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Reviews by Jean B. (Naples, FL)

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Day: A Novel
by Michael Cunningham

Boring (10/7/2023)

Michael Cunningham, the author of Day, worries that his novel is boring. He worries even though he has a Pulitzer prize for a previous book. I must say that I agreed with his concern. This book is clearly not a story which involves plot and action and drama. Reviewers call Cunningham's work brilliant. Only occasionally as I read this book can I agree; but mostly I agree with his concern that his novel is boring.

Last House Before the Mountain
by Monika Helfer

Negative review (2/28/2023)

I could not identify with the people in this novel. It was like reading about a puppet show --the characters don't seem human or real. I kept wondering if that was the intention of the author. I read the glowing reviews written by other authors and it was hard to believe we had read the same book. I wondered if it was a poor translation and wished I could read it in the author's language. It was impossible for me to understand how a novel with wooden characters could be described as "spellbinding."

Once We Were Home
by Jennifer Rosner

A novel to treasure (10/31/2022)

Beautiful, beautiful prose...this book is a treasure. The author credits her readers with the ability to follow a complicated plot as she tells the story of children displaced and stolen after WWII. She puts readers into the hearts and minds of children being indoctrinated by well-meaning religious persons. This a book to read and re-read, feeling privileged and impressed each time by the beauty of the writing.

In the Time of Our History
by Susanne Pari

Excellent Plot and Literary Value (9/9/2022)

A novel may just tell an interesting story or it may also have beautiful literary value. In the Time of our History a fascinating tale is told in elegant language, satisfying the reader who appreciates an excellent story and beautiful writing. Susanne Pari writes specifically about an Iranian American family but much of her story is universal. She writes about parent and child relationships and controversies and the differences inherent in living in two worlds. I strongly recommend this book.

The Family Izquierdo: A Novel
by Rubén Degollado

Difficult read (8/11/2022)

This was not an easy book to read. Consequently it's hard to write a review. I thought that the author wanted to make the Mexican American experience familiar to his readers but I don't think he succeeded.

I understand, from the back cover that this book is a "linked short story collection." I don't think the linkage was successful; I still felt I was reading separate stories rather than a cohesive novel.

My high school Spanish classes were too long ago to help me understand the many Spanish words and phrases. I believe there was an attempt to use these in context but I felt that I missed a lot by not being able to translate.

I struggled to read this book and I'm struggling to write a review. I can not recommend it.

Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden: Two Sisters Separated by China's Civil War
by Zhuqing Li

Two aunts/two Chinas (5/22/2022)

Zhuqing Li writes about the lives of her two remarkable aunts. She also gives us a picture of two Chinas: communist on the main land and democracy on Taiwan. Her aunts were close during their childhood, living in their beautiful home, the Flower Flagrant Garden. They were separated during their adult lives. Hong became a famous and revered doctor in mainland communist China and Jun became a successful entrepreneur in Taiwan.

The author brings these two women to life in her well-researched book. She is currently a professor of East Asian Studies at Brown University. Readers of her book will have a better understanding of both Chinas and a real admiration for the author and her aunts,

Good Husbands: A Novel
by Cate Ray

Poor premise (3/22/2022)

This is a book that makes you ask yourself what would I do if I were a wife who heard the news of a terrible transgression by my husband long before I knew him. I am impressed by the author's writing skills but I'm not impressed by her premise. She creates adult males who are loving and attentive husbands and fathers. Wouldn't a wife, hearing the story of an event that happened when the husband was very young and under the influence of alcohol, be horrified by what he had done but would not consider disrupting their lives and the lives of their children by disclosing something (as terrible as it was) that happened long ago? Nothing will undo what was done and nothing will be gained by disclosing at this late date. I wish the author had used her excellent writing skills to produce a book with a more valid plot.

