Dear friends and followers,
Because of some family health issues, I am taking the next two weeks off. I just finished reading The Thursday Murder Club for my Thursday Book Club and absolutely loved it! I will write my feelings about it when I return.
By Anthony Horowitz
Harper 2017
496 pages Mystery
I finally got around to reading Magpie Murders,
which has been on my Kindle for the last five years, and I am so glad that I
did, even though it took me nearly two weeks to get through the book. When you
read a book on a Kindle, you have no idea how long the book is—the major
disadvantage of a Kindle. However, I kept reading and loving every moment. I
wanted to get it read before it becomes a series on PBS Masterpiece in October.
Agatha Christie was the queen of mystery novels, and
Horowitz follows in her path with his first murder mystery novel, after having
written many mysteries for television. The NY
Times says, “Mr. Horowitz makes gleeful use of the Christie format by
creating a 1950s mystery within a mystery set in contemporary London.” You may
want to read the rest of the newspaper’s interview with Horowitz.
Here is a brief summary from Time
magazine. “Why is it that we have
such a need for murder mystery,” asks Susan Ryeland, the narrator of British
author Anthony Horowitz’s new novel, Magpie
Murders, “and what is it that attracts us — the crime
or the solution? Do we have some primal need of bloodshed because our own lives
are so safe, so comfortable?”
If anyone should be able to answer these questions, it’s
Susan. As an editor at a publishing house, she works with the massively
successful Alan Conway, a writer of Agatha
Christie-style whodunits. Magpie Murders is
one mystery novel wrapped in another: we peruse Alan’s latest manuscript
alongside his editor, while another crime plays out in Susan’s life. Evidence
mounts that finding the guilty party in the book will shed light on the case in
real life.”
All of the characters are very firmly drawn—in the novel and
in Susan’s life. I had a bit of trouble remembering characters from the back
and forth between the two settings, especially when Susan began investigating
the characters in Alan Conway’s life and how they compared to the characters in
his novel. I did a lot of “Oh, Yeah! That’s the vicar! Or, “Oh Yeah! That’s the
doctor’s secretary!” Did I figure out who was the killer in each of the cases?
Nope! It was all just so much fun!
So, if you get a longing for traditional murder mysteries
with a modern twist, check out these two masterpieces.
By Renee Linnell
Pink Skeleton 2022
227 pages Memoir
I read and reviewed Renee Linnell’s first memoir The
Burn Zone in 2018 and was impressed by how she grew, following her
realization that she had become embroiled in a spiritual cult. I remembered how
much of an adventurer Renee Linnell was/is, and her new memoir, Still on
Fire, continues her story with as much fervor as The Burn Zone
held.
Linnell dedicates the book “to everyone who is tired—tired of
fitting in, tired of playing small, tired of being afraid, overworked,
overstressed…and tired of living a life without true joy. May you stop making
excuses for why mediocrity is okay for you and take the leap into a life that
you love.” She has divided the book into five parts: decisions, wild ride,
spirit, love, and whole. The book ends with an epilogue that puts her
philosophy of life into a nutshell. She says, “When we are handed this one life
to live (this time around) why are we holding back? Why are we not creating
something magnificent and truly unique to us?”
My favorite chapter concerns her visiting Buenos Aires as a
tango dancer. Apparently tango is something that Linnell is an expert at, along
with surfing, and meeting up with a variety of “hot” men. Of course, while in
Buenos Aires, she meets a professional tango dancer at a local milonga. She had
seen him before and apparently was looking for him to arrive—or hoping for him
to arrive. The entire chapter is very sensual, but I loved the imagery of the
dancing.
Linnell travels all over the world in Still on Fire.
You will travel with her place by place, incident after incident, all of the time
learning the life lessons she, herself, has learned throughout her remarkable
life. It is all very candid, and the reader is left with the impression that
this wonderful woman has been open to whatever life may offer her. Would I like
to have some of these adventures? For sure!
Norm Goldman has a terrific review of the book and an
interview with the author on his website.
Here, also, is Linnell’s website. Her
newest book comes out tomorrow, August 16.
By Emily Henry
Berkley 2022
377 pages Romantic Comedy
I don’t usually choose romance
novels to read. However Book Lovers was our book club choice for August. And
surprisingly, I enjoyed it for the most part because it was so skillfully
written. Great characters, delightful setting, and interesting plot devices.
