So many books have appeared on my reading schedule that I am going to share some brief comments about several today. and here we go...
THE SILVER BOAT (Viking, 978-0-670-02250-2) by Luanne Rice. Three adult sisters return to Martha's Vineyard to close the family beach house.. An discovery of some old family letters sends them on a trip to Ireland to learn more about their missing father. T he sisters are totally different, but their perspectives provide a warm and compelling look at family life.
TRINITY SIX (St.Martin's Press. 978-0-312-6759-5) by Charles Cumming. In the 1930s there were a group of English men spying for Russia. They were known as the Trinity 5. Remember Blunt, Burgess , Maclean, Cairncross, and Philby? What if there was a 6th spy? Cumming has created a fascinating novel with this conjecture that adds another element to the cold war years as well as provide some fancy undercover ideas about a former spy trying to get his story told and the ensuing mayhem that can occur when all governments involved wish to keep it silent. A complex and satisfying read.
ORIGINAL SIN (Hyperion, 978-1-4013-2421-6) by Beth McMullen. A rather brittle book about a suburban housewife who is not what she seems. Under that housewifely exterior lurks a retired secret agent who was known professionally as Sally Sin when she had a license to kill. But one never retires and she is called back to fight her old nemesis who seems surprising friendly.Travel, intrigue, fun and games.
A light summer romp.
THE SOLDIER'S WIFE (Hyperion, 978-1-4013=4170-1) by Margaret Leroy. Set on the isle pf Guernsey during WWII and i\the occupation of this island by the German. This is a poignant story of a woman and her two daughters as they cope with the absence of her soldier husband and her failing mother -in-law.
Vivienne knows her marriage is not good, but her loneliness if salved somewhat with a liaison with one of the German soldiers quartered next door. They are both lonely and friendship blooms into love even as Vivienne tries not to get involved. This is a wonderful story about the human spirit, the need to connect, and the ability to cope with whatever befalls. It is also a stark reminder that many things are not black and white. The book is lyrical in it look at family life both good and bad, I is a timeless theme.
trinity Five.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Disclaimer
All the reviews are unsolicited and my own opinion. I doubt too many people see things as I do. And that's a good thing.
Summer reading
These four books have already hit the shelves. NIGHT ROAD (St.Martin's Press, 976-0-312-36442-7) by:Kristin Hannah; LOWCOUNTRY SUMMER (Morrow,987-0-06-202073-4) by Dorothea Benton Frank; HEADS YOU LOSE (Putnam, 987-0-300-15740-0) by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward; JAMRACH'S MENAGERIE (Doubleday, 978-0-385-53440-6) by Carol Birch.
And they run the gamut in type, plot, and interest.
NIGHT ROAD is the haunting story of a young woman and the choices she makes in her life and what some of the unintended consequences of doing the right things can be. Lexi as a child loses her family and travels west to live with an unknown relative. She is good girl, smart, a hard worker, and wants to fit in and belong. But doing the right things can sometimes backfire. She has been best friends forever with the daughter of a family better off than she, but somewhat like a sister to her friend. Until her friend's brother starts dating her. This is where it goes horribly wrong. There is drinking at a party and Lexi won't let her boyfriend drive as he is too wasted. She, however, does drive and is involved in a horrible accident that kills her best friend. Lexi is charged with the death of her friend and insists on pleading guilty because of her extreme feeling of guilt and ends up in prison. Here, even through the book is well written and plotted, I have trouble believing that in real life, this would actually happen this way, but for the book, it works. Lexi has a child from the boyfriend but gives it up without telling him. The way the story handles the solution for all of the people involved is uplifting and hopeful. The book is about belonging, motherhood, family, friendship, and doing the right thing. It is a genuinely moving story. And you can empathise with the characters.
LOWCOUNTRY SUMMER is a warm and loving look at a rather dysfunctional and eccentric family. Caroline Levine is 46 and taking over the responsibility of the family after her mother ,Miss Lavinia, a true force of nature has passed. the family includes a brother Trip who has mistress and an estranged alcoholic wife as well as hellcat daughters. She also has a son who has a mysterious girlfriend. She also has a long standing affair going with the local sheriff and her housekeeper is probably her best friend. There is a good look at some of the really local customs and beliefs as well as a strong sense of place throughout the book. And their lives all come to a head this summer on the coastal plantation in South Carolina. It is a study in family dynamics as well as a human comedy. There is laughter and tears as the family sorts out their problems and deals with the children's need to be parented and the adult's need to be loved and needed. If you enjoyed THE HELP, you might like the flavor of this family story. The writing imparts of charm and the heart of the people involved.
