Smothermoss
by Alisa Alering
Smothermoss (5/13/2024)
An intriguing story that captures you right from the first sentence. Two sisters who are at odds with each other until they discover that together they become stronger. Set in rural Appalachia the family is poor and the girls struggle to fit in at school.
The writing is so fluid that you want to keep reading to see how the narrative unfolds.
There is the otherworldly aspect to the story but I found it fit with the storyline and so had no difficulty accepting it. I would definitely read another book by Alisa Alering!
King of the Armadillos
by Wendy Chin-Tanner
King of the Armadillos (5/18/2023)
In many ways this is a story about more than leprosy. It is a story of family bonds and the rules that are unspoken. Being Chinese immigrants, the Chin family already have preconceived prejudices but now they must also face the stigma of having a child with leprosy.
How this affects every member of the family is seamlessly woven into the book. While Victor's father worries that it will impact his laundry business, his brother Henry thinks telling the truth to their mother back in China would be a mistake and so Victor is forced to hide his condition.
When Victor gets to Carville he realizes that "leprosy had turned him into someone who didn't even have power over himself" and so struggles with the treatments he feels are forced on him.
A good book for discussion.
Scatterlings: A Novel
by Resoketswe Martha Manenzhe
Scatterlings (10/26/2022)
Honestly I thought I would not like this book very much when I read the blurb on the back. But then I started reading it and was swept into the story's lyrical wording. The Native Land Act described by Gloria as "we had a field suddenly meant only for looking" was such a succinct way to describe something so vast. Throughout the book the land and the people who first inhabited it are joined together and seem to be described as made of the same substance.
A beautifully written story about so much more than race or skin color.
Natural History: Stories
by Andrea Barrett
Nature Plus (8/16/2022)
A beautifully written collection of stories that are about nature but more importantly about the women who are connected throughout the stories. These women are thoughtfully woven into the book which makes the discovery of the connections unexpected at times but always flawlessly written in.
The first sentence just drew me in - a book of faded olive, not flashy, a silhouette of a crab on the cover. It made me want to dive right into this book.
Sure this is a book about nature but more importantly it is about the women who are connected throughout the stories not just through nature but through family and life.
Widowland: Widowland #1
by C. J. Carey
So Similar (5/7/2022)
Anyone who has watched or read The Handmaid's Tale will surely note that the similarities are very obvious. There are so few original ideas in this book that I find it hard to believe that it is being published as a new novel.
The pacing of this story goes very slowly at first then speeds up quickly near the end which gives it a frenetic feel and unsatisfying close.
Sorry I do not recommend this book.
Fencing with the King: A Novel
by Diana Abu-Jaber
Fencing with the King (12/15/2021)
I felt the sand in my eyes and the sun baking the top of my head starting with page one. The simple, skillful descriptions of the surrounding desert and mountains was a joy to read and absorb.
The main characters become familiar to us not through lengthy descriptions but through thoughtful journeys through the past and present time.
An unforgettable story that will have me searching for more from Diana Abu-Jaber.
Housebreaking
by Colleen Hubbard
Strangely Good (10/4/2021)
Del sets out on the improbable job of tearing down her run-down family home piece by piece simply so that her uncle cannot bulldoze it as it stands. I found that the cast of unusual characters were so oddly believable that they became unforgettable. A compelling look at unexpected friendships, self determination and perseverance.
The Lost Notebook of Edouard Manet: A Novel
by Maureen Gibbon
Manet's Diary (6/26/2021)
Although this book is a fictional account of the last days of Edouard Manet, the many references to his actual paintings and the people who were close to him make the diary feel like a true memoir. I particularly liked how the models he used in his paintings were made real by the descriptions of their everyday life and family. Because it is written as a diary it seems more believable as some days there is one sentence and some days he seems eager to express his innermost thoughts. I had never read a book by Maureen Gibbon before but will surely look for others now!
Migrations: A Novel
by Charlotte McConaghy
Migrations (4/21/2020)
Migrations is a compelling story of the possible future of wildlife extinction. As Franny follows the last of the Arctic Terns during their migration we are drawn into her past story and yet apprehensive of her current journey. The descriptions of Franny's surroundings are particularly beautiful and so vivid as to bring you right there with Franny feeling the coldness of the ocean or seeing the birds in the sky. The author's spare and elegant writing style makes reading this book a true joy.
And They Called It Camelot: A Novel of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
by Stephanie Marie Thornton
Good at Start (12/18/2019)
A thoroughly researched book on not only Jacqueline Kennedy but also members of the Kennedy "clan". At the start of the book the author makes it very clear how intelligent Jackie was - fluent in 5 languages, a well read lover of history and politics, a writer and reporter for the Washington Times. But then the author seems to forget all of that and Jackie becomes this vapid, simpering person whose knees buckle and heart throbs. Perhaps it was an effort to try and make her more human but it did become a bit over the top with melodramatic made up quotes.