Flesh & Blood: Reflections on Infertility, Family, and Creating a Bountiful Life: A Memoir
by N. West Moss

Flesh and Blood (8/24/2021)

The descriptive phrases written by author N. West Moss ring absolutely true. The reader never thinks the author is deliberately working at being poetic. Example: "Maybe everyone is made up of two rivers, the part on the surface that the sun hits, and the cool part that runs over the river rocks in the shadows that no one can see."

The beautiful, literary-quality writing illuminates a book about a woman experiencing heavy bleeding and having a hysterectomy. I hope the author will use her extraordinary talent with different subject matter. I think many possible readers will be lost because of the graphic descriptions. The writing is gorgeous and I hope readers are lucky enough to enjoy more from this author.

Everybody: A Book about Freedom
by Olivia Laing

Everybody (6/2/2021)

What is this book? What does it have to do with it's title? It is thoroughly researched, full of very large words requiring the use of a dictionary, and is described as ambitious and brilliant. I could not understand why the author wrote this book or what she was trying to say.

Why is it important to "struggle for bodily freedom?" Are we inhabitants of this world to only please ourselves? Much of the book is centered on Wilhelm Reich who imagined a "society organized around the orgasm"!?

Winston Churchill wrote "What is the use of living if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who live in it after we are gone?"

I struggled with this book, wishing for the admiration and understanding to arrive. That moment did not come for me and I continue to wish that the author had used her impressive vocabulary for a better purpose.

A Theater for Dreamers
by Polly Samson

What is this book (3/12/2021)

This book could be just a beach read, telling a story of people enjoying a dream setting: beaches, inexspensive housing, heat, wine, sex and freedom. It could be a re-creation of a period of time in the lives of real authors and other creative persons. Maybe it's a story about lessons learned by a young person exposed to freedom. Or it is an indictment of selfish, egotistical, but talented men and the way they used women. It's all of these things, a story told through the eyes of young Erica.

Most of the novel focuses on the freedom and the dream setting: endless partying, drinking, nudity, sexual inter-actions. It seemed frivolous and I was unaware that it was peopled by real authors and a period of time in their lives.

The question the reader is left with is whether the creation of art excuses selfish and cruel behavior. Does genius excuse their behavior?

Big Girl, Small Town
by Michelle Gallen

Big Girl, Small Town (10/20/2020)

When I read the reviews for Bi Girl, Small Town I looked forward to reading it. According to the cover of the book The Guardian called it darkly hilarious and wildly entertaining and the Irish Times labeled it captivating.

However, I found this book profoundly sad. It was also difficult to read because it was written with a heavy Ulster slang. Majella, the main character, leads a truly dreadful life with a selfish, demanding, drunken mother and a boring job, enlivened only occasionally with sex (not involving love or even attraction) with her co-worker. There are graphic descriptions of totally un-loving sex, bathroom visits, and female monthly problems. The only humor I found was in the names of the chip shops: A Salt and Battered and The Cod Father. Perhaps if I hadn't read reviews expecting humor I might not have been as critical of this book.

Hieroglyphics
by Jill McCorkle

Hieroglyphics (7/3/2020)

I marveled, while reading this book, about the extraordinary talent of Jill McCorkle, the author. Still, it was not an easy book to read during the isolating time of the pandemic. Much of this book is so sad. McCorkle writes about an elderly couple, Lil and Frank, and a young woman, Shelley, and her son Harvey. She tells the story in their thoughts and words. Lil and Frank were deeply wounded during their childhoods by the loss of a parent. Shelley's childhood was horrific and her young son develops an obsession with horrible stories.

The sadness of the book is offset by the beautiful prose. The author creates characters, especially Lil, who become real to the reader. After her mother died Lil's father would not have a Christmas tree. The child, Lil, looked at a beautiful tree in the window of a home she walked by on her way to school. "...it became my tree and was a bright spot in my day." But January and February passed and the tree still stood. Lil: it was a lesson to me how hanging on to something long after the fact can diminish the power of what was. It's where memory comes in, I guess, the abstract strength of what is no longer there..."

