Julie's Review: The Many Daughters of Afong Moy

Author: Jamie Ford
Series: None
Publication Date:  August 2, 2022
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 384
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley, BOTM
Genre:  Literary Fiction
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: Complex story about what we carry with us through generations
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Summary: Dorothy Moy breaks her own heart for a living. As Washington’s former poet laureate, that’s how she describes channeling her dissociative episodes and mental health struggles into her art. But when her five-year-old daughter exhibits similar behavior and begins remembering things from the lives of their ancestors, Dorothy believes the past has truly come to haunt her. Fearing that her child is predestined to endure the same debilitating depression that has marked her own life, Dorothy seeks radical help. Through an experimental treatment designed to mitigate inherited trauma, Dorothy intimately connects with past generations of women in her family: Faye Moy, a nurse in China serving with the Flying Tigers; Zoe Moy, a student in England at a famous school with no rules; Lai King Moy, a girl quarantined in San Francisco during a plague epidemic; Greta Moy, a tech executive with a unique dating app; and Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to set foot in America. As painful recollections affect her present life, Dorothy discovers that trauma isn’t the only thing she’s inherited. A stranger is searching for her in each time period. A stranger who’s loved her through all of her genetic memories. Dorothy endeavors to break the cycle of pain and abandonment, to finally find peace for her daughter, and gain the love that has long been waiting, knowing she may pay the ultimate price. ~amazon.com

Review: I have been a fan of Jamie Ford and his books since Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet but the complexity of this one knocks all his others off the shelf. I can’t imagine the research that went into understanding the historical parts, writing the future and epigenetics.

Mr. Ford tells the story of the Moy women through various trials over decades and centuries. How each of them inherited the history of the person before them in their present. Afong Moy, the first of the Moy women is a spectacle in the late 1800s as she's paraded around from city to city as being "The First Chinese Woman in America." Her heartache and pain transfer to the next generation and so forth and so on, until we get to Dorothy Moy. Dorothy is not a happy women, other than her daughter Annabelle, nothing much brings her joy. She has struggled with her mental health all her life and a new treatment looks promising to help her finally work through her issues. 

We get flashbacks to the other Moy women: Lai-King, Faye, Zoe, Greta  and a flashforward to Annabelle. Mr. Ford provides us with enough of their stories that make you want more but doesn't flush them all out because they would each be their own novella. What he did so well was visit each of them through Dorothy at the end of the book which I thought was brilliant. 

The story of the Moy women is one of survival, loss, love and hope. It is how we carry the pain of the past into the present but hope for better in the future. There is a lot to unpack in this novel and it'll be a bit before I let these characters go. It would make a fantastic book club choice, so much to discuss. 

Alice's Review: The Lobster Kings

Series: None
Publication Date: May 6, 2014
Publisher: Blackstone Audio/W.W. Norton and Company
Length: 11 Hours, 27 Minutes
Narrator(s): Cassandra Campbell
Obtained: Library
Genre:  Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Intriguing family drama.
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Summary:  The Kings family has lived on Loosewood Island for three hundred years, and they’ve been blessed with the bounty of the sea. But for the Kings, every blessing comes with a curse. Woody Kings, the leader of the island’s lobster fishing community and the family patriarch, teeters on the throne. Cordelia, the oldest of Woody’s three daughters, stands to inherit the crown after the death of her brother. To do so, however, she has to fend off meth dealers from the mainland while navigating sibling rivalry and the vulnerable nature of her own heart when she falls in love with her sternman.  A love story and a modern epic in the grand Shakespearian vein that introduces a fiery and unforgettable heroine, The Lobster Kings is the story of Cordelia’s struggle to maintain her island’s way of life in the face of danger from offshore and the rich, looming, mythical legacy of her family’s namesake.

Review:  I have a confession. The truth is I only choose this book because it was the first audio book that was available through my library’s digital files. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What I received was an extremely dark novel that spoke to the vicious place inside me that fiercely protects my family, my heritage, and my birthright.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was gritty and not pretty. This family was pickled in tragedy. It was heartbreaking to read. There was a knowledge that they chose some of that tragedy. The family accepted it, welcomed it even because it was their birthright to do so. Things could have been different but I really believed this was the only way they knew how to live.

