The Left Hand of Darkness

 The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

Wow. What a visionary, intricate world Le Guin has built in this sci-fi novel. Apparently it's what she's known for but this was my first time reading one of her books and I'm a little awe-struck. When I saw the blurb on the back, I was doubtful that it could be "as profuse and original in invention as The Lord Of The Rings (Michael Moorcock)", but now, I think it just might be.

It's a vast and detailed world written with such assuredness that you feel it must have always existed somewhere, and that you're getting only a tiny glimpse of it in this story - just a glance through a window as you fly by. I felt at the end that it somehow wasn't enough, that there must be a million more stories in this world to be told. I've since learned that others of her books are indeed set in the same universe, but on other planets and with different characters. I will have to try another one just to see where she takes it. Her imagination, and writing, are pretty amazing.

The story begins with Mr. Ai, a Terran (so a human, like us - I think?), watching a parade on the planet Gethen, also known as Winter because of it's being in a continual ice age. Mr. Ai, first name Genry, has come to Gethen as a representative of Ekumen, a political and trade alliance of far-flung planets, to persuade Gethen to join the alliance. He will meet with the King of Karhide first, and if he finds favor there it is hoped the other nations of Gethen will follow. With increasing political tensions among Karhide's leaders and a wildly unpredictable King, it won't be easy.

The Prime Minister, Estraven, recommends Ekumen to the King, who, believing it would threaten Gethen's independence, is angered by the idea and declares Estraven a traitor, banning him from Karhide and confiscating all he owns. Mr. Ai travels to neighbouring Orgoreyn to distance himself from the King, and there is captured and taken to a prison work camp where he is overworked and starved until Estraven manages to break him out. 

When Mr. Ai is strong enough they set out on a dangerous trek up and across mountains of snow and ice, planning to sneak back into Karhide. From there Mr. Ai will be able to radio his ship's crew - for whom 2 weeks have passed since he left them, while for him it's been 3 years - to bring the ship to Gethen, which will take another 17 days, Gethen time. 

Estraven's (my favourite character) point of view alternates with that of Mr. Ai, through whose curious eyes we learn about this new planet and its people. As a kind person who means well, he is frustrated when he blunders and offends people unintentionally, which happens fairly often.

That basic storyline is filled out with an impressive array of cultural, social, and political information about Gethen and its people, who are neither women nor men but have qualities, and the organs, of both. During kemmer, a time of sexual desire each person experiences for two or three days every month, they mate with other beings also in kemmer at that time. An individual can become either male or female during kemmer, possibly becoming pregnant or fathering a child. Some Gethenians have children they've birthed, as well as children they've fathered. It seems freakish at first reading, and I still don't completely understand it, but by the end of the book it seemed more normal.....sort of. 

An intriguing plot with credible, layered characters, exceptional world-building, articulate writing, and vivid descriptions make this one very good reading experience. 

An Object of Beauty

 An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin

Daniel Franks, art writer, narrates his story of Lacey Yeager, art lover, who begins her career with a job in the basement of Sotheby's auction house, then works her way up to dealer and gallery owner. 

Lacey is smart, beautiful, and ambitious. She wants to be one of the big players in the art world and will risk breaking the rules to achieve that end, no matter the possible consequences to herself or others. Not very likeable, she's...well...a lot.

Daniel is not in the story often, just enough to show us he's smitten with Lacey and doesn't stand a chance. We don't really get to know him as anything other than Lacey's rather sad friend who can't seem to win for losing. 

I found the narration odd. Daniel begins in the first person then veers into a third person viewpoint telling us about Lacey's life in detail. Things he couldn't possibly know - her thoughts, what she said on phone calls, and minute details of her sexual encounters with other men. Then he abruptly switches back to the first person making it feel creepy, as if he'd been standing in the corner watching.  

What drew me to the book was the artsy setting and Steve Martin's name. I knew him only as actor/comedian and was curious to see what kind of writer he is. I'd only been reading a few minutes when I knew I'd like it. He's smart and witty and great fun to read. These lines from the first page made me eager to read the rest.

"My goal, once I discovered that my artistic aspirations were not accompanied by artistic talent, was to learn to write about art with effortless clarity. This is not as easy as it sounds: whenever I attempted it, I found myself in a convoluted rhetorical tangle from which there was no exit."

What I liked best about this book was getting a glimpse at how the art business operates - the buying and selling, the wheeling and dealing as stock market ups and downs affected the trade. I love a book that takes me into a world I know nothing about and shows me how it works.

