After Annie - Anna Quindlen

Genre: Contemporary Literary Fiction

Anna Quindlen’s After Annie is a beautiful look at the impact of grief in the year after a devastating death. Annie passes out in her kitchen and dies. Quindlen explores the impact of this loss on her children, particularly Ali; her husband Bill; her best friend Annemarie; and the elderly residents at home where she worked. This study of grief is beautifully rendered.

These characters are thoroughly developed. I love books with multiple perspectives and such is the case here. I resonated most with Ali.I have spent a fair amount of time in the last ten years trying to process the impact of grief on my family - on me through the loss of my 8 year old brother when I was 7. My heart was right with Ali. I can remember aging fairly quickly after that tragedy. I’ve often wondered who I’d be if we had grown up together. Like Ali, for a time, I lost my parents as well as my brother. Bill’s grief was poignant, and Anna captures his confusion and loss. Annemarie becomes lost to addiction for a brief time (again). I am grateful for the counseling that this family in the book received. We have come a long way from the early 70s to be sure. Quindlen’s gentle empathy toward all of these lost characters is lovely to read. I am grateful, too, that love wins, warts and all.

I can’t recommend After Annie highly enough. Quindlen’s gentle insight into this very realistic family situation worked for me very well. I think if you are early in the grieving a loss space, Quindlen offers hope. If you are a life timer like I am, you might find a kind of comfort in knowing that other families, other daughters have walked a similar journey. In many ways Anna Quindlen’s After Annie feels much like a good friend to me. 

The Fury - Alex Michaelides

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Suspense, Literary

Have you ever felt like the book gods are sending you books purposefully, like with a pattern? I put Alex Michaelides’ The Fury on hold because of the author. When it arrived, I found myself again on an island with a murder - much like One Perfect Couple. Also, I thought I was in a book where a writer was writing as a writer - using the structure elements a bit like You Could Make This Place Beautiful. Perhaps the similarities end there but still. Michaelides expertly uses a second person point of view to tell a tale of murder and betrayal. And…he gives us an insiders’ view of a broken man. Elliot loves Lana-a beautiful actress whose work saved him as a child in a darkened theater. Lana loves Jason who is betraying their marriage through an affair with her best friend Kate. For a bunch of creatives revenge must be plotted - perhaps like a play. The four travel to Lana’s Greek island, and along with her maid Agathi and the island caretaker Nikos, plans unfold. The Fury takes hold. 

The voice and the structure are what engaged me most here.  I love the way Michaelides uses 2nd person to tell this story of love, deception, and murder. I’d like to call Elliot unreliable, but he seems to know exactly what he is doing. He is careful to tell his story, releasing details when he feels most appropriate. He is very honest about structuring his story to best flatter himself. He presents himself as a playwright and tries to shape his narrative like a play. He very much tries to create a Greek tragedy - to present himself as an expert in these. The twists and turns keep coming, and he sets up the bit of a surprise ending nicely - no spoilers. The characters very much bring to life the notion of old Hollywood and Broadway as outsiders see it - endless wealth, love affairs and betrayals. Everybody loves Lana, an iconic star, even Nikos who brings in a mysterious Greek - moody and dark and private. She embodies the kind of self absorption that I would expect from someone of her stature. I am interested in how she can take control in some areas and be oddly overwhelmed in others. Kate and Lana offer an interesting glimpse of an unusual friendship. To talk about it too much would offer spoilers I’m thinking.

Rarely in real life do we take the opportunity to fully examine our motivation, actions, and the consequences of them. Eliot takes us on a fascinating journey as he does so. I could reflect on how I tell myself stories in the same way that Eliot does albeit with not as dramatic an outcome, but probably not today. Today I will reflect on a good book. I love good writing, and Michaelides offers excellence in The Fury. 

Book Cover of The Fury by Alex Michaelides

The River We Remember - William Kent Kreuger

Genre - Contemporary/Historical? Fiction; Literary Fiction

In the epilogue of The River We Remember, William Kent Krueger writes, “Because we are only one part of the whole, the river we each of us remembers is different, and there are many versions of the stories we tell about the past.” On this central metaphor this novel is based. The novel opens with a dead body - at the river, and through the investigation, we come to know Brody Dern, the sheriff, Jimmy and Marta Quinn and their family, Noah and Kyoko Bluestone, Evangeline and her son Scott, Scott’s best friend, and the Creseys among others. We learn that what they remember is sometimes different - we learn that they are very much defined by pasts - filled with war, abuse, prejudice, loss, and, perhaps, love and joy. This town is a small town - and the relationships are defined by geography as well as events and relationships.

For a variety of reasons I went into this novel thinking that it would be OK - but not one that I would resonate with as much as others I have recently read. And perhaps at the outset that was true. But oh, I was quietly and steadily drawn into the world of this book and the hearts of its characters and the complexity of their lives. The characters are expertly drawn, and they all have secrets. Part of what engaged me is the mystery surrounding them - some resolved and some remaining. Brody has painful secrets from his war service overseas; Noah and Kyoko are both victims of prejudice; Evangeline comes from a painful childhood and makes decisions to escape that are difficult; Scott’s best friend and his mother are victims of domestic abuse. Kreuger is unflinching in his rendering of all of these painful issues and more. And yet, he is not heavy handed. He presents you with the characters and their choices and leaves you to process it the way that works for you. In that, he is supporting his epilogue about the same rivers being different for different people. The setting in the small Minnesota town in 1958 has a powerful influence. Of course the book begins and kind of ends at the river. The town is rural, and the people in it reflect in many cases the prejudices and values of the time. At some point or another all of the characters are victims of either or both.

