The Best Recent Reader Reviews posted at Bookbrowse

Strangely beautiful story of the heartbreak of immigrant lives by Michelle H (4/3/25)
This beautifully written and masterfully crafted novel lets us in to the inner world of Mamush, a struggling international journalist who must leave his wife and ill toddler in Paris to return to DC for the holidays, only to learn that Samuel, the father figure of his life and a cab driver, has committed suicide. We learn of his irregular trip, which takes him first to Chicago where he was raised by his single mother and Samuel, both immigrants from Ethiopia.

While in Chicago for a day, Mamush, whom we learn was a quiet and accommodating child who could make himself seem invisible when needed, tries to fill in some of the many blank spaces in his childhood. He then is driven by a chain of cab drivers back across the country to DC, the last leg of the trip driven by Samuel. We jump back and forth between this journey and Mamush attending the Samuel's wake in his DC suburban home. We learn that Mamush has often had difficulty determining what is and isn't real, as we as readers try to understand what parts of the story may also not be real.

Like much of Mamush's communication with his parents, and even with his wife, a photographer whose photographs also appear in the book, the story is told "on the slant" and ends up working on several different levels. I found it all a very moving description of the disappointment so many immigrants must live with in this country, and the strange "in-between" world their children must inhabit.

A Haunting and Gripping Saga About the Conflicted Feelings of Wartime by Cathryn Conroy (4/1/25)
This brilliantly written book by John Boyne is layered with tragic secrets that are slowly revealed. It's a palimpsest in novel form—that is, a manuscript on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain. As the novel progresses, the past secrets are peeled away, but traces of them always remain, scarring and tainting the future.

The story begins in September 1919 in Norwich, England. On his 21st birthday, Tristan Sadler travels from London to Norwich to meet Marian, the sister of his deceased wartime buddy Will Bancroft. His stated mission is to deliver to Marian the letters that she wrote to Will during the Great War, but in reality he has come to unburden himself of a shameful, horrific secret about Will's death. After months of fighting, Will became "an absolutist," meaning he refused to fight or even assist in noncombat roles.

The novel bounces back in forth in time from Tristan and Marian's meeting in 1919 to the French wartime battlefields and the treacherous, grisly foxholes in 1916. This back-and-forth in time adds to the tension that slowly builds as we learn what really happened to Will and Tristan's role in it.

Tristan is guarding two secrets, both of which would devastate Will's family: One of them is not a spoiler…Tristan and Will were lovers. The other secret that is revealed near the conclusion of the novel is haunting and horrific, making the ending a real gut-punch for the reader.

This is a haunting and gripping saga that magnificently captures the conflicted feelings of wartime, social class, patriotism, and revenge. At times viscerally brutal and at times fiercely redemptive, this is a story of what it means to be a hero—and a traitor.

John Boyne is one of the most gift novelists writing today.

Irresistable and clever by PhyllisE (3/31/25)
Thanks to First Look Book Club & Penguin Random House for a gifted copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

I couldn’t resist this one – a pony solves a murder mystery. This unique novel met my high expectations and more. I was reminded of "Black Beauty" (which I loved as a child) as the story is mostly told from Pony’s point of view. He travels back and forth across the country in search of Penny, “his person” who has been arrested for a murder he (and we) knows she didn’t commit. Chapters alternate between Pony and Penny, and offer humor, heart, and insight into the world of animals from a fictional perspective.

Please be forewarned this is so much better than a cutesy animal story, even though it has heartwarming moments. This unputdownable novel is an homage to Homer’s Odyssey, with Pony encountering various perils and challenges during his travels as he searches for Penny.

Themes of friendship, family, and integrity mixed with magical realism. This easy-to-read novel kept me on the edge of my seat as Pony continually escapes from the humans who are preventing him from reaching Penny. I highly recommend this entertaining and charming mystery that kept me turning the pages until the end.

