If you read a lot of Pema Chödrön, there seems to be very little new in her books. Useful reminders, but the content is just too repetitive for me. Loving-kindness, tonglen, mindfulness, bodhicitta, etc. I know many who love every single of her books ... please continue to enjoy, if that is your pleasure!
November 2023
I think the writing is superb, from a logophile's perspective ... words are beautifully and thoughtfully used by Ms. Setterfield.
And the story is unusual. It opens with a man entering the Swan Inn tavern with a young girl in his arms, who seems by all accounts to be dead, but mysteriously and miraculously awakens a few hours later. We are in a village along the Thames River, and the year is 1887.
Once Upon a River is about three families — the Vaughans, the Armstrongs and Lilly White — who have each lost a young girl from their lives, and who hope this is the daughter, sister, or granddaughter they lost.
The book begins with a lot of exposition — strong character development, explorations of towns, families and locations, backgrounds, cities, locations and families, etc. and introductions of new plot lines. Each chapter ends in a cloud of mystery and each new chapter seems to introduce a new set of characters and plot lines. There is a blurring of fantasy and reality, but it is rather muddied and unresolved, I believe.
So, good writing and good plot. Why only two hearts? It was a slog to get through the 465 pages of this book. I am not exactly sure why, but I think it is because the story develops ever-so-slowly. I made it through Once Upon a River, but I cannot recommend it. The story simply plods.
November 2023
Tim and his buddies go backpacking (with lots of beer!) for his bachelor party, into a remote section of the Wyoming mountains. But Tim never returns. Five years later, Tim's dad Martin is still searching for him or his body in remote wilderness areas. On this particular journey, we have Martin; Tim's three friends who were with him that fateful night; Nemeth, a local guide for this remote section; Bob, whose hobby is being a Sasquatch seeker; Luciana and her tracking dog Daisy; and our main character and narrator, Frankie, who really calls no place home, but seeks missing persons as a unpaid profession of sorts. Except Frankie has never been in the wilderness before. She has done all of her tracking in cities, especially inner cities, where she finds the bodies of people who have OD'd, or are victims of violence.
Gardner's characters have depth and personality. Unfortunately, it took the whole first half io the book to set the context and help us really get to know her characters. There are simply too, many, and some seem not necessary to the story line. Of course, Frankie is a delight right from the start, with her adventurous spirit and total lack of knowledge about how to survive a week in the woods.
Halfway in, the mystery began to take over the plot, and things became exciting until the very end, when all is discovered. Except the violence was too gruesome for me.
This is a good, solid mystery, with suspense, and terror, and humor. But it was not my cup of tea. I will not read another Lisa Gardner. She spent too much time in context setting, sacrificing a bit of the actual mystery search and discovery of clues. And I don't need her violence.
The story kept me engaged, especially the second half. I recommend this with a grain of salt ... Mystery lovers may quite appreciate it!
November 2023
I enjoyed this book, though it doesn't have the same complexity or depth of relationships as its predecessor, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. If you read that book, you will recall that near the end of that book, Bluet acquires a baby girl, who is also blue. Honey becomes her daughter.
This book is Honey's story, as she follows in her mother's footsteps, experiencing similar discrimination while becoming the new "book woman."
If you have read and enjoyed The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, you may enjoy this as well. Otherwise, I think you will be missing too much context to find this book meaningful or interesting.
November 2023
Do you ever read an author who seems to be writing out her internal stream of consciousness? (Unedited ...) That's how Bridge reads to me, and I don’t care for the writing, so I am closing the book and moving on to something else.
October 2023
I finished this book about two hours ago and am still smiling about how the title emerges near the end of book.
Once again, a debut novel that astonishes me! The story is scrumptious! Marcellus McSwiddles is a Giant Pacific Octopus who cannot only think and feel as humans do, but also figures out how to let himself out of his tank every night. Remarkably, the information about octopuses in this novel is true. They are warm and intelligent and really do know how to unscrew a jar! (You will likely learn a few octopus facts. I did!)
Tova, our main character, cleans at the Sowell Bay Aquarium (a fictional town in Washington). She is 70, widowed, and also grieving the loss of her son Eric when he was 18. Tova and Marcellus develop a beautiful relationship, as she helps him navigate his excursions outside his tank. At the beginning of the book, Marcellus determines that he can be outside this tank for 18 minutes before he encounters "The Consequences."
The novel, however, is not only about Tova and Marcellus, but also about Cameron. The first few times we meet Cameron, who lives in California, is 30, and cannot hold onto a job or a relationship or any sense of stability, we don't know who is he is or how he will fit into the story. But eventually, all is revealed, And Cameron and his relationship with Tova are a central theme of the book. Well, perhaps THE central theme.
This book is warm-hearted, delightful, hard to put down. The characters have depth, the story line is surprisingly interesting, and the short sections written by Marcellus will tickle you! Do not hesitate to read this debut novel as soon as possible. What will she write next? I have joined her email list so that I will know!