This is my first time reading anything by Alexi Zentner. What I enjoyed the most about  is the expressiveness in the writing. Mr. Zentner is truly gifted. I love novels that transports me to a different place and time. I felt the boat rock under my feet, the sea spray on my face, and the calluses on my hands from a day’s hard labor.  I loved how the Brumfit Kings paintings were described. I don’t have a lot of knowledge of art and paintings but I did want to see his. I liked how the paintings were woven into the story, shedding light on the past to help guide us in the present.

I understood the longing Cordelia felt. I swear, Cordelia dang near drove me bonkers. I appreciated her strength and courage, but she was so stubborn, too. I enjoyed reading how her relationship with her sisters evolved, but I couldn’t shake the idea that she thought she was better than them, the only true Kings of the three. She was selfish and a martyr for her beliefs. So many times I wished I could take a boat ride to Loosewood Island and hand her a tiny violin. What’s interesting is that I really liked her, too. She was courageous to the point of walking that fine line between bravery and stupidity.

My other favorite character in the novel was Woody Kings, the patriarch of the family. Cordelia was very much like him. He did his best to guide them and provide them with the foundation they needed for a life on Loosewood and the sea. Sadly, I’m not sure he succeeded.

As I first time listener, I discovered the beauty of an audio book is the narrator's ability to carry you to a place and the different characters by the slight inflection of her voice. Cassandra Campbell was perfect.


As much as I enjoyed , I know this isn’t the kind of novel for everyone. It is very dark. These characters were put through the ringer and they didn’t come away unscathed. It was a cataclysmic tragedy.

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Alice's Review: The Taste of Apple Seeds

Author: Katharina Hagena
Series: No
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Publisher: William Morrow and Company
Pages: 256
Obtained: Publisher
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: 4 
Bottom Line:  Whimsical & romantic with a touch of scandal.
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Summary:  When Iris unexpectedly inherits her grandmother's house in the country, she also inherits the painful memories that live there. Iris gives herself a one-week stay at the old house, after which she'll make a decision: keep it or sell it. The choice is not so simple, though, for her grandmother's cottage is an enchanting place, where currant jam tastes of tears, sparks fly from fingertips, love's embrace makes apple trees blossom, and the darkest family secrets never stay buried. . . .~Powells.com

Review:  The best way to describe this novel is this:

You recently met a woman. She is funny, witty. You are drawn to her. She invites you over for tea and you go because you can’t wait to find out more about her. She pours you a cuppa and as you settle in for your first sip, she begins to tell you about herself. Only it’s not the basic “favorite color” nonsense, it’s the juicy, nitty gritty stuff. She reveals this to you because she is comfortable with her past and with her family's past. She is not ashamed to tell you because she knows she is interesting and her family is interesting. She is proud of what she came from. She doesn’t mind that soon you will be gossiping to your friends about them either. She knows that secretly you will wish for that life instead of the boring one you have. You enjoy every single second you spend with her.

That is how I feel about The Taste of Apple Seeds. It’s a relatively simple story about a young woman who inherits her grandmother’s house upon her death and spends a few days there reminiscing and deciding whether or not to keep the house. What ensues is a slightly whimsical and romantic tale with a little scandal thrown in there too.

The Taste of Apple Seeds is my favorite kind of book, a book for the soul. It satisfies the heart with juicy bits of morsels. Some I wish I could share with you but as I received an ARC I am unable too. It also satisfies that nosey body in us where we get great satisfaction in learning the scandal and secrets of someone else's family. Some secrets were heartbreaking, others laughable. These secrets are told be a reserved young woman named Iris.

I loved Iris. She was odd and awkward and bold. She had a crazy fashion sense and a tendency to swim in the nude and stalking unsuspecting men. I know these are curious facts to share but these very things add to the Tao that is Iris. She truly was fabulous.

The Taste of Apple Seeds didn’t lose anything in the translation from German to English, although I had to keep reminding myself if Frau references a man or a woman. Overall I enjoyed this novel. It was funny and very interesting but not quite a five for me.
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Julie's Review: While Beauty Slept

Author: Elizabeth Blackwell
Series: No
Publication Date: February 20, 2014
Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam
Pages: 432
Obtained: publisher
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: Not a re-telling but a re-vamping of a popular fairy tale
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Summary: I am not the sort of person about whom stories are told.  And so begins Elise Dalriss story. When she hears her great-granddaughter recount a minstrels tale about a beautiful princess asleep in a tower, it pushes open a door to the past, a door Elise has long kept locked. For Elise was the companion to the real princess who slumbered—and she is the only one left who knows what actually happened so many years ago. Her story unveils a labyrinth where secrets connect to an inconceivable evil. As only Elise understands all too well, the truth is no fairy tale. ~powells.com

Review: I wasn't sure what to expect going in to this book but when I closed it I am so happy I picked it up. While Beauty Slept takes the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty and turns it on it's nose. Sure the story is about the beauty who sleeps but it isn't the same story we are familiar with.