Also because it has been a best seller since it came out in May, and I was curious
about it. The NPR
reviewer had this to say, “Book Lovers by Emily Henry is both a tribute to and takedown of
this cultural form by a star of the summer beach read. Her playful and clever
contemporary romance — her third — pokes holes in many of the assumptions that
surround small towns in popular culture.”
Nora Stephens, the narrator of the
book, is a New Yorker through and through. She has had various love affairs,
all of which have ended up disasters with Nora being dumped. Her younger
sister, Libby, however, is married and expecting her third child. After their
mother’s death, Nora finished raising Libby and they have an extremely close
bond. Libby comes up with a suggestion that she and Nora take a vacation alone
together to the small town of Sunshine Falls, just outside Asheville, North
Carolina. Nora is a book agent and knows
that she will have to work while on vacation. She very soon begins to suspect
that Libby’s marriage may be having trouble and that is why she wanted to leave
for a while. Oh, and by the way, Sunshine Falls is the setting of the last book
Nora was the agent for.
Surprisingly, when they get to a rental
house high on a mountain in Sunshine Falls, Nora finds Charlie, a book editor
that she has had a rather unfortunate meeting with over a book edit. What is
Charlie doing in this small North Carolina town? They are very attracted to
each other, and thus the plot begins.
There is a familiar trope in
romance fiction that hard-edged city people go to small town America to rest
and renew. Love and romance can come in quaint, lovely small towns. The Kirkus
reviewer says that “Henry never falls into the easy trap of vilifying
either small towns or big cities, allowing her characters the room to follow
their dreams, wherever they lead.”
Here's a cute article
about how Emily Henry vacations and her favorite Midwestern cities, including
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
By Megan Miranda
Scribner 2022
336 pages Mystery
Megan Miranda hiked on
the Appalachian Trail when she was a child and now lives in North Carolina. The
compelling atmosphere of those mountains became the setting for her newest
novel The Last to Vanish.
Abby Lovett came to Cutter’s Pass and the Passage Hotel
following the death of her mother when she was looking for a purpose for her
life. The inn had been built by some relatives, but Abby knew nothing about the
notoriety for Cutter’s Pass as the “most dangerous town in North Carolina.” It was so named because over 25 years, several
trail hikers have disappeared, including a group of four college friends,
nicknamed the Fraternity Four, a woman in 2012, a photographer in 2019, and an
investigative journalist just four months ago
Abby had met both the photographer and the journalist in her job as
manager of the hotel, but she does not become particularly concerned until the brother
of the journalist arrives at the hotel looking for information.
It is then that Abby really becomes interested in the
mystery and concerned about the role the hotel (or people connected with the
hotel) might have had to the disappearances. She finds an important piece of evidence in an unlikely
place, and now she is firmly in the mystery. She discovers how little she
really knows about the coworkers, people of the community, and even those
closest to her. The tension increases until it culminates in a scene worthy of
a scary film.
Miranda does a wonderful job creating the setting for the
book. The village of Cutter’s Pass, the Appalachian trail that leads from the
hotel, and the nearby waterfall are so well described that the reader settles
right in, until the sense of foreboding strangles the beauty of the scenery.
Here is a lovely description of an Appalachian morning. “In the distance, the
fog was lifting off the mountain, like smoke. Wisps of heavy gray still clung
to the trees in sections, muting everything. It was my favorite kind of
morning, haunting and beautiful.”
Miranda also develops
strong characters, although I had occasional trouble remembering who some of
them were—particularly people from the village who play smaller roles in the
plot.
The plot, itself, is a slow burn. A couple of times I
thought I wanted to quit because the story moved so slowly, but I kept getting
drawn in until I just couldn’t stop reading. The Kirkus
reviewer suggests that “the plot finally loses itself somewhat in a tangle of
strained connections.” However that reviewer calls The Last to Vanish
a “richly atmospheric thriller.” Publisher’s Weekly gave
it a starred review and mentions that Miranda is “writing at the top of her
game.”
I wouldn’t go so far as to give The Last to Vanish
five stars, nor would I say that this was my favorite book of the summer.
However, it made me want to go on a hiking trip—just not alone!
Here is Megan Miranda’s website
and a list of all her books. The Last to Vanish was the first
that I had read although, as it turns out, I have two other of her novels on my
Kindle, sent from the publisher. I’ve got a lot more reading to do!
By Jean Hanff Korelitz
Celadon Books 2022
448 pages Literary
What a fascinating book! I read The Plot
about a year ago and watched the HBO series The Undoing, which is
based on Korelitz’s novel, You Should Have Known. This is an author with
great skill and talent. Among her many gifts is character development, which is
on full display in her newest novel, The Latecomer.
