Since I realized back in April that I actually quite enjoy short story collections, I've been meaning to pick up another. I loved The Namesake and had heard good things about Interpreter. It definitely scratched that short story itch - quick read, full of intense and thought provoking emotions. I loved how the stories were about Indian Americans, but that that their culture wasn't necessarily the focus. The stories were about everyday lives of everyday people that just happen to be Indian. I didn't adore every single story, but each had some interesting food for thought - favorites were A Temporary Matter, Mrs. Sen's and the title story.
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Oof! I went into this one totally blind, and it's stomach churning true crime stuff. If you have any triggers whatsoever, this book seems to hit on all of them. Though I thought that the author crafted an impressive narrative of how the events in her life mirrored those in the life of murderer Ricky Langley, at times I felt like the shift between her story and Langley's confusing and it didn't seem to flow well. Perhaps because I listened to the audio book. Overall I found it to be highly provocative, thinking about the root cause of a crime and how our life experiences can contribute to our future actions.
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The writing team that constitutes Christina Lauren seems to be all the rage on social media, and I felt like I was due for a romantic read. This love story was so completely adorable, bittersweet, addictive, and so totally unbelievable. Ha! But, in a good way. I think it ought to be categorized in YA, with it's 'ideal boy next door of your dreams' and all of those first love vibes. Though, it gets a little too steamy for the younger crowd, which I guess is their specialty and this was Christina/Lauren's first 'women's fiction' (whatevs that means) novel. They also totally preyed on all of our bookish hearts with a dream book nook in Macy's room, and book nerd bonding with Elliot that brought them together. Of course I loved it, and gobbled it up in a few days. I for sure plan to read Roomies the next time I need a hit of syrupy romance.
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When I learned that the majority of this story was set in the neighborhoods of Chicago's North side, mostly Boys Town, it put me over the edge and I HAD to read it - my old 'hood! Of course, being a finalist for the National Book award is a pretty glowing endorsement. I must confess that it took me awhile to get into the story. There are so many characters and the dual timeline felt confusing at first. The main character of the past set in Chicago is Yale, and I adored him from the get go. His friend Fiona is the main character of the present day timeline set in Paris, but we don't get a good sense of her character in the past until at least halfway through the book. It was excellently plotted, so I could see why we had to wait to get her full story, and it all came together in a beautifully heartbreaking way. It was just hard for me to care as much about her for most of the book because I felt like I didn't know her. By the end, though, she was so relatable and I was absolutely moved to tears by this magnificent portrait of friendship and love.
"How this show might begin to convey it all, the palimpsest that was her heart, the way things could be written over but never erased. She was simply never going to be a blank slate."
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Holy moly, y'all! This book was absolutely crazy, crazy good. John Boyne has solidified himself as one of my auto-buy authors, and I definitely want to catch up on his backlist. I was nervous going into this, seeing as how The Heart's Invisible Furies was my favorite book last year, and even in the last ten years. This novel also sounded so very different than his previous works. Yet his ability to create a character study with an utterly compelling plot is spot on.
Each section of the book is told from the point of view of a character that (unwittingly) helps the single minded Maurice move up the ladder of literary fame - including an entertaining interlude with Gore Vidal. The chapters start out quietly absorbing, with witty dialogue and dry humor that begins to take a dark turn with excruciating foreshadowing. The section from his wife Edith's perspective, written in the second person, is utterly haunting and I literally could not put the book down until I finished her story. Then I was riveted until the very end as Maurice narrated the final chapter, and I guffawed at the satisfying and darkly humorous end.
A Ladder to the Sky would make for a superior book club discussion, with a lot of themes to chew on. What are the consequences of our actions when we are young? Should our mistakes color our lives and work as an adult? What kind of mistakes? (Rather timely, no?) Or the concept of ownership and plagiarism - what stories are ours to tell? There was a good deal that was reminiscent of Ann Patchett's Commonwealth in this regard.
Some readers are turned off by unlikeable characters, and oftentimes I can understand why - I wrote a bit about this subject awhile ago here. But when it comes to a suspenseful novel, they totally work for me and Maurice is a deliciously evil villain that one can't help love to loathe. If this is a stumbling point, I would still wholeheartedly endorse this book, as I do not believe anyone would regret the experience.
Thank you so very much to the folks at Hogarth and NetGalley for a complimentary digital galley in exchange for my honest review!
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I adore Barbara Kingsolver, and was ecstatic to get a complimentary advance copy to review. Although, it is been many years since I’ve read one of her books. I think the last one was Prodigal Summer, which is one of my favorites, and The Poisonwood Bible is an all-time favorite. I think that perhaps I had her up on a pedestal and my expectations were very high going into this book.
As with most dual timeline narratives (of which I am a fan) one edges out the other and begins to feel like the primary story that grabs my attention. In this novel I found the fictional Thatcher Greenwood meeting the naturalist, Mary Treat, in the 1880s the more compelling of the two. Perhaps because she was a real historical figure, and many of the incidents that Kingsolver describes during that time frame actually happened. I find it enlightening to look at events in history and see how they reflect our present. Thatcher's attempts to teach Darwin and the backlash of the town leaders held a perfect mirror up to current issues around the fact of climate change (and apparent disregard for facts in general).