The story is told in flashback by Elise, who was once the close confidant of both Queen Lenore and Princess Rose. Elise is the backbone of this story. We see everything through her eyes. We feel everything as she does. When she arrives at the castle she is quickly taken in by Mrs. Tewkes and shadows a young chambermaid, Petra. Elise is a quick study and is quickly assigned to Queen Lenore's quarters. Due to her nature and hard work, she lands the coveted spot of handmaid.

As with most kingdoms, there are one or two family members who are not happy with the way King Ranolf is handling the affairs. Not only that but there is no apparent heir to the throne, so that goes to his younger brother, Prince Bowen. We all know that there ends up being a Princess, Princess Rose to be exact.

Ms. Blackwell follows the story we know well about the beginning of Rose's life but it's the in-between and end that she takes liberty with. I loved this about the novel. I loved learning about Rose's life in the castle. She was a bold, young girl who turned into a bold young woman. She wanted to be less sheltered, than she was and took some risks to test the limits.

It's hard to review this novel without giving away key plots. Ms. Blackwell is a gifted storyteller and she makes the story of Sleeping Beauty hers. I look forward to her next novel. I will say if you are a fan of fairy tales and/or re-telling of them, then While Beauty Slept is for you.


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Alice's Review: Silver Linings Playbook

Summary: An enchanting first novel about love, madness, and Kenny G. The Silver Linings Playbook is the riotous and poignant story of how one man regains his memory and comes to terms with the magnitude of his wife's betrayal. During the years he spends in a neural health facility, Pat Peoples formulates a theory about silver linings: he believes his life is a movie produced by God, his mission is to become physically fit and emotionally supportive, and his happy ending will be the return of his estranged wife, Nikki. When Pat goes to live with his parents, everything seems changed: no one will talk to him about Nikki; his old friends are saddled with families; the Philadelphia Eagles keep losing, making his father moody; and his new therapist seems to be recommending adultery as a form of therapy. When Pat meets the tragically widowed and clinically depressed Tiffany, she offers to act as a liaison between him and his wife, if only he will give up watching football, agree to perform in this year's Dance Away Depression competition, and promise not to tell anyone about their contract. All the while, Pat keeps searching for his silver lining. In this brilliantly written debut novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat's mind, deftly showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective. The result is a touching and funny story that helps us look at both depression and love in a wonderfully refreshing way.

Review:  One of my favorite movies from last year was Silver Linings Playbook .  When I learned it was based on a book by Matthew Quick, I knew I had to read it.  I normally only read books written by women authors, a book has to be pretty special for me to break that rule.  This book was. 

Pat Peoples is close to overthrowing Alan from Adi Alsaid’s SomewhereOver the Sun as my favorite male fictional character.  Pat was broken.  He was so not perfect.  I love a character layered in flaws and hope and that’s exactly who Pat is.  He is a study of optimism.  The story begins with Pat’s release from a mental institution (which he refers to as the bad place) and into his mother’s care.  What follows is Pat’s road to recovery as he makes his way back into the arms of his wife, Nikki.  At least, that’s what he hopes but we all learn that sometimes life gives you what you need and not what you want. 

With each experience, Pat learns more about what his behaviors were to get him into the “bad place” and what he has to do to continuously see the silver linings.    It’s quite a journey for him especially since his support system doesn’t really know how to help him.  He has a father who cares more about Eagles football than his own son’s mental health, a mother who treats Pat more like a five year old rather than a grown man, and a therapist who straddles the line between friend and doctor.  Now throw into the mix a feisty stalker names Tiffany with her own set of problems and you can understand how difficult recovery is for him and how wonderful it makes his journey. 

I adored many things about Silver Linings Playbook.  I loved Mr. Quick’s approach to mental illness.  He conveyed the severity of Pat’s illness however, he throws in the right amount of realistic humor.  I also loved the well-rounded characters.  This novel straddles a fine line between doing what is necessary to help someone who has mental issues without either cradling them or pushing them further into their depression.  Silver Linings Playbook gives us only a peek into what his family was going through.  I loved Pat’s mom and the relationship Pat had with his brother.  I loved the Asian Invasion and Pat’s doctor.  Even though I am far from a football fan, I didn’t mind all the football talk. 