Writing...check, setting...check, characters.....no, they left me cold. It was like visiting a gallery. I viewed the art (literally - there are reproductions throughout the novel), listened to people discussing it, and met a few of those people. But they all stayed very much just passing acquaintances, glossy characters who didn't inspire any emotional investment on my part. Nevertheless, this was a fun dive into the art world with enjoyable writing, very much worth reading  

Clara and Mr. Tiffany

 Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland

A fictional account of a true story. There was an actual Clara Driscoll who worked with Tiffany for years, designing the stained glass lamps that brought Louis Comfort Tiffany fame and for a time, fortune. Susan Vreeland highlights Clara's unrecognized contributions to the design and creation of Tiffany's iconic lamps and windows and her determined attempts to get women organized and fighting for fair treatment in the workplace. The existing union welcomed men only because women didn't need jobs, her proper place being in the home.

Clara worked at the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company for a while until she got married and, in compliance with company policy, had to leave. The story opens a few weeks later when, single again, she went back to see if they'd rehire her. They did, and put her in charge of a women's section they were looking to expand because Tiffany firmly believed "women have greater sensitivity to nuances of color than men do." He saw their talent, but took credit for their work himself; this book doesn't paint him in a flattering light at all.

Clara's personal life with friends at her boarding house together with her work life with other female artisans at the studio all made for a good story, but Clara herself wasn't an endearing character. She seemed a little too full of herself. and her need for recognition and special attention from her boss was mentioned often enough to become tedious. 

Still, I enjoyed the book for its setting in the stained-glass industry. Learning a little about the different types of glass, why they select certain colours for specific projects, and how it's assembled in the leaded setting made this a very satisfying read. For me the art itself is the main character, and it's what I'll take with me from this one. 

Yours, Jack and The Night Circus

  Yours, Jack by C.S. Lewis

A wonderful collection of readings taken from Lewis's letters. He is known to have answered personally every letter received from his readers which must have taken up a great deal of his time, yet his insightful replies show he considered each question and comment worthy of a thoughtful response.

 

I've long admired Lewis as an author and a teacher, but having read this book I think I understand him better now as a human being, one who struggled as the rest of us do to live up to our beliefs. He lived with health problems, family difficulties, frustrations and unanswered questions...in short, he was one of us. 

Full of practical observations and encouragement in Lewis's refreshingly clear, honest writing, this book is one to be absorbed a little at a time, then returned to again and again. A treasure.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Full of magic and mystery, the Night Circus appears in your neighbourhood suddenly and unannounced with acrobats, magicians, fortune-tellers and other wonders for the entertainment of all, but something else is going on behind the scenes. It's this insidious something else that ruined the magic for me. I can't see the circus - and thus the book - as fun and whimsical when the purpose behind it is to cold-bloodedly pit two young people against each other in a competition that must lead to death for one of them. Everyone loves this book, but the malevolence behind all the pretty things took the fun out of it for me.

The Last Equation of Isaac Severy

The Last Equation of Isaac Severy by Nova Jacobs

Three narrators tell this story:

1 - Hazel Severy, proprietor of a failing bookshop in Seattle, in L.A. for her adoptive grandfather Isaac's funeral. Isaac, a brilliant mathematician, had left behind a cryptic message for Hazel to unravel. It would lead to further clues and eventually to a secret project of Isaac's that he instructed Hazel to destroy, telling no one. 

 

2 - Isaac's son, Philip, a physics professor whose work showed promise at one time but hasn't impressed anyone since. He's weighed down by his father's disappointment in him, and now his own in himself. 

3 - Gregory, Hazel's brother, a police detective carrying a lot of anger from childhood abuse. What he's been doing with that anger is a secret that seems almost out of place in this story.

I love books set in academia with lots of math and literature references. You don't have to understand them all (and I don't) to get the gist but it's fun to come across one you recognize now and then.  Many of the clues here that Hazel must solve to find her grandfather's work are mathematical. 

The Severy family are brainy types other than Hazel and Gregory who are more like the rest of us lesser mortals. They are Isaac's adopted children, taken in after their foster father, Isaac's son, Tom, was found to be criminally abusive to the children and sent to jail. Tom has just completed his sentence and been released, and now Gregory is watching his every move.

I enjoyed the mystery around Isaac's secret work and the clues Hazel followed to find it, but the story lacked the tension needed to make it a real page-turner. I wish it had gone into more depth about the equation (the one in the title, the end result of his secret project), about the people who wanted it and the unsettling plans they had for it. I have so many questions. Gregory's part of the story, too, was unsettling. It's too much, too big to be thrown in as a sub-plot. I'd love to read a second book that goes deeper into his story as well as expanding upon the purpose and impact of the equation.

I don't think it quite lives up to its potential, but I liked it and would probably read it again to look for things I'm sure I missed the first time.    

The Calamity Club

 The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

Meg, 11, lives in an orphanage run by the miserable, sanctimonious Garnett Wylie. Meg's mother, Charlie, had gone to the store one day and never returned, leaving Meg alone for days until the local doctor, Everett Wylie, found her and took her to the orphanage where he believed she would be better off, or at any rate fed and watched over. The Dr. doesn't know that his wife, Garnett, hates Meg - for reasons that will be revealed later - and deliberately mistreats her every chance she gets. 