I really like the summary provided
in the Kirkus
review, which begins “A fatal car crash sets the stage for a fraught marriage
and family life.” In its essence, The Latecomer is the story of
the relationship between triplets, who began their life as IVF embryos. It
follows their lives as well as the lives of their mother Johanna and their
father, Sal Oppenheimer, until the triplets are young adults. The third section
of the book tells the story of their sister, Phoebe (the fourth IVF embryo) and
how the conflict between the triplets becomes resolved. It’s a complicated
story, and Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally play huge roles, both with each other and
through the eyes of their much younger sister, Phoebe.
There is a lot of family drama, but
there is also some illuminating knowledge. For instance I knew nothing about Outsider
Art, of which Salo Oppenheimer became an expert collector. Outsider Art is art
made by self-taught or naïve artists who had little or no connections with the
conventional art world. The work of several outsider artists are mentioned as
being part of Salo’s collection. I had to look it all up. Fascinating
information.
I thought the portrayal of each of
the Oppenheimer triplets and the chapters dedicated to each of them was spot on
and enlightening. The New
York Times reviewer speaks of the old-fashioned plot points such as a
tragic accident and an extramarital affair, but also contemporary like the test-tube
creation of the triplets, and the birth of their frozen-embryo sister. The
reviewer says, that “it’s testament to Korelitz’s achievement that her novel
leaves us wanting more…The Latecomer is consistently surprising…It
is a Gilded Age novel for the 21st century.”
By Jeffrey Sauve
North Star Editions
2022
208 pages True
Crime
Minnesota Point is one of the showcase spots in Duluth
Minnesota, my home town. Sticking out in the harbor between Duluth and Superior
Wisconsin, it is the best picnic and swimming spot on the few days that the
weather is warm enough for such adventures. The Park Point neighborhood is
connected to the main part of the city of Duluth by the famous Aerial Life
Bridge (the only still-working bridge like it in the world.) When the murder on
Minnesota Point occurred, however, people got to Park Point (its common name)
by several different ferry systems.
Archivist Jeffrey Sauve became intrigued with the story of the murder of Lena Olson on the Minnesota Point beach, which happened in the summer of 1894, and decided to explore the story further. The murder was called the “crime of the century,” and it’s long, involved solution forms the basis of the book. Sauve’s research lasted ten years.
After she was found dead on the beach, the victim remained
anonymous for a considerable time, and the coroner left her body for the
community to see for several days before she was identified. When she finally
was identified as Lena Olson, she was buried in a pauper’s grave. Slowly, the
potential killer was identified, and two years later the crime was solved by
skilled (for the day) detective work.
Sauve very carefully takes the case to its fitting, although
unsatisfying, conclusion when the villain commits suicide in jail. He says in
the introduction that “the following narrative is faithful to its unfolding,
and quotations are verbatim as printed in various period newspapers.
Discrepancies between sources are explained in chapter endnotes. She is
remembered.”
I was very intrigued by the crime, of course, because I know
the area so well from my childhood, when I was on that beach many times and had
been on the beach just last summer with three grandchildren. However, I had
never heard about the murder. I kept my phone close to my side as I was
reading, so I could Google relevant information. For instance, I had never
heard the term “O-at-ka” Beach, which was the name of the beach where the body
was found. We just always called it Park Point.
I will definitely explore the sites of the book when I
return to Duluth this fall. True-crime aficionados and lovers of Minnesota
history will celebrate Murder at Minnesota Point, which was
published this week. Kudos to Jeffrey Sauve for his skilled detective work and
page-turning writing.
Here
is an excellent summary of the book.
By Donatella Di Pietrantonio
Translated by Ann Goldstein
Europa Editions
2022
167 pages Literary
It has been several days of beach living since I finished
reading A Sister’s Story, but the emotional impact lingers. The
narration is told in the first person by one sister ostensibly about the other
sister, written years after the events being described. It is the story of
memory but primarily the story of pain and sorrow with very little redemptive
joy.
Here is the synopsis: "It’s the darkest time of night. Adriana, a baby in her arms, hammers on her sister's door. Who is she running from? What uncomfortable truth is she carrying with her? Like a whirlwind, Adriana upends her sister’s life bringing chaos and cataclysmic revelations.
