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Reviews by Ann B. (Kernville, CA)

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Natural History: Stories
by Andrea Barrett

Interlinked stories invoking generational memory, scientific wonder, ties that bind (8/11/2022)

These six linked short stories, including the novelette-length (50 pages) title story, call upon characters from Andrea Barrett's past collections, with the ground zero story being "The Marburg Sisters" from the author's National Book Award-winning Ship Fever. Set in the fictional town of Crooked Lake, NY, the stories move forward in time for the most part, with some well-placed backstories at just the right moments. The overarching narrative fleshes out women's roles in society and their interconnected lives, drawing upon themes of memory and science. This book is for those curious about the natural world as well as the wonders of the human heart.

One's Company: A Novel
by Ashley Hutson

Beyond the comfort of fantasy lies the unknowable fourth wall (6/13/2022)

Bonnie Lincoln has survived horrific trauma. Barely survived. When she wins the mother of all lotteries, Bonnie decides that she can indeed escape her pain, her trauma, and her past. All she needs is to trade her story for that of her favorite TV show characters. "My reality cracked open, and the television spooned another one on top." Bonnie buys a remote property, builds an identical re-creation of Three's Company. All alone, she not only binge-watches the eight seasons of episodes that ran from 1977 to 1984. She binge-lives the show, inhabiting each of the characters, year by year. But eventually she will have to face the unknowable fourth wall. I absolutely binge-read this novel, laughing with Bonnie one minute, aching for her the next minute -- aching for her through the bittersweet ending.

Two Nights in Lisbon: A Novel
by Chris Pavone

As twisty as the cobbled streets of Lisbon (5/25/2022)

Lisbon provides the perfect backdrop for this international thriller. From the moment Ariel Pryce wakes alone in her hotel room, her husband gone without warning, the action throttles without cease. Author Chris Pavone uses well the winding streets of this hilly Portuguese city, with its yellow trams, its chugging tuktuk scooters, its elevators, and its hidden staircases to climb and descend. Ariel navigates this intriguing setting as she navigates the crisis that is her husband's kidnapping. And as with Lisbon, there are secrets around every turn in Ariel's path. This is a gripping thriller in which twists abound. January Lavoy, as always, succeeds beautifully in performing the audio version of this unputdownable book.
Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to an advanced audio copy in exchange for my opinion.

Fencing with the King: A Novel
by Diana Abu-Jaber

As if we've been transported to Jordan (1/14/2022)

This deliberately paced, sensuously written novel is the story of a lost woman regaining her self. It's the story of a poet finding her voice. And it's the story of a "true Jordanian" family, in the sense that this family represents many facets of Jordan, those on display as well as those buried in the past. The book starts slowly, unfolding to reveal a twist worth the wait. Jordan, circa 1995, is depicted with such love. We feel that love through Abu-Jabar's ability to immerse us in its culture and landscapes. I recommend this novel to anyone who likes their historical fiction infused with poetry, family dynamics, political machinations, romance, and the grace, intrigue, and sport of fencing.

Beasts of a Little Land: A Novel
by Juhea Kim

Inyeon in the time of Korea's epic struggle for independence (12/7/2021)

In this excellent debut novel, we go from the wilds of mountainous North Korea to the grit and gloss of Seoul. This historical fiction novel takes us from 1917 through 1965, during Korea's fight to crawl out from under Japanese occupation. It's 416 pages of love in the time of epic struggle for independence. The main characters come of age in a country finding its way. There are little girls who become courtesans and movie stars, street kids who become resistance fighters, rickshaw drivers who become scions of business, military men who give a little and take a lot. There are love stories that run their courses. I repeat: an excellent debut, highly recommended.
Thanks to Ecco and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my opinion.

Housebreaking
by Colleen Hubbard

Deconstructing as a means of building self (11/23/2021)

A bildungsroman with a twist, this "new adult" coming-of-age novel's premise is both fascinating and multifaceted. Young, rude, aimless, loner Del challenges herself to demolish her childhood home, and in the process of deconstructing the house and her family's stuff, she builds herself. This book will make for lively discussion among book groups.