When Meg is adopted by a well-to-do family, Garnett is furious and works to get her sent back so she can continue her abuse. Meg's adoptive parents are Lucille, a spoiled brat of a mother, and Robert, a kind, affectionate man Meg comes to love. Robert's parents are supporting them financially while he's finishing the novel he's writing, hopeful that it will get published and earn him an income. But Lucille doesn't like the waiting; she wants more - clothes, entertainment, everything - right now and isn't opposed to lying and cheating to get them. Having adopted Meg under false pretenses, their already rocky marriage unravels until it looks like Meg may have to be returned to the orphanage after all.

 In another story line, Birdie, a young woman who has left her impoverished family for a few days to visit her married sister, Francine, is hoping to secure a loan from her well-to-do brother-in-law. Francine works at the orphanage and gets Birdie to help out in the office there, where Birdie and Meg become friends. She ends up staying much longer than first anticipated when it's revealed that Francine's husband has been hiding financial and personal problems for some time. As the pressure on him becomes overwhelming he runs away, taking most of their valuables with him and leaving them destitute. 

 When Francine and her mother-in-law, Mrs. Tartt, in whose home they live, realize the extent of their debts and face losing the house, they decide to earn money by opening a dance club, offering lessons to local college boys. By this point Charlie - Meg's mother - has returned with a tragic story of why she left so suddenly. It was through no choice of her own and her one goal now is to earn enough to find Meg and take her away. Charlie stays at the Tartt's home with Birdie, both of them taking care of Mrs. Tartt and Francine who are unaccustomed to looking after - or waiting on - themselves. 

 At this point the story takes an unlikely turn. The dance club is to be a cover for something much seedier, not to mention illegal. Let's just say Mrs. Tartt's name becomes appropriate to the enterprise. It was hard to take quite seriously the new rather outlandish characters and dialogue, even the fact that they would come up with such a plan at all. But then who knows what a person would do given such extreme circumstances. Desperate times, as they say, require desperate measures. 

The plot is full of twists and turns, a definite page-turner. It's a tome at over 600 pages, but an easy read and those pages flipped by much quicker than anticipated. 

 A good story as long as you don't question too much.  

A Likely Story

 A Likely Story by Leigh McMullan Abramson

A story of a woman who wrote a novel, had it rejected by publishers, and then fell into a lengthy writing slump. Not an uncommon scenario for hopeful writers, but in this case it all plays out in front of a keenly interested public because her father is a successful, world famous author. The press keeps her failure alive as a matter of gossip. 

When her mother dies and she's sorting through her belongings, she comes across a half-finished manuscript. It's good, in fact very good. Should she dare to finish it and pass it off as her own? If it got published maybe it would change the public's  perception of her, and she might finally live up to her father's expectations. 

What she doesn't know is that her father has been keeping a secret, something utterly selfish and cruel he did years ago that changed the course of her life. When that comes to light, it will change everything.

A good story, with a father you'll be happy to hate.  

The Lincoln Highway

 The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

A road-trip story, of sorts. 

Emmett and his little brother, Billy, set out for California to make a new start. Emmett has just been released from a juvenile detention center, their father has died, and the farm he left them is about to be sold by the bank after foreclosure.

Enter Duchess and Wooly, escapee bunkmates of Emmett from the detention center. Just as Emmett and Billy get underway, the other two steal Emmett's car and the long adventure of trying to get it back begins. They meet a number of different people along the way including a Pastor who tries to steal Billy's collection of silver dollars; Ulysses, a boxcar-riding man who protects Billy from the Pastor and is then hunted down for revenge; a group of colourful women who help Duchess in his scheme to delay Emmett; the author of Billy's book of heroic stories; and Sarah, Wooly's patient but frustrated (with good reason) sister.  

The story is great with lots of characters and (mis-) adventures, but my oh my, how it does go on...and on. I became tired of Duchess very quickly. He reminded me of Tom Sawyer with his foolishness getting in everybody's way and serving nobody but himself. But as Huck put up with Tom, Emmett puts up with Duchess...until he doesn't. 

Possible spoiler alert -

Things take a darker turn toward the end when two of the characters lose their lives. You are left to wonder...Who was ultimately responsible for the deaths? Was the ending reasonable? Believable? Will Emmett and Billy get away with no consequences? Should Emmett?

 

My only real complaint is that I was looking forward to the road trip to California story but it begins only as the book ends, the rest of it being about trying to get the trip started. They are delayed, and delayed again, and again, by Duchess' folly and I was as frustrated as Emmett was (maybe more) by all of it. It's an immersive story, good writing, with some wonderful characters (Wooly and Billy are perfect) but that wasn't enough to make me love it. I don't regret the time I invested (it's 576 pages long) because it is a good story, but I am relieved to be done with it.

