Reviews by MN book lover

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The Last Tiara
The Last Tiara
by M.J. Rose
The Last Tiara (12/19/2020)
Alternating chapters tell parallel stories of a woman who lived in Russia at the time of its revolution and her daughter in New York City in 1948. The mother was a friend of one of Tsar Nicholas's daughters and received from her a gift of a valuable tiara. The daughter …more
The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls
The Patron Saint of Pregnant Girls: A Novel
by Ursula Hegi
I wanted to like it better (5/6/2020)
I have been a fan of Ursula Hegi since I read Stones from the River 25 years ago. But I really struggled with her newest book. She has been known for developing interesting and relatable characters, and there are glimmers of that in this book but it somehow misses the mark. …more
The Splendid and the Vile
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
by Erik Larson
A Year in the Life of Churchill (and others) (1/14/2020)
Erik Larson's new book, The Splendid and the Vile, looks at a year starting in 1941, when Winston Churchill became the British Prime Minister, and ending a year later. During that time, Britain suffered badly with the Blitzkrieg that hammered London and other cities, and …more
The Seine
The Seine: The River that Made Paris
by Elaine Sciolino
Without the river, it wouldn't be Paris (9/28/2019)
Although mostly about Paris, this is really about the entire River Seine, from its source in Burgundy to its entry to the sea in Le Havre. But it is mostly about Paris, and how the city depends on the river for commerce, tourism, and romance. Written by a journalist who has …more
So Much Life Left Over
So Much Life Left Over
by Louis de Bernieres
How to live the life left over after one expected to die (7/17/2018)
The book follows a man who was a flying ace in World War One, as well as family members and friends, from the end of the "Great War" into the Second World War. For most of them, the fundamental question in their lives is how to live their best life and be true to their …more
French Exit
French Exit
by Patrick deWitt
Not the best use of my reading time (2/1/2018)
The hype for this book would have one believe that it is a madcap caper ("witty", "riotous"). To the contrary, it is full of one-dimensional characters -- perhaps the most well-rounded is the cat who embodies the main character's dead husband -- who fail to prop up a plot …more
The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko
The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko
by Scott Stambach
Depressing but meaningful (8/1/2016)
A 17-year-old boy has lived in an institution since infancy, having been born grossly deformed as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. No explanation is given of how he became well-educated, but he is able to analyze his life and those around him in a context that …more
The Midnight Watch
The Midnight Watch: A Novel of the Titanic and the Californian
by David Dyer
A Night to Forget (2/28/2016)
This book is a fictionalized version of real events, and fills in characters and thoughts of persons aboard the ship Californian, which was stopped in ice a few miles from the Titanic and did not respond to distress signals. The characters are very human: the crew members …more
The War Reporter
The War Reporter
by Martin Fletcher
A war that wouldn't quit (8/11/2015)
An American TV journalist covering the Bosnian war in 1994 is waylaid by Serbian troops with his photographer and translator, with tragic results. The journalist survives but is haunted by the event and by the memory of the translator. Twelve years later he returns to …more
Everybody Rise
Everybody Rise
by Stephanie Clifford
climbing the social ladder (3/8/2015)
A young woman sets out to become part of the "upper crust" in New York City, not seeing (as the reader does) how shallow and careless those people are. The book is something of a take-off on Edith Wharton's novels, and does a pretty good job of telling its morality tale. …more
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: The Untold Story
by Barbara Leaming
the "untold story" about Jackie? (11/1/2014)
This biography, which claims to be the "untold story", is fairly cynical about Jackie as she pursues the perfect husband. After that husband is killed, it becomes overly sympathetic and interprets everything in terms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Although she certainly …more
Ruth's Journey
Ruth's Journey: The Authorized Novel of Mammy from Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind
by Donald McCaig
not the character we knew and loved from GWTW (9/4/2014)
As a long-time lover of Gone With the Wind, I always look forward to books that relate to it, and I liked McCaig's take on the backstory of Rhett Butler, but this one falls short. It is odd in several respects: the main character doesn't figure into much of the story until …more
Buying In
Buying In
by Laura Hemphill
learning the ropes (10/5/2013)
A young, ambitious woman lands her first post-college job as an analyst with a New York investment bank in 2007. She learns quickly that trust in anyone is a dangerous thing and that in order to succeed one must pretty much give up one's humanity (one must buy in before one …more
Bitter River
Bitter River: A Bell Elkins Novel
by Julia Keller
Wild West Virginia (7/7/2013)
I have lived in a small town for 35 years and in all that time there has never been the amount of crime and violence as Acker's Gap, West Virginia, the small town in Bitter River, experiences within a few weeks. Leaving aside the need to suspend disbelief, though, this is a …more
The Plum Tree
The Plum Tree
by Ellen Marie Wiseman
A Disappointment (1/11/2013)
The Plum Tree is a good effort on an important subject, but its defects cause it to fall short of its presumed goal, namely to depict life as an ordinary German during and after World War II. The circumstances were dramatic enough, and don’t require the additional melodrama …more
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