A Council of Dolls: A Novel
by Mona Susan Power
Dolls who advise and protect (6/22/2023)
This book tells an interesting story of girls and their special relationship with the dolls they own who counsel, comfort, and protect them. Certain elements of the story are repetitive without further information to move the plot. Part four, for example, could stand alone because it seems like the same story but through the dolls eyes which mostly we already know. Couldn't Jesse's resolution been folded into her chapter? The added characters add little. Maybe it's just my flaw but also characters names were confusing. Ina, is that a Dakota word for grandmother? Because grandmothers name was Cora. Then there's Sissy-Jesse, who has many names in between, maybe "less is more"?
Scatterlings: A Novel
by Resoketswe Martha Manenzhe
Scatterlings is a must read (10/3/2022)
This is a beautifully written book about Africa and apartheid, specifically the Immorality Act of 1927 and its effect on one family. Africa-the mythical origin of life on earth for some and the fulfillment of the concept of home for just two. Multi layered story of spirits and kindness in the hands of an elegant writer who lyrically weaves a sad tale that is not to be missed.
The Empire of Dirt: A Novel
by Francesca Manfredi
A Trinity In A Castle of Dirt (6/6/2022)
Three woman: representing past, present and future encased in a farmhouse. The village thinks they're witches. They each have distinctive personalities. Grandma is religious, tied to the old ways, hard on her daughter but kind to her granddaughter. Mother as Valentina describes has a carefully honed skill to get her way without revealing all the "rehearsal that lay behind it". Valentina is a girl becoming a woman between the other two women. There were not ten plagues sent to convince the house to let them go but water turning to blood, frogs, locusts, livestock pestilence and darkness play a part before the house succumbs to the wishes of the women.
The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel of Windsors, Vanderbilts, and Royal Scandal
by Bryn Turnbull
If you liked Downton Abbey, you probably won't like this book. (6/27/2020)
The Woman Before Wallis is a night-time soap opera in a book. The trials of Gloria Vanderbilt Sr. are woven between the ups and downs of her twin sister, Thelma Furness. All is based on the need for a rich husband, who with few exceptions is bound to let you down anyway. Beautiful clothes, furs, expensive cars, and high society shenanigans. If we could go to the beach this year, it would be the perfect past time. The twins were believable but the Duke and especially Wallis Simpson had no depth, alas.
The Affairs of the Falcóns
by Melissa Rivero
Should be The Affair of the Falcon (11/26/2018)
This is an unrelentingly sad story of immigrants who add being undocumented to the other difficulties of everyday living. It is Ana’s story. The other characters are not developed and if they had been this book would have benefited. Telenovelas are a recurring form of entertainment and this story reads like one. Names are important: los falcones, the falcons, symbol of the rising sun, Lucho, first person singular of “to fight”, Valeria, valiant and Victoria, victory. Life is complex and in spite of the names, this story is not.
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