Funny Farm

 Funny Farm by Laurie Zaleski

The uplifting, heart-wrenching story of a woman (the author's mother) who left an insanely abusive husband to find a safer life for herself and her three children. They moved into a run-down abandoned house in the middle of nowhere and for years endured the harassment of their maniac father who did everything he could to destroy them, yet demanded the kids continue to spend weeks at his - of course - much nicer home. He had money, but once they went back to their mother he not only refused them any support, he actively worked to make their lives almost unbearable. 

Their mother, Annie, made the abandoned house as much of a home as she could and with a soft heart for any creature in need, took in stray animals until the property became a farm of sorts. Daughter Laurie, the author, grew up with her mother's compassion for animals and promised that one day she would buy them a real farm, a home for her and her mother and all the animals they could care for. 

At the end of each chapter is an Animal Tail, a brief story about some of the animals on the Funny Farm, the unusual friendships they form, health problems they've overcome, etc. These can seem a bit disconnected because they don't always relate to what's in the chapter they follow, but they do provide needed comic relief in the midst of a very heavy story.

Today the Funny Farm Rescue and Sanctuary in May's Landing, New Jersey is open to the public on Sundays and Tuesdays. They have over 600 animals and a large group of volunteers to help look after them. Pictures and animal stories can be found on their website at funnyfarmrescue.

The Giver of Stars and Eruption

 The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes

This book got very good reviews that I find a little baffling. 

The story is about the women of Appalachia who went on  horseback into remote areas taking books to people with otherwise no access to them. I've read about these determined librarians before and they have my deepest admiration for the difficult and dangerous job they took on, but in this book the story goes on too long and so becomes tedious. Several pages of a drawn out - and repetitive - courtroom scene left me yawning and wanting to get to the end as quickly as possible.

The main characters were mostly likeable if somewhat flat and predictable, either all good or all bad, and a little over-dramatic.

The dialogue tended toward cliches and the occasional inclusion of modern phrasing felt out of place in the 1930's setting. It went on too long and tried to tackle too many issues, but that's only one opinion. Many, many, others love it so don't let my complaints dissuade you.

Much depends on personal taste and as French author Andre Maurois said:  "In literature, as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others."  

Eruption by Michael Crichton and James Patterson

I was in the mood for a novel that was all plot, something to get lost in for a while and not have to think about deeper meanings and I certainly got that in Eruption. It doesn't say any more than the words you find on the page but it surely does keep you turning those pages.

On the island of Hawaii sits the world's largest volcano and it is about to blow. There are people who take the threat seriously and, of course, those who want to cash in and make a spectacle of it. Small eruptions start things rolling as the scientists and the military look for ways to prevent "the big one" or at least limit the damage it will do. 

Nothing goes as planned, and then there's more bad news: sitting in the path of the impending lava flow is a cave filled with hundreds of barrels of deadly toxic waste. If the contents are released, humanity will be faced with what could be an extinction level event. 

Tense, for sure, and maybe a little unrealistic at times. On the other hand there probably are people who would pull some of the stupid stunts they get up to here, for which they are always very, very sorry a little too late. My one complaint is that they killed off my favourite character, something that happens to me a lot lately in books, movies and tv shows. Why am I always drawn to the characters who won't make it through the story? 

It delivers what it promises - a tense few hours of escapism - and along the way you learn a bit about how volcanoes work. Exactly what I was looking for at the time.

The Jane Austen Recipe Book

 The Jane Austen Recipe Book by Robert Tuesley Anderson

A delightful read from beginning to end. A kind friend brought me this littlle book from France, stamped inside with the Shakespeare and Company logo. I'm not able to travel but a souvenir like this from a thoughtful friend lets me feel I've been a part of their adventure and I am very grateful for it.

As the title says, it is a recipe book, but each recipe comes with a charming story. It may refer to one of Austen's novels, typical meals from that era, or even thoughts on food taken from Jane's own letters to her sister, Cassandra. It's all beautifully written and put together, and the recipes are very tempting.

The book is divided into six sections: Breakfast; Picnics; Nuncheons & Other Light Meals; Dinner; Trash & Sweet Things; and Entertaining: Routs and Balls. 

To tempt you further, here a few of the recipes offered - Stuffed Tomatoes; Strawberry & Lavender Shortcakes; Netherfield White Soup; Cassandra's Lobster & Asparagus; Mrs. Austen's Spinach & Potato Gratin; Charlotte Lucas's Mince Pies; and Champagne Ice. You're bound to find something you want to try. And to make it easier, all of the recipes have been adjusted to accomodate changing times and availability of ingredients. 

For any Austen fan this book will be an inspiration in the kitchen and a joy to read.

Past Imperfect

 Past Imperfect by Julian Fellowes

The story's narrator, a middle-aged writer of moderate success, is contacted by Damien Baxter, a friend from youth, to help locate his heir. Immensely wealthy, bed-ridden and dying, Damien wants to know if any of his old flames may have had a child by him, someone to whom he can leave all that he's accumulated.