I had a hard time with the present day timeline, mainly because much of it felt like an op-ed and her supporting characters were vessels for each viewpoint. When Willa's son and daughter went on about economic disparity, it felt so cumbersome. Though Willa's story was engaging, as she navigated the ups and downs of the 'sandwich generation' - taking care of children (in addition to a grandchild in this case) as well as an aging parent. It felt very chaotic and messy, like a very real family in this day and age.
Overall, I would say it was on the didactic side, even for Kingsolver. Although I agree with what she was trying to get across, I didn’t get as swept up in her storytelling like I normally do because of all the obvious messages, of which there were A LOT. It felt like the news these days: a little exhausting. It plodded in parts for me because she didn't focus on a single theme, but what felt like all of them - racism, healthcare, income inequality, climate change, and our current political climate. Current real life figures also play a part, and yes, a Donald Trump character is very thinly veiled as 'The Bullhorn' who makes that infamously loathsome comment about being able to shoot someone on 5th Avenue. The comparisons to the Vineland town leader Charles Landis (another real historical figure) are evident.
“Somehow he gets them to side against their own.”
“They are happier to think of themselves as soon to be rich, than irreversibly poor.”
It’s all the more striking that the 19th century trial at the end of the book truly happened, and I’ll leave it at that!
In the end, the various themes can be wrapped up in the fact that they are indeed all heightened right now and can also be distilled to the dichotomy of the struggle between the younger versus older generation: how we can keep progressing forward, unsheltered, and not cling to the past, be open to continual change. My favorite part, when Willa watches her grandson try to walk:
“He fell down on his pad bottom. But he went right back to it, trying again. He would do this over and over until he had it, and today or tomorrow he would walk. Will remembered all this. She’d watched her kids master these first small tasks with an application of effort that seemed superhuman, but of course it only amounted to being human, a story written in genes. First they would stagger, then grow competent, and then forget the difficulty altogether while thinking of other things, and that was survival.”
Many thanks to the folks at Harper Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review!
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My TLDR would be that Once Upon a River has lived up to the expectations that Setterfield set with The Thirteenth Tale. The arresting events that set the story in motion, a little girl thought dead that comes to life, completely grabbed me. And the page turning plot, plus magical, atmospheric writing kept me hooked until the satisfying conclusion.
"As is well-known, when the moon hours lengthen, human beings come adrift from the regularity of their mechanical clocks. They nod at noon, dream in waking hours, open their eyes wide to the pitch-black night. It is a time of magic."
Once the story of the girl gets around, at least three parties have a legitimate claim to her: a couple who's daughter was kidnapped years before, a father whose wife drowned herself and possibly their daughter, and a simple-minded girl with a long lost sister. Each of these families is drawn in rich detail, and the threads of how they intersect is masterfully plotted. It becomes increasingly evident that there is more than one mystery contained within the pages. One is left guessing for much of the book as to the girl's true identity, and the family secrets of each character. Setterfield keeps the idea of magic open while quietly laying the groundwork for both an engaging romance and a sinister denouement.
A few times I felt as if the pace lagged a bit in the middle of the book, but overall, I found it a perfect story to snuggle up with and get lost in on a gloomy day. If you are a fan of Kate Morton (intricately plotted and suspenseful), Hannah Kent (richly atmospheric), or Sarah Waters (Gothic and creepy) this novel hits every one of these notes, in addition to nuances of mythology or fairy tales.
Thank you SO MUCH to the folks at Atria Books and NetGalley for the complimentary digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

With the new Netflix show of The Haunting of Hill House, I've been seeing so many of her books on social media, so I started reading this one on Halloween. I thought it was engaging at first, but I don't know if I have the patience for some of the classic Gothic novels (see also: Rebecca). The suspension of knowing that something is 'not quite right' as I try to piece it together can be a fun reading experience, but I felt as if the ending left me with more questions that it should have answered. Still, I could see how her work has set the precedent for current thrillers and admired the writing.
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Have you ever read a beloved children's book for the first time as an adult? This was the top book recommended to me from my 'have been meaning to read' stack and... I didn't love it. It was a serviceable children's fantasy novel, maybe a little too steampunk for my taste. Or maybe it's because I don't gravitate towards fantasy as much anymore, or that I had to have a young mindset to fully immerse myself in these types of books? I remember when the film version of A Wrinkle in Time came out, many people were reading it for the first time as adults and... didn't love it, and believe me - I GET IT. Wrinkle is a freaking weird book. But it meant so much to me as a kid and I love it to this day. I brought this up on Instagram and felt like Anne of Green Gables is an exception to this rule: anyone, at any age, should enjoy L.M. Montgomery. Maybe it's realistic fiction vs. fantasy? BUT! Harry Potter! Those came out when I was already an adult and oh, how I love them so. I suppose there is not clear cut answer to this conundrum, so I shall stop blathering about it, except to say that I will still totally read kids books as an adult!
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Hoo boy, I could go ON AND ON about this one, too. I find myself having zero patience for characters that are 'sooooo confused' about their relationships and end up cheating on their significant others as a grown ass adult. I find it cowardly and gross. (See also, The Light We Lost.) I mean I FOR SURE had a lot of fun and made MANY questionable decisions when I was a single twenty-something living in the city. But never decisions that I knew would directly hurt someone else. And I have zero recollection of anyone in any of my friend circles acting this way. What's hard is that Beck is not a character, she's a real live human being who has made her mistakes and learned from them. I for sure give her credit for that, yet listening to her story just made me cringe. However, the fun behind the scenes of the Obama administration made up for it and kept me engaged until the very end. So split down the middle? Two and a half stars?
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