I like to think sometimes that with the passing of time and of legislation that we as a culture are way beyond these prejudices and values. Often, I think we are worse. Always I know I have to work on myself - the product of a rural 70s and 80s upbringing. I hope that books like William Kent Kreuger’s The River We Remember will always leave me feeling uncomfortable with the progress I have made in how I move through the world and respond to the people in it. I hope, too, that I will continue in this time of my life to plumb my memories, like I should the relics in my house - deciding what to keep and what to let go - what is accurate and what is not. I have the luxury of time for reflection - if I allow myself to do so. If you like mystery, complexity, character driven works, this will be for you as well. Much like in life, a simple ending doesn't work for this novel. Like with life, if time continued to pass in this fictional story, the stories of this small town would be told with the variety of memories involved. 

Cover image of The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

One Perfect Couple - Ruth Ware

One Perfect Couple - Ruth Ware

Ruth Ware does not disappoint in her newest offering One Perfect Couple and Imogen Church narrates it with perfection. Lyla is frustrated. Her data just isn’t doing what her boss needed it to do in her post doc program - she figures her days in the program are numbered. Her live-in boyfriend Nico desperately wants her to participate with him in a reality program - One Perfect Couple  - that he hopes will jumpstart his lagging acting career. What seems madness to her at first quickly becomes an escape for Lyla and she grudgingly agrees to go - with the plan to be sent home within two weeks to finish what she can of her work. After they arrive things go terribly wrong. Nico is sent home instead of Lyla and the rest of the cast is left stranded on the island after a vicious storm. In the spirit of Christie’s And Then There Were None (which I am listening to now…), one by one…people begin to die. What could be going on?

Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, Conor and Zana, and Lyla and Nico - show up to the island for romance and money, but one of them is a murderer. After Nico exits the island surprisingly quickly, a storm changes the game from reality TV to survival. Ruth Ware, as always, offers up red herrings and hints alike, as the plot gains in suspense. Through it all we get a variety of  insights into the cast and their motivations (No real innocents here turns out that no one is perfect!). Ware juggles the reveal of the nature of each of these personalities carefully, adding layers beyond the traditional procedural mystery. Ruth Ware is a master of this kind of nuanced writing. 

Like in Mary Kay Andrews’ The Homewreckers, it was fun to see the reality of reality TV. Beyond that and the mystery of it all, I enjoyed watching Lyla come into herself. At the beginning of the novel, Lyla is uncertain of her career, her relationship, and her life’s direction generally. On the island, she is faced with one horrific surprise after another and responds with a strength we (and she!) didn’t know she had.  She becomes a leader. And while her future is no less certain at the end of the novel, she is more ready to face it head on. I guess staring death in the face will do that for you. I always like to see a woman gain strength. I also appreciated the easter egg - where a Ruth Ware book is mentioned and used in the plot. Ruth Ware is clearly having a little fun which is fun for her readers. Ruth Ware lovers, mystery/thriller lovers, if you haven’t already, get a hold of Ruth Ware’s One perfect couple. 

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Genre - Historical Fiction

Recommended by a friend, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón proved to be an excellent read - different for me - but I enjoyed it very much. Daniel’s father, a book seller, takes him on a visit to the Cemetery of Lost Books in their hometown of Barcelona. Here Dan chooses a book The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax. The reading of this book leads to a lifelong obsession  - filled with mystery, horror, love, and tragedy. Daniel meets and learns about a fascinating group of characters along the way. 

Zafón is a lyrical writer. In spite of my 35 years as a teacher of literary analysis, I find myself quite unable to find the precise words I’m looking for to back up that statement. His prose is poetic. Particularly when he is describing the setting in Barcelona, he creates a magical impression for me - smoke and mirrors - stars and sunshine. This book is not a fantasy and is populated by real  - many broken - people who love and who hate, but the way he writes imbues it with a touch of unreality. Perhaps that is how I endure the hatred that is so painfully illustrated throughout the book. The plot is expertly crafted. As Daniel alongside pursues his fascination with the mystery of Carax and his book, we explore Barcelona’s recent past and the book’s present - gradually learning more and more about the characters and their society. Daniel is helped by his friend Fermín - forever his servant after Daniel and his father rescue him from the street - offering him a job and shelter. He is a crass buffoon with an endless appetite for food and women, but he is devoted and offers wisdom to Daniel again and again. He is hard not to love. Inspector Fumero is pure evil and his hatred spans generations. But Zafón also writes of love - some love that is enduring and some that isn’t - just like life. I appreciated very much the love that this little community shows to one another - like they do to Don Federico. For Daniel, this is a coming of age story  - and he learns about love along the way. 

I am especially drawn to books about the power of books and reading. Zafón writes, “Bea says the art of reading is slowly dying, that it’s an intimate ritual, that a book is a mirror that offers us only what we already carry inside us, that when we read, we do it with all our heart and mind, and great readers are becoming more scarce by the day.” For most of my teaching career I struggled to convince my students about the power of reading. We debated about whether authors really had messages to convey or if English teachers made them up. My stronger students and I talked about theories of criticism that suggested that the meaning is all in what the reader brings to the book. I was always trying to find the balance. I have asked myself again and again if great readers are becoming scarce. - but I always found great readers. I’m sure they’d love this book, and I’d love to talk with them about Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s The Shadow of the Wind.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón book cover

Save What's Left - Elizabeth Castellano

Contemporary Fiction Humor (see: just right for a newly retired late 50 something :-)

Would you love to read a book this summer that overturns the typical beach read tropes? Save What’s Left by Elizabeth Castellano and narrated by Thérèse Plummer is such a fun one. The novel gives us Kathleen who is in a pickle. Her husband of thirty years has just announced that he feels their marriage is not working. He is leaving on a trip. What should she do? After a delightful walk through her Christmas letters (one of the many times I laughed aloud) she determines to sell her Kansas house and buy a beach house in Whitbey  - sight unseen. Kathleen does not achieve the relaxing beach life she is hoping for. Instead, she finds herself best friends with the crotchety lady next door and constantly battling local government - filing grievances again and again for building and beach violations that are largely ignored.  She is frustrated and angry much of the time. Eventually her husband returns to live in his Airstream in her driveway. What’s a fifty something not quite divorced woman to do?

