Book of the Month: June 2018

 

Offered Books:

The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir

The Anomaly by Michael Rutger

When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri

Calypso by David Sedaris

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Selected:

The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir

Others Purchased:

Calypso by David Sedaris

The Book of Essie follows the titular Essie Hicks, one of the stars of a reality TV show - Six for Hicks - that focuses on her conservative religious family.  She is their youngest child, and we open on her arranging for her mother to discover that she is pregnant - even though she has just turned 17 and is unmarried.  Her family works with the producers to arrange a wedding, and Essie manages to bring in her classmate, Roarke Richards, and a (formerly) conservative reporter by the name of Liberty Bell to try to free herself from her family's grip.

It's hard to read that premise and not flash to the not-so-long-ago reality shows 17 Kids and Counting and Jon & Kate Plus 8 and how the controversies associated with both.  In fact, a passing familiarity with both shows - or even a vague remembrance of either - probably helps the reader get into the 'reality' of the book's show.  It isn't necessary - Weir does an excellent job of making the book independent of the mentioned series - but it definitely deepens the appreciation of the world-building done throughout the novel.

The novel shifts between Essie's, Roarke's, and Liberty's point of view and how they navigate the situation - Essie trying to manipulate it to the best of her abilities to protect herself, Roarke's response to being suddenly and abruptly thrown into this spotlight as the groom to cover up Essie's pregnancy, and Liberty's interviews with Essie and her own former past as a conservative 'star.'  All three characters are well-rounded and believable, which is crucial given the heightened reality that the characters are placed in.

Weir also does a good job of interweaving their individual stories while driving the plot forward.  No section of the book feels wasted, and it moves at a brisk pace.  Not a single chapter feels inconsequential, which can happen very easily when bouncing between multiple characters.

All in all, this is a great novel, and I look forward to what Weir writes in the future.

4.5 out of 5

Calypso, by David Sedaris, is a series of essays where Sedaris reflects on his life and aging, set somewhat against the purchase of a vacation house - dubbed by him Sea Section - where he plans to spend time with his family.

I've seen many describe this as a darkly comic look at life for those growing older, but I'll be honest: while parts of this book are funny, overall it reads as much more melancholic to me.  There are parts that are actually quite painful to read, and I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone who reads to escape.

Sedaris does have a way with storytelling, and the novel isn't hard to get through (outside of the emotional toll it takes in parts).  While it is interesting to read about the ups and downs of his life with his family, he doesn't hold back - we get all of the ugly details in many parts.

I'll be honest, this is a well written book that I didn't really care for.  And given the personal nature of much that he talks about, I don't want to criticize it - for me it was just hard to read due to the subject matter.

While I wouldn't really recommend it, many others found it much more enjoyable than I did - so maybe chance this one if you are feeling brave.

2 out of 5

Author Links:

Meghan MacLean Weir

David Sedaris

Book of the Month: May 2018

 

Offered Books:

The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy

The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner

Still Lives by Maria Hummel

How to Walk Away by Katherine Center

Small Country by Gaël Faye

Selected:

The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy

Others Purchased:

None - yet

I didn't like this book.

It's been hard for me to write a review for it specifically because I don't like it.  It's not that what I have to say about it is hard to articulate, it's just that I struggle to find a way to write a negative review that is engaging - the novel is too boring to write a 'love to hate' type of review, but my problems with it are numerous enough that I can't do a short breakdown of everything wrong with it.  I can summarize it with the one word sentence I started this review with, but that's not much to go on if I am going to make these reviews a regular thing.  So really, this book isn't enjoyable AND it is causing me a minor existential crises.  Thanks, The Perfect Mother!

The book follows a group of women (and a single man) who have dubbed themselves The May Mothers - all have recently had children and met up online to discuss their experiences, which bled into them meeting in real life.  They decide to take a 'night off' for drinks and one of their members - Winnie, a former TV actress - gets home to discover that her baby is missing.