The narrator, who remains unnamed - I will call him N - visits each of the women in their old crowd to learn who has children and when they were born. It seems the outwardly charming Damien had been intimate with a number of them dispite his dislike of most people and their dislike of him. He's a complicated character whose treatment of others kept me from any real sympathy for him even as his condition worsened, though his final act just before dying tempered my opinion somewhat.

N's conversations with Serena, Candida, Dagmar, Joanna, Lucy, and Terry take us back to the 1960's world of debutante balls and high society parents who hold very firm opinions about who their daughters should be befriending. Now, years later, most are settled into lives that, falling short of their youthful dreams, nevertheless provide a certain stability they don't want upended by old secrets coming to light.

Unlike Damien, N developed into a sympathetic character I liked better and better as the book went on. The others we come to know in succession as they talk with N about their shared history - especially one ghastly night they all refer to - and what they've done with their lives since. You don't find out exactly what took place until all their stories finally merge in a climactic scene that forever blows apart this group of friends, though I'm not sure 'friends' is quite the right word for this group.

What kept me going through the first part of the audio book, which I didn't find particularly interesting, was the reading by Richard Morant. His easy-on-the-ears voice, kindly with a lovely English accent, perfectly created the refined, but down-to-earth, world of this story. 

I had my doubts in the beginning, but now, having finished it, I wish there was more. 

The Candy House

 The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

What an unusual and interesting novel. 

It's told in interconnecting stories narrated by different characters in different times. I got a bit lost trying to figure out who was talking and how they were connected to the person in the previous chapter, so I made a sort of character map to help keep them all straight. It wasn't pretty with criss-crossing lines and arrows showing who each one was to the other, but it helped me see the overall picture so I could concentrate on the story. 

The setting is the near future, when a new development in software enables people to upload their consciousness to an online server, then download it onto a piece of personal hardware called a cube. You could use it to regain lost memories, to re-live your best - or worst - days. Everything you've ever done, said, or thought, the good and the bad, all readily available.

With further development came the opportunity to upload the contents of your cube to a collective consciousness that everyone would have access to. As ominous as that sounds there were some benefits in areas like law enforcement and medicine. No one was forced to join the collective, but if you didn't you wouldn't have access to the thoughts and memories of others. People in favour of this data sharing were called counters, those opposed, eluders. 

The stories, some narrated in the first person, some in the third person, one in the second person "you", and one that's simply a list of text messages, examine how the technology affected various people at different times. It looks at connection and what we give up when we trade privacy for information. 

The software program - called Own Your Own Conscious - provided the framework for the plot, but the book is much more about the people who designed and used it than it is about the tech itself, and that's what makes this such a compelling story. These characters came to life in a way that made me forget they're words on a page and that none of this really happened.  

Once I figured out who was who and where it was going, I loved it. 

News From Thrush Green/The Silmarillion

 News From Thrush Green by Miss Read

This third book in the lovely Thrush Green series takes us into the schoolroom of the infinitely patient Miss Watson and Miss Fogarty; the welcoming kitchen of kind Winnie Bailey, retired Dr. Bailey's wife; the parsonage of vicar Charles Henstock and his wife, Dimity; and Tulliver's, a house that long sat empty, now being being enlivened again by Phil (Phyllida), a writer of stories, and her young son. 

The arrival of an attractive young woman in the village is a topic for much speculation, more so as Phil's husband does not arrive with her. Is she married? Where is this husband she speaks of? Separated? Divorced?  Her neighbour, Harold, who becomes her good friend, is particularly interested to know.

The daily doings of gentle people in a small Cotswold village make up the story and create a world that is always comfortable to fall back into. They are a gift I give myself when I grow weary of the world we're living in today. 

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

With over 200 named characters and a timespan covering what must be thousands of years, this is a book that requires some commitment. But I love Tolkien's writing and I wanted to learn the histories referred to in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, so I dove in, just hoping to get through it eventually. 

I finished it a few days ago and have to say I loved it. I'd get bogged down in all the names, places, and battles occasionally, then take a break and come back to it later, but I didn't at any point feel like giving up. It's beautiful. 

And talk about world building! With wonderfully lyrical language Tolkien builds a world that once entered, I never want to leave. Learning about the origins of that world gives The Lord of the Rings story and characters more depth and has even made watching the movies better.

My favourite part of The Silmarillion is the creation story at the beginning - absolutely stunning and worth reading again and again. Loved it!

The Wedding People

 The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Pheobe, a young woman whose husband left her for her now ex-best friend - arrives at a resort hotel planning to have one last good meal then end her life quietly in beautiful surroundings. Through a booking error she finds herself the only guest not part of the large wedding party commandeering the rest of the hotel. 

