Sujoya(theoverbookedbibliophile)
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Books:
2022-favorite-reads
(32)
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| 1668011832
| 9781668011836
| 1668011832
| 4.07
| 56,246
| May 02, 2023
| May 02, 2023
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it was amazing
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*Happy Publication Day!* May 2, 2023 4.5⭐️ In 1939, as WWII rages on, sisters fourteen-year-old Hazel Mersey Linden and five-year-old Flora Lea Linden ar *Happy Publication Day!* May 2, 2023 4.5⭐️ In 1939, as WWII rages on, sisters fourteen-year-old Hazel Mersey Linden and five-year-old Flora Lea Linden are evacuated from London as a part of Operation Pied Piper along with other children to protect them from German aerial bombings. They end up in Binsey, Oxfordshire in the home of the Aberdeens - Bridie and her son Harry, who welcome them and treat them with kindness and compassion. But their time in the safe idyllic countryside comes to a tragic end in 1940 when six-year-old Flora disappears from the banks of the River Thames, where she had been napping on a blanket. The pain and guilt for having not been able to protect Flora from harm haunt Hazel for years to come and resulting in her cutting all ties with the Aberdeens. Fast forward to 1960 and we find Hazel in the middle of her last day at Hogan’s Rare Book Shoppe in Bloomsbury where she has been employed for the last fifteen years and is now moving on to her dream job in Sotheby’s. When she opens a parcel from America with the first edition and a set of original illustrations from a children’s book named "Whisperwood and the River of Stars" written by American author Peggy Andrews, shocks her to her core. After all these years, the secret world she created for her sister was in the pages of a book, written by a stranger. How did Peggy Andrews know about Whisperwood- the imaginary haven created by Hazel for Flora? Could Peggy be Flora? How else could she know about Whisperwood? What really happened to Flora all those years ago? “We’re always safe in Whisperwood.” Hazel's attempts to contact Peggy result in a hostile telephone call, following which Hazel embarks on her search for answers. In the course of her quest, she tries to contact people from her past who knew Hazel and Flora when they were in Binsey revisiting the painful memories she had left behind twenty years ago all the while studiously avoiding a journalist who wants to write about Flora's story as a part of her series on children who were lost during The Blitz. Hazel resents anyone sensationalizing her family’s tragedy. While she has support from her best friend Kelty (a fellow evacuee during Operation Pied Piper who became her lifelong friend) and others including her ex-employer, her actions are met with concern and skepticism from her boyfriend Barnaby, causing a rift in their relationship. But Hazel is not deterred and nothing will diminish her resolve to find out what happened to Flora twenty years ago. On the other side of the world in Cape Cod, Massachusetts Peggy Andrews is astonished when a stranger from London calls her claiming that the concept of Whisperwood and its magical elements was conceptualized by her for her sister. How did Peggy find out about Whisperwood? How is her story tied to Hazel’s and Flora’s? The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry is an exquisitely written novel that combines elements of historical fact and fiction with an element of mystery and fairy tales and touches upon themes of war, grief, love and family, the indestructible bond between siblings, hope and healing. The author creates an immersive world around the magic of storytelling and the role books and stories can play in our lives, especially in difficult moments. I enjoyed the literary references interspersed throughout the narrative. The characterizations are superb and I found the narrative in both timelines equally absorbing. The “Whisperwood” sections were enchanting and I felt myself being transported to that magical place along with the sisters. The Author’s Note is informative and provides perspective into the historical context of the story and details the true events that inspired (and in a few instances are mentioned) parts of this novel. She also highlights the significance of fairy tales in the lives of children, quoting Tolkien that fairy tales offer children “the consolation of a happy ending.” Overall, I could not put this book down and was immersed in the world of WWII London /post-WWII London and the fantastical world of Whisperwood. Heartbreaking in parts, enchanting and hopeful in others, The Secret Book of Flora Lea is a beautiful story – one that should be read with your heart! Patti Callahan Henry is a masterful storyteller and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future. Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 09, 2022
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Oct 12, 2022
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Oct 12, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 4.07
| 96,599
| Jan 31, 2023
| Jan 31, 2023
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it was amazing
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“We grow up fast. Not by force, but because we are needed.” Families can be complicated. Twenty-five-year-old Madeleine "Maddie" Wright’s family is no “We grow up fast. Not by force, but because we are needed.” Families can be complicated. Twenty-five-year-old Madeleine "Maddie" Wright’s family is no different and Maddie is struggling. Her life is far from ideal. The daughter of Ghanaian immigrants settled in London, Maddie, working a dead-end administrative job is responsible for the care of her father, whose Parkinson's Disease is now at an advanced stage. Her mother who alternates between Ghana and London is constantly critical of Maddie but this does not stop her from guilting Maddie into shouldering the greater part of all financial responsibilities – paying the bills as well as sending money to her in Ghana where she runs a hostel with her brother. Maddie’s brother who lives separately is self-absorbed and never seems to be around when Maddie asks for help. When Maddie’s mother returns to London for a year, Maddie takes this opportunity to move out of her father’s house, take up residence in a flatshare with two other young women, start a new job in a publishing house (after being unfairly fired from her previous job) and finally live her life. As the narrative progresses we follow Maddie as she navigates her way through professional ups and downs, old and new friendships and romantic relationships. Not all her experiences are pleasant ones. Naïve and inexperienced in the ways of the world, Maddie struggles to strike a balance between the different aspects of her life. When tragedy strikes, Maddie experiences an immense sense of guilt and loss that plunges her into a state of despair. As she tries to come to terms with her loss and move forward, Maddie begins to understand the importance of prioritizing oneself even if it means confronting those who have taken her for granted. "Maame” has many meanings in Twi, but in my case, it means “woman.” Maame by Jessica George is a moving and deeply insightful novel. The writing is excellent and the characterizations are superbly done. “Maame” is her mother’s nickname for Maddie – in their native Twi, it means woman; the responsible one. As Maddie reflects on her life she shares how she feels that this nickname has somehow defined her, determined how she is perceived by her family members and has influenced not only how she interacts with others but also how she treats herself. “It made me grow up when I should have had more time. It made my dad overlook me when I was a child, my mum leave me behind, and my brother get away with doing the bare minimum. It made me lonely and it made me sad. It made me responsible and guilty. It made me someone, if given the choice, I wouldn’t want to be.” Both inter and intra-role conflict are excellently depicted in Maddie’s story. The author gives us a picture of how culture influences roles and expectations within families and relationships. In Maddie, struggling to find a balance between the Ghanaian family values instilled in her since childhood and her life and aspirations as a Londoner, we find an endearing protagonist who is sweet, smart and lovable and is doing her level best to find her way in the world. Her struggles are real and relatable and her pain and grief are palpable. I found the author's writing on Maddie’s struggles with grief and the discussion on mental health particularly powerful and moving. Maddie’s first-person PoV reels you in and makes you feel like a confidante with whom she is sharing her experiences. I felt invested in her story, grieving with her, feeling her anger ,guilt and pain and celebrating her moments of triumph. Heartbreaking in parts, and hopeful in others, the author tells a beautiful story of love, family, friendships, personal growth and self-acceptance with wit, wisdom and emotional depth. It is hard to believe that this is the author’s debut novel. I look forward to reading more from this talented author in the future. Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this beautifully-penned novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. “ 'Many assume love is straightforward,” Angelina continues, “when really it is the most complicated of things. There is a right way, a preferred way, for each individual, to love and be loved by someone—but there isn’t only one way. I believe the difficulty of life has much to do with understanding and then navigating how the people you love both express and receive love themselves. It cannot be your responsibility, your burden, to reshape people into someone you’d like them to be. Ultimately, you must either accept a person for who they are, how they behave, how they express themselves emotionally, and find a healthy way to live with them, or let them go entirely. Either way, you must release yourself from that responsibility.’ ” ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 07, 2022
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Oct 09, 2022
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Oct 03, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 0345531841
| 9780345531841
| 3.85
| 15,760
| Mar 07, 2023
| Mar 07, 2023
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it was amazing