Plummer has just created this woman that I didn’t know whether to love or hate - and many who know her in the book feel the same. She is angry - but I can’t help but admire her ability to stand up for herself. She is witty - and errs on the side of sarcasm whenever she can. She has little tolerance for stupidity and yet tolerates so much of it. I just feel like in so many ways she represents the late 50 something woman quite well. We find our voices and are learning how to use them the most effectively.  Plummer just barely keeps me liking and kind of admiring her - most definitely rooting for her. The whole beach neighborhood is just a hoot, really. She feels she has no friends here, and yet she builds quite a crew. In YA land Sarah Dessen often gives us a look into the people who live at the beach and have to put up with all of the vacationers. We see that perspective here. Oh how frustrating it is for the locals to have their ordinances ignored. Everyone is building bigger and more elaborately. It falls to folks like Kathleen and her nosy neighbor to try and stop the tide. 

Oh man. I just recently reviewed The Memory of Lavender and Sage where I lamented my lack of appetite for change and adventure. I can’t decide if Save What’s Left by Elizabeth Castellano has confirmed my fears or made a mockery of them. She announces fairly quickly that she has made a huge mistake in the purchase of Oyster House and subsequent move, but yet, she forges ahead. Her husband returns, and she isn’t sure she wants him to, but yet, she works to figure it out. No one really responds to her myriad of concerns, but yet, she keeps lodging them. Again, I don’t know if I should aspire to be more like her or guard against it with a fury. I enjoyed the beach read turned on itself and found something to be thoughtful about as well. 

Save What’s Left by Elizabeth Castellano book cover

Finding Margaret Fuller - Allison Pataki

Genre: Historical Fiction

Allison Pataki’s Finding Margaret Fuller narrated by Barrie Kreinik happily brought me back to one of the best nerdy vacations that my family has ever taken to Concord, MA. I double checked with my daughter who confirmed that sadly, we learned very little about Fuller in our literary tours there.  In an effort to bring to light the remarkable accomplishments of Margaret Fuller - Pataki places her readers directly into the lives of the Concord writers. She fully explores Fuller’s relationships with Emerson, Thoreau, the Alcotts, and Nathaniel Hawthorne as she comes into her own as a philosopher and writer, bringing the time alive. She follows her then to Rome - where Fuller works as the first female war correspondent and finds fulfillment in her personal life. 

I know it’s fiction, but I really enjoy seeing the ways in which these characters - most of whom (with the exception of Fuller ironically enough) I’ve both read and taught - interact in their daily lives. The narration of Barrie Kreinik brings each individual to life - and as they are most different, this can’t have been easy. So I loved the time the book spent in Concord and could easily picture the walk from Emerson’s house to Orchard House from my time there. Much as I loved this insight, I didn’t always understand Margaret - at one point I asked out loud, rather frustrated, “Margaret, why do you keep going back to Concord?” Ultimately, Margaret herself ends up a bit bored with the inaction there as well. I was a bit relieved when she spent time in New York and finally Europe. The time she spent in Italy revolutionized the expectations for the role of women in journalism. Her reports back to Horace Greeley supported her and opened the eyes of her readers. Her dedication to her craft in the face of gender bias, poverty, love, and even war is astonishing. I will be exploring some of her work for sure. I haven’t read from the transcendentalists in some time. In Italy she also found love and family. Isn’t it funny how these can be found when the finder isn’t even looking? 

I have had a good run with historical fiction that highlights strong women. See The First Ladies, Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule, and When Women Ran Fifth Avenue. These authors and their works are so important. I am grateful for them. I  still feel like I have work to do, but I have been spinning my wheels in terms of the reading and study I thought I’d do in my retirement. I’m not doing it. I gathered up some of the books I’d  acquired for such a time as this and they are still gathered in a pile. Perhaps the role model found in Allison Pataki’s Finding Margaret Fuller will provide a starting point. I have so much to learn. Perhaps. 

Home is Where the Bodies Are - Jeneva Rose

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

I was due for a good thriller - and the availability of this audiobook, allowed me to find Jeneva Rose’s Home is Where the Bodies Are when I was looking for an audio book. Cassandra Campbell, Brittany Pressley, Andrew Eiden, and January LaVoy bring each of the characters to life in this well crafted mystery thriller. The book begins with Beth who is at her mother’s side as she dies. She contacts her sibling Nicole, who has suffered much from addiction and Michael who hasn’t been home since their father mysteriously left years before. Characterized by anger and angst - the sibling relationship is a difficult one as they try to accomplish their mother’s wishes and lay her to rest. An unexpected discovery as they are going through the house creates even more tension. Could their parents have been involved in a murder?

The setting here for me is in many ways the star of this book. A house sort of isolated in the woods at the edge of a small town - the kind that kids want to escape when growing up. Also the one to which many return. Beth feels stuck in the house, and it becomes a chess piece between her and her brother. The woods provide mystery that increases the suspense. The oppression of the setting is palpable. The conflict among the siblings is as well.  It’s fascinating to me the way “typical” sibling rivalry is magnified as the novel progresses. Rose expertly layers on the conflicts - often through arguments. This slow release of detail also enhances the suspense. I love when I am kept guessing and the twist and turns the plot takes. 