A Million Things
by Emily Spurr

tugs at the heartstrings (6/9/2021)

I devoured this debut novel by Australian author Emily Spurr. Remarkable for its theme, its characters, and its humanity, the book is written from the second-person point of view, the 'you' directed at the narrator's mother. I won't soon forget narrator Rae, her neighbor Lettie, or her sweet beast of a dog Splinters. But the nameless mother is also an interesting character, more so because she develops in the literary equivalent of negative space.

The Prophets
by Robert Jones Jr.

An epic novel giving clear voice & vivid characters to a buried past (11/27/2020)

I'll start with the cover of this remarkable debut novel. Its design is on trend, for sure, but it's also perfect for The Prophets, a book that will transcend trend. Look at the silhouettes and the layers and the shades of color. The silhouetted faces indicate bodies down, prone and separated, yet the faces ascend, as if forming the foundations of mountains, and they look up. Robert Jones Jr. has written novel as testimony, with its central question: Did Black queer people exist in the past? Of course they did, but where are they in the historical record? Jones imagines their history, from ancestral Africa to the antebellum South. This is a book worthy of a deep-dive exploring its layers, inciting meditations and conversations about love and beauty and strength amid horrendous brutality. I'll end by emphasizing that at the heart of this book is Love.

Piranesi
by Susanna Clarke

Enter this strange but enthralling labyrinth (8/16/2020)

Imagine waking in the middle of a 3D labyrinth populated by only statues, neoclassical architecture, the sea and clouds. It would be confusing at first, certainly, just as the first chapters of Susanna Clarke's new speculative fiction novel are. But as you wander this surreal world with the character Piranesi, you'll become oriented to this strangeness. I use the word 'strange' on purpose. It is a word you might associate with Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell, but be warned, the two books are very different. Piranesi's requires patience, but as its mystery wrapped in fantasy reveals itself, you might, as I did, fall deeply into its thrall.

Migrations: A Novel
by Charlotte McConaghy

An enthralling debut novel set in a breathtaking future (5/5/2020)

This book, like the birds the protagonist is so determined to follow, soars. Reading it in the midst of an actual pandemic gives it that much more gravity. But it needed no help in that, with or without the hovering of coronavirus. The prose is achingly gorgeous: 'I wandered. Through cobbled streets or into paddocks, where long grass whispered hish as I passed between.' The slow emergence of our main character, Franny, how the author lifts veil after veil to reveal her character, made me physically ache for her, while the author's attention to language makes the narrative that much more poetic, that much more enthralling. The laser-focus on nature, in all senses of the word, gives the book both a timeless and timely theme. I loved everything, every aching sentence, of this debut novel.

The Big Finish
by Brooke Fossey

The Big Finish deserves big kudos (11/15/2019)

Brooke Fossey had me at 9am Sit and Be Fit. I swear I've seen those exact activities on the board at my aunt's assisted living facility. I love that the novel is broken into bulletin board calendar days as well as numbered chapters. Time and its rate and manner of passing is a key thread in this novel, as it should be. Though Duffy is 88, his mind and internal dialog zip the narrative along. Stakes are high in the Centennial assisted living home, after all. I recommend this to readers who like a funny and character-driven story that demonstrates how its never too late to be the person you mean to be.

Nothing to See Here
by Kevin Wilson

How do you prep for the possibility of fire children? (6/15/2019)

As a fan of weird fiction, I devoured this book. Main character Lillian, like most of us, feels like whatever she does, it's the wrong thing. She's not prepared for the children she's tasked to care for. Who would be prepared for children who catch fire at will? What Kevin Wilson does, and has done brilliantly here, is create situations and characters just absurd enough that they make you feel less alone in the world. Lillian says at one point, "That's how it works ... . The big thing is so ridiculous that you absorb only the smaller miracles." I highly recommend this book to weird fiction fans and to anyone craving a warm, witty novel.

House of Stone
by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma

A layered novel in which history commands center stage (12/29/2018)

This sprawling novel set in Zimbabwe during Robert Mugabe's brutal government marks the impressive debut of Novuyo Rosa Tshuma. The book will appeal to readers seeking a layered, twist-filled #ownvoices story of oppressed and haunted people seeking to transcend the past.