| Happy Publication Day! (March 7, 2023) 4.5⭐ Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and NetGalley for granting my wish! All opinions ex Happy Publication Day! (March 7, 2023) 4.5⭐ Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and NetGalley for granting my wish! All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This novel is due to be released on March 7. 2023. On November 12, 1975, ten-year-old Miranda Larkin returned home from school to find her mother gone. Thirty-nine-year-old Jane Larkin was declared missing and her husband criminal defense attorney Dan Larkin, would remain the prime suspect in the eyes of lead investigator Detective Tom Glover but with no evidence or witnesses, Dan was never charged. His children remain divided on their opinions about their father’s role in their mother’s disappearance and needless to say this would complicate their relationships with their father and between themselves in the years to come. In 2015 author Philip “Phil” Solomon is contacted by his school friend Jeff Larkin after a long gap of forty years and is encouraged by Jeff and his sister Miranda to base his next book on the Jane Larkin case. In the course of his research, Phil talks to different people who knew about the case, revisiting the events that followed the disappearance and the subsequent friction between the family members that has left its shadow even in the present day. Will Jane’s children ever find out what happened to their mother? Was Dan truly responsible for his wife’s disappearance or was there more to the case than what everyone assumed? How will finally finding out what happened to Jane impact the already fractured Larkin family? Closure.. but at what cost? Shared through multiple PoVs, All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay follows the members of Jane Larkin’s family through 1975 to the present day. The author captures the tension, heartbreak and conflict that follows in the aftermath of the events of 1975 perfectly – the emotions are real and the characters are distinctive in their voices and reactions. Among her children, the eldest, Alex, leaves for college soon after and we don’t get to know much about his inner thoughts barring the fact that he stands by his father while the younger children, Jeff and Miranda, are conflicted about how they feel about their father and his (presumed) role in their mother’s disappearance. Alex is given a relatively minor role but the remaining characters are very well-written. We witness how the children navigate their way through Jane’s absence, their complicated relationship with their father and how they cope with Jane’s disappearance both as children and how the trauma follows them into their adult years. In contrast, we see Dan, Jane’s cunning, smug and self-assured husband who vehemently denies any involvement in Jane’s disappearance and remains seemingly unaffected by the accusations being thrown his way- from the investigators, Jane’s family and his children. I really liked how the plot is developed at a (relatively) slow yet steady pace, presenting us with different pieces to the puzzle while also allowing us to fill in the blanks as we see fit. Not all our questions are answered but that is all right because the author prepares us for that. As the narrative progresses we are compelled to presume (just like the characters in the story) and predict, but the author waits for you to turn the very last page to give us a finale that will stay with you. With its crisp writing and fluid narrative, this is a novel that you will not want to put down. Overall, All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay is a compelling read that I would not hesitate to recommend. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 19, 2022
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Oct 25, 2022
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Sep 20, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 1908745908
| 9781908745903
| 1908745908
| 3.92
| 44,588
| Aug 04, 2022
| Aug 04, 2022
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it was amazing
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WINNER of the 2022 Booker Prize !!! “All stories are recycled and all stories are unfair. Many get luck, and many get misery. Many are born to homes WINNER of the 2022 Booker Prize !!! “All stories are recycled and all stories are unfair. Many get luck, and many get misery. Many are born to homes with books, many grow up in the swamps of war. In the end, all becomes dust. All stories conclude with a fade to black.” Set in 1990 Colombo, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka begins with our protagonist - professional war photographer, closeted gay and compulsive gambler- Malinda Albert Kabalana a.k.a. Maali Almeida, waking up, dazed and confused, initially assuming his condition to be the after effect of the “silly pills” his close friend Jaki shares with him. However, he soon realizes that he is now deceased (with no recollection of how he died) and is now in the afterlife - a crowded, chaotic place that he compares to a bureaucracy with its long queues and precise list of procedural formalities. He has “seven moons” (translates to seven nights), in the “In Between”, where he can roam free, recall his past life, complete the required formalities and proceed toward “The Light”. Over the next seven moons, Maali desperately attempts to communicate with his friends, family or anyone who can hear him. He requires assistance to complete an unfinished task – among his earthly possessions is a box that contains photographs taken during his assignments- photographs of the death and devastation he has witnessed first-hand in 1980s Sri Lanka, victims including activists (who have been “disappeared”) journalists who are assumed missing and incriminating pictures of powerful people. In his own words, ” ‘These are not holiday snaps. These are photos that will bring down governments. Photos that could stop wars.’” “Down There", his family and friends, frantically search for Maali, initially unaware that he has been killed. They approach the police who, among themselves, are initially confused about whether this disappearance warrants an investigation or a cover-up. Unbeknownst to them, many will try anything to get their hands on the photographs and Maali’s death is just a starting point for more chaos. In the “In Between”, as Maali tries to figure out a way to get the photographs to the right people and piece together the events that led to his death, he meets an interesting mix of ghosts, ghouls, pretas and demons . He finds himself in a tug-of-war between the ghost of an academic murdered by Tamil extremists who guides Maali to complete all necessary formalities to proceed onwards and leave his past life behind and a slain member of the JVP (the communist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna),who has joined forces with a vengeful demon, and who wants him to join forces to exact revenge on those responsible for the death and devastation of many innocents victims and offers to help him find his killers. He meets others who have remained in the "In Between"- ghosts of victims of violence, others who have died by suicide as well as the ghost of a leopard. In his attempt to establish contact with the living, Maali also encounters "The Crow Man" - a holy man who serves as a medium between both worlds – catering to the needs of both, his help offered at a price. “Evil is not what we should fear. Creatures with power acting in their own interest: that is what should make us shudder.” “Down There” we get to meet people from Maali’s life – friends, secret lovers, family members, powerful men who have employed his services in the past, political leaders and their hired goons and those Maali met on assignments covering the some of the darkest episodes in 1980s Sri Lanka (the 1983 Tamil genocide among them). Narrated in the second person, this heady cocktail of magical realism, historical fiction, political satire and dark humor takes us through one of the darkest chapters in Sri Lanka’s history. A cast of interesting characters – both living and the deceased (“ghost, ghoul, preta, devil, yaka, demon”), the dream-like quality of writing and the vivid descriptions of the political unrest, violence, and corruption in the civil war-torn country make for a compelling read. The narrative jumps back and forth between the present day in both the living world and the "In Between" with flashbacks from Maali's professional and personal lives filling us in on the events leading up to Maali's death. “It is not Good vs Evil out here. It is varying degrees of bad, squabbling with conglomerates of the wicked.” The author is bold and unflinching in his description of the different warring factions within the country -Tamil Tigers, LTTE, the JVP as well as the Sri Lankan government, military and the police. He also does not hesitate to turn a critical eye to the role played by foreign countries and international organizations who offered intervention and aid during those years. I can’t say that this is an easy read, but yes, the satirical approach and the sardonic humor keep it from becoming too overwhelming. The author also gives us a brief look into the history of the country - facts about the history of colonialism in Sri Lanka and the aftermath, the turbulent political landscape, the myths, religious beliefs and customs of the region and also references the Mahavamsa - the epic poem, written originally in Pali, that chronicles the ancient history and origin of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). “ ‘History is people with ships and weapons wiping out those who forgot to invent them. Every civilisation begins with a genocide. It is the rule of the universe. The immutable law of the jungle, even this one made of concrete. You can see it in the movement of the stars, and in the dance of every atom. The rich will enslave the penniless. The strong will crush the weak.’” Although the narrative did seem to slow down in parts with some minor repetitiveness, overall "The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida" is an exceptionally well-written, immersive and powerful story, truly deserving of its place on the Booker Prize shortlist. This is my first time reading Shehan Karunatilaka and I look forward to reading more of his work. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 12, 2022
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Sep 16, 2022
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Aug 17, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 0802170498
| 9780802170491
| 0802170498
| 4.02
| 6,601
| Jan 01, 2007
| Jun 28, 2008
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it was amazing