Don’t we all hope that we will never have to figure out if our parents have committed murder? But don’t we all deal with sibling issues in one way or another? The groundedness here makes this suspenseful thriller thoughtful as well as entertaining and exciting. Jeneva Rose’s Home is Where the Bodies Are balances these in an interesting way. You won’t regret spending some time with this family! I didn’t. 

Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose book cover

The Memory of Lavender and Sage - Aimie K. Runyan

Genre: Contemporary

I am a rules follower. I worked for good grades for the first part of my life. I worked to raise my kids. I worked to put them through school and get a pension to retire a bit early. Never did I really act on a dream or pursue a giant whim. My life is not a sad one, not at all. I just don’t take chances. So… I was drawn to The Memory of Lavender and Sage by Aimie K. Runyan narrated by Caroline Hewitt and to Tempèste much like I was drawn to Frances in Under the Tuscan Sun. I will not likely ever buy a house overseas and live there, renovate it, get to know the neighbors, and have affairs and adventures. But gosh, I like reading about it. 

That being said, of course, I loved the character development of Tempèste. I admire her taking charge of her life with the move in spite of an obvious lack of support from her brother and her grandmother. She overcomes much - a very neglected house, strong dislike from some of the locals, a need for purpose. Runyan creates the village and its residents in a lovely way. I appreciate how as she gets to know the people there, Tempèste learns about her mother and comes to appreciate her more. In the process, she learns surprising details that …  you should read and find out. Tempèste also learns that she has some unexpected abilities - to impact the things and people around her in an almost mystical way. I don’t read much fantasy, but this element is woven into the plot in such a believable way that I found myself, well, believing it. 

I am probably not going to change a lifetime of behavior any time soon. To be honest, in retirement, I find myself still not necessarily pursuing those things I thought I’d might - certainly not yet. I suppose I need to think about why…maybe. (I’m sure the articles exploring such behavior exist.) But anyhow that doesn’t mean I can’t love reading about those who do. And I loved reading Aimie K. Runyan’s The Memory of Lavender and Sage and hanging out in a small village in France for a time. 

The Women - Kristin Hannah

Genre - Contemporary Fiction 

Kristin Hannah’s The Women has been read, reviewed, discussed, and discussed again all over my social media and online reading. I was on a long waiting list. But finally, my copy came up. I set aside everything I had heard and pressed the play on my phone. I don’t think a traditional review from me would have much to contribute to the world at this point; you can find plenty,  but I do have some things to say. If you haven’t heard, Hannah’s novel focuses on Frankie McGrath’s time serving in Vietnam as a nurse and then on her return home and what she faces there. Spoiler alert - it’s not pretty. The audiobook is narrated with the excellence we expect from Julia Whelan.

If you want perfectly accurate details about the Vietnam War, please seek out a nonfiction book on the subject - many, many exist. I didn’t google any of the details, but I have seen some complaints on social media about accuracy. If you want a book that captures the spirit of the times in the United States and Vietnam during and after the war, Hannah does so. She specifically focuses on, well, the women - women who fear the loss of sons, husbands, and lovers, women who wish to do so and must find a way (many like McGrath, as a nurse, women who are told again and again that there “were no women serving in Vietnam.” Hannah writes, “How did a woman open her world when no invitation had been issued?” How indeed.

One reader characterized Frankie as a spoiled socialite used to getting her own way. I wonder if that reader read the entire book.Frankie does come from privilege and gives it all up when she travels to Vietnam. Serving in combat situations is a great equalizer to be sure. She lived, worked, and relaxed in the same horrific conditions as everyone there. Her friends - who become closer to her than family - come from all different walks of life. These friendships extend well beyond Vietnam. I admit that she did return to privilege and benefited from it. But in the end she eschews its safety and strikes out on her own, creating a sanctuary for other women who served.

I suppose the notion that she is spoiled could stem from her well illustrated struggles with PTSD and with drug and alcohol addiction. If so, then the understanding of these issues is lacking. I appreciated Hannah’s honest depiction of the complexity of what Frankie experiences.

A number of folks expressed frustration with the second part of the novel. I get that in some ways I guess, An urgency exists in the beginning of the novel set in Vietnam. The romance is more intense. Adventure persists. Even celebrations are infused with suspense. However, I’m not sure the second part of the book isn’t the most important part. We see here the need for more care for returning veterans; we see the inequity that existed for returning women - “there weren’t any women in Vietnam.” While I think we are doing better as a country, I think much can still be done for our veterans - in helping them recover and return to life outside of combat zones. 

I don’t think we can possibly be reminded too much about the difficulties surrounding the Vietnam War - and all who served. We must be very aware of how we treat those who are tasked with any form of military service. Women, we must remain aware of that from which we come. While the 70s are farther away than I’d like them to be, they are not that long ago. Countless people like Frankie paved the way for me to have many more choices than she may have. Finally and perhaps most importantly, I loved the strength of her friendships. Her strength comes in great part from her closest friends. And she supports them in their battles as well. The Women by Kristin Hannah is a beautiful reminder of how grateful I am for the women in my life who support me unconditionally. 

Book cover - The Women by Kristin Hannah

You Could Make This Place Beautiful - Maggie Smith

You Could Make This Place Beautiful - Maggie Smith
Genre - Memoir

When I completed You Could Make This Place Beautiful, written and read by Maggie Smith, I said out loud in my empty car. Oh, I loved this - it was indeed beautiful. I don’t always respond out loud to books, but when particularly moved, I sure do. (Don’t all English teaching librarians?) This lyrical memoir focuses on Smith’s divorce and its aftermath, but the insights she gained and shares here are valuable to us all. Smith reading her own words was particularly powerful for me, but also I will be getting a hold of a copy of the print book because I have a need to see her words on the page. 