The one thing I didn’t like was Tiffany.  She was nuts and I don’t mean that as a slight to mental illness.  She was dealing with her own demons after the death of her beloved husband.  Grief was her undoing.  She took crazy chances.  The one thing I will commend her for is her courage.  She wasn’t afraid to put it all on the line for Pat.  I wonder if I would have felt differently about Tiffany if the novel was written in third person rather than from Pat’s point of view.  Perhaps spending some time getting to know Tiffany away from Pat would have given me greater insight. I think it was smart to write this novel from Pat’s point of view only.  I had an idea of what his family was going through and had Mr. Quick dove further into their experience, I know I wouldn’t have liked Pat as much as I did.  Truth is, the novel wasn’t about them.  It was about Pat. 

Simply, this novel is wonderful.  I absolutely loved it.  One thing I learned and am trying my best to apply to my life is Pat’s sound advice…

“Practice being kind, not right.”

Final Take:  4/5
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Julie's Review: Children of the Jacaranda Tree

Summary: A country divided by revolution — a people united by love...Neda is born in Tehran’s Evin Prison, where her mother is allowed to nurse her for a few months before the arms of a guard appear at the cell door one day and, simply, take her away. In another part of the city, three-year-old Omid witnesses the arrests of his political activist parents from his perch at their kitchen table, yogurt dripping from his fingertips. More than twenty years after the violent, bloody purge that took place inside Tehran’s prisons, Sheida learns that her father was one of those executed, that the silent void firmly planted between her and her mother all these years was not just the sad loss that comes with death, but the anguish and the horror of murder. These are the Children of the Jacaranda Tree. Set in post-revolutionary Iran from 1983 to 2011, this stunning debut novel follows a group of mothers, fathers, children, and lovers, some related by blood, others brought together by the tide of history that washes over their lives. Finally, years later, it is the next generation that is left with the burden of the past and their country’s tenuous future as a new wave of protest and political strife begins. Children of the Jacaranda Tree is an evocative portrait of three generations of men and women inspired by love and poetry, burning with idealism, chasing dreams of justice and freedom. Written in Sahar Delijani’s spellbinding prose, capturing the intimate side of revolution in a country where the weight of history is all around, it is a moving tribute to anyone who has ever answered its call. ~powells.com  

Review: Books about the Middle East are not something that I'm typically drawn to, besides Khaled Hosseini. Children of the Jacaranda Tree seemed interesting enough for me to dive right in. Plus the cover is stunning. Unfortunately for me the cover is where it stopped being stunning.  There wasn't one character that I got attached to during the novel. Yet all of the characters are intertwined and share similar experiences. I don't always need to get attached to enjoy the book but I do need to feel compelled to read about the characters.

There is no doubt that the Iranian people suffered at the hand of the Iran/Iraq war and then during the revolutionary years. The way in which the government treated their citizens makes me thankful for our rights here in America. It is a compelling look at a country that was ravaged by war.

There is no doubt that Ms. Delijani is a gifted with her writing technique but it was devoid of emotion. She was merely reciting a story instead of letting you feel the story. She tells her characters stories with detachment. I understand that this is somewhat autobiographical and perhaps that is why she writes with detachment because it brings back painful memories.

For me, Children of the Jacaranda Tree had a lot of potential but it fell flat.


Final Take:  3.5/5


Thanks to Diana Franco at Atria Books for my copy of the novel.


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Julie's Review: The Interestings

Summary: The summer that Nixon resigns, six teenagers at a summer camp for the arts become inseparable. Decades later the bond remains powerful, but so much else has changed. In The Interestings, Wolitzer follows these characters from the height of youth through middle age, as their talents, fortunes, and degrees of satisfaction diverge. The kind of creativity that is rewarded at age fifteen is not always enough to propel someone through life at age thirty; not everyone can sustain, in adulthood, what seemed so special in adolescence. Jules Jacobson, an aspiring comic actress, eventually resigns herself to a more practical occupation and lifestyle. Her friend Jonah, a gifted musician, stops playing the guitar and becomes an engineer. But Ethan and Ash, Jules’s now-married best friends, become shockingly successful—true to their initial artistic dreams, with the wealth and access that allow those dreams to keep expanding. The friendships endure and even prosper, but also underscore the differences in their fates, in what their talents have become and the shapes their lives have taken. Wide in scope, ambitious, and populated by complex characters who come together and apart in a changing New York City, The Interestings explores the meaning of talent; the nature of envy; the roles of class, art, money, and power; and how all of it can shift and tilt precipitously over the course of a friendship and a life. ~amazon.com

Review: The Interestings has been much anticipated and it's been discussed via social media but I have to say that overall The Interestings just weren't that. Overall, they were a bit insipid. I understand what Meg Wolitzer is trying to do with this book and while it might have fallen short for me, I know that it'll strike a chord with many readers out there. Isn't that the beauty of books? I think so.

