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

The Same Bright Stars by Ethan Joella

July 8, 2024

The Same Bright Stars by Ethan Joella

After running his family's restaurant for 30 years, Jack decides that the time is right to sell when a major restaurant chain makes him an outstanding offer. Yet he feels guilty, like he is letting down his employees in some way. In addition, one of his employees is stealing from the restaurant. Then his ex-fiancee returns to town to look after her dying mother. At the same time, Jack learns he has a grown son from a summer romance when he was in college. Suddenly his well-ordered life is in chaos.

Another quiet lovely novel from the author of A Quiet Life, about love, dealing with loss, and the connections we have to others. Read this, and also The Wedding People by Alison Espach. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy literary fiction.

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

A small town restaurant

Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris

May 17, 2024

Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris

When Charles II came to the throne of England, one of his first acts was to hunt down and punish the 59 men who had signed the order of execution for his father, Charles I.  Two of the men, Edward Whalley and his son-in-law, William Goffe, escaped to America, setting off the greatest manhunt of the 17th century.

Well-researched historical fiction about a turbulent period in English history: the restoration of the monarchy, the hunt for the regicides, the Black Death, the London fire. (But really, when hasn't English history been turbulent?) POV changes from the fugitives Whalley and Goffe, to Richard Nayler who was charged with hunting them down, and Goffe's wife Frances. The audiobook was outstanding - I listened to it while I was planting my garden and baking. FYI, Nayler is a fictional character synthesized from a group of regicide hunters, but the other characters were real people. Whalley and Goffe were never captured, and their final resting places are unknown. This is historical fiction at its best. Recommended for fans of accurate and well-researched historical fiction.

William Goffe

Edward Whalley

Set for Life by Andrew Ewell

December 4, 2023

Set for Life by Andrew Ewell

A nameless creative writing professor who is on a deadline to get something (anything, really) published has major writer's block. He is a failure at writing, at teaching, at being a husband, at life in general. His wife is a successful novelist and she encourages him at every turn. In typical male midlife crisis fashion, he begins an affair with one of his wife's friends, thinking that this is the answer to all of his problems. When his now-estranged wife publishes another novel with a character based on him, his envy knows no bounds and he feels he is entitled to some kind of compensation. After he manages to implode his entire life, he retreats to Florida where his parents (who he has always looked down on as failures) own a small beachside hotel.

All of the characters in this novel are unlikeable, with the exception of Carlos, the visiting writer. The main character is immature and a complete snob - everyone and everything is beneath him, and he feels that success should be just handed to him rather than having to work for it. It's always someone else's fault. Also, the main character drinks WAY too much, in fact many of the characters drink almost constantly. It's fairly obvious that he is depressed and everyone knows it but him, and several of the characters try to throw him a lifeline (including the department chair, who he despises, who not only doesn't press charges after the main character almost burns down his office, but he tries to help him find a new job). The writing is good, there is some dark humor, and it's a quick read - like a train wreck, you can't look away. I sincerely hope this novel isn't autobiographical.

Is it just me or does anyone else think this is a really boring cover?

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

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

The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop

May 17, 2023

The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop

Before starting college, Rachel and her best friend Caroline spent a summer traveling in Europe, ending up working at a dive bar at an upscale resort on a Greek island. Eighteen years later, she returns with her husband to find the place greatly changed, now a tourist destination rather than an exclusive resort. But when she runs into a woman she worked with, memories that Rachel would rather forget begin to surface.

Similar to My Dark Vanessa, with teenaged girls being abused by older manipulative men. I thought this would be a good summer read, but it's not - rather than being fun and suspenseful, it's depressing and there were no surprises. I didn't feel a connection to the characters or particularly care what happened to them. Rachel in particular is completely brainwashed. It felt like the author was trying to cash in on the current Me Too movement. I did a lot of skimming, especially in the second half of the book. Disappointing.

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

Greek islands

The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring

May 12, 2023

The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring

Dalton is a small town in Maine, where everyone is linked to everyone else: Bridget Frazier's parents own the lumber mill, the largest employer in the town; Bridget is married to police officer Nate Theroux and they have a new baby; Nate's mother Bev manages the local nursing home and is having an affair with library director Trudy Haskell (both Bev and Trudy's husbands know about the affair and choose to ignore it); Trudy is married to the town doctor; Rose Douglas is one of Dr. Haskell's patients and is in an abusive relationship with the father of her children. Then the sudden death of a town resident affects everyone living in Dalton.

Taking place over the course of one year, this is a quiet lovely book about interlinked lives that will break your heart. In a small town, everyone knows everyone else's business, public or private, or so they think. But you never really know what is going on inside someone else's life or marriage, no matter how perfect it looks from the outside. Readers who enjoyed A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella will enjoy The Road to Dalton.

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

Aroostook County, northern Maine

Pomegranate by Helen Elaine Lee

March 30, 2023

Pomegranate by Helen Elaine Lee

After four years of incarceration on a drug conviction, Ranita is about to be released. She longs to return to her two children, but release means leaving her partner Maxine behind. Once back in Boston, Ranita finds it increasingly difficult to avoid old habits and old companions. Ranita remembers her father giving her a pomegranate once. A pomegranate has chambers like a heart that are filled with beautiful jewel-like seed, full of juice that is sweet and tart at the same time, much like life.