October 2023
A clever plot .... Lincoln is hired by the Courier, a local newspaper, to provide internet security. A specific part of his job is to read emails that have swear words in them or some other messages that seem inappropriate for the workplace. A piece of software called WebFence flags these emails and puts them in a folder for Lincoln to read. Lincoln has the ability to send people warning notices to cease and desist.
Lincoln is uncomfortable with his job .... he works nights and feels like a Peeping Tom. But then WebFence captures some emails between best friends Jennifer and Beth, and Lincoln becomes an e-mail voyeur. He falls in love with Beth, without ever meeting her or even seeing her.
Meanwhile, Beth keeps seeing this "Really Cute Guy" at work, though she never finds out his name or what he does at The Courier.
Of course, you know from this summary where the plot will take us.
As I say, it is a clever plot. However, its execution is a little too "cutesy" for me. The book is an easy, entertaining read, but I cannot find a truly redeeming reason to recommend it. It is entertainment and nothing more. And so, read it if you want something light and fluffy. And cutesy.
October 2023
(I do not know how to put two photos in my blog, so I am leaving the book cover out and using this photo of the Fugate family instead).
The truth: The Blue Fugates were a family from Eastern Kentucky, notably recognized for their blue skin, a genetic condition passed down over generations. The peculiar story of the Fugate family begins with a French orphan named Martin Fugate. In 1820, Fugate claimed a land grant in Eastern Kentucky on the banks of Troublesome Creek. He, and four of his seven children, were blue. They married and had children, and the number of blue people in eastern Kentucky grew.
The blue-skinned Kentuckians existed for 200 years, until modern science discovered the genetic reason. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is historical fiction. The story, the characters are fiction, but the contextual facts are true.
And what a delightful story this is! Not only did I fall in love with our main character, Cussy Mary (aka "Bluet"), but the writing thrilled me. Cussy Marie is 19 years old for much of our story, which takes place in 1936. She is a "book woman." She rides her mule Junia into the hills five days a week, delivering books, magazines, and other reading materials to extremely poor and very remote homesteads. She is also "colored" by the definition of that time, and experiences all the disrespect and brutality of those times. She lives alone with her father, who is dying from the grim, sad, and ubiquitous employment in Kentucky, coal mining.
I had many examples of the writing that tickled my inner logophile. Here is a short one. "Junia raised her upper lip and nibbled the breeze with tall, talking teeth." (End of chapter six). I love the visual!
There is a sequel; I intend to read it.
Yes, certainly, read this novel. You will be glad.
October 2023
The author's personal experiences and convictions make this a very plausible and realistic telling. She stays in conversation with and continues to love her parents who are Mexican immigrants (she was only allowed to speak Spanish at home) and avid supporters of Trump, while she describes herself as a moderate liberal, who voted for Hilary Clinton. She is SO committed to listening, finding common ground, respecting, thinking ... with these two people who are very important to her.
This book is really grounded in creating relationships across difficult differences, such as politics, values, race, gender, guns, health care .... However, the skills, tools, and ideas apply in ALL relationships! I was thinking about a difficult conversation I had recently, and how I stepped over some of what Monica Guzman tells us about curiosity, listening, bonding, assumptions, getting traction, clarity, honesty, attachment and non-attachment. (Okay, I didn’t step over ALL these skills in my difficult conversation, but you get the idea…!) Her writing is engaging, light, and it opened me up to new ideas. She also includes a lot of (IMHO) cute little graphics.
I recommend this book, yes. Whether you are on a journey to bridge the divides we are facing, or simply want more self-development, you will find some gems in here.
September 2023
The Man Who Died Twice is the second book in Osman's "Thursday Murder Club Mystery" series. As with The Thursday Murder Club (see my review in August), we are privileged to be a part of the four-member Thursday Murder Club and watch the (often brilliant, often humorous) interactions of Joyce, Elizabeth, Ron, and Ibrahim. These characters remain interesting, sometimes surprising, always engaging of the reader.
20 million in diamonds (nearly $25 million in US dollars) are at the center of this mystery. Did Douglas (Elizabeth's former husband) actually steal them? And why does he come back to her to protect him when his life is at stake? And the subplot ... who stole Ibrahim's cell phone and beat him up severely? Both of these plots are interesting and complex, and you cannot miss the love between the four main characters.
I enjoyed The Man Who Died Twice but am giving it three hearts instead of four because the denouement, the solving of the mysteries, is overly complicated, with a variety of minor characters. I am no mystery writer, and I assume it is difficult to craft a meaningful yet hidden "who done it and how was it done" mystery, but I became lost at the roles some of the minor characters played. I wish we had the same cops (love Chris and Donna and don't need additional investigators), and a sufficiency, but not a plethora, of supportive characters to add juice to the mystery.
I will give Osman the benefit of the doubt and have just requested the third book in the series, The Bullet that Missed, from the library. The Man Who Died Twice was an enjoyable read, but not as engaging as his first book.
September 2023