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“There’s pleasure to be had in history. What’s recent is another matter and painful to recall.” ( from the story “Walk the Blue Fields”) Walk the Blue “There’s pleasure to be had in history. What’s recent is another matter and painful to recall.” ( from the story “Walk the Blue Fields”) Walk the Blue Fields by Claire Keegan is a collection of seven stories revolving around the themes of loss, regret, missed opportunities, and loneliness. From forbidden love, unhappy marriages and child abuse to gender identity, infidelity and misogyny- these stories explore some of the most complex aspects of human relationships and behavior. The tone of most of these stories borders on melancholic. Few authors can depict raw human emotion with such eloquence as Claire Keegan. Keegan’s characters are real and relatable – in their flaws, in their virtues and their simplicity. At this point after reading so many of this author’s works, I associate Claire Keegan with her clear, elegant and dream-like quality of writing, vivid imagery and deeply evocative stories. I am happy to say that with this collection, the author does not disappoint. The first story, "The Parting Gift" is about a young girl preparing to leave her home and family in Ireland. As she prepares to leave for America, her memories take her back to a lifetime of abuse and neglect and we know that she will never willingly return to this life. The title story “Walk the Blue Fields” revolves around a priest, unable and unwilling to break his vows for the woman he loves, who ends up officiating her marriage. “Dark Horses” sees a man lamenting the loss of a good woman whom he has driven away with his thoughtless, misogynistic behavior. In “The Forester's Daughter” a man brings home a dog he finds in the forest which his daughter mistakenly assumes is a birthday gift for her. I had previously read The Foresters Daughter ( which was published as a solo edition by Faber and Faber. You can read my review here .) Another story, “Close to the Water's Edge”, with some variation, appears in Keegan’s “Antarctica”, another of her short story collections. Here we meet a young gay man who celebrates his birthday with his mother and homophobic stepfather – a celebration he exits when the indirect slurs become too much to bear. “Surrender(After McGahern)” is the story of a police sergeant who is unwilling to commit to the woman with whom he has been in a relationship. When she sends him a letter stating her intention to end their relationship, he devours a crate of oranges ( an act of solace or self-indulgence?) before he decides to “surrender”. The final story in the collection, "Night of the Quicken Trees" incorporates folklore, Irish superstitions and magical realism in a tale about an unlikely relationship between a superstitious woman and her neighbor, a loner who lives with his goat. “Putting the past into words seemed idle when the past had already happened. The past was treacherous, moving slowly along. It would catch up in its own time. And in any case, what could be done? Remorse altered nothing and grief just brought it back.” ( from the story "Night of the Quicken Trees") I will not rate these stories separately because I found each one to be special in its own way, which is rare in a short story collection. At the end of the book, Keegan includes a brief segment on the folklore, specific terminology and geography featured in some of the stories. I would recommend reading that part before reading the stories. I absolutely loved this collection of short stories. A must-read for fans of this immensely talented writer. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 10, 2022
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Aug 12, 2022
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Aug 12, 2022
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Paperback
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| 164445064X
| 9781644450642
| 164445064X
| 4.06
| 31,716
| Sep 21, 2021
| Sep 21, 2021
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it was amazing
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Shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize! Percival Everett’s “The Trees” begins in Money, Mississippi with the consecutive murders of two of its white re Shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize! Percival Everett’s “The Trees” begins in Money, Mississippi with the consecutive murders of two of its white residents. In both cases, two bodies, one Black and the other White, respectively disfigured and mutilated, are discovered. When mysterious circumstances connect the two murders, the MBI (Mississippi Bureau of Investigation) sends two Black detectives to take charge of the case. These murders are found to have ties to the decades-old lynching of fourteen-year-old Emmett Till. However, the spree of murders is just beginning, and as the narrative progresses, similar murders are being committed in different parts of the country. An FBI agent joins the MBI detectives in a race to uncover the truth behind the crimes and find whoever is responsible. The small town of Money, MS is home to a cast of interesting characters (the author entertains us with some not-so-subtly named characters) and deep-rooted racism. As incidents of violence directed toward white men become more frequent and the body count increases, we get a glimpse into the reactions among White Supremacist groups and how they gear up for the “race war” that they knew was coming. Here, the author addresses relevant issues with a good dose of humor, keeping it light-hearted but impactful. We also meet a 105-year-old woman,who maintains “records” of everything ever written about every lynching in the United States of America since 1913 ( she mentions the number “seven thousand and six”), the year she was born. She takes pride in her efforts and does not hesitate to share her records with the investigators in charge of the case. She makes it a point to mention that she considers police shootings to be lynchings. “They’re investigating a crime, a crime of history. They need to know about this place, so of course they would come to me.” She enlists the help of an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, who visits Money, MS at the urging of her great-granddaughter. He assists in her efforts to chronicle past and present events. “When I write the names they become real, not just statistics. When I write the names they become real again. It’s almost like they get a few more seconds here. Do you know what I mean? I would never be able to make up this many names. The names have to be real. They have to be real. Don’t they?…… Mama Z put her hand against the side of Damon face. “Why pencil?” “When I’m done, I’m going to erase every name, set them free.” Percival Everett is a masterful storyteller. This was my first book by this author and I could not put it down. He weaves an insightful and absorbing narrative of what begins as a murder mystery but evolves into so much more. While on the one hand, we have moments of humor and elements of social satire there are also moments of darkness and elements of surrealism. But at the heart of this story is racial discrimination and violence – a narrative of the history and the legacy of injustice with an emphasis on the lynching of Black people . In turn suspenseful, funny, infuriating, heartbreaking and terrifying, Percival Everett blends fact and fiction to create a layered, genre-defying novel. (In 1955, Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old Black boy was kidnapped and murdered, and his body dumped into the Tallahatchie River, by family members of a White woman who alleged that he had misbehaved with her. His case garnered national attention and was pivotal in the Civil Rights Movement. ) “Everybody talks about genocides around the world, but when the killing is slow and spread over a hundred years, no one notices. Where there are no mass graves, no one notices. American outrage is always for show. It has a shelf life." (Please note that there are graphic descriptions of the crime scenes and frequent usage of racial slurs in the story.) ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 28, 2022
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Jul 28, 2022
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Jul 28, 2022
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Paperback
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| 3.93
| 2,224
| Jul 23, 2022
| Jul 23, 2022
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it was amazing
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Update (03/09/2023): Bonus Epilogue Chapter for Amen Maxine titled "The Call" is available now! Loved the update on Rowena's life and the surprise men Update (03/09/2023): Bonus Epilogue Chapter for Amen Maxine titled "The Call" is available now! Loved the update on Rowena's life and the surprise mention of another more recent character in the series! Many thanks to the author, Faith Gardner! Check out the author's newsletter (sign up on her website www.faithgardner.com) for details on all the Bonus Epilogues out now! Review for Amen Maxine: Rowena Snyder is a stay-at-home mother who gave up her career and life in New York to move to Silicon Valley with her new husband Jacob, who works for a tech firm. Living in the house her husband grew up in, Rowena spends most of her time with her six-month-old daughter Michelle but misses her life in New York, her mother and her friends. She also suffers from anxiety and takes prescription medication for her condition. Her husband takes every opportunity to bring up her mental health, often unkindly, and his response to her problems is always to remind her to take her medication. Enter ”Maxine”, an AI device in its beta testing stage– a “Digital Friend” for Rowena gifted by her thoughtful husband Jacob. Maxine once familiarized with Rowena’s life and other data quickly becomes an integral part of Rowena’s life. Advice Mode? “Amen Maxine” Prediction Mode? “Amen Maxine” As the cracks begin to appear in her marriage and she continues to feel boxed in, Rowena finds comfort in her interactions with Maxine and takes Maxine’s advice and predictions to heart. After all, the predictions have been accurate and the advice have been solid. But as the narrative progresses Maxine’s predictions become very personal and increasingly disturbing. With its crisp writing, fast-paced narrative with enough twists and turns that keep you hooked, and a main character you keep rooting for, this futuristic thriller is nothing like I have ever read before. With our dependence on technology and reliance on gadgets to make our lives easier, the premise of this novel does not come across as too far-fetched or unbelievable. The ending does require you to suspend disbelief but with a premise that is original in scope and exceptionally well-written, I found Amen Maxine by Faith Gardner to be Unique and Unputdownable! Many thanks to NetGalley and Mirror House Press for a digital review copy of this unique novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 08, 2022
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Jul 09, 2022
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Jul 09, 2022
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ebook
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| 1538709945
| 9781538709948
| 1538709945
| 4.05
| 12,135
| Nov 01, 2022
| Nov 01, 2022
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it was amazing