Part of the appeal for me was how transparent she was about writing as a writer. The vignettes are punctuated with discussion of the sorts of terms English teachers and writing love. If I were still teaching, I might be tempted to use those pieces just to prove that they exist outside of the English classroom. She stretches me to think differently about structure and writing (why I need to see it in print). I love the repetition that a book is rooted in a question that can’t be answered to title her sections. I have often thought recently about what question a book is meant to answer and whether or not it does so. She does so here even if the current answer for her is uncertain. Ultimately a hopeful throughline provides a general  answer even when specifics are still resolving. Her work also includes her poetry - illustrating so beautifully how poems come often from experience and how they can also help the poet and her reader work through experiences. I love her frankness and honesty and that she is careful with what she shares -  just using the 2nd person voice to tell us so. I cried with her, was angry with her, laughed with her as she reflected on her journey. As a parent who worries endlessly about her kids, her words about them resonated with me quite powerfully. The prose here reflects her life as a poet. Her words are lyrical. She creates imagery, figurative language, and symbols while I’m sure not effortlessly, it reads that way. 

Change - particularly that which is unsought - is difficult. Even when I choose to change, I often struggle with the reality of it. I know I have missed some lovely opportunities in my life because of my struggles with change. Smith very much speaks to me here. She teaches through this work that adapting ,while painful, can yield beautiful results. She also illustrates the powerful connections through metaphor that can easily be overlooked in the tasks of living each day. She is honest and reflective, and I admire how she uses writing - poetic and prose - to note her struggles and to work through many of them.I wish I had the capacity, talent, devotion - fill in the blank - to create art this beautiful and thought provoking. I wish I took more time to reflect on how my mindset impacts the way I live from day to day. Perhaps this You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith will inspire me to do so BEFORE I fill my days with activities and tasks to keep busy, busy, busy. Wouldn’t that be something? 

Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule - Jennifer Chiaverini

Genre: Historical Fiction

If the history surrounding the Civil War is interesting to you, this book will interest you as well.  The story as titled traces the history of Julia Dent and her ladies maid and slave Jule from their childhood friendship through the Civil War and the dissolution of the relationship and beyond. Julia, daughter of a Southern slave owner, grows up, falls in love, and marries a young soldier, U.S. Grant, a staunch abolitionist. Jule falls in love and marries Gideon, another Dent slave. Beyond the childhood friendship, Julia and Jule ultimately have little in common. Thank you to Christina Moore for her narration. 

We are given fairly detailed insight into the life and mind of Julia Dent Grant. Chiaverini has clearly done her research and utilizes what she learns. While a modern reader might find her stubbornness about retaining Jule as a slave - even as a supporter of the Union cause, even after the Emancipation Proclamation, even after Jule’s husband is sold from her family home - difficult to believe, Chiaverini creates a believable character. Jule’s frustration is well developed and her ultimate decision is not a surprise. 

What I didn’t expect was the detailed look into the life and choices of Ulysses S. Grant. Much of what we learn about Julia Grant - is learned with her alongside her husband. We learn much of his philosophy of life, of war, of family, of honor. So anyone who is interested in the Civil War (as am I) and who likes to learn through fiction (as do I) will learn much in this novel. The development of Julia Grant into someone who understands the horror of slavery is very, very slow even as she supports the Union side in the Civil War.  We are also denied the meeting between the two women that I think most of us wish for. While each of these may feel frustrating for the modern reader, I have little doubt that the story accurately reflects many relationships. Jule’s struggles as a married woman and a slave are powerfully depicted. I am glad she is respected as Madame Jule in the title. I find myself wanting more of her story. 

Ladies - we really do often keep the world moving. Even when we couldn’t serve in the military or the government, we kept the world operating and met essential needs in our families and our communities. Julia and Jule both exemplify the sacrifices made by women in the Civil War, and I am always a fan of lifting up the women who have been overlooked. And ever, when I see the strength in those who came before, I am reminded that I could be stronger myself. Always I hope, too, that these looks back at history would somehow make us wiser as individuals and as a nation to make better decisions now. I am grateful to authors and books like Jennifer Chiaverini’s Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule who create these compelling looks at history for those of us who need a little fiction with our facts. 

Cover Image of Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule by Jennifer Chiverini

Something in the Water - Catherine Steadman

Genre - Mystery/Suspense

When a novel starts with the digging of a grave - by someone who is clearly an amateur at the job - I’m probably in for the long haul. So began Catherine Steadman’s Something in the Water. Erin and Mark are on their long awaited honeymoon in Bora Bora, scuba diving, when they literally find something in the water that has the potential to forever change their lives. Cold hard cash and diamonds (& more) - what should they do? I read the audiobook expertly narrated by Steadman and felt like Erin was talking directly to me. 

I sure did love that point of view choice. And I loved my choice to listen to this one because of it. The arc of this character seemed unbelievable on the surface, but as I listened to her explain each step of the way - with the appropriate (?) excuses as needed, I felt as if I understood her. Of course she and Mark were not criminals. How could they possibly know how to safely manage what they found under the water, but, yet, they do. Her growth - with the help  of a prisoner that she was doing a documentary film on for her “real job” - is really something to watch. I can remember thinking that the subtitle of the novel should be: how to become a criminal in “10 easy steps”. Google helps. Having an organized crime guy’s phone number also helps. Quite honestly - a mind like Erin’s is critical, and I just love the insight that Steadman’s format gave. Not to be too lighthearted, the juxtaposition of a newly pregnant woman learning how to shoot a gun is intense to be sure. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t a bit worried about this baby’s future. Along with character development, the suspense kept me fully engaged with this novel. I pride myself in figuring things out, and Steadman keeps me on my toes. I went through several different scenarios. Steadman carefully crafted her plot. You know that someone is dead in the first several pages and even who it is. Don’t be fooled into thinking the end will be obvious!