Years later, the narrator gets an unexpected, urgent summons back to Pescara, her hometown. She embarks on a long journey through the night, and through the folds and twists of her memory, from her and her sister’s youth, their loves and losses, secrets and regrets. Back in Borgo Sud, the town’s fishermen’s quarter, in that impenetrable yet welcoming microcosm, she will discover what really happened, and attempt to make peace with the past.A quote early in the novel explains the sibling
relationship: “ As children we were
inseparable, then we had learned to lose each other. She could leave me without
news of herself for months, but it had never been this long. She seemed to obey
a nomadic instinct; when a place no longer suited her, she abandoned it. Every
so often our mother said to her: ‘you’re a Gypsy.’ Later I was, too, in another
way.” With few characters and minimal plot, the relationship is explained and
exploited.
The novel was
translated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein, the translator of My Brilliant Friend and the other books in the series by
Elena Ferrante. Although the style of writing is quite different, the themes
bear some similarity. One reviewer said, “A Sister’s Story carries the same message
of the greatest Italian literature of the 20th century. . .a message
at once tragic and hopeful—that while suffering may be an inevitable part of
life, we can choose not to let it define us.”
Fortunately the novel
is short. I would have been hard pressed to deal with all the negative
situations and pressured emotions if it had been longer. I do believe that A
Sister’s Story helps describe complex family relationships. Be prepared
to be moved.
By S.W. Leicher
Twisted Road 2021
299 pages Literary
A lesbian couple, who live in Prospect Park South in
Brooklyn, have defied many odds to establish a life together. Paloma is a
tremendously respected oncological nurse. Born the only daughter of Colombian
immigrants, she is connected with her brother and his children, but primarily
isolated from the rest of her family. Likewise, Serach, an accountant, has been abandoned by her Orthodox Jewish
family, and when her mother dies, she faces indescribable pain and suffering
because of her life choices.
Even though they love each other deeply, Paloma and Serach
struggle in the face of being outcasts in their families. Have they made the right
choice to renounce their past and cling to each other rather than family? Each
character has a narrative, and Leicher explores complex psychological, sexual
and philosophical mazes as the story line deals with the dilemmas caused by the
life the two women have chosen.
I especially was taken with the narrative that unfolded when
Serach’s mother dies. She desperately wants to be part of the ceremony and
burial, which is so much a part of Orthodox tradition. Even her brother, whom
she adored growing up, has abandoned her, and the poignancy is intense as she
stands at the edge of the cemetery attempting to discretely observe the burial.
I got thrown off as I began Acts of Atonement because of the long list of character names and
how they were connected with Paloma and Serach before the book began. I got worried that I might have to keep referring
to the list as I delved into the book, but Leicher did a good job of introducing
each character, and I hardly ever had to refer back. Additionally, at the end
of the novel is a glossary of Spanish and Hebrew words, but again, I had little
trouble navigating the terminology.
The novel is based in New York City, and it is obvious that
the author is also a New Yorker. Additionally Leicher has a deep knowledge and
understanding of Orthodox Judaism, which
I very much appreciated.
S.W. Leicher’s website.
Many thanks to the publicist who sent me the book to read. Acts of
Atonement will be published tomorrow, June 20, 2022.
By Freya Sampson
Berkley 2021
329 pages Fiction
The Last Chance Library is almost a polemic
disguised as fiction. It tells the story of June, a young assistant librarian, who is
faced with the closing of the community library where she has worked for the
last ten years, taking her mother’s job following her mother’s death. Books and
the library patrons have become her entire life, filling the void her mother’s
death created. She knows books so well that she is able to help the patrons
find exactly the right books at the right time.
And oh the patrons! So many of them spend their days with
June and have come to be her best—albeit—only friends. There is Stanley, an
elderly man who spends every day in the library; Jackson, a home-schooled
8-year-old that June helps learn to read; Mrs. B., who keeps reading books June recommends and
decrying them as “trash”; and Chantel, a teenager who is needing a quiet place
to do her schoolwork. June helps people log onto computers, and of course,
helps patrons find books to read.
The Council, however, has decided that the small community of
Chalcot doesn’t need a library, and the loyal patrons stage a coup in an
attempt to try to save the library. Because of her job in the library and
because of her reticent nature, June feels that she shouldn’t be part of the protests,
but in the end, her desire to keep this community intact causes her to enter
the protests and encourages nation-wide media coverage.
Although this is the basic plot, we are witnesses to June’s
coming alive in the emergence of this cause, facing her own need to expand her
life’s horizons. Of course, there is a bit of romance, some tragedy, some good
fortune, and a whole lot of growth—for June and for the community.
What I mean by The Last Chance Library being a
polemic is that the obvious goal of the author is to insist on the importance
of public libraries for the good of the community. Those of us who grew up in public libraries know this already, but
it was very much fun to read about a community coming alive to save the
library, which offers so much more than books.
