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Reviews by Kathrin C. (Corona, CA)

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The Stolen Child: A Novel
by Ann Hood

Literary Pasta with Historical Sauce (4/4/2024)

I think Ann Hood's latest novel, The Stolen Child, yields a very intriguing, tangled pasta made up of history, Italy, families, personal challenges, love and LIFE. Imagine in the 1970s a mismatched, out-of-the-ordinary trio traveling through France and Italy, trying to find out what happened to an abandoned baby during WW I: Nick Burns, harboring life-long guilt from his involvement then as a young soldier; Jenny, a young college dropout escaping her current go-nowhere life with a strong drive to prove herself; and Charlie Reynolds, travel guide extraordinaire. A delightful read covering multiple stories (some believable, some less so) and a few surprises along the way. And it will provide lots for discussion in a book group.

King of the Armadillos
by Wendy Chin-Tanner

King of the Armadillos (5/20/2023)

The pleasure of discovering books like this make me very glad I became a reader early on and remain one to this day. Wendy Chin-Tanner takes you back to the 1950s and invites you into the heart, mind and life of Victor Chin, a 15-year-old Chinese immigrant from the Bronx just diagnosed with Hansen's disease, as he boards a train destined to Carville National Leprosarium in Louisiana. So many tangled issues rise to the surface in subsequent chapters: family separation, sibling fissures, longing for his mother still back in China and the determination that she never learn what has happened to him, fear of the disease, not knowing if a cure will be inevitable, confinement, teen hormones, jealousy, new friendships, first love and the emergence of his musical talent. This may sound just like your coming-of-age novel, but it goes far beyond.

This Other Eden: A Novel
by Paul Harding

This Other Eden (1/23/2023)

This is an outstanding work of historical fiction, so beautifully written, but also, sometimes painful to read. I had never heard of Malaga Island off the coast of Maine, and how it fit in with America's ongoing history of racism, intolerance and injustice before reading Paul Harding's latest novel. But over that backdrop comes a retelling with a super engrossing story of the mixed race people who inhabit Apple island over many generations. And some tales of their hardships, struggles, fears, knowledge, and humanity will stay with a reader for a very long time. This would make a great selection for book groups to ponder and discuss.

Fencing with the King: A Novel
by Diana Abu-Jaber

Fencing with the King (12/28/2021)

Diana Abu-Jaber is certainly an accomplished writer who uses strong descriptive prose, good pacing and continually elevates the tension that drives the underlying family mystery. I enjoyed learning more about Middle East history, politics, and their effects on women's roles throughout Jordanian society in current times. The story also explores immigrants' elusive ties to their heritage and homeland long after they've left their original place of birth in interesting ways. The novel is very readable, but I did not find the plot or Amani, the central character, believable - especially in the second half of the book. That said, I would still be willing to give another one of Abu-Jaber's novels a try.

The Fortunate Ones
by Ed Tarkington

Seeing What We Want to See (11/2/2020)

I enjoyed the first half of the novel, "Princes in the Tower", where Charlie Boykin narrates his own coming-of-age story. Through the connections and designs of his single working mother, he is transported from a poor neighborhood in East Nashville and dropped off into a private school world for offspring of the Tennessee rich. And friendships do develop with his assigned big brother Arch Creigh and girlfriend Vanessa Haltom. Charlie begins to learn and embrace upper class ways of the world and finds that "most of the time, we see what we want to see", so he can let the rest of reality conveniently fall out of sight. Until it comes back and bites him. All this sets the stage for part two, "Vaulting Ambition" that follows their adult years forward. And here my interest flagged a bit, as characters seemed to become more like chess pieces moving around the plot.

So final thoughts – The Fortunate Ones is an easy to read novel and the writing is above average. But I think the characters could use some more in-depth development that would rationalize their later sudden and manic movements that challenged believability.

Hieroglyphics
by Jill McCorkle

Hieroglyphics - Somewhat Misty and Nebulous (7/6/2020)

You know that comfortable feeling you can get when you begin reading a new novel and feel that maybe it's going to be a very, very good reading? That's how this book started out for me. It revealed the stories and histories of four people, Frank and Lil, a married couple reaching the sunset of their lives, and Shelley and her son, muddling in the middle of hers. You eavesdropped on their thoughts, memories, regrets, musings ... back and forth over their years and decades. Very beautiful writing and many pieces interspersed throughout that touched me in remarkable ways. But somehow this novel lost me along the way. Perhaps it is because now, during our pandemic time, I really crave clear delineated messages and feelings that are more happy than sad and worried.