This is a beautifully thoughtful book.

The Last Train to Key West
by Chanel Cleeton

Easy, intriguing read (3/19/2020)

Chanel Cleeton's novel, The Last Train to Key West, is not a literary masterpiece but it's a good read. For anyone looking for an intriguing beach read this book will be perfect. The three heroines, Helen, Mirta, and Elizabeth, all meet their Prince Charmings and the adventures that ensue end with a Happily Ever After. Enroute to this happy ending they meet each other and they must face the danger of a hurricane headed for the Keys.

The Yellow Bird Sings: A Novel
by Jennifer Rosner

The Yellow Bird Sings (12/17/2019)

The Yellow Bird Sings is simultaneously heart breaking and hopeful A mother and her child survive the horrors of being Jewish during World War II. The child comforts herself with the imagined yellow bird as she and her mother hide and experience unimaginable horrors. The author puts her readers into this time and place. It will always be important to be reminded of the terrible penalty paid by citizens when a single mad man hypnotizes a nation. Jennifer Rosner is the most recent author to do so and she does it beautifully.

Red Letter Days
by Sarah-Jane Stratford

Red Letter Days (10/9/2019)

When I was reading Red Letter Days I thought many of the scenes were over-dramatized. Surely, in this country, we were never that complicit with a government that completely disregarded the belief of our founding fathers that citizens had the freedom to have diverse viewpoints. Then I read the Author's Note at the end of the book and discovered that she based the events in her book on actual events! This novel sheds another light on one of the most disturbing times in our history. Hopefully, Red Letter Days will help government and citizens never to allow this to happen again.

Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender, and Parenting in America
by Nefertiti Austin

Motherhood So White (8/16/2019)

Reading this book makes one aware we cannot live in someone else's skin. My history, background and family is so different from Austin's that it seems it's almost impossible to understand her. She does, however, make it possible, and a reader can grow in empathy and understanding. The author is a single African American woman who analyzes and writes about her life and what about that life that lead her to adopt a black son. I'm not sure that Motherhood So White is a good title for this book. I thought the book's purpose was to encourage black women to adopt black sons. I thought her son was blessed by her decision.

The Guest Book
by Sarah Blake

The Guest Book (4/11/2019)

If you have ever believed you could write you will feel diminished by this novelist. Sarah Blake is an extraordinary writer. Her prose enables the reader to know the people in her novel and to see and feel the settings. But this novel, The Guest Book, is much more than beautiful descriptive writing. It is an indictment of a group of wealthy and entitled citizens. This is an important novel.

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls
by Anissa Gray

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls (10/30/2018)

You would think that a title like The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungy Girls would mean you were reading a funny book. Wrong! No humor here.

This is a very serious book about being bulimic, being black and being gay. The author, Anissa Gray, knows what she is writing about as much of this book is autobiographical. She writes, in a note to her readership, that the lives of her characters "are deeply rooted in the world I've known."

The book is about three sisters, one of whom is imprisoned for fraud. In her first novel the novel does a superb job bringing these three to life.

Paris Echo
by Sebastian Faulks

Paris Echo (8/10/2018)

Two interesting, diverse characters make Sebastian Faulk's novel Paris Echo a really good read. Moroccan Tariq is young, confident, optimistic, and good looking and American Hannah is middle-aged, obsessed with history, intellectual and plain looking. The reader will enjoy the unlikely interactions of these two characters and will enjoy the skill of the author who makes them come alive.

The Garden of Small Beginnings
by Abbi Waxman

The Garden of Small Beginnings (4/29/2017)

The author handles brilliantly the challenge of telling a story that is simultaneously very funny and very sad. The young mother telling the story has delightful children, a really mother, a loving and equally funny sister, a very dead and much-loved husband, and a gardening teacher who might become a lover.

This book is so entertaining even while it gives a lesson in handling loss.

Reviews by Jean B. (Naples, FL)

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