Lila, the bride-to-be, has the week meticulously planned. After a brief encounter with Pheobe, in which Pheobe has been remarkably open about why she's there, Lila makes it clear she does not want her wedding week ruined by a suicide. And it won't be, simply because Phoebe's cat's painkillers, which she hopes will do the job, are not as powerful as she thought they'd be.   

Over the next week she gets to know the various wedding people, is able to be of help with a number of their problems, and in many ways becomes exactly what they - and she - needed.

The first few chapters seemed a little unrealistic to me. I couldn't quite believe a bride could be that high maintenance, but I've been assured since that they can indeed, and apparently it's my good fortune that I've never known one. Anyway...she and the other characters gained depth as the story progressed, becoming more credible and the story more interesting.

It might have been a better story if the cringy and unnecessary "sexting" messages had been left out. They seem to have served only for shock value or maybe they make the book more marketable, who knows. And there was an inexplicable scene about a man having sex with a car, the details of which I'll spare you.

In the end I did get quite involved in the story and found some of the characters  relatable. I liked it, but didn't love it as some in my book club did.

The Paris Express

 The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue

A slow burn of a story that starts with people boarding an express train to Paris on Oct 22,1895, and building in intensity until it arrives at its destination with a spectacular crash into the Montparnasse staion. That's not a spoiler as this is based on a true story with the ending a matter of public record. At the close of the novel the author elaborates on the news story, explaining the changes and additions she made in her novel.

There are quite a number of characters, divided among the three third-class, two second class, and two first class carriages. In addition there is the engine, the post and two baggage carriages, and half-way along the route a private carriage is added. Toward the end I was lost as to who was in what car - and it made a difference - so I tried to make a diagram. But then I got so involved in the story I just had to keep reading to see how it would end for each of these people I'd come to know. I went back to the diagram later but found I'd have to re-read almost the whole thing to get it right. This is a book that really needs to include a map of the train, or at least a list of characters and where they were. It would be much easier to follow. 

The characters include:

 Mado, a 20 yr old anarchist/feminist carrying a homemade bomb

Henry, an African American painter, fleeing racism in America.

Cecile, a pregnant woman who goes into labor on the train.

Blonska, a Russian immigrant who becomes aware of what Mado is hiding.

Hakim, who goes from car to car selling coffee from a large tank strapped to his back 

Maurice, a 7 yr old boy travelling for the first time by himself.

Alice, a secretary traveling with her boss.

The Christophle family, traveling in the private car.   

Guillaume, who's driving the train

Victor, the stoker

Leon - senior train guard

Jean - Junior train guard

Point of view changes from person to person, letting us get to know each one and what they are about, bringing depth to the story and slowly increasing the tension as the train gets nearer the end of its run. Knowing for certain there will be a devastating crash at the end adds to the effect. By then you care about these people and are afraid for them. 

Having finished it I don't really need to sort out the cars and passengers anymore but I think I will anyway. I'll probably re-read most of it in the process, except for one rather lurid scene between two men in a washroom. I can't see how that contributed to the story at all, but it surely does seem as if every comtemporary novel now must have a steamy scene or two. As a society it strikes me as odd that we all have doors on our bedrooms for privacy - it seems we don't want others watching our private moments - yet we want to watch/read about the private moments of others. We've become a society of voyeurs, not an encouraging thought, but I digress....

I liked this one for it's character development, dialogue, differing viewpoints and the interesting world it created inside this train. I wished I could follow some of these characters after the accident to see how it affected them and how they would then live out their lives. 

Not wanting the story to end is, I think, a pretty good recommendation for any book.

New York 2140

 New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson

Another climate change tome from Kim Stanley Robinson. It's hefty, but really fun to read. 

The lower part of New York City in 2140 has been flooded by rising sea levels, as have most of the other coastal cities in the world. The streets are canals now and people still living in those areas get around in boats instead of cars. Buildings partly underwater are eroding unless they were built on bedrock; those ones are still standing solid and filled with residents. Even underwater there are people living and businesses operating, down where it's easier to hide - yourself or any questionable activities you may be involved in.  

This novel focuses on one particular building, the Met Life Tower, and its residents: Vlade, the building superintendent; Amelia, an influencer who live-streams from her blimp as she moves endangered animals to safer environments; Franklin, a financier; Charlotte, a housing advocate and chairperson of the Tower tenants assoc.; NYPD Inspector Gen (Gen is her name, not her title); Stephan and Roberto, two young boys who hunt for underwater treasure and occasionally need rescuing; and Mutt and Jeff, hackers living in the "hotello" at the top of the Met Tower.

The story begins with Mutt and Jeff being kidnapped, Inspector Gen investigating. The kidnapping is connected to finance, Franklin's area of expertise, and eventually all the characters will play a part in the hunt for the missing men, becoming a family of sorts along the way. 

The story is at times absolutely riveting, but a few sections - like detailed explanations of financial matters - I found tedious, but then I'm not a financier. I liked the story, the climate science, and the way the characters and their relationships were developed - especially Vlade, he's a wonderful character. 