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
by Erik Larson

On the Brink (1/27/2020)

Erik Larson will take you on a meticulous backstage journey through Winston Churchill's opening year as Prime Minister just as WWII breaks all out. And he does it in such a way that will totally engage you to revisit the Blitz that nearly brought England to the brink.
It's a long read - but not a dry one. There are so many fascinating historical details and tidbits you wouldn't find in old history books - family trials and tribulations, war romance, political intrigue and '40s-style fake news. The pages will keep on turning.

The Secrets We Kept: A novel
by Lara Prescott

Terrific Historical Novel Coming Soon to Your Bookshelf (7/11/2019)

I confess, I stayed up nights reading this one! It delved into one aspect of the Cold War I was never aware of before – and what an interesting piece of history it is. Who would have thought that the CIA would find Boris Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago to be a great propaganda tool. Debut author Lara Prescott deftly entwines this recently revealed historical tidbit with an enduring romance between Pasternak and his mistress/muse Olga and two indefatigable female spies who rose out of the CIA's typing pool. Definitely arrange for a binge reading session.

The Guest Book
by Sarah Blake

Thought Provoking (3/28/2019)

It's been a while since I've enjoyed a historical fiction novel as well written and thought-provoking as this one. The family saga traces the Milton family, very wealthy, very powerful and very upper crust, over three generations from the early 1930's through the early 2000s. First generation Kitty and Ogden Milton view their world and America through sight molded by privilege. Race, class, equality, history and society are all destined to play out according to their experience and expectations. Except that they don't. And the choices they make will come to haunt their descendants many decades later. A very engrossing read. But it may have gone a bit smoother with a handy genealogical chart posted at the front of the book. With frequent passes back and forth between many generations of family, relatives and friends... pay attention – don't mix up the Evies and Evelyns.

The Last Romantics
by Tara Conklin

Three sisters and their brother (12/5/2018)

I wanted to like this novel much more than I did. Tara Conklin’s first novel, The House Girl, appealed to me far more. She’s a very good writer and that is apparent in The Last Romantics too. I can flip back, reread sections here and there, and thoroughly enjoy her prose. And it was the writing that held my attention enough to finish reading the book. But the novel’s story line got lost in so many fragments of the lives of siblings Fiona, Renee, Caroline and Joe. And as a reader, I remained much less concerned about Joe than his sisters.

Young Jane Young
by Gabrielle Zevin

Life, Mothers and Daughters (7/23/2017)

This novel took the story of one young woman's romantic foible with long term repercussions and let the perspectives flow from three generations of the Grossman family women and girl - Rachel (the very in-control mom with the not-so-controlled daughter, Aviva (later to be known as Jane Young) and Jane's daughter Ruby with the "unknown" dad. Romance, politics, youth, persistence and smarts told with abundant humor and wit. This book worked for me as a series of intertwined vignettes but not so much as a novel. Still it was a very enjoyable read, made me laugh out loud and had some very poignant plays on human nature.

A Piece of the World: A Novel
by Christina Baker Kline

A Piece of the World (12/19/2016)

Every now and again I come across a book that I would call a "jewel novel". A Piece of the World falls into that category. I enjoyed it thoroughly. The story focused on the lives of Christina Olson who suffered a lifelong degenerative disease and her brother Al as they spent their entire lives at the family farm in Maine from the late 1800s through the mid-1900s. And into those lives entered artist Andrew Wyeth, who ended up staying at the farm intermittently throughout many years, sketching, drawing and painting landscapes, still lifes and portraits and all along he and Christina formed a deep, indelible friendship. Pieces from this landscape, the farm house, livestock, farm implements and Christina and Al were portrayed on his canvases. It was amazing to now look through my copy of Andrew Wyeth, Autobiography and see and feel what came behind many of the paintings in an entirely new way.

North of Crazy: A Memoir
by Neltje

North of Crazy (6/7/2016)

I found this somewhat difficult to get into because of the writing style and the almost excessive relating of minor details in chapters on the author's early childhood. But I'm glad I kept going - it became a fascinating tale of publishing magnate Nelson Doubleday's behind-the-scenes family life with the continuous overshadowing of money and power conflicts and the effects on each family member. And a wonder that Neltje evolved into the fierce independent and creative person she became who forged a completely different lifestyle from that of a society matron that would have been expected (and probably preferred by her family).

The Swans of Fifth Avenue
by Melanie Benjamin

High Society. . . Shallow Waters. . . (10/15/2015)

Since I've previously read The Aviator's Wife and Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin and enjoyed both of them immensely, I had rather high expectations for her new book. But, The Swans of Fifth Avenue left me high and dry. The underlying storyline with Truman Capote partying and socializing with elegant, beautiful and elite high society women such as Barbara "Babe" Paley, attending group gossip sessions and then later releasing their shared secrets for publication with devastating results seems to be the central lure. But getting there you will wade through long, repetitive descriptive passages on all the fashions and lifestyles of the well-known mid-twentieth century rich and famous. Yet, the book is well written and some of the characters are well drawn up. As a light, entertaining read with historic gossipy undertones it works.