And now for something entirely different. HEADS YOU LOSE is the type of book I usually avoid. It is one of those contrived feeling book where two author write alternate chapters supposedly without consulting each other and see how things develop. Well, this almost works this time. Actually, it comes off pretty well, but it still feels contrived and rather stilted at times. The book, besides being written by two authors, uses that ploy as part of the plot of the book in order to move the book along and provide some comic relief with their between chapter bickering. Amusing to a point. The book (the story not the real book) has a couple who used to write together getting back together for this book. The story is about siblings who live in a rather remote area of Northern California and whose livelihood comes from raising and selling pot. Lacey is bored and wants to leave but her brother Paul rather like their life. The boredom ends when Lacey finds a headless body on the property and thinks it is her ex lover. She and her brother try to get rid of the body and that leads to the inevitable mix ups and other disasters. Since their parents were killed in a strange accident in a cabin, these two have been staying in the family home and fending off offers to sell.. After they find the body they each decide to try to investigate what happened and their individual adventures are fun, amusing and sometimes hilarious. There are people who appear and disappear and more bodies. People are attacked and others threatened. The pot growers have problems and the local nursing home seems a hotbed if trouble. And is the brother's girl friend an airhead or a genius of some kind And what is with the doctors here? And how does the death of their parents tie in with the present day problems?
complicated? Confusing? That is the point. This is a story within a story within a book within an book. But hey, it is a light hearted romp through some convoluted personal relationships. Enjoy. Just don't inhale.
JAMRACH'S MENAGERIE is certainly a different animal from the other books (pun intended) but it is a gem. It has shades of Dickens in its setting and description, glimpses of Melville in its sailing and whaling adventures, and the story telling of a Twain in its telling of a youth's tale remembered in age.
Jaffy Brown is a street urchin in a sea faring town in the 19th century who goes to work for Charles Jamrach, an importer of animals.Jamrach also sends people out to collect them with his senior collector and assistant Dan and this is when Jaffy and his best friend Tim sign on for a voyage that is nearly the death of all of them. There are off to catch a dragon in the southern climes aboard a whaler. Their adventures take them all over and they catch the dragon (probably a komodo of large size) an d head back, but trouble befalls them. They have sickness, disagreements, bad weather, and terrible storms. Since whaling is dying out, there are fewer ships in the shipping lanes and when their boat capsizes in a storm, the survivors are left adrift for too long. Hope turns to despair. Life turns to death, and dead bodies become nourishment for the living. Three survive and 1 must die to keep the other two alive. They draw straws for the one to die and the one to kill him. Jaffy and Dan return. As much changed people. It is Jaffy that tells the story of the life at sea, the people involved, the animals, and the horrors of survival. He tells it from the vantage of his small shop in hehis home town where he has returned and married Isobel, Tim's sister. The book is a wonder to read. It is lyrical and at times rollicking. The author catchs the surreal quality of life on a wooden ship in the middle of an ocean where all are isolated and feel lost in the vastness of the ocean. It shows how thing magnify out of proportion and how all need teamwork to survive. I likedthis book for its thoroughness of the feel of atmosphere both at sea and on the land. the reader has a real sense of being engrossed in the setting.The development of characters is well done as they develop through life and misadventure. The adventure and adversity keeps the reader engaged throughout the book. The author has presented a historical adventure that is highly readable.The British story teller, Birch, makes her American debut with this splendid tale. I hopoe there are more to come. I recommend it highly.
j
And they run the gamut in type, plot, and interest.
NIGHT ROAD is the haunting story of a young woman and the choices she makes in her life and what some of the unintended consequences of doing the right things can be. Lexi as a child loses her family and travels west to live with an unknown relative. She is good girl, smart, a hard worker, and wants to fit in and belong. But doing the right things can sometimes backfire. She has been best friends forever with the daughter of a family better off than she, but somewhat like a sister to her friend. Until her friend's brother starts dating her. This is where it goes horribly wrong. There is drinking at a party and Lexi won't let her boyfriend drive as he is too wasted. She, however, does drive and is involved in a horrible accident that kills her best friend. Lexi is charged with the death of her friend and insists on pleading guilty because of her extreme feeling of guilt and ends up in prison. Here, even through the book is well written and plotted, I have trouble believing that in real life, this would actually happen this way, but for the book, it works. Lexi has a child from the boyfriend but gives it up without telling him. The way the story handles the solution for all of the people involved is uplifting and hopeful. The book is about belonging, motherhood, family, friendship, and doing the right thing. It is a genuinely moving story. And you can empathise with the characters.