I read this title because of a book club, and reading it was fun for me. I am becoming a bigger and bigger fan of this kind of suspenseful story. I can’t say that I can ponder much about the impact this title has had on how I am charting my own life moving forward which is FINE. I need a good entertaining reads. I also very much enjoy really clever writing. Something in the Water by Catherine Stead offers both. I was late to this party, but will certainly be looking for more books by this author.

Book cover Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

What My Bones Know - Stephanie Foo

Genre: Memoir

Sometimes the universe leads you to the perfect book - or maybe a search of available books in the Libby app does so. Such was the case for me with What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo. In it, Foo creates a transparent, emotional, intellectual, and ultimately hopeful look at her diagnosis of CPTSD. She is honest and frank about the life that led her to this diagnosis and about the journey that follows the diagnosis. Foo depicts the abuse from her childhood that creates the complexity of the trauma that informs the development of her CPTSD. She explores the variety of professional experiences - the failures and “successes” involving her diagnosis and treatment. She is very clear about the battles that she will likely always fight, but also leaves the reader hopeful. 

I value Foo's journalistic approach to this memoir so much. When she goes back to her hometown to explore her own memories - to check her perceptions against the perceptions of others, I was kind of mesmerized. Her ability to explore her childhood, youth, home life, education in such an organized and in depth way really touched me. I admire her ability to challenge herself as part of her efforts to be healthier. I appreciate her courage in walking away from some therapists/therapies and embracing others - to have been “raised” as she was and to have such an assertive attitude about her emotional health is not for nothing. If you are interested in exploring Foo’s writing - please consider the article here.

I do not have CPTSD, but I was once told by a counselor that as a young girl at a vulnerable time I experienced a “capital T” trauma. Abuse was not involved - but a death in my family led to a pattern of impacts that have lasted quite a long time and very much shaped who I am. Much of the content of this book resonated with me. (Including the experience of EMDR) I learned more about my own journey, through Foo graciously sharing so much about hers. I will be recommending What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo to others for both the quality of the writing and the importance of the content - especially its emphasis on honesty, hope, and the healing power of love.

Book cover of what my bones know by Stephanie Foo

The Hundred Loves of Juliet - Evelyn Skye

Genre: Romance (contemporary and historical)

Let’s be honest. The tragic form aside, didn’t most of us wish for a different ending for Romeo and Juliet? Even when I was teaching it and we talked about the flaws that led them down the tragic path - when I claimed “adult” perspective - part of me wished things would have been different for those two crazy kids. Enter Evelyn Skye’s The Hundred Loves of Juliet:An Epic Reimagining of a Legendary Love Story . Skye imagines an altogether different world for our star crossed lovers. Imagine if Romeo had not really died. If he would, in fact, never die. What if he met his reincarnated Juliet again and again only to lose her. When Helene, a newly divorced writer, meets Sebastian Montague, an Alaskan fisherman, she is stunned at how well he resembles the character that she has created in her head who populates all of her short stories. She does not know that they have had love affairs again and again all with tragic endings for hundreds of years. Sebastian is determined to keep her at a distance to protect her life and perhaps his heart, but Helene and fate have other plans. 

Skye does a remarkable job of making this story absolutely believable. Part of the charm of the book for me is how she weaves in the love stories from all of the different eras - through Helene’s stories and Sebastian’s memories. I’d love to see the planning document she used for plotting. The inclusion of the stories and flashbacks are seamless. They help us believe right alongside Helene. I read the audio version and Aspen Vincent and Joe Arden do a beautiful job of bringing each character to life in alternating chapters.  I struggled a bit with Sebastian’s character development - oddly enough because he reminded me of much of what annoyed me about Romeo in the original play. So ultimately kudos to Skye for capturing so much of that in a character that should have aged a few hundred years. And without spoilers, how that became such a part of his character arc. The settings here were outstanding. I loved the time travel and the glimpses into different worlds and eras. I also loved the world travel with endless money. The food, the experiences, the places they stayed - beautifully described. So much of the early novel was set in Alaska - spectacular in its own way. The whole community here contributed much to the developing relationship. 

Some ambiguity cleverly exists at the end of this novel, but I am inclined to believe that Romeo & Juliet find a happy ending no matter how situations resolve. And, of course, that pleases me. Quite honestly, that was enough to make this a successful book for me. But the reminder that choosing love even when it might seem a lost cause or too scary, is a great choice to make. We can all stand to be reminded that the next day - even the next hour - is not guaranteed. Be sure when you are finished with The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye, be sure to read the author’s epilogue. 

The book cover of The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye

Sidle Creek - Jolene McIlwain

Genre: Short Story Collection, Literary Fiction

I love when life leads me to a book that I appreciate and enjoy as much as I have Sidle Creek by Jolene McIlwain. I acquired the book to read in order to participate in a book discussion at a nearby library with Jolene McIlwain. I am always fascinated by an author event - primarily because I am interested in all things author and writing. That this one is local to me and features our region in her work increased my interest even more.  Further, I have always been fascinated by the short story genre - having read and taught them for years. How happy I am to have been led to this title. 