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Happy Publication Day(U.S.)! ( November 1, 2022) 4.5⭐ As the story begins we meet our protagonist Meredith Maggs, a resident of Glasgow, who has not ven Happy Publication Day(U.S.)! ( November 1, 2022) 4.5⭐ As the story begins we meet our protagonist Meredith Maggs, a resident of Glasgow, who has not ventured outside her home in over 1214 days. Though somewhat a recluse, she does keep busy. She shops online and is employed full-time in a writing job that allows her to work remotely. She socially interacts with an online support group and communicates virtually with her counselor. Pushing 40, she lives with her cat Fred as a constant companion and fills her free time with books, jigsaw puzzles and baking. She has a fixed set of people with whom she interacts in person - her best friend Sadie and her two children and her grocery delivery boy. Added to this mix are the recent additions of Tom McDermott, a “friend” from the Holding Hands Charity organization, Celeste, one of her online friends, who reaches out to her personally and her 10-year-old neighbor Jacob Alistair Montgomery who knocks on her door and introduces himself. She does have immediate family close by but it’s complicated. It’s not that Meredith does not want to leave the house but her efforts to step outside her safe haven seem to exacerbate her anxiety and cause panic attacks – the reasons for which are gradually disclosed. As the narrative progresses and we jump back and forth between past and present, we learn more about Meredith and the traumatic events that led to her self-imposed isolation. We follow Meredith’s journey as she struggles with anxiety and depression, willing herself to resume control of her life. Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander is a beautiful story full of hope and heart. Each of the characters in this novel is well-fleshed out ( even the unlikeable ones). There are dark moments in Meredith's life and her road to recovery is not an easy one – she stumbles and falls but we cheer for her as she does not stop trying to bring about positive change in her life. Everyone in her support system genuinely cares for her and what I liked about each of these characters is that none of them are pushy or overbearing and though they want her to venture out of her home, they give her the space and the time she needs to open herself up to everything life has to offer. The author covers several sensitive topics such as mental health, sexual assault and domestic violence, dysfunctional families and the far-reaching effects of parental neglect on a child’s sense of self-worth with the utmost compassion. The pacing of the novel is on the slower side which suits the central theme and natural progression of the story. I liked the fact that the author did not rush to an impractical, eye-roll-inducing, OTT ending but rather ended the story on a hopeful note – keeping it real and relatable. Meredith is an endearing protagonist. Though her story has its difficult moments it is ultimately one of courage and hope. Many thanks to Claire Alexander, Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for a digital review copy of this wonderful novel. All expressions expressed in this review are my own. This book is scheduled to be released on November 1, 2022. ...more |
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Jul 28, 2022
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Jul 30, 2022
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Jul 06, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 0063209748
| 9780063209749
| 0063209748
| 4.23
| 9,647
| Jun 14, 2022
| Jun 14, 2022
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it was amazing
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“We didn’t know then that the practice of burying emotions created adults who’d struggle to build meaningful relationships; some of us would eventuall
“We didn’t know then that the practice of burying emotions created adults who’d struggle to build meaningful relationships; some of us would eventually completely forget how to access true feelings.” In the summer of 1999, our twelve-year protagonist Felicia "FeFe" Stevens spends her days jumping rope with her three friends Precious, Shania and Tonya whom she has recently befriended, attending summer school (though she does not really have to) and keeping out of trouble under the watchful eye of her mother, who is protective of her children, FeFe and her older brother Meechie. The friends live in the Robert Taylor Homes, the housing projects in the Bronzeville area of Chicago’s South Side. FeFe is sweet and kind to others around her, befriending those who she knows has a rough time at home. The environment in the projects is volatile with rampant incidents of gang violence and shootings, substance abuse and exploitation. The projects are in the process of being demolished and one by one the buildings are being evacuated and residents are uprooted or relocated, depending upon the terms of Lease Compliancy and criminal background or lack thereof. “That day is cemented in my memory. We watched them knock down what we thought was indestructible. I’d learn that so many things that I thought were solid and structured in my life could be broken down, bit by bit, just like those buildings.” The author paints a heartbreaking portrait of a community plagued by hate crimes and gang violence, poverty, addiction and abuse through the eyes of a twelve-year-old who sees her life as she knew it and her friendships disintegrating in front of her own eyes. What saves her from a fate that would seem inevitable is the fierce protection of her mother and the positive influence of Mama Pearl and her teacher, Mrs. Pierce at school, a place she dubs “a refuge in a season of life when we needed to take cover”. Decades later, she is still haunted by the violence and loss she had witnessed as a child. As the narrative progresses, we, along with FeFe learn of the fate of her friends in the aftermath of their last summer on State State. As we follow FeFe’s life through the decades it is obvious that the events of the summer of 1999 have played a large role in the choices she has made, choosing a career that would emulate the positive influences she had in her formative years. “We will meet people; they will transform us. We will see things that will age us.” In short, Toya Wolfe’s Last Summer on State Street is a stunning debut. Toya Wolfe writes with heart and insight. This is a profoundly moving story of family, friendship, resilience and survival. Part coming of age, part family drama and social commentary of the times, this is a book that pulls you in and stays with you. ...more |
Notes are private!
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Jun 20, 2022
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Jun 21, 2022
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Jun 20, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 080216014X
| 9780802160140
| 080216014X
| 4.33
| 94,062
| Feb 2010
| Nov 01, 2022
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it was amazing
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“Part of me wants my father to leave me here while another part of me wants him to take me back, to what I know. I am in a spot where I can neither be
“Part of me wants my father to leave me here while another part of me wants him to take me back, to what I know. I am in a spot where I can neither be what I always am nor turn into what I could be.” At the onset of the novel, we meet our young narrator as she is being driven by her father to a relative’s home in Wexford County in the Irish countryside. She is to remain in John and Edna Kinsella’s care for an undecided interval of time. She has never met the Kinsellas before and is uncertain of how she will fare with her foster family. ” But this is a different type of house. Here there is room, and time to think. There may even be money to spare.” Edna and John are a kind and compassionate couple. They take care of her and involve her in their daily routine. From what we understand, when compared to her home with her parents, her experience with her foster family is markedly different. Unlike her own family where she is one of many children (her mother, Mary, was heavily pregnant at the time of our young narrator being sent to the Kinsella’s home) and there are more mouths to feed, here she wants for nothing- food, clothing, kindness and a deep emotional connection- a family among whom she feels loved and wanted. She observes that there is a lot of work that is done throughout the day on the farm, but Edna and John proceed at an easy and unhurried pace. Edna and John have secrets and have experienced loss in the past but they embrace this young girl as a part of their family. She reciprocates their feelings and in their care, she thrives. However, this arrangement is temporary and as her time with Edna and John nears its end and she is taken back to her biological family, we share in her realization of how the definition of home and family can change over time. As her heart breaks, our hearts ache for her. Much is left unsaid and left for the reader to understand and interpret. Claire Keegan’s prose is simple yet elegant. Seen from the eyes of a child, the story revolves around themes of family and belongingness and how even the smallest gestures of kindness can profoundly impact the innocent heart of a child. With its vivid imagery and emotional depth, Claire Keegan’s Foster is a short but impactful story that will stay with you long after you have finished reading. Last year I was first introduced to Clare Keegan’s work with her beautiful novella, Small Things Like These. With Foster, Claire Keegan does not disappoint and proves without a doubt that she is a masterful storyteller. Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the digital review copy of this poignant novella. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 17, 2022
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Jun 17, 2022
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Jun 17, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 0593420314
| 9780593420317
| 0593420314
| 3.83
| 114,533
| May 03, 2022
| May 03, 2022
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it was amazing
| Winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize Longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize 4.5⭐ "Most of us prefer to believe we are the active subjects of our victories but Winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize Longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize 4.5⭐ "Most of us prefer to believe we are the active subjects of our victories but only the passive objects of our defeats. We triumph, but it is not really we who fail—we are ruined by forces beyond our control." I’ll admit that I had put this book aside when I first received it a month ago. The subject matter- financial markets, Wall Street tycoon, the crash of 1929- wasn’t pulling me in. But eventually, my curiosity got the better of me and I finally cracked it open three days ago and I have been immersed in it ever since. This is a book that takes time and patience. I did put it down a few times – not because I lost interest but because I needed to take a pause and absorb what I was reading. In general, I enjoy meta fiction when it is done right and Hernan Diaz takes meta fiction to a different level altogether with “Trust”. It is hard to summarise this book without giving too much away. The plot revolves around a successful financier (and his wife) who not only survived the crash of 1929 but thrived and added to their wealth through well-timed investment decisions. He attributes his success to his strong intuitive capabilities, intense research and his acute understanding of the financial world. Needless to say, reaping profits in an era wherein the economy collapsed and investors and businesses lost substantial amounts of money, does invite questions and conjecture directed toward his investment practices, even inspiring fiction based on the life and times of said person with distorted facts and whole a lot of speculation. Now how does one protect his image and manage public perception? Who is he trying to convince? – Those in his close circle? Business associates? Family members? Himself? “Trust” is a complex, layered novel divided into four parts- four distinct narrative styles in four distinct voices. This novel is composed of four intricately woven novels/segments - each presenting a different perspective on the events center to the plot - a work of fiction inspired by the main character and his wife, an incomplete draft of an autobiography written by the egotistical protagonist, a memoir written by the young woman hired by the main character as his biographer and the final segment is a part of the diary of the financier’s late wife. As the narrative progresses, and the line between fact and fiction gets blurred, which version of the events and the people involved rings true? Whose version can you trust? With its unique structure, elegant writing, interesting characters (even the immensely unlikable protagonist) and the 1920s setting, Hernan Diaz’s Trust is a sharp, compelling and creative work of fiction. The first part of the novel does not quite give the reader an idea of the complexity and the intrigue of the plot that lies ahead. The final two parts of the novel were my favorite and the most absorbing part(s) of the book. I will definitely be looking out for more from this author. “Every life is organized around a small number of events that either propel us or bring us to a grinding halt. We spend the years between these episodes benefiting or suffering from their consequences until the arrival of the next forceful moment.” ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 10, 2022