The Shore: A Novel
by Sara Taylor

A Rollercoaster Read (6/3/2015)

If I were to write a recipe for this novel, I would stir some contemporary fiction into a deep bowl of regional historical fiction and then mix in a good measure of post-apocalyptic survival fiction. It's a rollercoaster read that takes you through 13 chapters that are as short as 8 pages and as long as 44. It starts out in 1995 and jumps back and forth between 1876 and 2143. The descendants and the ancestors pop up in seemingly random order. The title refers to a group of three islands off the coast of Virginia, one of them being Chincoteague Island of the famed annual wild pony roundup. But take note, this novel is no Misty. It's a dark and sometimes disturbing exploration of families mired in poverty and personal struggles.

As bleak as that sounds, I still recommend The Shore by Sara Taylor – an unusual debut with some impressive writing and a confusing but challenging structure. This novel engaged me from the first pages and held my attention throughout.

The Witch of Painted Sorrows: A Daughters of La Lune Novel
by M. J. Rose

Enjoyable Feast (3/23/2015)

I've always had a soft spot for the Gothic novel and M. J. Rose has certainly spun a well-written tale interwoven with bright threads of history, romance, the occult and erotica. The first half was more engrossing for me following Sandrine Salome's rush for independence and the meld of her sexual awakening and passion for painting. I especially enjoyed the occult history in France and the La Belle Époque art scene. I was less enamored with the Sandrine – Julien entanglement. Throughout the novel Julien appeared to function more as a device to keep the plot moving forward than a fully developed character. But that said, the suspense will keep you reading. Overall, it is an enjoyable feast of history, art, passion, creation and loss – along with a witch thrown in.

The Headmaster's Wife
by Thomas Christopher Greene

Less Than Redeeming (1/7/2014)

I really wanted to like this book more than I did - probably based on positive commentary from the likes of Wally Lamb and Richard Russo. But I finished the novel with a slightly sour taste in my mouth. Greene's writing seemed skillful enough and he creates some deft sketches of private school life, but his two main characters, the headmaster and his wife, never reached that redeeming spot of "flawed but likeable." I never emotionally connected with them and it felt as if I was reading distant narratives of a middle-aged couple's intimate thoughts. The story lacked a cohesion to let some of its themes shine through - the trials of aging, the grief of losing a child.

Bellman & Black
by Diane Setterfield

Great Cover, But . . . (9/16/2013)

I was so looking forward to reading Setterfield's second novel, a long time in coming. But I'm sad to say it did not, for me, create that totally wonderful envelopment that happened when I read her first novel. The eerie foretelling of William Bellman's daunting future in the prologue grabbed me right off, but as I read on, and on, that grip steadily loosened its hold. I still respect Setterfield as a fine writer and one able to create strong atmospheric historical settings. And I found her "&" interludes on rooks sprinkled throughout the book delightful. But I never could forge a connection to Will Bellman and I confess I forced myself to finish her second book.

I still grant it 3 stars - for the writing, the gothic atmosphere and historical color. And I still have a niggling feeling that perhaps I overlooked the real core of this novel and maybe I will read it again.

Lookaway, Lookaway
by Wilton Barnhardt

Maybe I Will Lookaway (6/20/2013)

I had to press myself to keep reading beyond the first 50 pages at which point it seemed we might never leave the stale frat humor stage. And so far, none of the members of the Johnston family of the Old South, young and old, with their fine old Charlotte manners and illusions of self-importance, had had enough time to endear themselves to me in any way. But I did keep reading and finish the book. Probably what saved Lookaway, Lookaway: Wilton Barnhardt is a good writer and there were enough scenes of interest and conflicts to keep one to want to keep reading. But in the end, I felt I would rather reread Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell which is filled with characters that one could love, hate, fear for and care about.

The Aviator's Wife
by Melanie Benjamin

A 20th Century Flight (1/7/2013)

I was first captivated by Melanie Benjamin's writing while reading her debut novel "Alice I Have Been". Her work seamlessly merges historical fiction and biopic - it takes you straight to other times, into other places and reintroduces you to someone maybe you thought you knew of. And there was so much more to know! The Aviator's Wife certainly brought out the very complicated world, relationships, challenges and limitations that Anne Morrow Lindbergh faced in the early and mid-1900s and has also drawn me to want to learn more about her life and her writings.

Reviews by Kathrin C. (Corona, CA)

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