McIlwain eloquently captures the voice of our region - Western Pennsylvania Appalachia. We talked a great deal at the discussion about the importance of our region being represented honestly by someone who knows it. McIlwain does just that. She captures the spirit of its small town and communities. Her stories feature neighbors who pull together in a variety of circumstances to support each other. The love that she portrays is simply real - illustrated often through both loss and grief. She also reveals darkness - so well that she took my breath away more than once. Some of the stories are harrowing and horrifying. I guess I want to say, THAT can’t happen around HERE! But, of course, I know better. Part of McIlwain’s success is that she captures both extremes and everything in between. She also writes about the natural life that I take so for granted in a way that will have me paying better attention to the world around me. We also discussed the beauty of her writing. McIlwain talks freely of the hard work entailed in creating her work - including the input of other writers, and constant revision. She mentions choices - in terms of symbols and metaphor. She talks of inspiration from her life to paintings to a slip of paper in a writing class. Her dedication and work are clear in the finished product. Even the shortests of the stories are complex and layered.  If I were not a retired English teacher, my AP students would be analyzing some of her work. 

I love to hear authors talk about writing. I have always sought out articles and anything I could find when teaching to see if I could find authors’ reflections on their own works. So last night was a privilege. You should read Sidle River by Jolene McIlwain. You won’t be sorry.

The First Ladies - Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

Genre: Historical Fiction

When I see a book come out by Marie Benedict and, now, Victoria Christopher Murray, I call it a must read. The First Ladies was certainly no exception. Combine its authorship with my current fascination with Eleanor Roosevelt following a summer visit to Hyde Park and the FDR presidential library and an introduction to Mary McLeod Bethune courtesy of The History Chicks, and I was all in. Benedict and Murray begin this work with Roosevelt and Bethune’s first meeting in the 20s through their decades long battle for Civil Rights. By joining forces these ladies break new ground in demonstrating friendship between different races, integrating the federal government, getting black pilots into the air in World War II and much more. 

As always with these authors, the character development is excellent. I went down quite an Eleanor Roosevelt rabbit hole after visiting Hyde Park. I loved how Benedict filled in the knowledge I’d gained about Roosevelt with a fully developed woman on the page. Murray accomplishes the same with Bethune. Part of what makes this work special is the very real friendship that develops between the two women. Through this friendship we can witness not only the incredible strengths of these women (that are clearly very evident in history) but also their weaknesses and fears. I find it difficult, of course, to not admire women who fight so vigorously for women’s rights and civil rights. They dramatically changed the country in which we live and for that, I am grateful. But the weaknesses and personal details are where many of us can connect. We can relate to marital stress, worrying about children, loving a good meal, being frustrated by in-laws, being afraid.  That connection allows us to believe that perhaps, we too can effect great change in our world.  Further, the extensive research completed by its authors is evident in its grounding in the history of their time. We learn about the culture and government in integrated lunches that become photo ops and flights that become legendary. Benedict and Murray bring these stories to life. I have long learned history better with stories than with facts. My favorite history teacher was a storyteller - my roots in historical fiction run deep. I am grateful to books like The First Ladies for continuing my education. 

I had the privilege of hearing Marie Benedict speak courtesy of the Evans City Public Library. I appreciated very much her honest recounting of the process of writing The First Ladies with Victoria Christopher Murray. She talked frankly of how through the process of writing, first, The Personal Librarian and then this book, they had tough conversations and explored the same kinds of racial tension likely felt between Roosevelt and Bethune. I have recently had such difficult conversations with a friend (about a different subject), and know the value of agreeing, disagreeing and loving and growing a friendship in it all. These conversations and these books epitomize the importance of literature - in demonstrating  friendships that lead to change. Too often we remain polarized rather than working together toward a common goal. The First Ladies is  one that book clubs will read; students will read; conversations will happen. And in the process of looking how far we’ve come; we will look at how far we’ve yet to go and, perhaps, see a path to getting there, together. 

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store - James McBride

Genre: Literary Historical Fiction

At the mercy of a long waiting list, I am late to the discussion of The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. For me, the title was well worth the wait. The historical narrative defies easy summary. In 1972, a skeleton and a Jewish mezuzah necklace are found at the bottom of a well as the area is being prepared for a new building project. Hurricane Agnes erases all the evidence of the crime. McBride takes us back to the early 20s in Chicken Hill near Pottstown, PA to “solve” the mystery. We meet a huge cast of characters including - Moshe and Chona Ludlow who are Jewish, Nate who is black, Dodo, deaf and dumb and black and the town doctor who marches with the Ku Klux Klan. And so many more delightful (and less than delightful) people. Narrator Dominic Hoffman brings these characters to life. 

The characters are my first love here. McBride is masterful in creating such a variety of folks with their own hardships, prejudices, loves, and hates. He manages such detail that I can picture them - laugh and cry with them. The relationship between Moshe and Chona from first love to comfortable marriage to grief and loss is beautifully rendered. I love a good “romance” novel, but the romance embedded here is real and touching and heartbreaking. Dodo and Monkeyboy’s friendship works much the same for me. To see those boys who have been overlooked and undervalued in such a horrible setting forge such a beautiful friendship left me in tears. We could all hope for such a gift. And, of course, a group of disparate people who don’t always like let alone understand each other to work together in the way that they did. Such an act demands hope from this reader. The plot and these relationships keep us grounded in the reality of hate, difference, and prejudice. The discussion of the lack of value of a Jewish woman’s life, the marching of the Klan, the treatment of the mentally ill and physically disabled and more left me breathless. 

We have hope. We have the reality of our failings. Both…and…These kinds of difficult books leave me feeling a bit helpless which I think may be part of the intent. Simultaneously, they force me to face my failings in dealing with different kinds of people, with the hate and misunderstanding that still plagues our society which must certainly be a bigger part of the intent. This book is an important book - for me it hearkens to Geraldine Brooks’ most recent novel Horse. Again I am convicted that  I must figure out and do my part to effect change. I have always believed that good fiction can contribute in a valuable way to a reader’s learning.  I am always learning. James McBride’s Heaven and Earth Grocery Store has become part of that journey. 

