers increasing by ten or twelve people every day.  Where are they going?  How can they exist without water, food, or sleep?  More importantly, is it contagious?  Aided by an artificially intelligent computer called Black Swan, a team of scientists from the Centers for Disease Control race to find answers while trying to combat political agendas, the media, and the conservative right wing.

I got bored around page 300 and started skimming.  Too many unnecessary characters and side plots, too much repetition (white people are bad, religion is bad, conservatives are bad, Republicans are bad, etc.), too many stereotypical characters (e.g., the Homeland Security guy is one step removed from a gorilla, the evil rural redneck who rapes another man, etc.).  The storyline did get more interesting once we got inside the walkers heads. 

(Personal rant:  This is something that I complain about a lot – don’t publishing houses employ editors anymore, and if they do, what are the editors doing?  Editors used to identify the parts of the manuscript that needed to be re-written or cut out.  If you don’t believe me, read Furious Hours by Casey Cep – in the section about Harper Lee, there is a part about how the editors at Lippincott sat down with Lee repeatedly and told her what had to be changed, until Lee did it, and created an American classic.  Wanderers does not need 800 pages to tell its story – a good editor could have cut out about 200 pages without damaging the narrative and made it a much better book.)