In this memoir, the author reflects on the contrast and difficulties involved in being part of the two languages and two cultures of her divorced parents – the large, noisy family of her Puerto Rican mother and the culture of her white, Jewish, hippie father, who lives on a farm in a Philadelphia Main Line suburb with his new family.

She deals with the effect of Aids and drugs on her Puerto Rican relatives, as well as the privilege that comes to her due to her white skin. Her search for how to express herself leads her to explore several creative outlets.

While the book is mostly chronological, there are chapters that seem like essays inserted into the narrative. Most of the imagery is very vivid, but especially in the beginning there are some images that seem forced or awkward.

All in all, a very interesting and compelling memoir about a girl caught between two cultures and trying to find her place in the world.

I gave this novel 4 stars because it is beautifully written and held my interest to the end. It describes one summer on an island off the coast of Long Island. Leslie, who grew up on the island, returns with her African-American husband and 2 bi-racial children. There are a lot of subplots: racial tension, pollution from the aviation factory on the island, political protest, romance, and violence. The story is told from multiple points of view, and seeing the same incident from 2 different points of view added an interesting dimension. There was a lot of drugs and sex in the sections focusing on the teenagers.
On the plus side, I loved the author’s writing and descriptions of nature on the island, and I thought the characters were very interesting and well developed for the most part. The hints of disaster to come kept me interested and reading until the end. However, I was a little confused about the characters’ motivations and why they did some of the things they did, especially at the end. Maybe I missed something?

Two women in South Africa are neighbors, and one, Hortensia James, is black, and the other, Marion Agostino, is white and very prejudiced. They have been feuding for years, and have both recently lost their husbands. Hortensia is very bitter, especially when she finds out more about her husband’s betrayal, and takes it out on everyone around her. Her remarks that cut through the racial prejudices she encounters are refreshingly honest. Marion is dealing with the fact that her husband’s death has left her with no money, and she will have to sell her house. Circumstances force Hortensia and Marion to live together for a while, and they very gradually come to understand each other. Hortensia reminded me a little of Ove in A Man Called Ove, but there wasn’t as much humor in this book as in that one, and it could have used more to offset the difficulties in their lives.

I have always been a fan of Quindlen’s writing, but I was extremely disappointed in this book. Being a baby boomer myself, I was looking forward to some amusing insights to help with the ageing process, but I found this book to be a collection of random thoughts that were very disjointed and uninteresting. I was so frustrated with it, that I couldn’t even finish it.

This book was fascinating reading. Although I was familiar with the Lindbergh kidnapping case, I learned a lot I didn't know about Anne and Charles. I didn't know that they were plagued by reporters everywhere they went, even before the kidnapping. I also didn't realize that Anne was a pilot in her own right, and was the first licensed female glider pilot in the U.S. I also wasn't aware of the problems in their marriage, and Charles's anti-Semitism and Nazi sympathies. By making this book a work of fiction, the author was able to give readers an idea of how Anne felt about her marriage and accomplishments. And it made me want to read a biography of Anne Morrow Lindbergh to see how accurate the author's story is.

The story is told in alternating chapters by Grace Munroe, a young English woman looking for a resolution to her marital problems and Eva d'Orsey, her mysterious French benefactor. As Grace tries to discover why this woman she never met or even heard of has left her a legacy, she comes to see herself and her marriage more clearly. While the story is interesting, the perfume descriptions reminded me of the terms used by serious wine-tasters, which I don't find very illuminating. The solution to the mystery was also somewhat predictable, but I still found the book enjoyable.