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Jun 13, 2022
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Jun 12, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 0063144042
| 9780063144040
| 0063144042
| 4.10
| 44,219
| May 03, 2022
| May 03, 2022
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it was amazing
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4.5⭐️ Loved it! How much? Paired it with audio over a seven hour road trip and stayed up till 2 a.m. to finish reading! I just could not put it down! UP 4.5⭐️ Loved it! How much? Paired it with audio over a seven hour road trip and stayed up till 2 a.m. to finish reading! I just could not put it down! UPDATED REVIEW: First and foremost, I wouldn’t have picked up this book if it hadn’t been for the amazing reviews written by some of my GR friends! Thank you for recommending such an amazing book! Nessa James, a former nurse and mother of two daughters who are away at college, is gifted with the power of sight – a gift passed down through generations in her family. She can hear the voices of the dead and can also see them. She is a kind-hearted woman who will do everything in her power to help those calling for her help from the other side. “There’s a dead girl down by the ocean who needs our help. She’s been calling to me, and she won’t be found unless I go look for her.” Harriett Osborne, once a successful advertising executive has since been sidelined by her male counterparts. Divorced from her husband, she now lives alone in her home with its wild garden (the HOA has major issues, but Harriet knows how to handle them), and has gained repute as the resident “witch“ of the community with her herbs and seeds and weird concoctions causing trouble for some but also proving helpful for others. “‘Witch’ is the label society slaps on women it can’t understand or control.” Jo Levison, former hotel manager, presently owns and operates a gym catering to female clientele. She is married and is the mother of eleven-year-old Lucy. Her hot flashes manifest into fierce energy and strength. “Nessa was the light in the darkness. Harriett was the punishment that fit the crime. She was the rage that would burn it all to the ground.” When the three friends, guided by Nessa’a power of sight find the body of a young girl discarded in a garbage bag in a secluded area on Danskammer Beach, the local police lean towards writing the victim off as a drug-addicted sex worker. But this is just the beginning of a series of events that leads to the uncovering of a complex web of secrets, corruption and criminal activity in the affluent community of Mattauk. Together, Nessa, Jo and Harriet make a formidable trio and anyone guilty of these atrocious crimes against women and young girls better beware! With its fluid narrative, interesting characters, absorbing suspense and a healthy dose of humor, fantasy and magical realism thrown into the mix I found Kirsten Miller’s The Change to be UNPUTDOWNABLE! The author does a brilliant job in characterizing these three women each with distinctive personalities and backgrounds. Each of these characters are well fleshed out and their backstories are diligently developed. Touching 470+ pages (on my Kindle), this is one of those rare books that never loses its pace or feels long-drawn. The author touches upon many important themes such as the glass ceiling and discrimination in the workplace, gender-related stereotyping, misogyny, sexism, ageism and sexual abuse of minors. The author highlights multiple instances of women being treated disrespectfully - at home, in the workplace and in general. Needless to say, most of the male characters in this story are not very likable. Some descriptions (and language) are graphic and might be disturbing for some readers. You might find similarities between the crimes and criminals depicted in this work of fiction with actual events that we have come across in the news in recent times. I was hesitant about picking up this book because I was wary of how women going through this phase in life would be depicted. It was so refreshing to see women in their late 40s being represented as perceptive and willful individuals who not only support one another but empower one another. The author creates characters whose life experiences have contributed to their strength, capabilities and sharp-wit in a positive way . Are they perfect? No. But they are interesting and inspiring. Overall, this was an engaging and enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend! I switched between the Kindle version and the audiobook with this one and I must commend January LaVoy for her superb narration of this story. She was able to voice all three of these characters perfectly! I thoroughly enjoyed both listening to the audio and reading the book! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 25, 2022
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May 28, 2022
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May 08, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 9781642860450
| 164286045X
| 4.02
| 1,686
| Jan 14, 2016
| Jan 07, 2020
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it was amazing
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4.5⭐️ “Picture yourself waiting at a station or a bus stop with a few people, and not knowing when the next train or bus will arrive. Within fifteen mi 4.5⭐️ “Picture yourself waiting at a station or a bus stop with a few people, and not knowing when the next train or bus will arrive. Within fifteen minutes you’ll start feeling restless and will look around at the other people, who are getting restless too, and will also look around or at their watch. Now imagine a building with a few hundred waiting people, not for fifteen minutes, but for year after year. Not waiting for a bus or a train, but for their life to begin again.” In February 1998, Samir Karim arrives in the Netherlands, seven years after leaving his home in Iraq. A civil engineering graduate, he flees Saddam Hussein’s Iraq to avoid being conscripted into the army. After seven years of forged passports, smugglers’ routes, and a kaleidoscope of experiences in various Asian countries, Karim applies for asylum and what follows is a complicated, frustrating and demoralizing nine-year wait for his resident status. His initial three months are spent in a reception center (RC) in Haarlem after which he is sent to an Asylum Seekers’Center (ASC) which houses 500 asylum seekers like himself. Both the RC and the ASC allot “two blankets, three sheets, a towel, a pillow, and a pillowcase”, returnable upon the end of his stay. “Inside the building there was an amazing smell. A smell I had never smelled before, and will never forget. And nowhere else in the whole world could you observe, at least not so clearly and for so long, what happened here: waiting. If waiting has a smell, then it is the smell that permeated the ASC. The make-up of the approximately five hundred residents changed sometimes monthly, sometimes weekly. People came and went. Some vanished, others appeared. And they all waited.” As the narrative progresses we are introduced to numerous individuals who are housed in Samir’s ASC- people from different nationalities, of a different faith, male and female, young and old, each with different stories and each with dreams of starting over in a new country. While some wait for years on end, some are luckier. While some cases are approved, others are issued deportation orders. While some wait, with nowhere else to go, others take drastic steps. In Samir’s nine years at the ASC, he has witnessed eight people commit suicide. We follow Samir as he navigates the bureaucratic procedures, unreliable interpreters and apathetic lawyers while trying to survive on the allotted pocket money and the basic amenities provided in the ASC. Twice he attempts to leave The Netherlands and seek asylum elsewhere, once in Germany and once in Norway but was unsuccessful. He is a keen observer of the Dutch people, culture and society in general which makes for some entertaining anecdotes. Though some of the staff in Social Services are sympathetic to the plight of the ASC residents, they remain a stickler to the rules and restrictions imposed including prohibiting them from seeking work outside the ASC though they are allowed to leave the premises during the day. Samir, however, does his best to learn the language, work odd jobs and help as an interpreter. But it is impossible to be unaffected by the general feeling of isolation, despair and frustration within the center and its inhabitants. Two Blankets, Three Sheets is an exceptionally well-written book. Some of the characters and their stories reduced me to tears, some made me smile and though the author injects his own characteristic brand of humor to diffuse the depressing tone of the narrative, it is difficult to laugh without feeling guilty for doing so. Though Samir is a fictional character, the author also mentions, ” People might ask me if this is my story, to which I will say: no. But if I’m asked if this is also my story, then I will say wholeheartedly: yes.” I recently read a DRC of Rodaan Al Galidi’s forthcoming novel The Leash and the Ball which follows Samir in his life as a Dutch resident. I was so impressed with his writing that I could not resist grabbing a copy of this one and I am so glad that I did. (Both books are perfectly readable as standalone). Excerpt from the Author’s Foreward: “This book is fiction for the reader who cannot believe it. But for anyone open to it, it is nonfiction. Or no: let this book be nonfiction, so that the world I had to inhabit for all those years will be transformed from fiction into fact.” ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 05, 2022
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May 06, 2022
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May 01, 2022
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Paperback
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| 1786071959
| 9781786071958
| 1786071959
| 4.07
| 50,038
| Feb 06, 2013
| Oct 05, 2017
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it was amazing