An Ingenious, Riveting, and Truly Profound Novel by Cathryn Conroy (3/30/25)
Oh, this book! It is an ingenious, riveting, and truly profound novel that is a brilliant statement on the interconnectedness of human beings even generations apart. We are not separate. We only have an illusion of separateness.

Do note: This is a short novel at 225 pages or so, but carve out your reading time carefully. Once you start it, you won't be able to stop. It's THAT good.

This novel is a series of stories that take place from 1939 to 2010, bouncing back and forth in time and between characters—from the battlefields of France to Manchester, England in the 1980s to the Hamptons in 2005 and Hollywood in 2010. It may seem like literary whiplash, but it's literary brilliance. Author Simon Van Booy is always in tight control of the story, which I quickly realized could only be told this way.

The genius of the novel is that the characters are interconnected to one or more other characters, often without realizing it until the end when Van Booy pulls off the seemingly impossible by ending a novel in 1944 that began in 2010. (Yes, you read that right.)

We meet:
• John, an American World War II pilot of a B-24 bomber who parachuted into Nazi-occupied France and had to try to escape with a broken foot if he had any chance of survival.

• Amelia, John's 26-year-old granddaughter, who is blind and bravely trying to create a full life for herself, including finding romantic love.

• Mr. Hugo, a World War II soldier who was horribly maimed when half his face was shot off by a Nazi in Paris and along with it his memory. His only possession is a novel by Victor Hugo, so the medical staff name him Victor Hugo.

• Danny, a scared little boy from Nigeria who lived next door to Mr. Hugo in Manchester, England in the 1980s and grows up to become a successful film director.

• Sébastien, a dreamy child in Saint-Pierre, France in 1968, who finds the wreckage of a World War II jet on his family's farm, including photos the pilot stashed under the seat.

• Martin, a devoted orderly at the Starlight Retirement Home in Los Angeles, who has a startling secret in his past that his parents kept from him for years.

This multilayered story about war, love, resilience, imagination, and service is narratively compelling with bold and vibrant characters, but the secret sauce is the writing. It is lyrical. Tender. Magical. Magnificent. Read it.

Just a thought: This is an ideal book for someone who only reads occasionally. It's short, unputdownable, and suitable for men and women.

Extraordinary Writing! Richly Imagined Novel Takes You to a '60s Utopian Commune and Beyond by Cathryn Conroy (3/27/25)
This is a richly imagined novel that transports readers to a utopian commune in New York State in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s…until eventually, it becomes a disintegrating, dying, and problem-filled commune. What makes this so special is that the story is told through the perspective of a small child—basically from his birth until far into his adulthood long after he joined "the Outside" world.

Masterfully written by Lauren Groff, this is a vibrant and captivating story of life in Arcadia, a 600-acre forested plot of land on which sits a (literal) mansion. When the scraggly group of several dozen acquired the property for $1, they were astounded that the house existed. That said, the house was broken—rodent-infested, rotted wood, shattered windows, collapsed roof. But with years of work and a lot of scavenging for pieces and parts, the group managed to build it back up. Living in Aradia was never easy. The residents worked long hours to survive and basically lived in poverty.

The story centers on a little boy named Ridley Sorrel Stone, who weighed only three pounds at birth and quickly acquired the nickname Bit—as in the Littlest Bit of a Hippie. Bit, who is always small for his age, is brilliant, teaching himself how to read and write. He is extremely attached to his parents, Abe and Hannah, who adore him. Hannah suffers from clinical depression, especially in the dark winter months.

Arcadia grows and within 10 to 15 years, the population explodes to more than 1,000 and now includes the "Trippies" (drug-addicts), the Runaways, and the Hen House (pregnant women) who gravitate to the commune. The Newbies are not turned away as long as they adhere to the rules. But eventually this experimental society falls apart with infighting and theft, desertion and poverty.

And this is where Bit's story becomes even more riveting when at age 14 he is thrust into "the Outside" and must make a life in a world he has never known. It is as an adult that he suffers his greatest heartbreaks and greatest joys.

