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Reviews by Cathryn Conroy

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Gone Girl: A Novel
by Gillian Flynn

Exhilarating, Roller Coaster Plot With Lots of Twists and Turns…and a VERY Disappointing Ending (4/16/2023)

If you're the type of reader who stops reading a book early on because it doesn't grab you right away, don't even bother with this one. The first half of this bestselling thriller by Gillian Flynn is so slow, it's almost boring. It's one very long set-up. And then about …more

Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style
by Benjamin Dreyer

Who Knew Grammar Books Could Be Fun? This One Is Smart, Sassy, and Hilarious (4/16/2023)

Who knew grammar books could be FUN!?! And FUNNY!?! This one is both.

STOP right there.

What I just did with the exclamation points and question marks is absolutely NEVER DONE. That's the definitive word from copyeditor extraordinaire Benjamin Dreyer, the author of this …more

21 Lessons for the 21st Century
by Yuval Noah Harari

I Don't Agree with Everything Posited Here, But the Book Made Me THINK—And That's a Power of Reading (4/16/2023)

This is not the kind of book I could read in the winter while curled up in front of a blazing fire or in the summer lazing poolside. This is the kind of book I felt I should read sitting up straight in my desk chair. This book is work! But like anything that demands full …more concentration, a bit of effort, and even a furrowed brow, the reward is (mostly) worth it.

Written by Yuval Noah Harari, this is a series of predictions of problems we will face in the 21st century—from the power of artificial intelligence to the theater of terrorism. What makes it fascinating is that it is also a philosophical treatise. Harari may make a prediction—such as, the job market as we know it will disappear—but he counters it with what this means for individuals, families, companies, governments, and society as a whole.

Here are just a few of his predictions/philosophical treatises:
• Find out how the merger of biotechnology and artificial intelligence will seek to change the very meaning of humanity. (Read that sentence again. It's really frightening!)

• Find out why philosophy may be best college major for finding a job (yes, really!), and why physicians, psychiatrists, and even artists could be replaced by computers. (But nurses will still have jobs.)

• In the 21st century, what asset do you think will be the most valuable? Land, machinery, or personal data? Yep, it's personal data. And with enough of it coupled with enough computing power, data giants (think Facebook, Google, and Amazon) will be able to hack the deepest secrets of life. How will they manipulate human beings?

• Find out why it will be extremely difficult for major powers to wage successful wars in the 21st century—and it's not only because of the suicidal threat of nuclear weapons.

• Find out why the future is not what you see in movies. It is totally different and far scarier.

And then Harari takes an odd—and for me, quite disconcerting—detour. When it comes to religion, instead of predicting the form and shape it will take and the impact it will have on individuals, nations, and cultures in the 21st century as he did with every other issue he explores in the book, he spends pages and pages and pages debunking as fictional stories the tenets and history of the world's major religions, focusing especially on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I vehemently disagreed with his thoughts, but I kept reading…waiting for what he didn't offer: He did not connect those important dots and offer his opinion of the future of religion in this century. And until he got to this subject, that was the point of the book. Because he didn't do this, he just used his book as a bully platform against religion. And that's the reason I gave it three stars.

I will say this: While I didn't agree with everything Harari posits, he always made me think. And that's one of the greatest powers of reading. (less)

The Pull of the Stars
by Emma Donoghue

A Soaring Story of Love and Survival…But Beware the Extensive Graphically Gruesome Medical Details (4/16/2023)

Have you ever watched a horror movie with your hands covering your eyes, but your fingers weren't actually touching-- just so you could see through them a little? Yeah, that's this book.

Let's back up a bit.

Written by Emma Donoghue, this is the story of Julia Power, a …more midwife/nurse in an overwhelmed Dublin hospital in 1918 at the height of the flu pandemic. The Great War is still raging, creating intense deprivations for the residents of Dublin—from too little food to too little fuel. The story takes place over three days—October 31, November 1, and November 2—when Julia is suddenly placed in charge of a small three-bed overflow ward of pregnant women who have developed the flu. Working tirelessly by her side is Bridie, a young volunteer with a mysterious background that is slowly revealed. Dr. Kathleen Lynn, a physician who is part of the fledgling and violent Sinn Féin political movement, makes occasional appearances on the ward.