The Lost Man
by Jane Harper

Character-driven mystery braided into Outback family saga (12/15/2018)

This crime novel set in the Australian outback has elements of a typical mystery, but it's the conventions it lacks that make it so satisfying. Our protagonist, for example, is not a PI, cop, or otherwise typical gumshoe character. Rather, he is a member of the family. While The Lost Man is a slow-burning thriller, it is also an emotion- and character-driven family saga. I will be reading Jane Harper's The Dry ASAP.

Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History
by Keith O'Brien

A well grounded account of women pioneers of the air (6/24/2018)

Veteran NPR journalist Keith O'Brien succeeds in bringing these female (and feminist) aviation pioneers to life. I very much enjoyed following the arc of narrative that O'Brien constructed using primary and secondary source materials, such as journals, news clips, letters, and such. This necessary approach (as all his characters were dead) and the clever hooks that closed each chapter remind me of Erik Larson's books and certainly Daniel James Brown's _Boys in the Boat_. This book should definitely appeal to fans of _Boys in the Boat_, for its similar focus on unsung, underdog sports pioneers and because it, too, is an excellent example of narrative nonfiction.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles
by Hiro Arikawa, Philip Gabriel

How to deserve the love of a cat (5/15/2018)

A metaphorical journey wrapped in a lusciously evocative journey through Japan, this short, endearing novel is told from interwoven perspectives. Witty street cat Nana speaks to us in a chatty and intimate first-person voice, while a third-person POV fills us in on the relationships that Nana's human, Satoru, has built over the course of his young life.

The Typewriter's Tale
by Michiel Heyns

Henry James fans just might (1/7/2017)

Frieda Wroth is a compelling character -- a typist, a recreational cyclist, a would-be author, and an independent young woman for the period (1907-08) and the setting (Rye, England). Yet this novel did not appeal to me, as I imagine it will to more avid Henry James-ophiles. I am a very, very casual James reader. His style, to which Michiel Heyns does justice, sets up too many hurdles for my reading enjoyment.

Manderley Forever
by Tatiana de Rosnay

A must-read for DuMaurier fans and those who enjoy biographies that read like novels (12/21/2016)

With Manderley Forever, novelist Tatiana de Rosnay has hit two birds with one stone in terms of my reading affinities. First, as a writer of creative nonfiction, I am a huge fan of using fictional technique in nonfiction. I very much enjoyed de Rosnay's novelistic tone and present tense POV to make us feel as if we were in scene with DuMaurier. I am also a huge fan of Daphne DuMaurier, having read most of DuMaurier's novels, with particular faves being The House on the Strand, Jamaica Inn, and Rebecca. In fact, I have read and reread Rebecca and watched and rewatched Hitchcock's film of the book. I enjoyed how de Rosnay wove the inspiration and development of DuMaurier's novels and books into her biography.

Underground Airlines
by Ben H. Winters

Bold, controversial premise atop scaffolding of by-the-book noir (9/23/2016)

I was introduced to the first few chapters of this book via the audio version read by William DeMeritt. His voice nailed the tone of this classic noir thriller, which posits that the Civil War never happened and that four southern states continue to practice slavery. It's a remarkable novel in so many ways, but especially as it serves as one more ingress to our current national conversation about race and #blacklivesmatter. It begs the question: how far from reality is this alternate history, after all?

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things: A Novel
by Bryn Greenwood

The wonderful amid the ugly (6/4/2016)

The child of a meth dealer and a strung-out mother, Wavy is an ethereal creature. Parenting is completely absent, until it isn't; then it nurtures nothing but damage. The only tender, nurturing aspect of her gritty, gritty existence comes from Kellen, a tattoo-smattered gorilla of a biker dude who is 14 years Wavy's senior. He falls in love with her at first sight, and the older-than-her-years Wavy is smitten with Kellen as well. Despite the uncomfortably pedaphilic implications, their story works. Greenwood does a masterful job of creating sympathetic characters -- of showing us the wonderful amidst the ugly. I found myself asking, Am I rooting for the love story of a tattooed bruiser of a biker and the way underage child of a meth dealer? Yes. Yes, I am.

Reviews by Ann B. (Kernville, CA)

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