Brit Bennett

Fiction 2016 | 304 pages

Luke, the pastor's son, impregnates one teenage woman, and eventually marries her best friend.  These three characters form the foundation of The Mothers, while many of the older women in the Upper Room church (especially Luke’s mother) give their opinions and advice, gossip, and attempt to orchestrate the young people's lives.

It sounds like fun, as well as an in-depth coming-of-age story.  Unfortunately, it disappoints.  Somehow, I don't care much about Nadia, Aubrey, or Luke.  There is something about these characters that feels unreal.  Aubrey and Luke, with their purity rings, seem to be somewhat unthinking.  Nadia is the most interesting of the characters .... she becomes pregnant, she leaves Southern California to attend the University of Michigan, she spends many years attempting to process her mother's violent suicide.  And yet, I never find myself really cheering for her.

I think I may have unrealistic expectations, because I am so enamored by Bret’s later novel, The Vanishing Half.  In this case, the debut novel by an author does not reflect her real skill, in my opinion.

August 2022

Ted Haynes | Fiction, 2020

268 pages

Erik Peterson is a very skilled skier. So, how did he end up dead in a tree well on Mt. Bachelor under four feet of snow?   And who was that man with the Norwegian chullo hat who joined Erik, riding up the hill with him on the Red Chair lift, in February 1966?

The story expands, and murder becomes the conclusion, with no apparent motive.  We soon learn of connections all over Bend, and also with Norway and WWII.

The mystery is engaging, though the denouement is perhaps more complicated than it need be.  The characters are interesting, especially as we follow Erik’s daughter Lisbeth and her best friend Sally from the fateful day in 1996, when they were skiing with Mr. Peterson, through 50 years, until the mystery is finally solved.

However, the writing is rather amateurish.  I don’t know quite how to explain my assessment ... it is just rather simplistic.

If you are a Bender, you may enjoy this book, as I did, for its considerable integration of Bend sites, from the mills, to Hosmer Lake, to Bend High, to Wall Street, which was, in earlier days, definitely NOT tony.  If Bend is not a place you know and love, you might want to skip this novel.  There are certainly better-written murder mysteries

That being said, Hayne’s newest book, The Mirror Pond Murders, just arrived for me at the library, and I am going to give him another try.  I was entertained, certainly, by The Mt. Bachelor Murders.

July 2022

Rick Bragg

Nonfiction 2021 | 239 pages

What a delightful story!  Rick Bragg has written 11 books.  The Speckled Beauty is his most recent.

This quick read is for true dog lovers. Speck is not a hero dog like Marley or Old Yeller or even Chet of Chet & Bernie fame.

Bragg’s rescue dog is truly a bad dog.  The worse dog ever.  He doesn’t obey any commands; he doesn’t leave farm or wild animals alone, instead either torturing or chasing them; he herds everything, even birds; he wanders; he fights; he won’t sleep indoors; he tears apart dog beds and towels and rubber balls; he snaps and growls.  In short, you are likely to fall in love with him.

I was so surprised to glance at the spine of this book and discover it is nonfiction.  Only truth could be this intriguing!

Thank you, Rene, for telling me about Rick Bragg's writing, and especially this dog book.  If dogs touch your heart and speak to your soul, then I highly recommend The Speckled Beauty.

July 2022

Chris Bohjalian

Fiction 2022 | 314 pages

Katie Barstow, a well-known actor when this novel is set, 1964, takes an entourage on a safari in Africa, to the Serengeti.  The entourage includes her new husband David (this trip is part of their honeymoon!), her husband’s best friend and his wife (Billy and Margie), Katie’s best friend Carmen and her husband Felix, another actor (Terrance), her publicist (Reggie) and her agent (Peter).  It appears to be the trip of a lifetime!  And, for some, it is the last trip of their lifetime.

The novel is intriguing.   The story line is clever and engaging.  And violent.  We know that the African Safari “turns deadly,” but, dear reader, don’t expect there to be one accident or murder or goring and then the tale plays on.  We actually follow the entire entourage over a few days while they are in capture by a group of perhaps-Russian men, for reasons unknown.  There is considerable violence and death.

The format consists of 31 short chapters, each from the perspective of one character from the entourage, or their safari guides.  Each chapter moves the story forward AND tells us something about the character’s background and/or their relationship with other characters.  So, bit by bit, the characters build and we acquire a strong sense of who they are … their strengths, dreams, histories, and foibles.