I Want You to Know We're Still Here: A Post-Holocaust Memoir
by Esther Safran Foer
Not as expected (11/20/2019)
I wanted to like this book so much. The title was so intriguing and the photo on the cover made me want to start reading immediately. But that is where the attraction ended. Many times throughout the book it seemed more like a plug for her two sons books than the story of holocaust survivors. The story seemed to jump all over the place and felt disjointed and repetitive. I do credit the enormous amount of research and history behind it but wish it were better written.
Travelers: A Novel
by Helon Habila
Book of Stories (5/8/2019)
This book is exquisitely written. The author draws you into each person's life as a refugee and you can almost feel their grief, hunger or hope. I loved how you were left wondering how each character would be connected to the others as you ended each section. When you discovered that link it was so finely woven into the two interconnecting lives it never felt forced or unbelievable. And the ending story, although sad, was a compelling view into a refugee's journey.
D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II
by Sarah Rose
D Day Girls (3/19/2019)
It seems that lately there are more books about women who took part in WWII. I would say that this book was more a history of the war rather than the story of the heroic women who took part in D Day. I never felt that I got to know these women in any way. Code Girls (which I recently read) gave the readers a rich background of the girls and you remembered each one from chapter to chapter. I commend the author for the research involved but felt somewhat mislead by the book description. Would not recommend.
The Affairs of the Falcóns
by Melissa Rivero
The Falcons (12/17/2018)
On the positive side I think this book should be a must read to understand the "other" side of the immigration battle. The ugly truth of what this family's daily life was like is unsettling . On the negative side I found this book very repetitive in that the author used nearly the same wording throughout the book to describe their life. Also the ending of the book felt forced and abrupt.
Golden Child
by Claire Adam
A Tale of Two Sons (10/19/2018)
This was not really a book that drew me in. Some books you can't wait to get back to in order to find out what happened - this was not one of those for me. I liked the character Clyde and found him believable but some of the other characters just seemed thrown into the book haphazardly with no real personality. I kept expecting Father Kavanagh to be developed more and was disappointed that he was not. Also I felt Romesh was just a side bar although he was significant in the story plot. Would have also enjoyed a more vivid description of the Trinidad countryside.
A Place for Us
by Fatima Farheen Mirza
A Place for Us (3/27/2018)
A Place for Us is the story of a family bound by Muslim traditions as the children struggle to grow up in a world where their faith and their culture label them as different. Beautifully written with passages that compel you to read them again and remember the words written here are pure and beautiful.
Although a fictional account of a Muslim family, it is also a very real chance to understand the traditions and beliefs that make raising Muslim children in America a difficult responsibility. Hadia as the oldest struggles to find her place not only in the family but in friendships where she is forbidden to attend sleepovers or parties. Amar as the only son seeks normalcy by defying the mores that bind him to the strict rules of their faith.
There are times in the story when the prejudice that this family encounters is very real and sadly becomes very nonfictional.
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
by Elizabeth Weil, Clemantine Wamariya
You Had to Stay Invisible (2/20/2018)
There are some powerful phrases in this book that make you envision what these girls endured. "You had to hang onto your name though nobody cared about your name". As the author says the word genocide cannot fully explain the experience of living through it. A well written account of how a 6 year old survived the horrors of refugee camps and having no where to call home. I rated it good as I thought towards the later part of the book it started to repeat itself and got a bit muddled.
Anatomy of a Miracle
by Jonathan Miles
No Miracle Here (1/11/2018)
I found this book tedious at best. The use of overlong narratives that repeat themselves made me scan over many passages (which I never do). It dragged on and on and I felt the characters were never fully developed - they just never came alive for me.
Sometimes I Lie
by Alice Feeney
Sometimes You Have to Read it Again (11/27/2017)
Don't assume anything when reading this book! If you think you have an inkling of the plot just keep reading because what you assume will be turned upside down. The newest twist will be replaced by an more astonishing twist until you don't know what or who to believe. I found myself paging backwards to reread sections to see if I had missed some clue but honestly the author writes so well that there are no clues to miss. You are on your own.
Mothers of Sparta: A Memoir in Pieces
by Dawn Davies
Powerfully Pieces (9/27/2017)
This is a powerfully honest, gripping story of a woman as told by her during her life as a child, teenager, lover and mother. Each chapter (or piece) is a glimpse of her life told with humor that belies the sometimes underlying sadness. The title chapter is particularly thought provoking as the author struggles with an autistic son while explaining the Spartan philosophy of throwing the babies deemed unfit into the pit of Apothetae.
I would highly recommend this book for discussion at a book club as I believe it would raise some interesting points on motherhood, luck and the "payback fairy".
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