We meet a group of friends that join together at an artistic camp in the 70s. We go along their journey throughout the decades never really being invited in to that circle. We are looking through a foggy window, wiping it off to get a glimpse. The character that rang the most honest to me was Jules, but she wasn't true to herself. She never was her truest self around her friends, even though that's why they liked her. She always felt that she had to fit a mold.

The chapters go back and forth between past and present. Sometimes it's confusing and other times it seems to flow. I do like that we at least get one chapter with each character's point of view, because it gives you a glimpse into their psyches.

There is a lot to discuss in this novel and perhaps that's also a bit much. I don't necessarily feel that a book should touch on every single social issue that's occurred while the characters are alive. Ms. Wolitzer loves her words and you should love words as well if you are going to settle into this one. I also feel that she settles into stereotypes with the women in the book. Ash is beautiful and talented; Jules is funny and homely.

I will say that I really enjoyed Ms. Wolitzer's The Uncoupling and would recommend that one. I found the premise to be far more engaging that this one.

The Interestings will be a favorite among many people but it just, perhaps, wasn't the book for me.

Final Take: 3/5

Thanks to Riverhead Publishing for my ARC. You can also check out the Twitter Read Along discussion by searching #TheInterestings



 

Alice's Review: Eden Close

Summary: A compelling tale of edgy, small-town emotions, lingering obsession, and romantic salvation.  Andrew, after many years, returns to his hometown to attend his mother's funeral. Planning to remain only a few days, he is drawn into the tragic legacy of his childhood friend and beautiful girl next door, Eden Close. An adopted child, Eden had learned to avoid the mother who did not want her and to please the father who did. She also aimed to please Andrew and his friends, first by being one of the boys and later by seducing them. Then one hot night, Andrew was awakened by gunshots and piercing screams from the next farm: Mr. Close had been killed and Eden blinded.  Now, seventeen years later, Andrew begins to uncover the grisly story - to unravel the layers of thwarted love between the husband, wife, and tormented girl. And as the truth about Eden's past comes to light, so too does Andrew's strange and binding attachment to her reveal itself. ~amazon.com

Review:  One thing I know for sure is that I am never disappointed when reading a novel by Anita Shreve.  Her characters and her prose enamor me.  Her novels are lyrical and poetic, the perfect example of less is more.

I thoroughly enjoyed Eden Close.  The novel is told in present time with some flashbacks that establish the mystery that carries the reader through the novel.   The mystery is not the only thing that kept me interested, it’s the characters.  Ms. Shreve writes characters that make me want know their deepest secrets and desires.   There are two major plot twists in this novel, one I guessed and one left me reeling. 

I really enjoyed the character of Eden.  She was such an enigma to me.  Between her antics as a child and young teen, to becoming a recluse as an adult, she was someone I wanted to know more.  I also liked Andrew.  I really understood his desire to know the truth of what happened on that night 17 years ago and his turmoil about his future.

As the saying goes, this Eden Close is an oldie, but goodie.  It renewed my love of Anita Shreve.  It’s not the kind of novel you read for your heart, but it is one you will nonetheless enjoy.

Final Take: 4/5

Alice's Review: Almost Gone

Summary: Brian Sousa leaves sentiment and saudade behind in Almost Gone, a linked collection spanning four generations of a Portuguese immigrant family. In this hardscrabble world, the youth struggle with the secrets left behind by their elders, as their parents fought through the pain and joy of assimilation. Told through various perspectives, Almost Gone is a working-class tale of survival that finds no easy answers, but cuts straight to the bone. ~amazon.com

Review:  I jumped at the opportunity to read this novel.  This is the first time I am reading anything by a fellow Portuguese American and I looked forward to reading a work of fiction by someone who shares my heritage.  I was optimistic especially since this novel promised to encompass the feeling of being an immigrant, of living in two very different worlds.