Back to covering your eyes…a very large part of the story's narrative is detailed descriptions of these flu-infected women giving birth prematurely, a common complication of the 1918 flu. At times it's fascinating, but it's also almost always graphically gruesome. This is not a book you can read while eating lunch. If the sight of blood is too much for you, then reading this book will probably be difficult.

This is a very fast read. The action moves quickly as the plot—death, life, doom, hope—relentlessly unfolds, much like someone suffering with the flu. At times, it's almost too much to read, too much to take in, but the gripping, provocative story will not be left alone for long.

This is a story about the power of the human soul to survive and the body to fight for life. It is about finding love in unexpected places, and the joy and hope that brings even as death scurries around the corner.

A note for 2020: Even though it was written before Covid-19, this is a pertinent book for our times. If nothing else, it serves as a reminder that the world has previously experienced and recovered from a pandemic—one far worse than Covid-19. And even in our turbulent, politically divisive times, we are not experiencing a world war as well as a deadly illness that killed between 3 percent and 6 percent of all humans worldwide. It was worse in 1918 than it is now. We will survive this, too. (less)

The Book of V.
by Anna Solomon

This Is a Fierce and Smart Book and I Can't Stop Thinking About It (4/16/2023)

This book is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Written by Anna Solomon, it is the story of three women from vastly different times, and when their separate stories merge into one, it is creative genius.

The three stories:
• Lily: It's 2016, and Lily and Adam and their …more

Deacon King Kong
by James McBride

A Masterpiece! The Writing Is So Extraordinary, It's a Powerful Force Field of Its Own (4/16/2023)

This remarkable, heartwarming book by James McBride is truly an original. It's a masterpiece of a story that is unlike anything I have ever read. It's funny. It's tragic. And it's nearly perfect.

The book is a character-driven roller-coaster ride through a bleak, poverty- …more stricken part of Brooklyn just as heroin and the violent drug dealers who peddled it got a firm foothold. And, oh, what characters they are! From two old drunks named Deacon King Kong (also known as Sportcoat) and Hot Sausage, to the church ladies who rule and care for their insular world, to the teenagers who are just coming into their own and are being lured into a drug-fueled world of money and expensive sneakers, these characters together create a microcosm of society. And, you, the reader, are thrust into the middle of it.

Taking place in massive housing project in the fall of 1969, the book opens with an inexplicable—but not too destructive—act of violence when Sportcoat shoots 19-year-old Deems, a boy who can pitch a baseball at 90 mph but has decided selling heroin is a better way to live. Deems, whom Sportcoat has always treated as a son, is injured but not badly. Now…imagine that shooting scene as the hub of a wheel. The rest of the book is the spokes—the convoluted, fascinating, head-scratching stories, backstories, and actions of a slew of characters who are somehow related to this shooting. And every single one—from the white Irish cop to Sportcoat's dead wife to the Italian mobsters who are taking over the drug business—is vivid, real, and very colorful. Amazingly, even though there are what seem like a bajillion characters (give or take), it's easy to keep them all straight, which is a tribute to the terrific storytelling ability of James McBride. (And Kindle users can always use the X-ray feature if they need help with that.)

Parts of the book are hilarious. Parts of it are deadly serious. It's even part slapstick. But absolutely all of it is really, really good. This is a richly imagined story that drew me in slowly until I got wound up tight in it. The writing is extraordinary, a powerful force field of its own.

While the society in which the story takes places is fractured and destructive, there is also a deeply spiritual goodness that permeates over the despair and evil, leaving in its wake hope and love and faith. It's everything you want in a novel. Read it! (less)

Skipping Christmas: A Fable
by John Grisham

Bah Humbug! This Book Turned Me into Scrooge. Don't Skip Christmas, But Do Skip This Book (4/16/2023)

Bah humbug! Reading this book—and even though it's very short, I still had to force myself to finish it—is turning me into Scrooge. Author John Grisham should stick to writing legal thrillers.

I bought this book several years ago, but never read it. The title made it seem …more

If You Ask Me: (And of Course You Won't)
by Betty White

Hilarious and Heartwarming: A Conversational Tone, Fast to Read, and Lots of Fun Photos (4/16/2023)

This very short, light book is hilarious! And it's also heartwarming. I laughed. I teared up. I loved it. But what's not to love about the author, Betty White?