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4.5⭐️ “All experience adds up to a life lived as only you could. I feel sure the day will come when you can say: this is my life.” Sentaro Tsujii, once 4.5⭐️ “All experience adds up to a life lived as only you could. I feel sure the day will come when you can say: this is my life.” Sentaro Tsujii, once an aspiring writer, now works in the Doraharu shop making and selling dorayaki, a Japanese sweet made with pancakes and sweet bean paste. This is not his chosen vocation and his working in the shop is a means of paying off his previous debts to his employer. Having previously served a two-year prison sentence, he is also aware that his checkered past limits his options in terms of employment opportunities. He is not content with his life and listlessly passes his days. One day he meets seventy-six-year-old Tokue Yoshii, a Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) survivor who has lived in a leper’s community, ostracized from mainstream society since she was diagnosed at the age of fourteen. Though she is now cured and after the Leprosy Prevention Act had been repealed in 1996, is allowed to mix freely, her illness has partially disfigured her face and affected her fingers. She convinces him to let her work alongside him, making sweet bean paste with care and precision – a sweet bean paste that elevates the reputation of the shop and has customers lining up for more. Among the customers is school girl Wakana, who befriends Tokue and Sentaro. However, Tokue’s medical history becomes an issue that affects business and eventually results in her quitting. However, their unlikely friendship continues and they continue to meet , correspond and positively impact each other’s lives. “It’s my belief that everything in this world has its own language. We have the ability to open up our ears and minds to anything and everything. That could be someone walking down the street, or it could be the sunshine or the wind.” Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa is a bittersweet, heartwarming and deeply moving story. The prose is simple yet beautiful. The vivid imagery of the sights and sounds of the busy streets, the cherry blossoms and the bustling shops and food make you feel as if you are walking with the characters as they bare their souls to one another. The author also sheds a light on the stigma and prejudice faced by people like Tokue, deprived of the life they desire. After living in a closed-off colony for decades, she now has nowhere to go even though she is free to travel. There is so much she wants to do with her life but she has been unable to. But does that render her life meaningless? What does it mean to lead a meaningful life? In a world that measures success with tangible yardsticks and visible “contribution” to society, Tokue’s wisdom as she shares with Sentaro and Wakana is in acknowledging that life lived on the fringes can also be a life worth living as long as your heart and soul are willing to experience all that world has to offer as she has strived to do despite all she has been through. As she shares her story, she teaches Sentaro that even though her life hasn't given her what she wanted, rather than brood over her past disappointments it is important to appreciate whatever she did have and how being mindful of the world around you may instigate positive change in your life and even in how you feel about yourself. “I began to understand that we were born in order to see and listen to the world. And that’s all this world wants of us. It doesn’t matter that I was never a teacher or a member of the workforce, my life had meaning.” This is a beautiful story, meant to be read, reread and shared with friends. This short novel is a beautiful reminder to pause, reflect and truly experience the world around us and in the process be kinder to each other and to ourselves. Excerpt from the Author's Note: “ Over the aeons the universe has nurtured life forms whose very awareness makes them involved in its continued existence. Hence we are all alike in having materialized on this Earth because that was what the universe so desired. The ill, the bed-ridden, and children whose lives are over before they’ve barely begun; all are equal in their relationship to the universe. Anyone is capable of making a positive contribution to the world through simple observation, irrespective of circumstance.” ...more |
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1
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Apr 26, 2022
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Apr 27, 2022
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Apr 27, 2022
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Paperback
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| 0062267523
| 9780062267528
| 0062267523
| 4.00
| 201,397
| Feb 03, 2015
| Feb 03, 2015
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it was amazing
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4.5⭐️ Ted Severson and Lily Kintner are co-passengers who meet at London's Heathrow airport and strike up a casual conversation over drinks as they wai 4.5⭐️ Ted Severson and Lily Kintner are co-passengers who meet at London's Heathrow airport and strike up a casual conversation over drinks as they wait for their flight back to Boston. Their conversation gradually develops into a more personal conversation with Ted spilling details about his troubled marriage. Ted is wealthy and successful and has been married to his wife Miranda for three years. Miranda is cheating on her husband with a contractor named Brad Daggett who is doing work on their new home in Maine. Unbeknownst to Miranda, Ted is aware of her indiscretions. He casually remarks to Lily that he is so angry that he could kill his wife. Lily, to his surprise, offers to help him. “Truthfully, I don’t think murder is necessarily as bad as people make it out to be. Everyone dies. What difference does it make if a few bad apples get pushed along a little sooner than God intended? And your wife, for example, seems like the kind worth killing.” Lily knows what she is talking about. She has a bagful of secrets in her past and had dealt with her problems in her own unique ways. She is smart, calculating and devious with a capital D. As Lily and Ted continue to meet, without the effect of alcohol clouding their senses, they discuss the matter further. But things don’t go quite as planned and what follows is a wild ride with murder, mayhem, deceit and some mind-boggling twists and turns that never failed to surprise and kept me glued to the pages till the very end. Initially, I was ready for this to be along the lines of “Strangers on a Train” which is a favorite but honestly, I wanted it to be different (I prefer the originals, in most cases) and the author definitely delivered. With a fast-paced narrative with multiple PoVs, interesting strongly-developed characters and a well-structured plot, Peter Swanson’s “The Kind Worth Killing” is a gripping read that I would not hesitate to recommend. Nine Lives was the first book by Peter Swanson that I had read and was a tad underwhelmed. Many of my GR friends recommended this novel and I am so thankful! I absolutely loved this story and devoured it in less than a day! “We understood that survival was everything. It was the meaning of life. And to take another life was, in many ways, the greatest expression of what it meant to be alive.” ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 25, 2022
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Apr 25, 2022
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Apr 25, 2022
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Hardcover
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| B09GJ4BNVW
| 4.29
| 20,203
| Mar 31, 2021
| Jun 07, 2022
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it was amazing
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“They were three, or nothing.” On the third of September, 1986, Nina Beau, Étienne Beaulieu and Adrien Bobin are placed together in the same fifth grad “They were three, or nothing.” On the third of September, 1986, Nina Beau, Étienne Beaulieu and Adrien Bobin are placed together in the same fifth grade class of École Pasteur in La Comelle, Burgundy. Nina, abandoned by her mother as a baby, father unknown is being raised by her loving grandfather, a postal worker. Étienne belongs to an affluent family and lives with his parents, younger sister Louise and has an elder brother who is away pursuing higher studies. Adrien is being raised by his mother who was once the mistress of Adrien’s father who is a fleeting presence in Adrien’s life, paying support to Josephine and meeting Adrien infrequently. “Étienne was the leader, Nina the heart, and Adrien followed with never a complaint.” What follows is a wonderful childhood- inseparable friends sharing their joys, their sorrows, their families and their respective dreams - dreams beyond La Comelle - making plans and promises of a future spent supporting one another as they pursued their dreams. “Adrien secretly dreams of recognition, he wants his compositions to be lauded to shut his father up, and never have to smell his chlorophyll breath ever again. Étienne dreams of what accompanies fame: the gilded existence, the easy life. Nina hopes to sing, draw, and fall passionately in love.” But when Nina’s grandfather meets with a fatal accident in 1994 weeks before Nina is to leave for Paris with her friends, life changes for all three of them. Three friends embrace their new realities and their lives take them in different directions and away from one another. Nina stays back to marry her obsessive suitor which leads to an unhappy marriage. Adrian and Étienne leave and eventually, Adrien finds fame as a writer and Étienne becomes a police officer. On the very same day, 17 August 1994, eighteen-year-old Clotilde Marais, known to all three of them, disappears without a trace. On 5 December 2017, a car reported stolen in 1994 is found after having been submerged in “Lac de la Forêt”. Human remains are found in the car and after years of being apart, the three of them are drawn together once again by “the secret that only the three think they know” and much more. After years of avoiding one another, the three are forced to confront their secrets, lies and betrayals and accept who they have become and reveal the same to one another. "We think we know everything about our friends, when really we know nothing.” It is rare to finish a 550+ page book and come out saying that you wish it hadn’t ended. That is how I feel about Valérie Perrin’s Three (brilliantly translated by Hildegarde Serle). From the moment I met these three characters, I felt invested in their stories- both as individuals and as friends. As we follow Nina, Étienne and Adrien from their childhood through their adolescence and adulthood we bear witness to their struggles, their resilience and their friendship. They triumph, they stumble, they hurt one another, they are hurt by one another and others, they make mistakes, they are weak, they are strong - in other words, they are real and relatable, simple in what they want from life yet complex in their emotions and their relationships with one other, with others in their lives and in how they perceive themselves. While we not may always agree with what they say or do, these are characters that we want to stay with and be a part of their stories. The mystery surrounding Clotilde Marais’s disappearance and the discovery of the car found submerged in the lake is intriguing and serves as the bridge between the past and present. Virginie’s first-person narrative, which is interspersed throughout the main narrative, also lends a sense of mystery around her relationship with the 'Three', and her intimate knowledge of the three friends and their lives also keeps you guessing as to who she might be. “My name is Virginie. I’m the same age as them. Today, out of the three, only Adrien still speaks to me. Nina despises me. As for Étienne, it’s me who can longer stand him. And yet, they’ve fascinated me since childhood. I’ve only ever become attached to those three. And to Louise.” The author does an excellent job of transitioning between past and present-day events and never for a moment does the reader lose interest. The author touches upon many important and relevant themes in this novel such as abandonment, jealousy, obsession, sexual identity,spousal abuse, and grief- and does so with great emotional depth and the utmost sensitivity. I loved how the love for and protection of animals was woven into the narrative. The writing is exquisite, the narrative is engaging and flows seamlessly across different timelines and the characterizations are superb. The author does justice to not only the main characters in the novel but also every one of the supporting characters in their lives, Louise , in particular. Having loved Valérie Perrin’s Fresh Water for Flowers, I could not wait to pick up this novel and I was not disappointed. I cannot thank Kristi Bontrager at Europa Editions enough for the digital review copy of this beautifully written, compelling and immersive novel. “Imagine you’ve been unable to move for years because your fist is clenched inside a container, and to manage to pull your hand out, to free yourself, you just need to let go of what you’re clutching in your clenched fist…..You open up your hand, you lose what’s inside it, it falls to the bottom of the container, but you are free.” ...more |