Because of my optimism, it pains me to say this.  Honestly, I’m on the fence about this novel.  I really liked Mr. Sousa’s writing style.  He is gifted and I know he will have a successful career.  He made me believe I was on a journey though the beaches of Lagos and Brasil. He wrote interesting characters, kept them real and unassuming.   I was there with Scott and Hailey as they dealt with their grief.  I felt Helena’s certainty that a black dog was ruining her husband’s garden.  I understood their pain.  It was beautiful, real.

My concern with Almost Gone is the formatting of the novel.  It reads like a collection of short stories however these stories have characters that are intertwine and skip back and forth though time.  Sadly, the transitions weren’t smooth.  It was well written but too scattered.  Although this was an interesting way to tell the story, it would have benefited from some focus.  Perhaps it would have helped if it was told in chronological order.  The problem was I couldn’t see the point to it all.   There were no resolutions, and too many holes.  More than once, I expected something else and was a disappointed.

What I did enjoy were the characters.  I really liked Scott.  I wish I knew more about him.  I worry about him and how his life changed.  I also loved Scott’s grandmother Helena.  Her story game me chills.  And Paulo’s wife Claire.   Let’s face it, I really liked each character and what they had to give.  I wish they could have given more.  This novel left me with a sense of bitterness.  As I was reading Almost Gone, I came to realize that each character was bitter.  That bitterness they felt didn’t come from what each character didn’t have or what they were denied, it comes from knowing they had the opportunity to do something different and they chose not to.  Man, I love stuff like that. 

On a personal note, I thought this novel would be more in line with my story as a Portuguese American and it was far from it.  Maybe my family is the exception to rule.  I could understand where the characters where coming from but it wasn’t my story.  It made me sad for them.  Made me wish they would have done something.

Overall, I am glad I read this novel.  I look forward to reading Mr. Sousa’s future work and I will recommend Almost Gone to my Portuguese and Brasilian friends.  I think anyone who knows what it’s like to build a life in one country when their heart still belongs to another will appreciate Almost Gone. 

Final Take: 3/5

Julie's Review: The Art Forger

Summary: On March 18, 1990, thirteen works of art worth today over $500 million were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It remains the largest unsolved art heist in history, and Claire Roth, a struggling young artist, is about to discover that there’s more to this crime than meets the eye. Claire makes her living reproducing famous works of art for a popular online retailer. Desperate to improve her situation, she lets herself be lured into a Faustian bargain with Aiden Markel, a powerful gallery owner. She agrees to forge a painting—one of the Degas masterpieces stolen from the Gardner Museum—in exchange for a one-woman show in his renowned gallery. But when the long-missing Degas painting—the one that had been hanging for one hundred years at the Gardner—is delivered to Claire’s studio, she begins to suspect that it may itself be a forgery. Claire’s search for the truth about the painting’s origins leads her into a labyrinth of deceit where secrets hidden since the late nineteenth century may be the only evidence that can now save her life. B. A. Shapiro’s razor-sharp writing and rich plot twists make The Art Forger an absorbing literary thriller that treats us to three centuries of forgers, art thieves, and obsessive collectors. it’s a dazzling novel about seeing—and not seeing—the secrets that lie beneath the canvas. ~amazon.com

Review: The Art Forger is a thriller with a deep understanding of what it takes to be an artist and painter. So much so that I found myself a little in over my head with it at times. Sure I took the requisite Art History class but never went into detail like Ms. Shapiro does with Claire and her skills. Ms. Shapiro takes great care to explain the way that Degas painted and the way that Claire paints. At times, I felt myself buried in details but unlike some books, I knew that there was a reason for this level of description. It is about 1/4 of the way through the book where it starts to pick up the pace. You begin to wonder how deceitful Aiden was with Claire. Was he? Why is she not being fully honest with him as well? Are they both self-preserving?

Claire is a wonderful character to get to know. She is not without her flaws, which makes her that much more enjoyable to go on the journey with. She has a tainted past that is slowly revealed through chapters that flashback to three years prior. It isn't that you can't figure out what happened to Issac but it's Claire's actions to right a wrong that are intriguing.

Sure there were times when I thought that Claire was a bit out of her realm and might be in over her head but I loved that she was determined to get to the truth. Initially it wasn't just for herself, but in the end it turned out that she needed the truth to be told as much as anyone. 

I can't imagine the research that Ms. Shapiro had to go through to get the accuracy of Degas' painting techniques and those that Claire and Issac used as well. Not to mention the ins and outs of the purchase and sale of art, both legal and illegal. There is a statistic in the book that if true, it shocking to me, that as many as 40% of what we think are true masterpieces are really masterful forgeries!!! Wow!!

