I was drawn to this Booker prize nominee because it takes place in Ireland. It is a spare book(about 150 pages) that will haunt you for a long . When and how do people stand up to evil in the face of a complicit culture?

Americans may not be so familiar with the tragedy in Ireland that was the "Magdalene laundries", so-called refuges for "wicked women"(unmarried and pregnant).
Now an Oprah recommendation and a movie release have brought this book into the limelight it deserves.

This book follows the life of "Bina" an aspiring actress turned assassin and resistance fighter in Poland during the Nazi occupation. Fast forward and Bina takes on a new identify in the US as a successful movie star, only to discover that Nazism has spread to America. A riveting story!

The flow of rivers is a metaphor in this story of love, grief, racism and inner strength. Young Victoria is a motherless girl with a grieving father and abusive brother. She finds love with a mixed race young man-Wil-who has native american blood. Tori's brother finds the coupling abhorrent and sets out to destroy their love.

After Wil mysteriously disappears, Tori finds herself pregnant and cannot face her family so she, too, leaves their orchard and escapes in the forest with a newborn. How will she survive in the woods with no resources? What happened to Wil and will she ever find "home" again? Tori faces a major decision so that she and her son can survive; her choices will haunt her for the next 20 years.

The book builds to a dramatic conclusion as Tori rebuilds a life for herself but at great cost. As the government threatens her home town with a new dam construction, Tori must uproot her life, her peach trees and the only home she has ever known.

The true story of this book is that the town she writes about- Iola- was indeed flooded by a new dam in CO during the 60s.This story, while fiction, provides a backdrop for the rivers that flow and those that are destroyed by the hand of man.

I read other reviews before I posted this (it's an older book) and was surprised by all the controversy about the ending. If you take the Hamlet construct, well, it's brilliant and that story has withstood the test of time! Of course it made me sad but that's was great books do- they bring out our emotions.

I am now looking forward to his newest book: "Familiaris" which will take us back to the grandparents who started the "Sawtelle" dog business. I can't wait!

This novel is an epic story about the Philadelphia Whitaker family spanning the 19th century. Starting with the father's childhood we live through his ascent to success in botanicals and his daughter's thirst for knowledge. While an expert botanist, Alma lives in a century where scientists are not women so she is not recognized ( except by those close to her) for her serious botanical studies and her theories that predate Charles Darwin's.

This is a story of a quest for finding the bases for life past and future, whether plant or human. Like the plants she studies, Alma must adapt to the many changes in her life and reinvent herself to survive.

This story draws you in and takes you to faraway places like Tahiti and Europe where Alma takes her never-ending quest for knowledge.

This novel attracted me because it involves "late in life lovers". One might assume that a late in life affair would be with fewer obstacles- most mature people have grownup children and fewer responsibilities; their careers may be behind them.. But when Warren and Sarah renew a relationship after decades apart, they find an obstacle like no other- Warren's grown daughter- an unforgiving opponent to Warren's decision to divorce her mother and live with Sarah.

This is a beautifully written love story but also a story about the push and pull of your family at any age. Warren's daughter wants to control him; she threatens him. The ending is shocking and heartbreaking. A great book for book clubs!

This novel gives us a mystery but in a historical setting- the Island of Fiji, part of the British Empire at the turn of the century.
Akal, an Indian native who joined the British-Indian Police services is abruptly transferred from a great assignment in Hong Kong, after he's caught up in an embarrassing police scandal. His only option is a transfer to Fiji and he reluctantly goes.

Once on the island, Akal faces much prejudice and learns about the system of "indentured service" on Fiji. But he has a missing persons case to follow and his boss just wants the case to disappear. But Akal is tenacious and seeks the truth.

The ending of the book was not totally satisfying but I read this author will do a follow-up novel. I can't wait!