Somehow, Bohjalian writes these chapter flawlessly.  Through the use of a centered dividing ellipse, he moves us from the present to the past and back again.  I was, never once, confused about where we were in the timeline.  I think that took real authorial skill on Bohjalian’s part.

So, my recommendation.   Hmmm.  It is good story, a powerful story, an engaging story.  And you learn a great deal about the savanna and the current (1964) attitudes towards race, both in Africa and in the US.  I am very violence-averse, and yet this novel did not send me running.  The author built tension that held me until the very last page. If it appeals, yes, pick it up.  I don’t think you will be disappointed.

July 2022

Robyn Davidson | Nonfiction, 1980

270 pages

(Republished to add to website.  No content change from first posting).

Tracks presented me with a rough start. Section One, Alice Sprung, is about Robyn learning about camels, acquiring camels, and healing camels through incredibly graphic infections, contusions, anger, erratic behavior, and even one euthanasia with a gun, all in a racist and sexist culture I could not wrap my head around.  I was a bit sick to my stomach, and Section One is 107 pages long.

But then we turn to Section Two, Shedding Burdens, and the story I was waiting for begins!  The author, Robyn Davidson, finally leaves on her self-designed journey, to travel with four camels and one dog across 1700 miles of the hostile, unpopulated Western Australia outback ... an unparalleled and difficult journey.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't turn another page after page 170.  Ms. Davidson writes well, but is depressing, whining, sullen.  This book is way more about the Aboriginal vs White culture wars, the destruction of ways of life, and hostility, than it is about a physical outdoor challenge.

I am going to break my own rating rules and give it three hearts even though I didn't finish it because I believe Tracks will actually appeal to many of my readers.  So, try it on if you like, and please leave your comments here!

For those of you who are also members of the "Solo Female Hikers and Adventurers" Facebook group, this is a "group read" for July.

June 2022

Neel Patel | Fiction, 2021

324 pages

Tell Me How to Be follows two characters—Renu and her son Akash. They come together, along with their son/brother Bijal, to pack up and sell the family home on the one-year anniversary of Renu’s husband’s death.  We go inside Renu’s mind and then Akash’s and then Renu’s again. Back and forth.  We know there is a possibility of reconciliation among the family members, but really the story is more about Renu’s internal journey and Akash’s journey of life thus far.

Part One, the first 100 pages or so, is the most challenging, I believe.  Akash’s alcoholism is like a raw, rough, searing, burn every time we get to an Akash section.  He is so self-destructive.  Renu is easier, though her disappointment with being an Indian woman raising a family in American is palpable.  In their individual sections, each is talking to someone else, and who that someone is, is not revealed for quite a while.  Suffice it to say that, as they muse, they address former, long-lost loves. Renu’s secret is that she has been in love with a man from before, for their duration of her marriage.  Akash’s secret is also that he has been in love with a man since his teenage years ... and he is in the closet..  He has admitted to no one in his family that he is gay.

I found the characters interesting (especially Renu) and the relationships sadly intriguing.  I think this comment from a reviewer is quite enlightening:  “Tell Me is a perfectly average novel about the Indian experience in the US, of racism, bullying, homo­phobia.”   Yes, Patel seems to be a rather average writer; there is not much to complain about and not much to laud.  If you like books about complex relationships and their resolution, this book is worth your time.

July 2022

Erich Blehm

Nonfiction 2006 | 335 pages

"The least I owe these mountains is a body."  Randy Morgenson, McClure Meadow, 1994

This is a truly remarkable book, well written and researched with significant depth.  I have an affinity for reading real-life backcountry adventures and even tragedies, but Blehm rises to the top of the pile of authors.  His research is so inspired, broad, deep, and detailed, that I feel as though I know Randy Morgenson personally.  Or, at least, I sure wish I had.

Randy Morgenson was a back-country park ranger for 27 years in one of my own favorite parks ... Kings Canyon National Park.  In 1996, he disappeared while on patrol, off trail, high in the Sierras. Randy was not just compelled by these mountains, he was obsessed.  It is hard to imagine his life without his dedicated years of this often disrespected, sometimes thankless, decidedly low-paying job, protecting the people from the Park and the Park from the people.

His life story is complex, with strong ties to and learning from his wilderness-inspired parents (he grew up in Yosemite, for heaven's sake!) His marriage to Judi was filled with love and respect, and yet he leaves her every summer for five months at a time.  His knowledge of the land and its inhabitants is unparalleled. And he is is blessed with writing and photography skills.