Published in 2012 soon after Betty White's unlikely career resurgence following that classic Snickers ad that aired …more

The Night Watchman
by Louise Erdrich

This Is a Masterpiece I Will Long Remember with Its Extraordinary Writing and Riveting Storylines (4/16/2023)

This book consumed me. Often, I would look up after reading and like waking from a deep sleep, I wondered where I was. Or my husband would talk to me while I was reading, and all I wanted to do was tell him what had happened—not because I wanted to tell him about the book, …more but because I felt as if we both knew the characters as real people and I needed to tell him what they were doing now. Yes, this book consumed me.

Magnificently written by Louise Erdrich, this is the story of a group of close-knit Chippewas living on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota. The novel begins in September 1953 and continues through the spring of 1954. Although Thomas Wazhashk, who works as a night watchman, might be considered the lead character, there are others who are just as important and prominent in the story. There are two major plotlines:
• Thomas works as a night watchman at the new jewel bearing plant so he can spend his days working for the tribe to better their poverty-stricken lives. When the U.S. Congress writes legislation to terminate the tribe, take their land, and relocate them to cities, Thomas enjoins the tribe to fight the government—with every brilliant trick he can muster.

• Patrice just graduated from high school and has a job at the jewel bearing plant to support her family as its only source of income. Her father is a drunk, who only comes home to steal their money and terrorize his wife and children. Patrice's sister, Vera, relocated to Minneapolis but is now missing, and her family is terrified for her. Patrice ventures to Minneapolis in an attempt to find her sister, and what has happened to her is truly horrific.

• More minor plotlines include two Mormon missionaries who want to convert the largely Roman Catholic tribe to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; the conflicts and passions of friends and lovers; and the wrestling with death—those deaths that are sudden, those that are feared, and those that are expected.

This is a masterpiece that I will long remember. It is not only a riveting story, but also an exposé on what it truly meant to be a Native American in the 1950s when government-sanctioned discrimination and deprivation of basic life services kept the tribes mired in deep poverty and often alcoholism. (Of course, how much has really changed in nearly 70 years?)

But in the hands of the talented Louise Erdrich what could be a dark, melancholy tale based on historical events becomes one of redemption and hope sprinkled with just enough laughs to make this book a real treasure.

This is what great literature does: It helps us appreciate and value other cultures and makes us better human beings. (less)

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
by Robert Kolker

Imminently Readable, This Powerful Book Left Me Gasping in Anguish but Also Filled with Hope (4/16/2023)

This is a true horror story. It is impossible to read this book and not feel blessed—no matter what you're dealing with in your life.

This is the story of the Galvin family. Mimi and Don Galvin had 12 children—born from 1945 to 1965. Ten boys, two girls. Six of the boys …more

Stella Bain
by Anita Shreve

An Eloquent and Moving Novel About the Emotional Nuances of Memory, Loss, and Love (4/16/2023)

It all started with a lie. It was a spiteful, cruel lie that a vindictive man convinced his young daughter to tell against the father's hated rival. This remarkable novel by Anita Shreve is a lot of things—a psychological tale, a historical novel, a love story—but most of …more

America America: A Novel
by Ethan Canin

A 10-Star Book in a 5-Star World: Superb Novel About the Intersection of Life's Dreams with Reality (4/16/2023)

This is a 10-star book in a five-star world. This exceptionally well-written novel by Ethan Canin has it all: a compelling plot, fully-developed characters that just pop off the page, and a wise philosophical message about how we reconcile our life's dreams and hopes with …more

The End of the Point
by Elizabeth Graver

A Superb Book. It Didn't Keep Me Reading Past My Bedtime, But It Did Dance in My Dreams (4/16/2023)

Chances are, this book won't grab you on page one. It took quite a bit longer than that to pull me into the heart of what is really a simple story and the souls of what are actually quite complex characters. It was definitely worth the wait.

Written by Elizabeth Graver, this …more

The Book of Longings
by Sue Monk Kidd

I Resisted Reading This Book, and I Was So Wrong to Do So. It Is Truly Extraordinary and Reverential (4/16/2023)

Oh, I was so wrong about this book.

Multiple times I resisted buying this book by Sue Monk Kidd, even though I have read her previous three novels and loved them. But there was something about the plot description that made me recoil. ANOTHER book about Jesus's nonexistent …more wife? Give me a break. And then I read a professional book review that changed my mind, and I'm really glad that happened. This is not just another book about Jesus's nonexistent wife. It is so much more. Yes, it is a book about Jesus. His family. His early years before his public ministry began. But most of all, it is a radical portrayal of one woman's voice in a time when women had no power, no position, no privilege—and especially no voice.