Over the years, I have written frequently about the
importance of the library, both for me personally and for the sake of the
community. Here are a couple of entries from my blog—one about Andrew
Carnegie and the libraries he created, and then another by Susan Orlean
about the value of libraries with her narrative nonfiction, The
Library Book.
The Last Chance Library is Freya Sampson’s debut novel, although it appears she has a new book out, The Lost Ticket. Here is her website.
By Alan Parks
Europa Editions 2022
371 pages Noir
If you ever wanted to know what classic Noir is, this series
of books by Alan Parks is the place to begin. May God Forgive is
the fifth book in the series, which begins with Bloody January, published
in 2017. Although this was the first of the series that I read, I didn’t have
much trouble getting acquainted with Detective Harry McCoy. McCoy has returned
to the Glasgow police force following a month off to recover from a bad ulcer
attack. However, just as he returns, the city is racked by several
unforgiveable crimes. Here is a brief synopsis of the book:
“Glasgow is a city in mourning. An arson attack on a hairdresser’s
has left five dead. Tempers are frayed and sentiments running high. When three
youths are charged, the city goes wild. A crowd gathers outside the courthouse,
but as the police drive the young men to prison, the van is rammed by a truck,
and the boys are grabbed and bundled into a car. The next day, the body of one
of them is dumped in the city centre. A note has been sent to the newspaper:
one down; two to go. Detective Harry McCoy has twenty-four hours to find the
kidnapped boys before they all turn up dead, it is going to mean taking down
some of Glasgow’s most powerful people to do it.”
May God Forgive takes place in Glasgow in
the spring of 1974. The city is really gritty and crime filled, and McCoy knows
the city and all its criminals really well, hence his need for Pepto Bismol night
and day. We, the readers, try to keep up with his logic as he sets out to solve
both the fire at the hairdresser’s and the young men’s murders. He has the
additional crime of a young woman’s murder, and the knowledge that she appeared
in a photograph with one of the young men. Oh, and I almost forgot, he has to
solve the murder of a homeless man that he knows from his detective work. And
this is to say nothing about the brief appearance of his estranged father,
who haunts his memory night and day. There are many characters in the
novel, some making very small appearances, and several others who seem to have
long-term relationships with McCoy, who grew up in the city. A couple of times,
I found myself at a bit of a loss to remember which character was which.
The city of Glasgow is very much a character in the novel,
and I enjoyed reading about the city and its inhabitants, including the crooked
Archbishop as well as all the shop and bar owners. Luckily, I had a British
son-in-law visiting as I read the book, so if I ran across a word or a concept
I didn’t understand, I could ask Stuart for an American definition. For
instance, I was confused by the word “jumper” and Stuart said a jumper was a
sweater. Aah!
Did I mention that it is raining nearly every day as McCoy
checks in with all his sources, meeting many of them in neighborhood bars,
drinking and smoking his way to a solution to the crime. It reminded me that if
I ever get to Glasgow, I shouldn’t visit in May.
Alan Parks has had a career as a music producer, and readers
can get a sense of his love of music with the background music that shows the
atmosphere of 1970s music. Park’s Harry McCoy mysteries have been nominated
twice for well-deserved Edgar Awards. Classic Noir indeed!
Cynthia Swanson, Editor
Akashic 2022
264 pages Noir
Denver Noir is this spring’s offering from Akashic
Books and their marvelous Noir series. There are over 100 books in this series,
each one set in a major city in the world, each one featuring a local set of
authors, and each one with a different take on the concept of noir. The
Oprah Magazine says, “Each volume in the series reveals a city’s
distinctive inner darkness.”
One of the fascinating aspects of Denver Noir
is the diversity of the story authors and the diversity of the characters—as diverse
as the city itself. The noir-ness (is that a word?) is also very diverse. There
is a Native attorney and a female private investigator. There are crime-ridden streets
and wealthy neighborhoods. There is beautiful scenery and scrubby apartments
above taquerias. There is history and there is gentrification. My favorite
story was “On Grasmere Lake” by Mathangi Subramanian, about a young woman college
student and an unsolved murder.
This is a great
collection of stories, and Swanson has done an excellent job introducing Noir
readers to the neighborhoods of Denver, a city I visited many years ago. It is
a fun, diverse, and immersive read.
By Frederick Buechner
Zondervan 2017
141 pages Spiritual
I can’t imagine my writing a book blog without including something
by the master of spiritual writing, Frederick Buechner.