The Art Forger is a stunning and thrilling debut novel. It has piqued my interest to go into Chicago and visit The Art Institute again. I was there a lot during college. If you are looking for a different type of thriller, then this novel is for you.

Final Take: 4.75/5


 

Alice's Review: The Distant Hours

Summary: It starts with a letter, lost for half a century and unexpectedly delivered to Edie’s mother on a Sunday afternoon. The letter leads Edie to Milderhurst Castle, where the eccentric Blythe spinsters live and where, she discovers, her mother was billeted during World War II. The elder Blythe sisters are twins and have spent most of their lives caring for their younger sister, Juniper, who hasn’t been the same since her fiancé jilted her in 1941. Inside the decaying castle, Edie searches for her mother’s past but soon learns there are other secrets hidden in its walls. The truth of what happened in “the distant hours” has been waiting a long time for someone to find it. In this enthralling romantic thriller, Morton pays homage to the classics of gothic fiction, spinning a rich and intricate web of mystery, suspense, and lost love. ~ amazon.com


Review:  It’s no secret that I have been reading The Distant Hours for a month.   The slowness was definitely contributed to the novel been nearly 600 pages, or a brick as I liked to refer to it.  It was formidable, intimidating.  I would read and not feel like I was putting a dent in it.  It was discouraging.  I think I would have given up on it weeks ago had it not been for the List Swap Challenge Julie and I are participating in.  I’m glad I didn’t give up on it because this has been one of the best reads of the year for me.

This novel incorporates many of my favorite reading loves.  I love novels about sisters, I love romance, I love heartbreak, I love novels set in the 40s.  I love reading about women and how they interact with each other.  I love the secrets, the vulnerability in revealing truths.  The Distant Hours is all those things and more.

Ms. Morton’s writing style is poetry.  The mere size of the novel is testament that she did not leave any stones unturned.  This novel was well researched, thought-out.   She bounced back and forth between 1941 and 1992 with ease.  I was never confused or confounded. 

She writes such strong, beautiful women.  Each of the sisters, as well as Edie, Meredith, Lucy, and Rita, were multidimensional characters.  I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each one.  One of the stunning truths of this novel is that although each woman had strength of her own, they were more or less control by one man and his secrets, Raymond Blythe.  He was the catalyst in The Distant Hours.

Shroud in mystery, Ms. Morton’s gift is revealing these in an unexpected way.  Just like Edie, I would begin to think one thing, convinced I had it figured out and then Wham! – Here comes the truth and it would leave my head spinning and feeling awed, impressed how easily I was fooled and how the truth was there all along.

This novel was such a pleasure to read.  It reminds me of the kind of novel you curl up to on a cold, rainy or snowy night.  It’s comfortable, it makes you think, it keeps you guessing.  Maybe it’s the castle setting, maybe it’s the relationship between the women.  Maybe it’s the women individually.  There is just something so wonderful about this novel that each minute spend reading it is like getting to know a new friend.

And just how it was highly recommended to me, I highly recommend The Distant Hours to you.

Final Take: 5/5

 

Alice's Review: The Murderer's Daughters

Summary:  Lulu and Merry's childhood was never ideal, but on the day before Lulu's tenth birthday their father drives them into a nightmare. He's always hungered for the love of the girls’ self-obsessed mother; after she throws him out, their troubles turn deadly.  Lulu had been warned to never to let her father in, but when he shows up drunk, he's impossible to ignore. He bullies his way past Lulu, who then listens in horror as her parents struggle. She runs for help, but discovers upon her return that he's murdered her mother, stabbed her five-year-old sister, and tried, unsuccessfully, to kill himself.  Lulu and Merry are effectively orphaned by their mother’s death and father’s imprisonment, but the girls’ relatives refuse to care for them and abandon them to a terrifying group home. Even as they plot to be taken in by a well-to-do family, they come to learn they’ll never really belong anywhere or to anyone—that all they have to hold onto is each other.  For thirty years, the sisters try to make sense of what happened. Their imprisoned father is a specter in both their lives, shadowing every choice they make. One spends her life pretending he's dead, while the other feels compelled, by fear, by duty, to keep him close. Both dread the day his attempts to win parole may meet success.  A beautifully written, compulsively readable debut, The Murderer's Daughters is a testament to the power of family and the ties that bind us together and tear us apart. ~amazon.com


Review:  I could probably sum up this review in five words or less:

The Murderer’s Daughters is marvelous!!