The focus shifts between the various May Mothers and the kidnapper - I have no idea if it being the kidnapper is supposed to be a secret/surprise, but there is no other character that a reader could possibly think it could be, so I won't consider that tidbit a spoiler - as the investigation proceeds and secrets are 'exposed.'

I use 'exposed' in quotes because... nothing ever really comes of the other May Mother's backstories?  Setting aside the fact that this group that randomly started gathering had multiple people of semi-fame and notoriety without any of them knowing about the others - and how that stretches one's ability to suspend belief - the reveals never feel impactful.  There doesn't appear to be any character growth from them and it doesn't affect the larger story, so why include these barely-interesting-to-who-cares backstories?

While there is one non-famous person in the group - who is probably the most realistic of the characters despite also being one of the more irritating - there is shockingly little reaction from her to the revelations of who she has been meeting with.

Plotwise, there are so many moments where characters behave in ways that are only meant to 'deepen the mystery' or to give chapters cliffhangers that it dilutes the entire narrative.  When every chapter ends in such a way, it becomes repetitive and tedious.  When none of the characters are interesting enough to warrant such moments, it makes finishing the novel outright work.

Even more frustrating, the climax of the book still happens suddenly, throwing the reader into it without proper buildup.  The reveal of the kidnapper has no impact other than a banal 'Oh, okay then,' reaction and all the false stakes throughout the book removes the chance for the reader to think there are any during this part.  So it ends not with a bang, nor even a whimper.  It just ends.  And there is no satisfaction in it.

I would not recommend this book to anyone.

0.5 out of 5

Author Links:

Aimee Molloy

Book of the Month: April 2018

Offered Books:

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Circe by Madeline Miller

The Oracle Year by Charles Soule

Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall

The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Well

Selected:

Circe by Madeline Miller

Others Purchased:

None - yet

Madeline Miller's expanded look at Circe, famous from Homer's The Odyssey is one of the best damn books I have selected from Book of the Month.  While this sort of novel isn't anything new (and one of my selections from later in this year is another expanded take on a minor character from the Trojan War, to show how often they pop up), Miller does a fantastic job of not only 'filling in the plot' to justify a look at this character, but telling a wholly original story using characters that many are at least somewhat familiar with without it feeling out of place amongst the many stories of the Greek Gods.

That is quite the needle to thread, and Miller does splendidly.  From her humble beginnings in the house of the titan Helios to her banishment to the Isle where she has her famous meeting with Odysseus, Miller makes Circe a fully realized character - one who you cheer for even as she turns slightly villainous for part of the novel.

Like The City of Brass, this is a hard novel for me to go into too many details on - I don't want to spoil any of the plot - but I was fully behind it winning the Book of the Year award.  I will say that any character from the Greek mythos - no matter how small or large - that appears in this novel gets a deepening of their character through Miller's writing.

Another thing that Miller accomplishes is making Circe's long seclusion on the island of her banishment interesting.  If any part of the novel had the potential to drag, it was then, but Miller keeps the reader engaged throughout and makes them forget that so much of the action occurs in a single location.  And when they do move from the island, it feels earned.  The ending to the book is bittersweet and well done.

I cannot recommend this book enough.

5 out of 5

Author Links:

Madeline Miller

Book of the Month: March 2018

Offered Books:

The Last Equation of Isaac Severy by Nova Jacobs

Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

Other People's Houses by Abbi Waxman

Rainbirds by Clarissa Goenawan

Selected:

Rainbirds by Clarissa Goenawan

Others Purchased:

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

Rainbirds follows Ren Ishida as he travels to Akakawa following the murder of his sister, Keiko.  While there, he ends up not only tying up his sister's affairs, but also falling into her life as he ends up taking her job, boarding in her old room, and interacting with many of her friends and acquaintances.

So, this is an odd book.  If it wasn't already noticeable by the description, there are contrivances aplenty to get Ren into 'place' for the story proper to start, and Goenawan accomplishes this smoother in some parts than in others.  In fact, it feels as if the book meanders a bit getting to this point - but on purpose.  Losing his sister has hit Ren harder than he even realizes, and while Goenawan is very noticeably moving this character to certain points for the story, it weirdly feels appropriate, as Ren needs someone guiding him.