This is not just another failed commune, a failed experiment in living. It is the only life Bit has ever known, and we readers are plunged into his despair, his anger, his longing, his insecurity in a way that would not have happened had the novel not been told from his childlike point of view.

What makes this novel a five-star book is not the vibrant characterization or compelling plot. It's the writing. Lauren Groff has the gift. Some sentences are so lyrical, so extraordinary that I just had to stop, take a breath, and reread them.

Lauren Groff is and will always be one of my favorite writers.

Flowing through Many Roadblocks by Anthony Conty (3/25/25)
"The Mighty Red" employs the classic literary trope of making a small town seem vast by portraying all its residents as necessary. A failed engagement is our focal point, but there's so much more that goes on. Two men trying to marry the same woman form the main story, but so much else happens that you could easily oversimplify and sell the novel short.

Our heroine, Kismet, agrees to marry Gary after drinking, following the third request. She immediately regrets her decision and plots an exit strategy. Hugo anxiously awaits his overdue opportunity. Somehow, the wedding proceeds and Mother Crystal worries about her daughter's happiness and future. The story is so bizarre that you cannot look away. Does this stuff happen?

Erdrich portrays the plight of a new wife pining for another relationship more as bizarre than wrong. I had no idea what torn Kismet would do from one fleeting moment to the next. Once the book passes its halfway point, the main plot returns after taking a backseat to the character and setting development, none of which helps explain why the marriage occurred.

With so many characters, I often struggled to figure out who was necessary, and the book reveals that slowly. Hugo, the "other man," was mysterious and not as evil as the average home wrecker. Gary and his friends also have intentions that we do not discover right away, which shows them to be cruel and, at the same time, more typical.

To recommend this winding story to you, I need to know how much you enjoy thinking because most of the subtle action lies beneath the surface and is symbolic. Its thesis remains that we are journeymen, not the sum of our experiences. If we stay on course, we can still achieve what we want and need on life's path.

Strong Women by SusanR (3/22/25)
It's 1956, the war is over and American politicians are working to publicize the names of people who are thought to be members of the Communist party. The Hollywood blacklist was a list of people in the entertainment industry that were ineligible for employment because of their suspected ties to the communist party. A Map to Paradise looks at three women who are struggling to find happiness in their lives despite all that is going on in the world.

Melanie is an actress who had a major role in a hit movie. Her name is on the black list because her co-star in the movie is suspected of being a Communist. They acted like a couple in love to help publicize the movie so she is also a suspect. To keep her safe, her boyfriend makes arrangements for her to live in a house in Malibu, far away from reporters. Melanie wants to go back to acting and doesn't understand why she is unable to work in Hollywood. The only people that she talks to are her cleaning lady, Eva who is an immigrant from war-town Europe and her neighbor Elwood who is a script writer with agoraphobia and lives with his sister in law next door. Early one morning she sees Elwood's sister in law, Jane, digging in his rosebushes. After that she's unable to get him to the phone and she becomes suspicious of Jane. She sends Eva next door to help with the cleaning but wants Eva to find out what's happened to Elwood. Eva wants to keep a low profile because she lied on her entry forms to the US and is fearful of being sent back to Europe.

All three of these women are hiding secrets from the world. In the beginning, they aren't friends - they are individually doing what they can to survive in their worlds. As several secrets come to light, their friendship begins to grow. But can they really trust each other or are they only setting themselves up for trouble?

I really enjoyed this book. All three women were very strong in their own way. Even Melanie who was the most naïve grows as she becomes involved with the other two women. This book is full of suspense - a fire in Malibu, a possible dead body and the black list in Hollywood all add to the story and make it an interesting look at America in the 1950s. I really liked all three female characters but my favorite was Eva who had been through so much in her life and had the most to lose if her secret was revealed.

Be sure to read the Author's Notes at the end of the book to find out more about the author's research into the beginnings of the Cold War and the blacklisting of the early 50s. This was another great book by Susan Meissner.