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May 12, 2022
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Mar 25, 2022
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| 4.17
| 27,967
| Jul 23, 2020
| Jul 23, 2020
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it was amazing
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4.5⭐️ In January 1958, a young Jamaican by the name of Hubert Bird sails to Southampton in search of a bright future like many others of the Windrush G 4.5⭐️ In January 1958, a young Jamaican by the name of Hubert Bird sails to Southampton in search of a bright future like many others of the Windrush Generation. He finds employment and has to endure blatant racism and discrimination both in the workplace and in society in general, but remains hopeful. Hubert meets his future wife Joyce, falls in love and marries her - an inter-racial marriage that is not accepted by Joyce’s family. A hardworking and honest man, loving husband and devoted father to two children, Hubert settles down in Bromley with his wife and family. Our protagonist Hubert Bird, is presently in his 80s and lives alone in his home in Bromley, with his pet cat Puss as his only companion after having lost his wife of forty-seven years thirteen years ago. He has isolated himself from his friends and community for the last five years, including his closest friend Gus and looks forward to the weekly phone calls from his daughter Rose, a professor working in Australia. His daughter worries about his being alone and to appease her he concocts stories about fictitious friends and regales her with stories revolving around his busy social life. When his daughter plans a visit, he realizes that he will be caught in his deception and strives to rectify his situation and ventures out to reconnect with his old crowd but that does not happen. "When you don’t see someone regularly you imagine them carrying on with their lives as they’d always done from one year to the next, but the truth was things changed. People grew old and got sick, they sold up and moved on; they weren’t frozen in time waiting for the day that you knocked on their door looking for them.” When a young single mother, Ashleigh and her young daughter move into his neighborhood and attempt to befriend him, he initially tries to avoid them but in the face of Ashleigh’s upbeat and friendly nature, his defenses start to crumble and he begins to enjoy their company. Eventually, Ashleigh inspires and motivates him to join her efforts in seeking out other people like themselves who also feel isolated and lonely, creating a “campaign” against loneliness banding the community together in a great initiative. “Moments later as he stood on the doorstep waving goodbye to his new neighbors, the embrace was all he could think about, and once he’d closed the door firmly behind him, he felt his legs buckling as tear after tear rolled down his cheeks. And in that moment, as he attempted to stem his tears, Hubert realized something he hadn’t quite understood before now: he was lonely, really lonely, and most likely had been for a very long time.” Mike Gayle’s ‘All The Lonely People’ is a wonderfully crafted story with an endearing cast of characters and a fluid narrative, revolving around themes of family, friendship, loneliness and community. The author touches upon sensitive issues such as racism, substance abuse, age-related dementia and elder care with compassion and restraint. The author’s strength lies in his characterizations and his sensitive portrayal of relationships. The chapters alternate between Hubert’s past (starting from 1957) and the present day. The novel is very well–structured and I enjoyed both the past and present tracks in the narrative. Though the story primarily revolves around Hubert Bird, the author also gives due importance to his other characters and explores how loneliness impacts both the elderly and the younger generation as well as immigrants and those battling illness and addiction and emphasizes the importance of community, kindness and inclusivity. Overall, the novel is well-paced but some parts of the story are a tad long-drawn and could have been shorter. The events that unfold in the course of the story alternate between heartbreakingly sad, funny, hopeful and heartwarming. This is an emotionally heavy read that will resonate with many and will ultimately leave you smiling through your tears. ‘All The Lonely People’ is my first Mike Gayle novel and I look forward to reading more of his work in the future. “You see, the key to helping other people out of them loneliness is nothing more difficult than good old-fashioned perseverance. It’s not always easy, me know that, but you’ve got to be willing to keep doors open, to carry on trying even if it doesn’t look like it’s working. You’ve got to refuse to give up on people, even if them given up on themselves.” ...more |
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Mar 24, 2022
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Mar 27, 2022
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Mar 24, 2022
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| 0063058588
| 9780063058583
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| 4.18
| 5,121
| Feb 15, 2022
| Feb 15, 2022
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it was amazing
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“When does a migrant become a refugee?” Canadian journalist Matthieu Aikins spent seven years covering the war in Afghanistan. In the course of his wor “When does a migrant become a refugee?” Canadian journalist Matthieu Aikins spent seven years covering the war in Afghanistan. In the course of his work, he meets and befriends Omar, who acts as his guide and translator. Despite his serving as an interpreter for the Special Forces and having worked with USAID, Omar’s efforts to emigrate to the USA are unsuccessful on account of his being unable to procure all necessary documentation. As the situation in Afghanistan worsens and fearing backlash from the Taliban, Omar plans to emigrate to Europe traveling via the refugee route. He is reluctant to leave without Laila, who he loves but whose family opposes their marriage. Eventually he has to leave without Laila, promising to come back for her. In August 2016, the author, disguised as an Afghan migrant (using the alias “Habib”), accompanies Omar as he leaves Afghanistan through a smugglers’ route, hoping to be allowed entry into Europe as a refugee. The author, in the process of helping his friend, hopes to gather insight and report on the refugee experience. He leaves his passport and paperwork with friends, fully aware that being discovered with a Western passport by the wrong people could lead to dire consequences. Aikins is also aware of how different his situation is compared to that of Omar whose family is escaping Afghanistan for the second time, the first being in the past when his parents had emigrated to Iran to escape the Soviet invasion. (“There is no future for me here. You have a good job, you have documents, you can travel anywhere you want.” He looked out at his city. “The only thing I have is my luck.”) What follows is a harrowing journey across borders, unsafe passages and dire conditions- all for the hope of a better future for Omar. Though the author and Omar do get separated in the course of their journey, they reunite in Turkey, travel by inflated boat to the Lesbos(after being duped by a smuggler promising to deliver them to different destination), becoming one of the many “boat people” arriving at the Greek island of Lesbos and the Moria refugee camp (“Built for two thousand people, by that point there were around five thousand crammed inside Moria, with hundreds more arriving each week.”) from where they move to a “squat” in Athens from where Omar continues his efforts to secure safe passage onwards. “The right answer to the question of why you left was: Because I was forced. Because I had no choice. But what does it mean to be free in our world? The refugee is freedom’s negative image; she illustrates the story of progress that we tell ourselves.” “The Naked Don't Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan Refugees” by Matthieu Aikins is exceptionally well-written, factual and informative with a fluid narrative that paints a realistic portrait of the peril fraught journey refugees and asylum seekers are compelled to undertake for a life of freedom and liberty that they are denied in their home country. The author discusses in much detail the places and people he encounters through his journey- the smugglers, the migrants and the activists and welfare groups. We also get to know more about Omar’s family and Maryam, Omar’s mother, a high school teacher, who will do everything in her power to keep her family safe. “Maryam had become a refugee almost forty years ago, and yet Afghanistan was still at war. In the future, her grandchildren would tell her story to their own children here, to Europeans. But if Maryam’s tale inspired because of the long odds that she had survived, then it was also a testament to the many who had vanished. In this way, our stories carry forward fragments of others, just as we pass on our siblings’ genes, though they be childless.” Aikins's accounts of life in the Moria refugee camp and the squatters' residence in Athens are particularly moving. He describes the experiences of migrants in foreign lands and the hurdles they have to go through in seeking asylum and how when faced with rejection of appeals and failure, they are compelled to resort to means and methods that put their lives at risk- a risk they are willing to take to avoid being deported back to the country they are fleeing from. It takes a while to wrap your head around the fact that this is not a work of fiction but an eye-opening first-hand account of events, focusing on the human angle of the refugee crisis that we might read about in the papers or works of fiction, but is the reality for so many people. This is an important book , the kind that stays with you. I commend the author for his courage and initiative in undertaking such a daring endeavor and sharing his experiences through this hard-hitting and thought-provoking memoir. “We all have things about ourselves we’d like to change, and it’s seductive to imagine it happening in one swift movement. That was the dream behind migration: a fresh start. The journey was a prelude. Life came afterward, and it might be harder, more heartbreaking than the smuggler’s road….But in truth, we can’t leave ourselves behind. We get only one story, which we narrate looking backward.” ...more |
