4.5. A small elite school, a theater program that is only about Shakespeare, seven friends, seniors, together from the beginning, strong, intense friendships formed. Oliver, our narrator, one of the seven, just released from spending tempers in prison. How did something so special, so promising, go so wrong?

A novel of love, obsession, friendship passion and betrayal. Spending all their on and off time together, this little theater group becomes more important to each other than their real families, than the real world. Shakespeare takes over their lives, the plays they perform, always having to be on, the intense study, rehearsals, they even speak to each other in Shakespearean quotes. The author, and this her first book, does a fantastic job incorporating these quotes, fitting them into the context of the plot, often providing clues and foreshadowing into what has happened. Their obsessions with each other, and Shakespeare lead to dangerous breaks in reality. The plays begin to mimic life and these young people begin to fall apart, deconstruct with horrifying results. We learn so much about these characters, not only from the roles they play but in how they treat each other, how they behave when their loyalty is tested.

Not you typical thriller, more character studies but suspenseful nonetheless. It is not necessary to have a full understanding of Shakespeare's plays but necessary I think to be willing to read many quotes and speeches. I loved every minute of it, thought it was brilliantly done was thoroughly captivated by the players and curious to how it would end. A very special, well thought out, and executed debut novel.

As soon as I started reading I was intrigued and pulled into the story. The house, this gorgeous, spooky sounding house, a house with a tragic past, now home to a young Henry, his sister Threnody, mom and dad, Henry the elder. A man in love with literature, music, wanting desperately to write an outstanding novel, put meaningful words on paper. The gorgeous sounding library, with a huge amount of books, a house with nooks and crannies to get lost in, sitting on top of a mountain in a small Appalachian town. House envy, house lust. A house that will soon hold an inordinate amount of sadness, tragedy. Gothic tones, characteristics abound. The Barrowfields, a place where nothing grows, nothing thrives.

Then the tone changes, the pace changes, and Henry escaping sorrow, things he doesn't understand, goes off to college, leaving his younger sister behind. The sister he read to, sang to, was basically a father stand in. A sister to which he made many promises. Less gothic, typical college experiences, drinking, parties, a girl he falls for and he becomes embroiled in someone else's life, problems, father issues. Not sure how I felt about this part, the change of story. Going away was necessary for Henry in that he grew as a person, made him able to return home and deal with the tragedy of the past. But, think to much was brought into this part, was like a detour that I felt parts of didn't fit.

Eventually he returns home, with girl in tow, moves back into "my" house, don't I wish. His family no longer lives there but he reconnects, comes to harsh realizations, and we find out the full extent of the story. Sad, tragic but I loved this book, the writing wonderful, the story of Henry and the complicated roles of fathers. Loved all the literary talk and the different composers and music mentioned. This is in my opinion a brilliant debut of a novelist with some major talent.

Having a neurological disease is challenging, I live with one, but having a neurological disease that no one can diagnose, that has no treatment, no cure is terrifying. Having the symptoms of both Parkinson disease and Alzheimer, the inflicted slowly degenerate until death mercifully claims them. This is the disease confronting the Baxley family, a disease that has existed for generations but only when their father is inflicted do the two physician sons become aware of this fact. Setting out to find answers this is the story of a family unsure of their future, devastated by what has gone before.

Eventually an answer will be found and a test form the gene necessary to activate this fatal disease and then in the younger generation the question becomes, does one take the test and live with the fear of a death sentence or does one live their life never knowing until or if they are afflicted. This is the dilemma the younger generation, including Amanda, now in her late twenties, her father dying, must decide.

The book chronicles the discovery of this illness, the men behind it and the doctors who discover how to test for this very rare gene. These chapters are interspersed between chapters of the family. A wonderful family, whom one comes to know and care about, a family that has shared much happiness and much sadness. Although they all choose different paths, some of the decisions causing breaks in the family, they all come together in support, caring and a great deal of love and hope. The author does a wonderful job showing us the joy and heartbreak, following this family, chronicling their decisions, their doubts, their fears. That further sufferers of this or other neurological diseases may understand that they are so much more than what they are afflicted with, that life can still full, that making everyday count is perhaps bigger than the disease itself. I thank them for sharing their story with me, it was truly inspirational.