Buechner is now 96 years old, and has written in his
lifetime more than 30 books, fiction, theological, and spiritual. This is not
the first of his books that I have read, but apparently the first that I have
written about. We are discussing it in my spiritual growth book group next
Tuesday.
A Crazy, Holy Grace is a compendium of
Buechner’s writings on pain and loss. He discusses “the power of hidden
secrets, loss of a dearly beloved, letting go, resurrection from the ruins,
peace, and listening to the quiet voice of God. And he reveals that pain and
sorrow can be a treasure—an amazing grace. Buechner says that loss will come to
all of us, but he writes that we are not alone. Crazy and unreal as it may
sometimes seem, God’s holy, healing grace is always present and available if we
are still enough to receive it.”
I came to Buechner’s book following a very bad week..
My friend’s 40-year-old daughter had died of cancer. She had a two-year-old
son, and her death brought back for me all the pain I had suffered many years
ago when my 41-year-old husband died, leaving me with a two-year-old, as well
as two older children. That sort of pain never leaves a person, and Buechner
speaks to that type of pain as he describes the suicide of his father and the
resultant anxiety all these many years later.
I just kept underlining passages that meant a lot to me
personally. An example. “If God started stepping in and setting things right,
what happens to us? We cease to be human beings. We cease to be free.” He goes
on: “But I sensed the passionate restraint in the silence of God, which was
both silent and yet eloquent.” He closes the chapter: “Joy is the end of it.
Through the gates of pain we enter into joy.”
A Crazy, Holy Grace meant a lot to me because
I had a lot of anxiety that needed calming. His words can have a powerful
impact on hearts in need of grace and peace.
By Kristy Woodson Harvey
Gallery 2022
412 pages Historical
Fiction
When I was offered a copy of The Wedding Veil by
Kristy Woodson Harvey, I grabbed it immediately because the lead-up book
information indicated that the book was about a family heirloom made of Belgian lace. My
family has an heirloom Belgian lace wedding veil that is a family treasure, and
I wanted to read about another family’s veil. Of course, our family veil never
resided in the Biltmore Mansion in Ashville NC, but it is treasured none the
less.
The Wedding Veil follows four women who all
have a connection to a Belgian Lace veil. Two are connected to The Biltmore
Mansion as members of the Vanderbilt family, and two who inherited a wedding
veil that appeared in the family under
mysterious circumstances.
Edith Vanderbilt was the widow of George Vanderbilt who built the Biltmore Mansion between 1889 and 1895. After he died, Edith struggled to maintain the grounds and the community the couple developed until her daughter Cornelia Vanderbilt turned 25 and inherited the property. Cornelia was a socialite and a free spirit, who ran away from her marriage to John Cecil, never to return to the estate. (By the way, the mansion and estate remain the property of the family all these years later.) When she left, she dyed her hair pink and traveled off with her most prized possession, the Belgian wedding veil. The wedding veil then completely disappeared from the family. That’s one story.
The other story happens in the present day and concerns an elderly woman named Babs and her
granddaughter Julia. Julia ran away from her wedding, tore off the family
wedding veil and escaped to the Virgin Islands, where the couple was supposed
to spend their honeymoon. Her greatest supporter is her grandma Babs, who encouraged
her to give up on a marriage that was destined to be a failure. Upon her
return, Julia and Babs visit the Vanderbilt mansion and view an exhibition that
includes a reproduction of Cornelia Vanderbilt's wedding veil. Shocked at how similar the
Vanderbilt veil is to her family’s veil, Julia begins to research her family’s
veil and finds that it may be the missing Vanderbilt veil.
Below you will find a picture of my great aunt Helma who brought our veil into the family following a trip to Bruges Belgium. Below it is a picture of Cornelia Vanderbilt in her veil.. Helma wore the veil for her wedding in 1930, and it has since been worn by ten family members. What a heritage!
By Gideon Defoe
Europa 2022
250 pages Satire
The Shortlist
The tagline for An Atlas of Extinct Countries
is “The Remarkable (and Occasionally Ridiculous) Stories of 48 Nations that
Fell off the Map.” This book is a trip! I received it from the publisher, and I
had no preconceived notion of the book’s intent. Then I read the Introduction. Defoe says, “Countries
die. Sometimes it’s murder. Sometimes it’s an accident. Sometimes it’s because
they were too ludicrous to exist in the first place.” He then announces, “These
are the obituaries of the nations that fell off the map.”