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Mar 20, 2022
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Mar 21, 2022
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Mar 20, 2022
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| 4.57
| 226,054
| 1980
| Nov 19, 1996
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it was amazing
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“Yes, life always takes the side of life, and somehow the victims are blamed. But it wasn’t the best people who survived, nor did the best ones die. I
“Yes, life always takes the side of life, and somehow the victims are blamed. But it wasn’t the best people who survived, nor did the best ones die. It was random!” Whether you’ve read it or not, I’m sure you’ve heard of Art Spiegelman's Maus. First and foremost, in 1992, Maus became the first graphic novel to ever win a Pulitzer Prize (the Special Award in Letters). Decades later, in 2022, Maus is still in the news, because a school in Tennessee removed the book from its curriculum, deeming it “inappropriate” on account of language and nudity. When a book is controversial/banned, I tend to want to read it more. I hope there are more like me out there (including those kids who are being deprived of the opportunity to learn about it in school! It's the true story of a Jewish man who survived the Holocaust in wartime Europe. This is history. It happened!) In his brilliantly crafted graphic novel, the author tells the story of his Polish-Jewish parents, Vladek and Anja Spiegelman, both of whom were Holocaust survivors, having been imprisoned in Auschwitz-Birkenau. The narrative moves back and forth between his parents’ experiences in wartime Europe and his present-day relationship with the aging Vladek. The narrative of The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale is divided into two books: Book 1 (originally published in 1986) ,My Father Bleeds History covers the period preceding Vladek and Anja’s imprisonment and follows their story from the time they met, married, and started a family ( Art’s older brother, Richieu, one of the dedicatees of this book, did not survive the War) to the Nazi occupation and the persecution of Jews. What starts with restrictions, curfews, rationing, and seizure of businesses and personal property, intensifies as Jews are displaced, deported, imprisoned and much worse. Book 1 also includes a short strip titled Prisoner on the Hell Planet (originally written in 1972) in which the author depicts events leading up to his mother's suicide in 1968. Book#2 (published in 1991), And Here My Troubles Began, follows Vladek’s experiences in the concentration and work camps. Though he was separated from his wife in the camps, they managed to communicate with one another. Both of them survived, were liberated separately and were eventually reunited. We also continue to follow the author and his father in the present day. The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale is a compelling work of non-fiction. Not only does the author share his father's story, detailing the atrocities faced by his Jewish parents and their families during the Holocaust, but he also talks about the challenges he faced in the process of framing this book - having to coax his father to share his stories, his self-doubt and other obstacles he faced in his creative process and how the stories and publication of the first book affected him personally (The first segment was published in 1986, the second was printed in 1991). The author is brutally honest in how he portrays his own guilt over his inability to truly comprehend what his parents went through and voices his concern over whether his choice of medium/format would be justified. The author combines his brilliantly conceptualized artwork and masterful storytelling to share a part of his family’s story in a unique format. The graphic novel format employs anthropomorphic representation of Germans as cats, Jews as mice, ethnic Poles as pigs and Americans as dogs. Spiegelman does inject a good dose of humor in his present-day narrative. While his aging father’s miserliness , distrust and stubbornness do make for a few lighter moments in this harrowing tale, it is also not too hard to see how the trauma of the past casts a shadow on his present life. This is a heartbreaking story, told in a unique way, which does not make it any less real or any less hard-hitting. I spent hours reading and rereading parts of the book while also admiring the artwork. Overall, this is an incredible book that is a must-read for those who are interested in reading about WWII and the Holocaust. Even if you don’t usually read graphic novels, I would still suggest picking this one up. You won’t be disappointed. ...more |
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Aug 24, 2022
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Sep 2022
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Mar 14, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 4.09
| 22,175
| Feb 14, 2017
| Jul 02, 2019
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it was amazing
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4.5⭐️ On an August afternoon in 1975, a thirteen-year-old girl (our narrator) drags a suitcase up the stairs to an apartment belonging to her biologica 4.5⭐️ On an August afternoon in 1975, a thirteen-year-old girl (our narrator) drags a suitcase up the stairs to an apartment belonging to her biological parents. She is 'returned' to her family by her adoptive parents, the only family she has ever known and whom she believed to be her true parents. This family, this apartment just a bus ride away from her seaside home and her new siblings are all alien to her. This family is related to her adoptive father and she was adopted by Signora Adalgisa when she was an infant of six months – an arrangement mutually agreed upon by both sets of parents. The circumstances surrounding her 'return' remain a mystery to her. She worries for the health of her adoptive mother. Is she sick? Is she even alive? Will she ever return to the safe, happy cocoon that was once her home? She is thrust into a life completely different from the one she was accustomed to -an only child, living in a seaside community with loving parents, friends, dance classes and wanting for nothing. Here she becomes part of a dysfunctional family plagued by poverty and abusive dynamics within. Her parents mostly ignore her with her mother expecting her to be well versed in household chores including plucking a chicken, her older brothers taunt and bully her except for the eighteen-year-old Vincenzo whose interest in her leads to some uncomfortable moments. “I wasn’t acquainted with hunger and I lived like a foreigner among the hungry. The privilege I bore from my earlier life distinguished me, isolated me in the family. I was the arminuta, the one who’d returned. I spoke another language and I no longer knew who I belonged to.” Adriana, her younger sister and Guiseppe, her youngest brother who has a developmental disability are the only two people she connects with, a connection that continues into her adulthood, details of which she gives brief glimpses of as she narrates these incidents from a timeline twenty year in the future. She shares how she is unable to connect with her “parents”- a disconnect that continues throughout her narrative referring to them as “the mother” and “the father”. When tragedy strikes the family “the mother” retreats into herself further. “In time I lost that confused idea of normality, too, and today I really don’t know what place a mother is. It’s absent from my life the way good health, shelter, certainty can be absent. It’s an enduring emptiness, which I know but can’t get past. My head whirls if I look inside it. A desolate landscape that keeps you from sleeping at night and constructs nightmares in the little sleep it allows. The only mother I never lost is the one of my fears.” As the story progresses and the reasons for her abandonment by her adoptive mother are revealed, her world is once again turned upside down and our protagonist is compelled to question the very definition of motherhood and family. The protagonist’s loneliness, confusion and inner turmoil in her darkest moments are palpable and will break your heart. A Girl Returned by Donatella Di Pietrantonio (translated by Ann Goldstein), is a sad, moving and powerful novel that explores the themes of family, coming-of-age, trust, abandonment and resilience. The author’s strength lies in her characterizations and the realistic depiction of complex relationships. A character that stands out in our narrator's story is Adriana, her younger sister. Accustomed to the hardships of life and the abusive environment in their home, Adriana, only ten years old and still wetting the bed welcomes her older sister, is both protective and possessive of her at school and at home, even willing to take the blows directed towards her by their mother in moments of rage. Initially, our narrator is embarrassed by her sister’s lack of fine manners, her shabby appearance and her rustic diction and there are moments of friction and resentment from Adriana’s side as well but as time progresses she becomes the only person our protagonist can truly rely on, her only light in the darkness. “My sister. Like an improbable flower, growing in a clump of earth stuck in the rock. From her I learned resistance. We look less like each other now, but we find the same meaning in this being thrown into the world. In our alliance we survived.” The writing is unambiguous and elegant and the narrative is sharp and well-paced, laced with real emotions without exaggeration or melodrama with its share of memorable characters (some likable and some not so much) - all of which render this a compelling read. This is a short novel and I felt invested in the lives of our narrator and her sister Adriana. I wanted to know more about their lives. In other words, I did not want the story to end. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time. I look forward to reading more of Donatella Di Pietrantonio’s work in the future. (Readers should note that Vincenzo’s behavior towards the protagonist borders on incestuous, which may upset some readers, though this angle is not developed beyond a certain point in the story and thankfully, does not feature as a running theme but is used to depict one of the dysfunctional situations the protagonist is exposed to in her new home.) ...more |
Notes are private!
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Mar 06, 2022
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Mar 07, 2022
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Mar 07, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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