Really slow moving story. I liked Ranita's visits with Drew but would have like to know more about why Geneva was the way she was, also about Maxine other than she is a militant black woman. I found the characters to be largely stereotypes. The characters and setting have been done before - nothing new here. Depressing.

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

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

February 25, 2023

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

After divorcing her abusive husband 12 years earlier, Olivia McAfee and her son Asher live a quiet life in New Hampshire. Olivia has a successful beekeeping business, and her son is a high school senior and star hockey player. When Asher's girlfriend is found dead, Asher is accused of murder. But in the course of the trial, unexpected facts are revealed that point to another suspect.

Picoult once again takes on current topics, including domestic violence, abusive fathers, and gender reassignment/correction. I believe this is her first collaboration with another author for a full-length novel. Like most of her books, the reader is seeking answers most of the way through the book (although I guessed the truth shortly after Lily, the girlfriend, is discovered at the foot of the stairs). The characters backstories are gradually revealed in flashbacks; Lily's story is told backward, from the day of her death to the time she and her mother moved to New Hampshire. Olivia's history with her abusive doctor husband isn't much of a surprise (you never know what's going on inside a marriage), but the episodes of abuse go on longer than necessary - does the reader need to hear about EVERY time Brandon abused Olivia? I also got tired of the teenaged angst (why hasn't he called me? did she break up with me? does he still like me? is she sorry she slept with me? Lotsa drama), and there was a lot of repetition. Really, the book could have been 100 pages shorter without damaging the narrative, and considering how long the book was, there was no resolution with either of the fathers - one minute they're part of the story, and the next minute they're just gone. I'm glad I stuck with it, because the story got more interesting about halfway in. I listened to the audiobook which had two different narrators for Olivia and Lily. 

The parts about bees and beekeeping were interesting, and often had parallels to the story. Mad honey is apparently a type of honey that can make you very sick or affect your mind if you eat it. Personally, I don't like the taste of honey (although I have a honey and orange blossom shampoo from Beekman 1802 that smells divine), and I have a mild allergy to bee stings.

This would be an excellent choice for a book club since there are many topics to discuss. Recommended.

Different types of beehives

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

March 4, 2022

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

Adam Wright is a producer of a successful string of suspense dramas. He suffers from a condition called face blindness, where he is unable to recognize anyone's face, not even his own wife. They have been married for ten years. Every year on their anniversary, they give each other traditional gifts associated with the year of marriage: paper for the first year, cotton for the second year, leather for the third year, etc. Every year on their anniversary, Adam's wife writes him a letter that she refuses to let him see.

After ten years of marriage, things aren't so hot anymore. When they win a getaway weekend to a remote cabin in Scotland (which neither of them remember entering), the Wrights jump at the opportunity to put some life back in their marriage. But one of them has other plans and arranged for them to "win" the getaway, and not just to spend a romantic weekend with their partner. Plus there is a snowstorm heading their way, and there is someone else on the property spying on them. Sounds perfect, doesn't it?

Ah, the weekend getaway to an isolated location - when will people every learn? Add in three unreliable narrators, ten years of marriage, and ten years of secrets. There is a good twist in the middle that I didn't see coming. Fans of psychological fiction will enjoy.

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

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger

September 26, 2022

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger

Hannah and her husband Bruce along with two other couples decide to go away for a long weekend at an isolated cabin. Hannah isn't wild about the idea since it means leaving their toddler home with Grandma, but she thinks her husband might be cheating on her and this will be a chance to reconnect. All six of them have secrets from their partners and each other. The cabin is opulent but creepy, the property is creepy, the host is creepy, even the private chef is creepy. And there's a hurricane bearing down on them. As well as a maniac.

I just finished two novels that were literary fiction, so I needed something different, a change of pace, so I decided to try Lisa Unger's upcoming suspense novel. This is the first book I've read where the plot depends so heavily on DNA technology. 

People should know better by now than to go someplace that is basically cut off from civilization, especially when your companions are more like frenemies than friends. You know it's not going to end well. What's so great about being off the grid and unable to use your cell phone or computer??? 

Most of the characters were annoying and the ending was a little too neat. There are two story lines and it was interesting to see how they tied together. Overall, I wasn't that wowed, but fans of suspense fiction will like it.

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

A  secluded rustic cabin, opulent but possibly creepy

Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout

February 8, 2022

Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout

Lucy Barton's ex-husband William has always been a mystery to her. A college professor, they had been married 20 years and had two daughters when William told her that he had met a younger woman and wanted a divorce. Lucy knew that William had had other affairs during their marriage but agreed to a divorce. Nevertheless, the two remained close because of their children. When William's second marriage falls apart (he comes home to find their apartment stripped and his second wife and daughter gone - serves him right), the first person he calls is Lucy, and she helps him get his life back together. When William discovers a family secret, he asks Lucy to take a trip with him to investigate.

Strout wrote two previous books about these same characters, and I enjoy her exploration of their marriage and also their post-marriage lives. I think the two other books are stronger, or at least, this is my least favorite, probably because William doesn't treat Lucy very well, yet she is always there for him. The next book about these same two people, Lucy by the Sea, is coming out mid-2022.

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.