Didn't like this one too much, at least not the first half. My favorite parts were about the natural settings in Wyoming. Despite her wealth her life was certainly not ideal, but many people's aren't. The writing was good, especially in the second half, very descriptive. Still, not a favorite of mine.

Long time readers of this author knows that she doesn't shy away from difficult subjects, instead she tackles them head on. In this one she return to Bakerton, Pennsylvania whose glory days are gone. One know for their Bakerton coal, the town is now in its death throes. Many had left, stores and businesses are dying and then seemingly from nowhere they are given an opportunity. Natural gas companies come to town and all they have to do is sign on the dotted line. Instant money to allow drilling, paid by the acre, easy money or so they think. Just sign, don't read the contract, just so happy for a way our of debt, a way to get ahead.

Fracking, fossil fuels, our endless demand for cheaper energy. Many of these characters are familiar from her previous books set in this town. But now we see the human cost of fracking, costs on characters that are now in over their head. We see the greed of the companies out to make a buck, not caring what it does to the environment or the people. Extensive research, much is learned about this horrible practice, Colorado and Wyoming have now been mostly cracked out. Three mile island and its devastation are referred to, its consequences horrific. Environmental illnesses and injuries, things we don't understand. All encompassed by the people of Beaverton, people trying to live their lives, some great characters, some hard to like, but this personal touch makes it all very real. Supporters, lawyers, protesters, all sides. People who have owned farms for years, now at risk.

At times Haigh came awfully close to being preachy, but sometimes that is what it takes to relate a subject so important. There is one part, near the end that I wished she had left out. Felt it wasn't necessary to the plot and really didn't fit but other than that this was a very good story. A very important one.

Readalike, Secret Wisdom of the earth.

A common enough plot, Henry and Margo meet in college, fall in love. Henry is from the working class, Margo from the very wealthy. Something happens and they are forced to separate. Seeing each other twenty years later, many truths come to light. So what happens next?

This book has some beautiful lines, beautiful thoughts. Margo thinks of how well Henry knows her because he knew her when she was young, knew the inside of her not just the façade she presents to others, the façade she uses to get through her days. Other insightful thoughts are littered throughout this story. It is very well told, alternating between the past and the present, between the thoughts of Margo and Henry. So mentally this was a very good book, but I never felt an emotional connection, the heart was missing. The tone almost seemed clinical, matter of fact and I felt as if I was experiencing it from a distance.

So while I enjoyed this story, enjoyed the prose. I just didn't love it like I did book:The Headmaster's Wife.

Another great grouping of short stories, the first story, Tikkan, absolutely blew me away and it kept going from there. Set in Israel these stories feature people coming from other countries in the Middle East and some from even farther away. In one story a group of caregivers have come from the Philippines and are in the country illegally. All are trying to adjust to new countries, new homes, trying to find their place many times among suicide bombers and a country at war. All these stories and their characters are interesting, I think there was only one story I did not care for, and the writing is top notch. Incredibly well done.

1600s, Holland, Sara is the first woman admitted to the artist's guild. Her husband was a painter of landscapes, but at that time woman were expected to paint only still life's. After a terrible tragedy changes the fabric of their family, Sara paints a landscape. This painting will affect the fortunes of others down the centuries.

Late 1950's Ellie Shipley is a young woman working on her thesis of Dutch woman painters, she is also working as a cleaner and restorer. She is asked to do something that will come back to haunt her in the near future and culminate in a near disaster decades later.

Martin de Groot, inherited wealth also the owner of several Dutch paintings done by woman and passed down in his family from generation to generation. A discovery he makes will have a profound effect on himself and Ellie.

Like a finished painting all these layers will come together in a final, touching and brilliant uncovering.