This book, like the author's The Ministry For the Future, is full of details from his seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of climate change, and here, building construction and finance as well. It's an education if you can stick with it through all the particulars and technicalities. When I finish one of his novels I feel like I've really accomplished something, and that's not a caution but a recommendation. 

A challenge, and well worth it!

The Glass Chateau

 The Glass Chateau by Stephen Kiernan

France, 1945. Much of the country lies in ruins, as does the home of Asher, a man tormented by the memory of his wife and two year old daughter being shot by a German soldier. His furious need for revenge led him to join the Resistance where he did things of which he'd never in his life thought himself capable. Now he carries the weight of those actions in addition to his grief and unmitigated rage. Without purpose he wanders, like many others, from place to place, seeking only a bit of food and to survive another day. 

When he hears of a place, a sanctuary, where it is said men have gone and found some kind of peace, he sets out to find it, in time coming to the door of Le Chateau Guerin. Hoping only for a meal, he is surprised to be welcomed, and given a room to sleep in and work to do. His job will be to feed the furnaces burning day and night as glass is made to replace the blown out windows of France's cathedrals. In time he'll move on to learning the delicate skills needed for making stained glass and will come to find he has a talent for it.

He is only one of several broken souls being cared for at the Chateau, each carrying their own scars and secrets. As Asher settles in he fears what will happen if they should find out not only what he's done, but who he is.

A moving story with writing that seemed to droop a bit toward the end but still offered a satisfying conclusion. It was the glass-making aspect that first drew me to the book, but it also helped me see the aftermath of war from a different perspective. I'd never thought about damage done to the many beautiful cathedrals of Europe or what it would take to repair them and was interested to learn about that. Those things and the convincing characters made this a very enjoyable read. 

James

 James by Percival Everett

A companion book - or perhaps the author's setting straight of  - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It begins by following Huck's story as told from the viewpoint of the slave, Jim, then veers off into something very different. 

I didn't enjoy the Huck book or this one either. For one thing, Jim in the first book is a sage - wise, with a rich thought life and unending patience. In this one Jim becomes a cold-blooded murderer, an angry man whose anger, yes, is justified, but not very relatable to who he was in Huck. We are all certainly capable of all kinds of evil we think we aren't, but for me the change here was just too drastic.

I was looking forward to reading about Jim, the only character I liked in the Huck book, but I didn't recognize him in this story.

The Women in Black / This Calling Master

 The Women in Black by Madeleine St. John

A charming story about ladies working at a dress shop in the late 1950s. I was doing a poor job of putting down my thoughts about this book so I'm going to direct you to a better review here. It says everything I wanted to say in a far more articulate manner than I could have. 

I listened to the audio from Chirp Books and loved the narrator, but still think I might have liked the book better if I'd read a hard copy. Audio books aren't conducive to much thinking about what you're reading and I do think this one deserved a bit more than I could give it.   

This Calling Master by Steven Evans

I don't know what made me think I'd want to read this, but there it was on my Kobo so something about it must have appealed to me at one time. Half way through it didn't seem to be going anywhere, but I finished it anyway and now cannot for the life of me think why. 

It's about Michael who lives alone, has a girlfriend he hasn't seen for at least a couple of years, and holds down a mundane job with an insurance company. He doesn't have any real friends but doesn't mind as he's not sociable anyway. 

He does have one interesting hobby. Calling himself an urban archeologist, he breaks into abandoned buildings at night to look around. He wanders through the rooms checking out old furniture and other belongings left behind, taking home anything he thinks could be useful someday. 

One night he's in an old boarded up mansion when the door opens and three men come in carrying another who's been shot. Michael hides in a pantry and listens to them argue about the crime they'd just committed and whether or not to get help for the guy bleeding out on the table. 

From there it gets ridiculous. Michael does all kinds of terribly risky things but for some reason he never gets caught or hurt. It's like he's two people - the guy vegetating at home in his messy apartment doing nothing but whining about  the girlfriend who doesn't answer his calls or letters, and the guy skulking around at night who seems to have skills not learned at the office, getting involved in situations illegal and even deadly.  And he gets away every time. He commits a pretty bloody revenge murder and still, no consequences.    

In the end he gets a new job and moves away. Everything is fine. What?!

So, is the point of the story that murder is ok when a good guy takes out a bad guy who killed a different good guy? If this was a paperback I'd throw it somewhere but I don't want to break my Kobo so I'll just emphatically hit "Remove from My Books" a few times. 

I want my 8 hours back. 

The Best Part of Us

 The Best Part of Us by Sally Cole-Misch

Eleven year old Beth loves spending summers on her grandparents island near the Canadian border. As a young married couple they bought the island, built a cabin and cleared walking paths though the forests and along the cliffs. Beth's father spent his childhood summers there and loves it as Beth does, but her mother spends those few weeks every year anxious for the safety of her family. The river, the cliffs, the rocky trails - all threats to the ones she loves. 