LOWCOUNTRY SUMMER is a warm and loving look at a rather dysfunctional and eccentric family. Caroline Levine is 46 and taking over the responsibility of the family after her mother ,Miss Lavinia, a true force of nature has passed. the family includes a brother Trip who has mistress and an estranged alcoholic wife as well as hellcat daughters. She also has a son who has a mysterious girlfriend. She also has a long standing affair going with the local sheriff and her housekeeper is probably her best friend. There is a good look at some of the really local customs and beliefs as well as a strong sense of place throughout the book. And their lives all come to a head this summer on the coastal plantation in South Carolina. It is a study in family dynamics as well as a human comedy. There is laughter and tears as the family sorts out their problems and deals with the children's need to be parented and the adult's need to be loved and needed. If you enjoyed THE HELP, you might like the flavor of this family story. The writing imparts of charm and the heart of the people involved.
And now for something entirely different. HEADS YOU LOSE is the type of book I usually avoid. It is one of those contrived feeling book where two author write alternate chapters supposedly without consulting each other and see how things develop. Well, this almost works this time. Actually, it comes off pretty well, but it still feels contrived and rather stilted at times. The book, besides being written by two authors, uses that ploy as part of the plot of the book in order to move the book along and provide some comic relief with their between chapter bickering. Amusing to a point. The book (the story not the real book) has a couple who used to write together getting back together for this book. The story is about siblings who live in a rather remote area of Northern California and whose livelihood comes from raising and selling pot. Lacey is bored and wants to leave but her brother Paul rather like their life. The boredom ends when Lacey finds a headless body on the property and thinks it is her ex lover. She and her brother try to get rid of the body and that leads to the inevitable mix ups and other disasters. Since their parents were killed in a strange accident in a cabin, these two have been staying in the family home and fending off offers to sell.. After they find the body they each decide to try to investigate what happened and their individual adventures are fun, amusing and sometimes hilarious. There are people who appear and disappear and more bodies. People are attacked and others threatened. The pot growers have problems and the local nursing home seems a hotbed if trouble. And is the brother's girl friend an airhead or a genius of some kind And what is with the doctors here? And how does the death of their parents tie in with the present day problems?
complicated? Confusing? That is the point. This is a story within a story within a book within an book. But hey, it is a light hearted romp through some convoluted personal relationships. Enjoy. Just don't inhale.
JAMRACH'S MENAGERIE is certainly a different animal from the other books (pun intended) but it is a gem. It has shades of Dickens in its setting and description, glimpses of Melville in its sailing and whaling adventures, and the story telling of a Twain in its telling of a youth's tale remembered in age.
Jaffy Brown is a street urchin in a sea faring town in the 19th century who goes to work for Charles Jamrach, an importer of animals.Jamrach also sends people out to collect them with his senior collector and assistant Dan and this is when Jaffy and his best friend Tim sign on for a voyage that is nearly the death of all of them. There are off to catch a dragon in the southern climes aboard a whaler. Their adventures take them all over and they catch the dragon (probably a komodo of large size) an d head back, but trouble befalls them. They have sickness, disagreements, bad weather, and terrible storms. Since whaling is dying out, there are fewer ships in the shipping lanes and when their boat capsizes in a storm, the survivors are left adrift for too long. Hope turns to despair. Life turns to death, and dead bodies become nourishment for the living. Three survive and 1 must die to keep the other two alive. They draw straws for the one to die and the one to kill him. Jaffy and Dan return. As much changed people. It is Jaffy that tells the story of the life at sea, the people involved, the animals, and the horrors of survival. He tells it from the vantage of his small shop in hehis home town where he has returned and married Isobel, Tim's sister. The book is a wonder to read. It is lyrical and at times rollicking. The author catchs the surreal quality of life on a wooden ship in the middle of an ocean where all are isolated and feel lost in the vastness of the ocean. It shows how thing magnify out of proportion and how all need teamwork to survive. I likedthis book for its thoroughness of the feel of atmosphere both at sea and on the land. the reader has a real sense of being engrossed in the setting.The development of characters is well done as they develop through life and misadventure. The adventure and adversity keeps the reader engaged throughout the book. The author has presented a historical adventure that is highly readable.The British story teller, Birch, makes her American debut with this splendid tale. I hopoe there are more to come. I recommend it highly.
j
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