Wonderful story, fantastic prose, descriptive, impassioned, even the alternating storylines are used to draw the reader in, heading for a amazing dénouement. Learned so much about art, forgeries, the art world on general and the life of women painters in early times. The character of Sara is actually a composite of all early women Dutch painters, as the author so nicely explains. Shows how one decision can effect our lives in unexpected ways. For me this book was absolutely brilliant.

Interesting premise for this well written book. Memory is an albino black, convicted of the murder of the white man who raised her. Given the death sentence she waits, incarcerated in the maximum security prison in Harare, Zimbabwe. She is our narrator and this is her story.

This is not a quick read, nor is it a fast moving story. Rather it is the story of a young woman and how she got from there, a home with siblings and a mentally ill mother and a father she adored, to here, awaiting death.

Life in the prison, the other women serving time with her, the constant political unrest in this country and how it affects the women in the prison, her life with her adopted father and lastly, his death. A book that take patience, with a twist at the end, when all answers are finally revealed. The ending is not definitive but I felt it did the book justice. Also highlights the unreliability of memory and how our memories of childhood are incomplete or not correctly understood.

A good if slower read.

The first thing I noticed about this book was how wonderfully it was written, the words and the plot just flowed aimlessly. Nothing was forced, it was all as natural as a story being told to one person by another. Another thing was the location, grit lit in Northern Michigan. Love it! The characters, Percy and Portis are both very memorable characters. Percy, sixteen years old with way to much responsibility for one so young, trying to take care of her mother who is hooked on drugs and alcohol. Portis, a man who despite his addictions is a stand up guy, one who is there in pinch, always available to help Percy. He really tries to help her, and will pay heavily.

This is an adventure story but also a character study. Drugs, addictions, the harm and sorrow they cause to others and to themselves. So incredibly powerful that even though they wish they were different, could change, that the rough circumstances they find themselves in could be alleviated,they are unable to get out from under the drugs spell. There are bad guys in this novel certainly, but bad guys who it seems wish they weren't.

The book ends on a very hopeful note, that Percy might manage to escape the dire future that seems to beckon and have a fulfilling life. This is a novel about caring, doing the right thing and the hardships and brutality reality of addictions. Brilliant.

A luxury yacht, repossessed from its crooked wealthy owner sails from Lisbon to Iceland. On the dock waiting is an older couple and small child, they are waiting form the rest of the family. But when the yacht arrives it is empty, no people, no apparent bodies. Thora is hired by the older couple to collect on the large life insurance policy, the money to be put aside for the smallest daughter, the one considered too young to make the trip. What could have happened and where are the seven people who should have been on the yacht? Reminds me of "And then there were none", but of course there is always one but is it human or not of this world?

Very slow paced story, alternately narrated by Thora as she investigates and the story of those that started out on the yacht. Clues abound, discoveries made and eventually the truth is known. Creepy, chilling and not just the weather, and though I was impatient at first with the pace I soon melted into the story and loved it.

3.5 This book goes back and forward in time, a structure that I usually don't like but which worked for this book, at least until the end. A vivid and graphic description of the torture and violence that was Argentina in the seventies, the military coups and the disappeared. Julia, who also has the power of vision, showing her small snippets of events in the future, becomes caught up in the plight of the Montenaros and is therefore wanted by the government. Not sure this type of magical realism was necessary though it did serve her a good turn on one important occasion and is not an overwhelming theme of the novel. Loved her grandmother, who also has this sight. She isms very memorable characters.

The author's own background leads to her expertise in writing this type of novel, as she herself was a prisoner in the Colombia jungle for six years. The parts in the prison, the fear and terror, the torturers were hard to read but this was when her writing was the strongest. So many people went through such horrible things. Such a horrible time in this countries past. The story of Julia and Theo was very interesting, and it showed to sides of the people involved in such horror, one bent on revenge, the other willing and wanting to start over, not forget but just to live. Felt the ending was a bit rushed and confusing but all in all a very interesting story and an in-depth look at a particular if horrible time in history.