However, once the plot is in swing, Goenawan maintains that meandering feel for Ren, as he flashes back to his childhood with Keiko while also living a shadow of her life in Akakawa.  He's trying to learn why Keiko was murdered, but this plotline isn't pursued with urgency as Goenawan instead explores Ren's feeling of loss.

This is a 'heavy' book, subjectwise.  There are few moments of humor, and Ren's various interactions with the other characters always has a tinge of sadness about them - Goenawan rightfully maintains this throughout the novel - in a way, there is no true catharsis as such a thing would be almost impossible given Keiko's youth and the tragedy of her death.

Ren is a great character and the story is told through his perspective, but the other characters he interacts with are well written also, and Goenawan accomplishes the rare feat of having the character's thoughts give a full characterization of the people he encounters without 'knowing' too much about them.

I would recommend this book - but it is not light reading.

3 out of 5

Author Links:
Clarissa Goenawan
Emily X.R. Pan

Book of the Month: February 2018

Offered Books:

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Still Me by Jojo Moyes

Selected:

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Others Purchased:

None - yet

With most books, I prefer either a good ghost story or a good mystery - very few (in my experience) weave the two together in a way that satisfactorily resolves both plot lines.  Of the many I have read, I'd say only Bag of Bones by Stephen King managed the feat.  But The Broken Girls by Simone St. James comes pretty damn close.

The mystery part concerns the sister of our main protagonist: Fiona Sheridan.  Her sister was murdered twenty years prior and Fiona has never felt that the true story came out - even though a man was tried and convicted for the murder.  Using the excuse of the restoration of Idlewild Hall, Fiona revisits the area where her sister was murdered and begins to re-investigate the event.

Idlewild Hall is also the setting of the continual flashbacks to 1950: a place where 'troublesome' girls are sent, we follow the budding friendship between four of the girls living there and the lead-up to one of them disappearing.

The ghost story is present in both - predating the 1950 segment by many years - and factors into both storylines, giving the reader three intertwining plots that, thankfully, don't get too confusing.  In fact, the way St. James weaves these various plot threads together is one of the standout aspects of the novel, and the main reason it was read in almost a single setting.

The mood of the novel is dark and sad, with little to no moments of levity.  Despite this, St. James keeps it from being dour, with enough character development and action to keep the reader engaged despite - for obvious reasons - refusing to 'lighten' the novel as it tackles its subject matter.

I really liked this novel.  While one of the three storylines doesn't quite wrap up in a way I found satisfactory, it's a brisk read with more than enough to keep me entertained as I made my way through it.  In fact, just writing this review makes me want to go back and reread it!  So it is a definite recommend.

4 out of 5

Author Links:

Simone St. James

Book of the Month: January 2018

Offered Books:

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas

As Bright As Heaven by Susan Meissner

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna

Selected:

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas

Also Purchased Read:

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

Red Clocks, by Leni Zumas, follows four women in a small Oregon town.  In this fictional United States, the Personhood Amendment has been passed: granting full rights to embryos, thus outlawing abortion and IVF and affecting all of the women in some way.

This is a hard book to start.  While each of the women being followed (The Biographer, The Wife, The Mender, and The Daughter) have their stories intersect with the other women, it takes awhile to get to that point and the 'setting the stage' part of the book can feel choppy.  I didn't find this part hard to get through, but numerous others have, so fair warning to those interested in reading this.

The characters are all well-written, though I wish a bit more was done with The Mender than what we eventually get, but I feel that none of them are standout characters that will draw the reader back to this book.  They're all believable, but are missing that big cathartic moment in their stories that satisfies the average reader.  To me, the best character is the Biographer, and I almost wish that the book had focused on her exclusively while still allowing the intersection with the other characters.