Defoe describes the rules he gave himself when designating
the countries he chose to include in the book, and he outlines these before he
begins. Then he divides up the 48 countries into categories: Chancers &
Crackpots, Mistakes & Micronations, Lies & Lost Kingdoms, and Puppets &
Political Footballs. Most people know
about some of the countries, including Sarawak, Elba, and Bavaria. More
interestingly, Defoe outlines several countries that had a very short run, such as The
Kingdom of Rough and Ready, now part of California, that only lasted two months
when gold was discovered on the spot. Throughout the book, Defoe blames the demise
of many of the countries on England,
such as in the story of New Caledonia, which was established by Scotland in
1698 and only lasted until 1700. England forbade Scotland from getting
investors from England or the Netherlands, and so the colony never had enough
investors to survive. Besides that, there were a lot of mosquitos.
I have been reading An Atlas of Extinct Countries
bit by bit for several weeks, and I wanted to let my readers know about it. It
would be a great Father’s Day present for history buffs or dads who enjoy humor
and sarcasm. Ooh, that would be my son-in-law. Check that Father’s Day present
off my list!
By Jennifer Clark
Unsolicited Press
2022
186 pages Memoir
I must say two things at the outset of this look at Kissing
the World Goodbye. First, Jennifer is my friend. Together, we created
and edited an anthology called Immigration and Justice for Our Neighbor
several years ago as a fund raiser for the Justice for Our Neighbor organization
at our church. Then, I had no idea what I was getting into when I began reading
her newest book. I knew that she was a thoughtful poet and a good cook, but I had no idea how funny,
ironic, and sarcastic she could be when writing memoirs and essays. I have read
her poetry, but this memoir is a scene all of its own!
The book is dedicated
to Jennifer’s brother and sister, although they bear some of the brunt of
Jennifer’s sarcasm, particularly her sister. Ironically, she notes that her
sister didn’t want her real name in the book—no surprise there—so she is called
Holly. There is some nostalgia present as Jennifer discusses her father’s
career as a biologist and professor, and she mentions things that she learned
from him, particularly about insects—his specialty. The essays also include thoughts
about his dying and the family’s response to his illness and death.
Some of the essays are ridiculous but immersive at the same
time. For example, I never even thought about Ernest Borgnine’s eyebrows, but
after reading the essay about him, now I care. I had to Google him to see if he
were still alive (died 2012) and to check to see if I remembered his eyebrows.
Another essay concerns Jennifer’s first trip to Costco with her sister. The
final sentence in the chapter: “Before today, I never knew I needed them.” That
sums up Costco in a few words.
Nostalgic memories chased me when I was reading the essay
about margarine. There was a time when margarine couldn’t be sold in midwestern
states, like Wisconsin—and Minnesota, I might add. We get a political education
about why margarine is an important food, but also why butter is “the product
of a grudgeless cow.” I have to add my own recollections to all of Jennifer’s
meanderings. As a little girl, margarine could not be sold in Minnesota, but
you could get it in Iowa. My extremely frugal grandmother would buy cases of it
when she was visiting relatives in Iowa and distribute it among family members.
At that time, it was white and came in a one pound package with a little orange
button of food coloring on the top of the plastic packaging. Grandma would pass
the packages out to grandchildren, and we would have a contest to see who could
do the best job getting the orange color mixed through the white goo. The winner got
toast with margarine on top as the prize. How gross, now that I think about it!
Mixed in with this odd assortment of essays, we find an unusual assortment of recipes. I haven’t tried any yet, because I have to buy some of the ingredients—on my next trip to Costco, I might add. I was especially intrigued by the spoon-bending noodles and the crock pot macaroni and cheese. Oh, and I am definitely going to try the “Best Kung Pao Chicken Recipe Ever.”
Dear readers, you will love this book as much as I did. I loved the random thoughts, the recipes, the humor, and the pathos. Here is Jennifer’s website.
By Taylor Jenkins Reid
Ballantine 2021
369 pages Fiction
How do the children of the famous prosper in the shadow of
their famous parent? This is the question that Taylor Jenkins Reid seeks to
answer in her latest book, Malibu Rising. Mick Riva is a rising singer when he
meets and marries, June Costas. June and her parents operate a fish shack on
the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu, California. Soon, Mick becomes the pop
singing star he dreamed about, but he has no idea of how to be a parent. Four
children are born to the union, but Mick leaves his family for fame, fortune,
and other women.
June never quite recovers from the loss, and after her death
the four children, Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit, are left to fend for themselves.
