The Light Pirate

 The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton

A climate change novel about one family's experience with extreme weather and its effects. I listened to an audio version, excellently narrated by Rosemary Benson.

It opens with Frida Lowe making supper for her husband, Kirby, and his sons, Flip and Lucas, while Kirby prepares the house for the hurricane approaching the coastal Florida town of Rudder. He insists they won't get the brunt of the storm, but it's been only a year since Frida lost her mother to a hurricane in San Juan and now, pregnant and frightened, she wants to go further inland just in case. Kirby, a lineman, says he'll be needed here and won't leave. 

Then the storm changes course, putting the town of Rudder in its direct path. Kirby is called to work, the boys wander out to see who has and hasn't evacuated, Frida feels her first labour pains, and the storm hits. The results will be devastating for all of them, but this will be only the beginning. 

 Fast forward to where Frida's baby, called Wanda for the hurricane during which she was born, is 10 years old and living in a now mostly abandoned Florida. Kirby and Lucas try to hold things together but wide-spread destruction of infrastructure from extreme weather has forced the state government to give up and pull funding from what it sees as a lost cause. 

When things worsen and further tragedy overtakes their family, Wanda moves in with one of the last remaining residents, a woman who has prepared for years for life off the grid. It's hard work and they seldom see another person, but they make a good life there for awhile, until scavengers find them and decide they want that good life for themselves.

Forward again a few years, Florida is under water and Wanda lives by herself in a hidden tree shelter, moving around by boat, living on fish and whatever else she can still scavenge from upper floors of flooded buildings. She's alone for a long time, until out in her boat fishing one night she unexpectedly hears another woman's voice, eventually leading her to more survivors and the hope of a better future and a real life again.  

 It was intense, and more than a little unnerving. In the real world our weather is increasing in intensity and doing more damage than ever before. Forest fires, flooding, and severe winds are now annual threats to people who once knew them only as rare occurrences. It's easy to imagine already being on the way to where this novel goes.

A harrowing story lifted by a bit of magical realism that I haven't mentioned yet but is quite lovely, and ultimately ending with beauty and hope for the future. I loved it.

The Correspondent

 The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

An elegantly written story told in letters sent to and from Mrs. Sybil Van Antwerp, a well-spoken, sometimes prickly lady in her senior years. She writes letters every day to any number of people: her brother, friends, strangers, officials with whom she doesn't agree, authors with her thoughts on their books, and anyone else with whom she wants to share an opinion. She writes regularly to one unnamed person whose letters she keeps in a desk drawer and never mails.

 Sybil can be stubborn and judgemental, qualities which have hurt people over the years and driven some away. She carries the pain of a long ago action, or rather inaction, that did great harm, something she has never told another soul but which has cast a shadow over all her days and affected every relationship in her life. With age, and through letters sent and received, she little by little comes to see where she has been wrong, and in time is able to begin to make amends and seek forgiveness. 

 Sybil can be frustrating but I came to respect and admire her so much I can now call her one of my favourite fictional characters. I'll want to read the book again to spend more time in her company and enjoy her beautifully written letters.

This is a story about the mistakes we make and the suffering they cause, the giving and receiving of forgiveness and grace, and the finding of peace after years in the storm. And besides all that, there's a very entertaining romantic storyline as two quite different gentlemen come courting. 

 I loved it - the story, the characters, the writing, and the excellent narrating of the audio version by Maggi-Meg Reed. 

This is a treasure of a book.

Standing in the Rainbow

 Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg

Fannie Flagg has been on my radar for a while, but the only one of hers I've read was A Redbird Christmas and, sadly, I found it not very memorable. Still, something made me want to try one more and this was available at my local library so here we are. 

It's almost 500 pages long, about 150 pages longer than my interest lasted. It centers around Dorothy and Doc (Robert) Smith, Doc's mother (referred to Mother Smith) and the Smith children Anna Lee and Bobby. They have a boarder - with no hotel in the town most people take in boarders - named Jimmy, and eventually they take in another, Betty Raye Oatman, a teenager who travels constantly with her gospel-singing family but longs for a more settled life.

Other characters include Anna Lee's friends, Norma and Patsy Marie; Bobby's friend, Monroe; neighbour Beatrice Woods, a blind singer; Tot Whooton, a put-upon hairdresser whose mother is forever wandering off and needing rescuing; and Ham Sparks, a young entrepreneur who eventually marries Betty Raye and becomes Governor. His journey to that position seems unlikely, and when his term ends and he "runs" the completely inexperienced Betty Raye for Governor, it feels almost farcical.