It would have been most unusual — as in, it would have defied the most closely held and important expectations of society — for Jesus to not have married. New Testament Scripture actually doesn't say one way or the other if Jesus was married. It wasn't until the second century CE that the first claims were made that Jesus remained single and celibate. (Read the "Author's Note" at the end of the book for more fascinating information on this.)

But what if Jesus did marry? That is the premise of Kidd's book, written in the first person by the woman the author imagined to have married him. Her name is Ana, and unlike Jesus, she comes from an upper-class family. Ana is smart and capable. She is also stubborn, determined, and filled with longings for a life she can never have simply because she is female. She can read and write, and her greatest joy in life, much to her mother's chagrin, is writing stories. Ana is a rebel, who finds it difficult to fit into society as the placid and meek woman she is expected to be. When she meets Jesus in the marketplace, her world is turned upside down. Complicating matters, Ana's father is Herod Antipas's top scribe, and Judas is her (adopted) brother. When Ana's life is threatened by Herod Antipas, she escapes to Alexandria with her beloved aunt, Yaltha, who has a devastating secret of her own, which is the same time that Jesus's active ministry begins.

And finally…the Passion story as portrayed in this book is so emotionally and even physically resonant that I found myself holding my breath as I read. It will forever change the way I hear the Passion every Palm Sunday and during the Stations of the Cross.

The power of this book is twofold: First, the expertly researched, detailed, and absolutely fascinating descriptions of life in the first century are worth the price of the book. Second, Kidd writes with the utmost respect and reverence to fully commemorate and portray Jesus's humanity. And as odd as it may sound, it's totally believable and realistic.

Brilliant and beautiful, as well as richly imagined, this book is a thought-provoking celebration of not only Jesus's life, but also the redemptive power of one woman's voice. And that becomes an acknowledgement to all the women throughout time who were silenced and never heard. (less)

You Play the Girl: On Playboy Bunnies, Stepford Wives, Train Wrecks, & Other Mixed Messages
by Carina Chocano

Smart, Sassy, and Imminently Readable Essays. But Beware! They Are Also Emotionally-Charged (4/16/2023)

When actress Isla Fisher did an interview to promote the movie "Wedding Crashers," she was asked how her appearance in it had changed her career. She said it hadn't, acknowledging there weren't many comic opportunities for women in Hollywood. "All the scripts are for men …more

The Snow Child: A Novel
by Eowyn Ivey

A Delightful Story of Magical Realism That Is Ideal Reading on a Cold Winter Night (4/16/2023)

I first read this magnificent book by Eowyn Ivey in 2014 and reread it now for my book club. It's even better the second time around!

This is a delightful tale mixed in equal parts with fantasy and realism--so much so that it's hard to tell which is which. A childless man …more

The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power
by Deirdre Mask

What Is Your Address? Your Answer Can Reveal a Lot About You—From Your Race to Your Income (4/16/2023)

What is your address? The answer to that seemingly innocuous question reveals more about you than you probably ever considered. This fascinating book by Dierdre Mask explains everything you never knew about what your address means and what it can tell others about you—from …more

City of Girls: A Novel
by Elizabeth Gilbert

A Glittering and Seductive Book: Fun and Sexy, as Well as Deeply Thoughtful and Intelligent (4/16/2023)

What a scrumptious book! It's not only a fun and sexy read, but also it is deeply thoughtful and intelligent—a combination that is not often found in novels, especially ChickLit.

Written by Elizabeth Gilbert (of "Eat Pray Love" fame), this is the story of Vivian Morris, the …more

Hamnet
by Maggie O'Farrell

One of Those Rare Books That Is Both a Literary Achievement and So Good You Can't Stop Reading (4/16/2023)

This is one of those rare books that is both a literary achievement and unputdownable (I love that word!). Magnificently written by Maggie O'Farrell, the prose is so lyrical that many sentences deserve to be reread, but that is only possible if you can stop reading forward …more

Once Upon a River
by Diane Setterfield

Fall into the Magic and Wonder! This Is Old-Fashioned Storytelling at Its Finest (4/16/2023)

Oh, what a story! Imagine sitting beside a wide stone fireplace, a roaring fire within, and a storyteller perched on the hearth ready to spin a tale…a tale that will have you mesmerized for hours even as the embers die down. Yes, that is this book. It is an old-fashioned …more

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