Frank is the definitive star of this story and seriously I can't remember the last time I have enjoyed a character more. Frank, is nine, going on forty in some ways, yet emotionally still a child. He is smarter that a ridiculous amount of the population and loves old movies and the dialogues of old movies of which he is expert at reciting. His style of dressing is wonderful, but very strange for a nine year old. Frank, is eccentric, he is different which means he has a hard time with his classmates at school and has no friends, except for the very few adults in his life.

Not going to rehash the plot, so lets just say that when a young twenty something Alice arrives to take charge of Frank and the house, there is a certain amount of adjustment. Delightful and funny experiences ensue. Also poignant and heartbreaking times. We meet Zander, who helps Mimi and Frank out from time to time. He is reliable unless he isn't. He has scars from his past that keep him from committing to anything and anyone fully.

This is a quirky and fun read, light at times but there is much going on beneath the apparent lightness and it is interesting the way the author reveals these things throughout the novel without ever losing her deftness of touch. This novel definitely shows it is not the amount of friends we have that count but who they are. Even loved the ending, sadness reality and a touch of hope, she leaves that up to us to decide. Everyone needs to meet Frank.

New York, on the cusp of 1980, the changing art scene of Soho before it became officially known as Soho. Following the lives of three individuals for the next year: Lucy in her early twenties coming from Idaho to experience life in a big city, James who after college has no clue what to do and whose unique ability enables him to see colors and paintings in a unique way will find himself the reigning critic of the art world and Raul, escaping the post Peron Dirty War in Argentina as well as his sisters new husband whom he despises, will find himself the art worlds new favorite. These three will find their lives entwined in many ways.

New York in all its rawness, street artists squats, art galleries, new relationships, grittiness, the many ways to create art, unfaithfulness, a young boy missing and a new young boy arriving. A tragic accident that will change all these characters and others close to them. Loved the way these characters change within one short year, realistic maybe not but possible, a year can seem short but much can happen. This book was structured in such a unique and original way. Combining the disappeared in Argentina and a young boy missing in New York, tragic for those involved regardless of where or how many, one is more than enough. James ability an added dimension to the book, the way he sees colors around things made this so interesting. Not a clichéd happy ending but an ending that shows the characters still have decisions to make, work to do, they still have to change. Julian, the young boy who will make them see what they have lost but also what they have gained.

Will everyone fall in love with this novel, these characters, maybe not, but I did. Wonderful book that I wasn't ready to end and one that I will definitely think about.

Violence amidst great beauty. Two amazing young characters, Callum and Ava, and a wonderful trusty horse named Reiver. On the run from bounty hunters under the mistaken notion that Callum had killed their renegade Colonel. Nearing the end of the Civil War, there is much destruction, woods full of starving men, men who kill and steal for food, there is danger behind and ahead of them. From the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina they hope to make their way to the Georgian Coast, running into the devastation of the burning of Atlanta and the results of Sherman's march to the sea.

The writing, descriptions of the scenery are beautiful, the violence graphically depicted. One feels that they are right there, at that time, ruining from and to an unknown future with Callum and Ava. Survival is key, starvation and death a reality. Yet, amidst the destruction there are a few simple kindnesses from characters who are not in the story long but leave a big impression. I usually hate pat endings, but I so wanted them to have a happy one. Of course, I cannot tell you if they did, wouldn't be fair. This book is suspenseful, chillingly real, evoking strong feelings, a book that will stay with you long after books end.

As soon as one steps into these stories, it is apparent to readers of McCann that you are entering a world only he can create. He notices the little things in life, and in simple but brilliant prose relates these to the reader. It is this talent that lets readers thoroughly become one with the story.

In this collection he tackles some tough themes, the way a writer writes and where his ideas come from, aging and the mental and physical changes this beings. Memory and how it can be evoked by a simple image or story. My favorite was SH'khol, where a young mother and translator is working on a book that seems to correlate to her life when her young son goes missing. The most brutal was the last and it was at times difficult to read. There was little humor in most of these stories, but there was hope and that helped.

I originally gave this four stars but these are stories I have thought about throughout the last two days and that, plus the brilliant writing changed my rating to a five. There is one quote from my favorite story that I absolutely loved, but the publishers do not like the readers to quote from ARC's in case they are changes or modified. It is a quote about mothers and hopefully it will not be changed.