When Beth find indiginous artifacts near the fort she built with neighbour, Ben, she wants to show them to him but her family says no. Her grandfather knows of another family who were forced to cede five acres of their property to the Ojibwe people when artifacts were discovered on their land. He is adamant that he will not give up an inch of the land he paid for and worked hard to maintain most of his life. 

Then a storm blows in, Beth's sister gets hurt and her brother goes missing. In the midst of their grief and fear they receive yet another devestating blow when they are ordered off the island, given 24 hours to pack up and leave the place that means so much to them.

Skip 14 years into the future and we find Beth married with a son and working in the city. Her grandfather, realizing he doesn't have much time left, writes two wills and leaves it to Beth to decide which one he should sign. One will gives the island to the Ojibwe people, the other leaves it to Beth. 

If she goes back to the place that took her brother from them, her mother may never forgive her, further fracturing a family already distant and angry. But she sees no way to make a decision without returning to the scene of both her happiest memories and the trauma that has haunted her family every since. She has to see for herself if anyone is living there now, if the cabin still stands, if the Ojibwe have taken it over, or if it's been abandoned altogether. 

Descriptions of the island are rich and memorable. I wanted - still want - to be there. Weeks after finishing the books I miss the smell of the pines and sea air. It was just that real.  

The characters are well-rounded and believable, each one necessary to the story. I can't think of any I didn't like, and though I may not have liked everything they did, the author made them real and relatable so their motivations could be understood.

The plot was a little slow starting - appropriate really to the setting - but later it had me reading too late, needing to see what would happen. The storm scene is particularly intense. 

I was left with a few unanswered questions - the plot set up a showdown between Beth and her mother that then never took place, and things seemed to work out maybe a little too easily in the end. Still it was a wonderful story. I love an island story and from this one, about finding our place in family and in the natural world, it's the island I will carry with me.

Cider With Rosie / The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly

 Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee

This is a memoir of author Laurie Lee's childhood in the Cotswalds. His lyrical descriptions of the places where he grew up are so rich and vivid you can almost feel the hot sunshine on your face and breathe in the sweet country air. 

I was unfamiliar with the author but have since read some of his poems, which I liked very much, and found a list of his other books. It seems he's best known for this one and three successive memoirs As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, A Moment of War, and A Rose for Winter. There's one called Village Christmas, and Other Notes on the English Year that I'd like to read. Our public library unfortunately doesn't have it so I'll hunt for a used copy online.

If I was to use one word to describe Cider With Rosie, I think it must be "charming". I enjoyed viewing the world through his three year old eyes (at the beginning of the story) and visiting for awhile in a time and place so very different from what they are now. It isn't just a pretty story - life was hard at times and he's honest about that. But what I'll remember about this book more than the story is the poetic language in which it was told. It was simply a lovely thing to read. 

The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly by Margareta Magnusson

Oh dear, this is one of those books we're supposed to like and I didn't. The author is a Swedish lady in her 80's who shares some of the things she's learned about aging and offers advice on how to do it well. 

The title rather overstates things. There isn't anything particularly Swedish about what she writes, or anything very exuberant about the way she lives. I did find it pleasant - if rambling - reading with a few funny stories, but it didn't speak to me the way it has to many others. Probably my loss, but such is the reading life. Moving on. 

The Woman Who Died A Lot and The Puzzler

 The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde

This is #7 in the Thursday next series, books I've found utterly ridiculous and wonderfully entertaining. 

This one sees Thursday appointed to the position of head librarian a few days before her hometown is scheduled for a "smiting" that will take out a large part of the town. Her old nemisis "Aornis Hades" is still messing with Thursday's memories and now her husband's, while their brilliant daughter is building a weapon they hope will fend off the "smiting". With the number of preposterous things simultaneously going on in these books it's hard to give a sensible sounding description. 

I didn't enjoy this one was quite as much as some of the earlier ones in the series. My favourite was The Well of Lost Plots where it's all about Book World and every page is filled with literary references. Still, the world of these books is so ingenious and absurd I'll keep reading them as long as Fforde keeps writing them. Besides, they're expanding my vocabulary as I continue to seek new synonyms for "crazy".

The Puzzler by A.J. Jacobs

Jacobs looks at every kind of puzzle you can imagine: Rubik's cube types, jigsaws, crosswords, wooden puzzles, Japanese puzzle boxes, and more I can't remember right now. I loaned the book to another puzzle lover without first taking the notes I needed. Why I keep doing that is another puzzle.

He dives into the history of various puzzles and interviews the people who have mastered them. Parts of it are quite funny when he describes his experiences taking part - sometimes dragging family members with him - in contests and competitions around the world. 

Entertaining reading for anyone, more so for puzzler lovers.