The SAR ... the Search and Rescue effort after Randy's disappearance ... is written by Blehm with extraordinary sensitivity.  It doesn't have the melodrama nor the boring technology detail some SAR stories have, and yet it is the most emotional and intimate search story I have read ... because it is conducted by Randy's fellow rangers.  This is no tourist they are searching for ... this is someone they have spent years with, call a friend, and love.

I cried on page 291.

If you have any affinity at all for nature, the outdoors, the National Parks, or a well-told true story of love, passion, sacrifice, and commitment, read The Last Season.

July 2022

Maggie O'Farrell

Fiction 2020 | 305 pages

Pardon me if this is too much information, but I am going to share a "hint" for reading this book.  There are two timelines, but, IMHO, the author does not distinguish them very well in the beginning chapters.  The primary timeline is the story of the twins Hamnet and Judith, 11 years old, their older sister Susanna, their mother, Agnes, and their father.  The year is 1593.

The second timeline occurs 15 years earlier and revolves around Agnes meeting and marrying her husband, the Latin tutor and glover's son.  Agnes's brother Bartholomew plays a major role, and there are other siblings and extended family members.

O'Farrell never names Agnes's husband, but in the last few pages we become clear that he is in fact William Shakespeare.  Why she does not name him, I don't know ... it seems this sense of mystery is part of her style.  This ambiguity is confusing and stilted. (If you hear that Hamnet is about Shakespeare writing Hamlet, as I did, take that with a grain of salt.  That happens in the last 20 pages.  Hamnet is, however, a story about what might have led up to that historic literary event.)

The primary story considers two families, Agnes's, and the family of the man she marries. The relationships are intricate and many.  We gain deep insight into Agnes herself, who is the star of this tale, and the twins.  We also achieve significant glimpses of her husband and of her powerful and strong brother, Bartholomew.  A disappointment is how shallowly the author creates the character of the twins' older sister, Susanna.

Agnes, as well as her twins, Hamnet and Judith, have paranormal powers. Agnes can see the heart of a person, and glimpses of their future, by holding tight to their hand between the thumb and forefinger. Hamnet and Judith are so bonded from their time together sharing a uterus to the present day, that they can be confused, one for the other, and they are capable of assuming each other's emotions, sensibilities, desires, and yes, even their lives.

This is an engrossing and intellectually smart story, with a view of the times, the Black Plague, and the interesting twist of a little paranormal behavior.  I recommend this Casting Crew June Book Club read.  Thank you for suggesting it, Bev.

June, 2022

Alix E. Harrow | Fiction, 2020

516 pages

Beatrice Belladonna (the oldest, and a librarian); Agnes Aramanth (street savvy and unintentionally pregnant); and James Juniper (wild and rural) Eastwood are sisters who have been raised by their grandmother in the art of witchery.  The setting is 1893.  When the Eastwood sisters find each other at a Suffragist rally in New Salem, after seven years apart, the forgotten words and ways of witchery re-emerge, many from re-examining nursery rhymes.

This is a tale of sisterhood, of women's power, of loyalty, of love, of unbreakable bonds, of the stark need of women to vote, of magic, of witchery.  It is a story about what happens when women build community, share power and knowledge, learn and dream.

Our three main characters are developed fully and deeply, and the surrounding characters include a diversity in color and sexual orientation that adds a lovely modern flavor.

Unfortunately, I found it rather boring.  It took me two weeks to read, because I never experienced it's alleged page-turning qualities.  While prettily written, I would call it over-written.  Too many spells enacted too many times.  I am particularly disappointed by this because I loved Ms. Harris' first novel, The Ten Thousand Doors of January.

https://sagecoach.com/the-ten-thousand-doors-of-january/

I am going to give this three hearts (although it leans towards two.). There are so many rave reviews, my opinion on The Once and Future Witches feels off-kilter, like maybe I missed something important or lovable.  I am eager to hear what you think!

June 2022

by Colson Whitehead

Fiction 2021, 336 pages

I had to restart twice because I couldn't seem to remember what was going on. 0n my third try, I made it to page 80. This story is about Freddie, who is nearly making ends meet as a legitimate furniture store owner, but who falls in with a crew of Harlem robbers to supplement his income, 1959-1964.

I keep falling asleep, finding the writing completely boring.  I hope you enjoy Harlem Shuffle more than I did!

May 2022