 All these characters stories, over the almost five decades covered in the book, revolve around Dorothy's as she hosts a radio show, called The Neighbour Dorothy Program, from her living room. With Mother Smith on piano, she showcases singers, interviews people of interest, shares local news, and reads letters from her listeners. While she's busy with that, Doc runs a drug store and fills the townsfolk's prescriptions, Bobby indulges a sense of adventure that gets him into endless trouble, and Beatrice dreams of a different life than the one this town can offer her.

My interest in the plot waned when it stopped making sense, and in the characters when they stayed firmly on the page and never became quite real. It's a pleasant story about pleasant people in a pleasant place, but it doesn't offer much beyond that and it doesn't ask much of the reader other than to accept a few improbabilities. I wanted to like it and I feel sorry that I haven’t anything better to say about it.  

Trains and Lovers / Wintering

 Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith

Four strangers meet on a train traveling from Edinburgh to London, and after a few pleasantries begin to talk about the part trains have played in their lives and relationships.  

Andrew is a young Scot who tells them about viewing an old painting in which a train caught both his attention and that of his female colleague. David, a quiet American, sees two men saying good-bye at a station and remembers with sadness a long-ago love of his own.

Hugh, English, once disembarked at the wrong station, was instantly attracted to a complete stranger on the platform and invited her to have dinner with him that very evening. Kay, returning from a trip to her father's birthplace in Scotland, is herself Australian and tells them the story of her parents falling in love while running a railway siding in the Outback.

The stories are uneven in length, I think I'm remembering that correctly. Some of the travelers are more inclined to talk than others, though it isn't always clear if some of their words are directed at their seatmates or are simply their own private thoughts.  

Alexander McCall Smith is gifted at making ordinary things and people interesting. I've always enjoyed his writing and the authentic characters he creates. Trains and Lovers is a stand alone novel, but I'd like to get into one of his series before too long, probably the Corduroy Mansions books.

Wintering by Katherine May

Wintering is a self-help book that encourages us to embrace our "winters", those times when difficulties disconnect us from our normal work/life busyness and leave us feeling on the outside of things. That's a positive goal, and I probably should have gotten more out of it than I did, but I just couldn't get into it. I found it repetitive in spots, and was bored when she overworked certain points. I pushed myself to finish it for book club, but didn't find much in the way of fresh insight or anything more in it than what we all learn from simply living. She can be funny and there are a few good stories in there, but it wasn't enough to save this one for me. 

The Bookshop on the Corner/Still Life/A Room of One's Own

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Coglan 

A young woman loses her library job in England, buys a van or maybe a bus...it wasn't quite clear which, in Scotland, fills it with books and starts her own mobile bookshop. I'm not sure why it's called The Bookshop on the Corner. I thought she might eventually sell the van and settle in a permanent location but that didn't happen. Maybe she parked the bus on a corner and I just missed that detail. Anyway, she rents an apartment from a grouchy farmer she can't stand and then - no surprise - falls in love with him and he with her. This is the third one I've tried from this author and I know they are very popular, but I haven't enjoyed any of them so this will probably be my last one.

Still Life by Louise Penney

The first in the Inspector Gamache series of novels set in the village of Three Pines, Quebec, this mystery is about the murder of a local artist, Jane Neal. Her recently accepted entry in an art show is about to reveal something one desperate person does not want known. 

Characters include Clara Morrow, a frazzled but sincere woman who was Jane's good friend, and Peter, her detached husband; Ben Hadley, Peter's best friend since childhood; Ruth Zardo, an abrasive woman who long ago interfered with and changed the course of Jane's life; Olivier and Gabri, the easy-going couple who run the local Bistro; the Croft family, all proficient in the use of bows and arrows, the weapon that killed Jane; Myrna Landers, former psychologist now bookshop owner; Yolande Fontaine, Jane's uptight, pretentious niece; Police Inspector Gamache, wise and experienced; and Agents Beauvoir and Nichol, the latter of whom is new to the job, arrogant, and dis-inclined to follow her superior's orders.

Several of the characters are suspected in turn and with a number of red herrings it doesn't become clear who the murderer is till near the end, though I'm sure some readers will figure it out sooner than I did. 

With so many characters, there are a lot of stories to tell and clues appear to be everywhere. I found each page needed my full attention in order not to miss anything. I'm not an avid mystery fan nor a fan of long series, but I like the layered plot and the complicated characters, as well as the easy, intelligent writing style, so I will look forward to seeing where the story goes in book two: A Fatal Grace (also published as Dead Cold).