Nina, then a 17-year-old, becomes the parent and restaurant owner, assuming all
her mother’s responsibilities. The three other children rally around Nina and grow
in confidence, secure in their love for each other. Each pursues a career based
around the surf that is below the cliff where they live. Nina becomes a surfing
cover model, Jay and Kit champion surfers, and Hud a photographer, recording
their every move.
The major narration revolves around the day of the Riva’s annual Malibu beach party, Aug. 27, 1983. Several interspersed chapters tell the story of what has led the family to this moment. The reader soon identifies with these finely drawn characters, loving them, worrying about them, and despairing about what might happen to them. The party, itself, occupies a large portion of the novel, but by the time the party is totally out of control, the reader is so invested that we frantically read on, totally hoping for the best.
Although there is a lot of the narrative that is what might
be expected in a celebrity-driven novel, I was most impressed with the
character development and the authenticity of their emotions. This is
particularly true regarding Nina. Here is an example: “Nina, her entire life,
had been programmed to accept. Accept that your father left. Accept that your
mother is gone. Accept that you must take care of your siblings. Accept that
the world wants to lust after you. Accept, accept accept. For so long,
Nina had believed it was her greatest strength—that she could withstand, that
she could endure, that she would accept it all and keep going.” I think I
related so well to Nina, particularly because of her strength and the way in which
she lives her life according to what she feels she should be doing. One reviewer
acknowledges that Reid writes well about the rich and famous, and in Malibu
Rising she “cultivates real empathy for her characters, who are the
tender heart that beats at the novel’s core and are its greatest achievement.”
This is not a perfect novel. The actual life-changing party
takes up a large portion of the novel—perhaps too much of the novel. There are
many people roaming around Nina’s house and property, famous people and
groupies. An awful lot of craziness occurs. Yet, the family endures and remains
true to each other and end up strong and proud. The New
York Times reviewer concludes “We leave the party knowing that we don’t
have to worry about the Rivas.” (BTW, I
stole the great illustration from the NYTimes review.)
Taylor Jenkins Reid has written several novels about the rich and famous. Interestingly, Mick Riva is one of Evelyn Hugo’s seven husbands in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Daisy Jones and the Six is a novel about a 1970s rock band. Her newest book is Carrie Soto is Back, and Carrie Soto is one of the characters in Malibu Rising. Here is her website.
By Ellery Lloyd
Harper 2022
320 pages Thriller
When the world seems to be
getting the best of me, I often turn to mysteries or thrillers, because they
are engrossing, and because my cares seem insignificant in comparison to what
is happening in the mystery.
Such is the case with The
Club, written by a London-based husband and wife team, who write under
the pseudonym, Ellery Lloyd. “The Club” is really more than just a club, it is
a series of resorts owned and operated by Ned Groom with the assistance of his
brother Adam. The clubs all have the name “Home” in their titles, and their
newest club, Island Home, is opening this weekend. The rich and famous belong
to the Home Club, so that wherever they are, they have a luxurious place to
stay. Island Home is a spectacular place, off the coast of England, and its
three-day launch party is going to be spectacular as far as the owners and the
guests are concerned.
But as we find out, The
Club is not filled with nice people. The plot emerges through the point
of view of several employees—Adam, Annie, Jess, and Nikki. Several of the
guests are profiled as well, although as their names piled up, it was somewhat
difficult to tell them all apart. I had to stop and think: Oh yeah, he’s the TV
host, or she’s the actress with the little girl, etc. The point, however, is
that everyone has something to hide, and a lot of people are going to die.
The structure of The
Club is novel in itself, wavering as it does between what is actually
going on and the POV of each of the main actors. The setting is exceptional, the
characters are interesting, and the plot twists are breathtaking. It was
exactly what I needed to take me away from my own particular setting and cast of
characters.
The Bookreporter review
says that The Club is: “Perfect for readers of twisty novels and
star-studded casts, THE CLUB is a glitzy, glamorous thriller with a dark and
deadly mystery at its heart. If you’re ready for an escape from domestic
suspense, plan your next trip to Island Home.”
I was reminded of another
mystery I read that was set on an island in the British Isles, The
Guest List by Lucy Foley. And then, last night, I watched a couple episodes
of Inventing Anna on Netflix, which is the story of a real-life scammer,
Anna Sorokin, who posed as a rich German heiress and conned many of New York’s
rich and famous. She would definitely have been a guest at one of the Home
Clubs, or have been working in cahoots with Ned Groom.
I also have to mention that
The Club is Reese Witherspoon’s book club pick for March, 2022.
