Although this beautiful novel,'Daughters of Shandong' by author Eve J. Chung, won't be published until May of 2024, I have to include it on the list of the best books I have read in 2023. This harrowing but incredibly moving story plays out against the backdrop of the Chinese Revolution in 1948. Political and cultural struggles were occurring between the supporters of Chiang Kai Shek and the Nationalist Party and Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party. Caught up in the turmoil and bloody unrest is the Ang family... wealthy landowners who live in the province of Shandong.

The narrator of this novel is 13-year-old Hai. She is delightful... loyal, intelligent and fiercely protective of her mother and sisters and she will endear herself to readers from the first page. Hai is the eldest daughter of the Ang family and the reader immediately becomes aware that female children are not valued in this society. In fact, the births of female children are considered bad luck and a burden on the family. In the Ang family, by the time Hai's mother gives birth to her third daughter, Hai's father does not even give her the dignity of a name. She is simply called 'Three'. Despite this treatment (or perhaps because of it), Hai, her mother and her sisters must develop a sense of self-determination, self-worth and resourcefulness to survive all they will have to endure once the Communists arrive in Shandong and they are driven from their home.

This novel was one which I could not stop thinking about. When I wasn't reading it, I couldn't wait to return to the story. There were some difficult scenes throughout the story but reading about Hai and their treacherous journey from Shandong to Taiwan was ultimately gratifying and I rooted for these women through every step of their journey. I cannot recommend this novel enough!!

"Getting medicine into Haiti depends on knowing who to bribe... The embargo just makes the price go up."

I was excited to receive a copy of 'Devil Makes Three' by Ben Fountain because I thoroughly enjoyed his previous novel, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk'. There is a general theme which runs through Ben Fountain's writing... an open skepticism of the foreign policy of the United States government.

'Devil Makes Three' begins with a brutal military coup which displaces President Aristide in Haiti in 1991. Although the story eloquently and sympathetically portrays the economic and social hardships and precariousness of the lives of the Haitian people (most especially the poorest people), the tale does focus on a particular prominent family- the Variel family... Alix Variel, in particular and his best friend and business partner, American ex-pat Matt Amaker.

When the coup occurs, Matt (who is running a scuba business with Alix) on some choice beachfront property, is forced to flee for his life when the property and all he has worked for is seized by the new military government. He must leave behind his hopes and dreams and must decide if he will continue to live in Haiti or do as many of the other Haitians with financial means do... get on a boat and head to Miami. As time goes on, Matt and Alix decide to try their luck with a new venture in Haiti. They set up a diving business to attempt to scour the underwater shipwrecks which are rumored to be scattered along the southern coast of Haiti. Who knows what treasures are within those forgotten ships? Perhaps gold? Unfortunately, their new business venture catches the attention of not only the new military regime but also a CIA agent whose identity seems to be somewhat in question and some personnel from the United States government who purport to be in Haiti to provide humanitarian aid (also known as USAID). This scrutiny and unwanted attention leads Alix and Matt on a harrowing and life-threatening path, which ultimately changes the course of their lives and schools them in the harsh realities of politics and power.

I LOVED this novel! At 544 pages, this book IS a chunky one.. but in my view, it is definitely worth the time and attention. I had the sense that Ben Fountain actually spent real time in Haiti, getting to know the people and their traditions and just how things really work in terms of their economy and politics. And if you have ever wondered why certain countries experience coup after coup and why certain agencies representing the United States government who are supposedly in the center of things to provide humanitarian relief and yet the lives of those very people never seem to get materially better... well, this book just may provide you with some food for thought.

"Not all stories have to be neat. Some can be messy and unfinished"

'Banyan Moon' is a fantastic debut novel by Thao Thai. A multi-generational story which spans decades , this story is told by three strong, stubborn, fiercely loyal and loving Vietnamese- American women.. Minh, Huong and Ann.

The novel begins with the death of Minh, the matriarch of the family. Minh's death sets off a crisis for the two remaining women - Huong and Ann- who return to the family homestead , the Banyan House, in the swampy wetlands of Florida. This family saga is told alternately by each of the three women and moves backward and forward through time. And what made this book even more enjoyable to me is that the reader is aware throughout the story of the women's secrets and family complexities... even when the women themselves were not always aware.

I love complicated, messy family stories which play out over decades and this novel did not disappoint. The characters were wonderfully complex... strong and loyal and even infuriatingly secretive and frustrating. The Banyan House itself was also a compelling character in this story. The house, a huge, old Gothic structure, which seemed to be falling down was also a source of strength for the women who had found shelter within its walls.

I loved everything about this novel and would highly recommend it to other readers!