As soon as you start reading you enter the mind and thoughts of fifty something Todd Aaron, an autistic man who has lived at the Payton Living Center for a good portion of his life. The wonderful and sometimes strange ways he looks at things and people. One cannot help but take this character to heart. He is trusted at the Center being the oldest resident there, and is usually quite content with things with a few exceptions. His new room=mate at the cottage who tries repeatedly to give Todd, what he calls the volts. Also the new employee of the center who he calls, "Mike the Apron" who reminds him of his abusive father and who he finds frightening. He has a wonderful caretaker called Raykene, and though employees and residents come and go, she has been with him for quite a while. A new love interest for Todd as well, and all these things together spiral out of control until Todd takes to the road.

This novel is sometimes sad, as when Todd remembers his mother, now dead, who circled him with love and created a feeling within him to which he wants to return. His relationship with his brother is difficult, he doesn't understand Todd and Todd doesn't understand him. So we also get a firsthand view of the prob;ems in a family where one is different. A novel of memories, how we cherish them, how they still have the power to heal or hurt.

A very good story, of course I don't know how realistic the portrayal of this autistic man is, not having had any personal knowledge of autism or what it entails. I did however, read in an author interview that indeed Gottlieb does, having a brother with autism who has been living in an institutionalized setting since the age of eleven. Another character I will not forget.

I just finished this and am still not sure of what I read. A fever dream, a hallucination, possibly a nightmare, maybe all of them? All I know is that I started reading this and was hooked, wanted to find out what was going on.

Josephine and Joseph move to the city from the hinterlands where they were unable to find jobs. At first in the city things do not seem much better, but than miracle of miracles they both find jobs. Josephine, hired by someone whose face she cannot clearly see, a face that seems like no face gets a job sitting at a desk inputting numbers into a Database. Boring pink walls, strict rules, and few if any co-workers that she can see, though she eventually makes the acquaintance of one. Stacks of files daily, ennui sets in, the only saving grace her husband Joseph and the few surprises he provides. But than she begins questioning what she is inputting and from there, well that is the rest of the story.

Wildly inventive, strange and inviting all at once, this is so different from what I usually read that I am still thinking about it. Novella length, more than a novel but it contains quite a bit in a small package. Am still shaking my head, though I have to admit this might not appeal to some like it did for me.

For years, Edith has offered a home in her Brooklyn Brownstone, a building that her now dead husband, Declan, had bought for them after they were married. Their daughter left home for Haight Ashbury he seventies and hasn't been seen again, their son, the villain of the piece only wants what he feels he is owed. Tenants came and went, until the last several years when the group of residents have stayed the same. A disparate group of people, all seeking a shelter from their lives, a group of wonderful people with problems of their own. Edith now provided shelter and succor to this group of people with very real needs. Until Edith has problems of her own, memory loss and dementia.

It is the people in this novel that draws one in and grab hold , not to let go until the very end. I came to know and love all these characters as if they were actual people in my very real life. So wanted things to work out for them.

Poignant, yet at times humorous, amazing writing, this novel slowly sneaks up on the reader. A novel of families, the ones we make and the ones that are given us. Friendship, putting everything on the line to help other people. Home and what the term really means. Sometimes the home and family doesn't come to us, we must go and find it. A big sigh at the end of this book, I am so very glad to have met these characters. Unforgettable.

I loved his first novel and though this is a book of short stories, I loved this one too. It is not often that one can read a book of shorts, connected thought they are and feel like one has indeed read a whole novel. This one starts with a censor in the 1930's, under Stalin and continues back and forth until the present. The stories are connected through people, photographs, places and a painting. The images and descriptions are powerful, the prose amazing, at times there is even humor of the ironic sort. Through these wonderful stories we get a glimpse of the people in the former USSR, the dissidents, the babushkas, the soldiers in the military and the regular people trying to make a home and family. Particularly loved how he tied the elements together so tidily, this author is a true talent.