The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch - Melinda Taub

Genre  - Historical Fantasy Fiction, Retelling

For Pride and Prejudice fans who don’t clutch their pearls over retellings, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub is an entertaining and fun read. Don’t worry, Taub knows her source material well. Just when I thought I was getting just a tad too far from the world I knew of the Bennets, Taub dropped in just the perfect allusion to it. But, Lydia has a story to tell; she’d like to clear the record. She is not empty headed and  she is not a fool; she is, in fact, a witch. And if she could just explain, you’d see the true Lydia Bennet and NOT the Pride and Prejudice Lydia. And if you are not a Pride and Prejudice fan (gasp!) The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch stands on its own and will be an engaging, adventure filled read. As a child and an inexperienced witch, Lydia makes a promise to a dragon demon Wormenheart that will haunt her future. When he comes to collect, Lydia must go to Brighton on a quest endangering both her precious “sister” Kitty and her new acquaintance Miss Maria Lambe. Nothing is as it seems, not even Wickham who is traveling right along beside her. 

I just love how Taub captures the voice of Austen’s Lydia Bennet, right down to her exclamations, la! Since I was using the audiobook, I also had the privilege of hearing Amy Hoggart bring Taub’s created voice to life.  Together, they created a sassy and quite believable Lydia. Lydia has the same flair for the dramatic as in the original source material, but as she fills in the details of her life as a witch our perceptions of her change. What I really like is how she still acts in much the same way - on instinct, often without thinking - but in the context of her new story, she grows and changes, perhaps even learning how to love and be loved. Seeing a secondary character expanded in such a creative way who will stand on her own is delightful, and yet Lydia remains recognizable to Pride and Prejudice readers. The setting remains similar but with the addition of the witchcraft and demon elements. Since watching “Bewitched” as a child I have been fascinated by witches (the good kind?).  I have read of familiars before and the cleverness of Kitty as a familiar was so, so good. In that sense, Kitty gets an expanded role as well. Of course I have heard of hexes and spells, but the idea of sacrifice to make witchcraft work was new to me and oh so fascinating. The creation of the hierarchy based on location was interesting as well. The acceptance of witches and witchcraft in this time is perhaps illustrated most effectively through Fitzwilliam and Georgiana Darcy. The form of the novel very much allows us to come to know Lydia best as we are hearing her own stories in her own words - not  strictly epistolary but a version of it, much like the book itself. The balance between her present day and the history through her writing is just right for maintaining suspense. 

Through Lydia, Taub gives us all hope that we can reinvent ourselves. Or at the very least tell our story in the way that we’d like instead of having it told by how others see us. Of course, I love that reminder as I reinvent my life in so many ways. Since I have loved the works of Austen for so long - I sure enjoyed getting such a message through a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. I love how Taub values Lydia’s independence, stubbornness, and emotion - the very same things that Austen (whom I admire so very much) seems to criticize. Even for being ahead of her time (I think), a more modern perspective can add an intriguing and interesting twist to Austen’s work. To be clear, Pride and Prejudice will always be one of my favorite novels - as is. But I find joy in its use here to create a refreshing, suspenseful, fun walk in its original footprints. Join me in reading Melinda Taub’s The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennett, Witch. 

The Last Mrs. Parrish - Liv Constantine

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

While I don’t remember why I put a hold on Liv Constantine’s The Last Mrs. Parrish, I’m glad it became available. I’m not sure if it is my Nancy Drew roots, but I still really enjoy a good, suspenseful novel. While not truly a mystery, the novel does raise a number of questions that require paying attention and some sleuthing to answer before its end. Told in the perspectives of both the Mrs. Parrishes of the novel, Constantine crafts a suspenseful and exciting thriller. Amber is tired of being poor and overlooked. She has dedicated a fair amount of her young adulthood to becoming the bride of a wealthy man. When she discovers Daphne Patterson, sees her privileged life, she sets her cap for her husband - the mysterious and compelling Jackson Patterson. The first half of the novel is told from her point of view - the second from Daphne’s. 

The two halves cover much of the same time. Constantine masterfully builds and intertwines the two perspectives. She plants the seeds of suspicion and concern in part one. Amber seems the queen of manipulation.  These seeds grow in a suspenseful way throughout. We get to know Daphne much better when she takes over the narration. I enjoyed seeing some of my suspicions confirmed, but was still startled with all that I learned. The tension continues to build, even as the reader has some sense of what is about to happen based on part one. I was listening and found the book very different to turn off, looking for reasons to keep it playing in my ear, invested in the outcome.  Suzanne Elise Freemen and Meghan Wolfe do an excellent job of bringing these complexly developed characters to life. The setting - mostly one of wealth, luxury, and privilege - is a perfect accent to the plot here. (Not quite the resort bribe that I talk about loving here.) The difference between the wealthy and not wealthy contributes much to the events as they develop. Jackson thinks his wealth makes him untouchable; Amber wants the ease and things that she believes come with wealth. Daphne is painfully realistic about the price of wealth. 

Spoiler alert* I don’t like to give things away, but I could not stop thinking about Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” as I was reading this. The issues raised in this 1892 short story about the lack of autonomy for women seem illustrated in a contemporary way here. While many readers will be picking up Constantine’s subtle hints - the full picture of Jackson is not fully illustrated until part two. How much do I hate considering how, still today, a woman can be essentially a prisoner of the man she marries - especially when wealth and innocent children are involved. Constantine successfully illustrates not just once, but twice, how such “relationships” are developed. While in the end, I can’t admire either Amber at all - and admire Daphne only a bit for taking charge of her life, I admire Liv Constantine for her skill in bringing them both to life in The Last Mrs. Parrish. She successfully creates remarkable suspense and entertainment, and provokes serious thought.