This novel, 'The Long Ago', begins in Livingston, Montana in 1963. The story centers around siblings Raymond and Barbara Lansdale. The book begins with Ray's arrival in Livingston. After enlisting in the army and spending time in Saigon, Ray returns to Montana because he has received word that his sister Barbara has disappeared. No one in the siblings' hometown seems to know anything about where Barbara may have gone but the two are bound by the experience of a difficult and chaotic family life and Ray is anxious to discover what has happened. He has just two weeks until he must report to officer candidate school at Fort Benning. Ray spends several days visiting with and talking to family and friends and ends up with a single promising clue. According to Barbara's high school friend, Beth, Barbara had decided that her family life had become intolerable and she was looking for a fresh start in Los Angeles. Armed with this information, Ray heads to California to begin his search for his sister.

I admit that this novel was not what I expected. I expected that it would be more of a story centered around the Vietnam War; but as it turned out, the Vietnam War is simply the backdrop against which the story unfolds. This is not meant to be a criticism, merely a clarification. In addition, although the novel initially seems like a mystery (there IS a missing person), the reader is aware at all times where Barbara is and what is happening in her life, even if Ray and the other characters in the story are not. This novel is difficult for me to categorize but that said, it WAS propulsive nonetheless. I wanted to keep turning pages to see what happened.... would Ray and Barbara's paths ultimately cross? In what direction would their lives take them?

Set against the beginning years of a tumultuous and bloody war which shapes the lives of the characters, this novel describes a society in flux with changing norms and social roles. In the end, I probably would have enjoyed this story even more than I did if the characters had had a bit more depth; but if you are looking for a story which feels like it captures a particular moment in history, this novel is worth your time.

I turned the final pages of this novel, 'Wade in the Water', several days ago and I find that I can't stop thinking about the story. The novel is set mainly in Ricksville, Mississippi in 1982. There are two narrators: Ella, an 11-year-old black girl and Katherine, a white graduate student who attends Princeton University in New Jersey but is in Mississippi to work on her master's thesis. Although the bulk of the story takes place in 1982, the narrative does periodically go back to the summer of 1964, often referred to as Freedom Summer which was marked by huge protests after three civil rights workers who were in Mississippi to help register black people to vote, were found murdered. Freedom Summer is the series of events which ties the present to the past in this novel and becomes part of the bond between Ella and Katherine.

Although this novel continues to occupy my thoughts, I have to be clear that it is because of Ella. She is a character who immediately captured my heart. She is fiercely intelligent, curious, gives new meaning to the idea of having a close and personal relationship with her God and most of all, she has a magnificent, beautiful spirit. There are some hard themes in this book and Ella endures things which, in a perfect world, no child would even be aware of; but Ella is the character who kept me turning the pages. I was so invested in this child that I needed to know that she would be okay in the end.

I think perhaps the author was a bit too ambitious in this novel. I found that I could not really understand Katherine St. James's motivation for what she was doing. It was clear that she had also experienced some trauma in her life and it was obvious that she had devised a plan as to why she was returning to Mississippi. She was clever and cunning. I just couldn't get at what she was hoping to accomplish with her research. Justification? Rationalization? I have no idea and eventually, I ended up not caring about her . She became almost a caricature. Ella was the star of this novel and if you want a reminder of the enormity of the human spirit, you should definitely read this book.

In her new novel, 'Exiles', Jane Harper revisits the life of her character, Federal Agent Aaron Falk. Aaron is returning to South Australia to assume godfather responsibilities in the delayed christening of Henry Raco, the year-old son of his friend, Sergeant Greg Raco and wife Rita. (Readers of Jane Harper's novels will remember Greg Raco from her novel, 'The Dry'). The christening has been delayed because of a tragedy which occurred at the annual spring Food and Wine Festival in the Marralee Valley. This novel explores the disappearance of Raco family friend/relative Kim Gillespie, who not one vanished during the festival but also uncharacteristically abandoned her baby daughter Zoe.

The story unfolds slowly and methodically through the voices of the various members of the Raco daily and the close-knit community. As in many small communities, everyone knows each other well and have been in each other's lives for many years. There are advantages and disadvantages to this kind of closeness, however; and I believe this is one of the themes of the novel. Can a long-time familiarity and closeness among people lead to a kind of blindness in perception? Can familiarity actually lead people to see what they EXPECT to see rather than what is actually there? And perhaps this kind of familiarity may even camouflage old slights and hurts and leave feelings of anger to simmer just beneath the surface.

I found this novel to be carefully and thoughtfully written and although it unfolded slowly, it was well wroth my time. And I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Aaron Falk and his life.