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

I read this extended essay again and liked it even better this time around. It was interesting to also be reading at the same time another essay, Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? by Linda Nochlin. In Woolf's essay she asks us to consider why all the great, celebrated composers and writers of the past were men, when surely there were women born with equal talent. She doesn't accept the ridiculous argument that women simply lacked the intelligence to do anything great, and argues that women have always been more than capable but have never been given the freedom to work. They only need what men have always had - time, space, and money of their own to hone their gifts. 

When I first read the Nochlin essay I thought it was going to be more or less a rehash of Woolf's but found it presents a number of fresh ideas to consider and is very much its own essay. I found her writing a bit heavier going than Woolf's but both essays are important and well worth reading. 

The Lamplighters and The Rule of Four

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

This is a quietly creepy mystery about three lighthouse keepers who simply vanish in 1972. When a relief boat arrives they find the lighthouse empty, locked from the inside, all the clocks set to 8:45, and the table set for a meal. The weather log-book records a storm when there had been none. 

The story moves back and forth from uneasy lighthouse scenes where relationships are strained among the keepers, to two decades later when the keeper's wives, still bearing the emotional scars of the disappearance and resulting questions and accusations, are interviewed by a writer trying to find out what really happened to the men that day. 

This book was hard to put down. The author is adept at creating unease - between the men, and later among their wives - and of bringing the setting to life almost as a character itself. Dangerous waters, conflicting personalities, secrets kept by the wives for years, the pristine condition of the empty lighthouse, and the cover up by the lighthouse keeper's employer all add up to a deliciously tense mystery, making me resent anything taking me away from the book.   

Loosely based on a similar actual event in Scotland in 1900, an inscription says the book is written "in respectful memory" of that event but that these characters and their lives are purely fiction.

The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell

This is about a group of male friends and their adventures and misadventures in their senior year of college. One of them is writing his thesis on an ancient book called the Hypnerotomachia (a book that actually exists in the real world), a diary full of convoluted clues presumed to lead to a hidden treasure. It's all fun and excitement until someone is killed for what they know about the book and they begin to realize that continuing their quest will put them in serious danger. 

Though the mystery of the diary and the unraveling of the clues was compelling reading, I'm not a fan of boy's stories generally, and college seniors or not, these guys are still just boys in so many ways. I find their ill-considered escapades and bad decisions more tiring than entertaining. I want to yell at them - Life is too short...You'll want these years back some day...Don't sabotage your future! I'm probably too old, or have seen too many things go wrong, to be a good reader of adventure stories anymore, but it is an interesting literary mystery.   

The Curiosity

 The Curiosity by Stephen Kiernan

Kate Philo is in the arctic on a research boat collecting specimens for a private lab in Boston, where scientist Erastus Carthage is trying to re-animate dead things flash frozen in the ice. So far they've worked only on tiny crustations, managing to bring them back to life for just a few minutes before they succumb again. 

When they discover the body of a larger creature in the ice they think they might have a a seal, instead it turns out to be the body of Judge Jeremiah Rice who has been frozen there for over 100 years. After a few mad-scientist-type tries, they manage to bring him back to life and he begins to adjust to a world he barely recognizes. When Kate develops feelings for him, he is caught between caring for her and grieving for his beloved wife and children who, to his mind, he has only just lost.

What I liked: 

- The story. It was unusual and interesting to see what the process and repurcussions of re-animation were.

- The questions it raised. As an individual with rights and freedoms, how much control should the lab or any other entity have over where a re-animated human goes and what he does? Is he a free human being or is he a lab experiment, some scientist's project? Is it right to subject a person to reanimation without their previous consent? Whose responsibility is it to provide for him? 

 

What I didn't like:

- The obnoxious news reporter assigned to the project who saw Kate only as a body he'd like to investigate further. He was an old, tired cliche.

- Carthage, the scientist in charge of the project. Also a cliche, evil all the way through, all the time. Quite mad,

- The treatment of protestors who chanted and carried banners outside the lab, angry that anyone but God should try to create life. I'd like to have seen their concerns - some of which were valid - addressed instead of simply portraying them as an angry mob of crazy people.

The story had potential, and I did enjoy the reading of it, but a couple of almost ridiculously stereotypical characters and the missed opportunity to honestly examine important issues kept it from being great. 

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. Reading this book was a little like a visit to 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 want or need any response from me. Nevertheless, this was an entertaining 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 Unconscious - 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.