The plot is a good one, if slightly underdeveloped.  Zumas gives the readers enough information to explain the state of the world, but not enough of how it happened and how it has been maintained despite affecting all women in the United States.  There is even enough pressure to force Canada to assist the US in preventing women from traveling there for access to abortion/IVF without a thorough explanation of why the country feels the need to do so.

This book doesn't quite fall into the 'could've done more' that The Power does, but it does feel like a large part of it has been left out - and that lost part is what keeps the book from being great.

I'd recommend it, but it's not a novel I see many going back to.

3 out of 5

The Woman in the Window follows Anna Fox, a woman who recently underwent a traumatic event and now suffers from severe agoraphobia.  While stuck in her home she witnesses a crime happen in one of her neighbor's houses, but isn't sure she can even believe her own recollection of what happened and desperately tries to figure out what she witnessed.

I'll get this out of the way:  I don't understand why this book became the hit that it did.  It's not a terrible novel by any means, but I fail to see what made it so exceptional to so many.  While the character of Anna Fox is great - I eagerly await the movie to see how Amy Adams portrays the character - so much of what happens requires more than just the suspension of belief.  I won't go into details to avoid spoilers, but the 'reveal' was only a surprise because of how implausible it was for them to do what they did.

Which is a shame, because the character of Anna Fox is great.  There's so much character there, and the way Finn writes her is amazing.  However, this leaves almost every other character either underdeveloped or barely developed enough.  The neighbors who house she witnessed the event in are the best off, but not enough for them to linger.

Structurally, the story does something that I absolutely hate: hides a major detail of a character (in this case, Anna) that we should know far earlier than we do.  There's no reason to deprive the reader of this information - anyone with the slightest bit of intelligence knows the Something Important happened that we aren't privy to - other than for one of several 'reveals' that only serve to prolong the story.

Despite all these criticisms, it is a solid book, just not a great one.

3.5 out of 5

Author Links:

Leni Zumas

Book of the Year: 2017

Book of the Year Finalists:

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emma Lang

(See the Semi-Finalists)

Winner:

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

My Top 5:

1) The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

2) Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

3) The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

4) The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

5) Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker

HM: Final Girls by Riley Sager

So, in making my selections for my favorite books of the year, I didn't have the largest selection to choose from, having only read 12 from 2017 (13, if I get around to The Chalk Man).  Given the relatively low number, it was mostly a matter of eliminating them one by one until I had my top 5.

The first to go was Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich, which I did not enjoy at all.  Next to go was Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips, then The Power by Naomi Alderman - two books I finished but didn't feel terribly positive about.

Chemistry by Weike Wang and Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong were eliminated together, as my opinion for both is about the same - liked but did not love.  The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman was the next to go and was the first hard cut to be made, as I really enjoyed that book.

The dread sixth place spot took me quite awhile to make a decision on: All the remaining books would be amongst my favorites for 2017: depending on the day you asked me, 1-3 and 4-6 could shift dramatically.  Ultimately, I placed Final Girls by Riley Sager at sixth, though it was hard to remove it.

Once Final Girls was cut, fourth and fifth was a battle between The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne and Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker.  Though I feel the ending of the former dragged a bit, it was a much more ambitious than the latter, which ultimately lead to Emma in the Night taking the 5 spot and The Heart's Invisible Furies at 4.

I mentioned it above, but deciding between the remaining 3 was a much more arduous task than I expected.  A month from now I might switch them around, depending on my mood.  I decided to lay the books out and think on which I would be most likely to reread when given the chance.  The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid was the last I theoretically reached for in this exercise, so it got third.

Second goes to Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, as it was not the first I wanted to reread when confronted with my top 3 - but only by a hair.  The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty was what I initially reached for, and I cannot argue with that selection:  Though both books are amazingly well written, The City of Brass has that extra bit of magic about it (fitting, given the plot) that I know will keep me going back to it again and again in the future.

So that's my top 5 (and really, a ranking of all the books I read for that year).  I may revisit this in a year or so to see if my feelings change - hopefully with some more books to be considered.