Go buy it and read it immediately.  Seriously.  I remember when Julie told me about this novel (Julie's review), the plot intrigued me because it was about sisters and a subject matter I couldn’t fathom.  When she included it in our challenge, I looked forward to reading it.   

There are many great things in this novel.  Ms. Meyers gave us two strong female characters.  I liked each sister equally, appreciated what they went through and how they developed into the woman they become.  I loved how Ms. Meyers took us through their lives, from the traumatic incident through adulthood.  I was enthralled by the great detail she employed in describing the emotional journey the sisters took. 

I loved that The Murderer’s Daughters is written through both Lulu and Merry’s points of view.  It was fascinating hearing in their own words how their mother’s death affected them.  I especially enjoyed when they spoke to each other, knowing they were at times holding something back.  I loved that Ms. Meyers held true to the characters throughout the novel.  She didn’t alter their core to fit the story. They moved through the novel as we do through life, taking what is handed to us and making something of it.

One of the greatest surprises for me was how I felt about their father.  I flat out hated him in the beginning and I was surprised by how my view of him changed throughout the novel.  I’m far from cheering for him, but I did gain a reverence for him with the actions he took in his rehabilitation.

I will leave you with this.  This isn’t a brand new saying, I’m sure we have all heard it before in many different way.  However, this resonated deeply with me this time around and like The Murderer’s Daughters, it will stay with me for seasons to come. 

“Then I’d calm down and remind myself for everything there is a season.  This was my healing season.  Eventually the leaves would all fall and new leaves would grow back.”  ~Merry

Final Take: 5/5

Julie's Review: The Weird Sisters

Summary: Three sisters have returned to their childhood home, reuniting the eccentric Andreas family. Here, books are a passion (there is no problem a library card can't solve) and TV is something other people watch. Their father-a professor of Shakespeare who speaks almost exclusively in verse-named them after the Bard's heroines. It's a lot to live up to. The sisters have a hard time communicating with their parents and their lovers, but especially with one another. What can the shy homebody eldest sister, the fast-living middle child, and the bohemian youngest sibling have in common? Only that none has found life to be what was expected; and now, faced with their parents' frailty and their own personal disappointments, not even a book can solve what ails them... ~amazon.com

Review: OK, I'll admit it.  The last time I read Shakespeare was in high school but that doesn't mean I don't want to read him; I would just prefer to do so in an academic setting. So, when I heard that there was this fabulous book out called,  The Weird Sisters and the Bard woven into it, I was intrigued. I had it on my wish list for months but with all the other books staring at me, I patiently waited. I'm so glad that I read it now.
I loved it! I loved the relationship or non-relationship between the three sisters: Rose, Bean and Cordy. It was as if they all existed to each other but none of them knew each other, let alone had any grasp of who they were without being tied to their name and their birth order.  I always look for character growth when reading a character driven book and Ms. Brown succeeded resoundingly. What I liked is that they found out who they were without changing the essence of who they already had become. They learned how to be themselves without each other; they came into their own.

Ms. Brown wrote each sister so that as a reader you identified with each at various point throughout the book. At different points in the novel you want to shake or smack one of them for their behavior or sometimes lack of behavior. The two sisters who really truly came into their own were Rose and Cordy. Bean still has a little bit of a ways to go before she feels comfortable with who she is and what she's doing. Their parents play an important part in who they are, but don't they in all of us?

Sometimes when you love a book and it touched you emotionally, it's hard to write a review because you don't want to go all "fan girl" over it. This is how I am with The Weird Sisters. It is such a wonderful novel full of family drama, Shakespeare quotes and beautifully written passages. Too many to sit here and quote.

Thanks to Penguin Books USA  I had a beautiful paperback copy to read. I have to say it is fun doing the Twitter chat about the book as well. Plus the author, Eleanor Brown joins which has enhanced the novel even more.

I will say that I highly recommend this book to anyone. It is about family shapes the perception of ourselves and of those that are the closest to us. That no matter how far we try to escape our family, they are the ones we always come back to. They are the ones who accept us for who we truly are; the good, the bad and the ugly.

Final Take: 5/5

Group Review: The Marriage Plot

Summary:  It’s the early 1980s—the country is in a deep recession, and life after college is harder than ever. In the cafés on College Hill, the wised-up kids are inhaling Derrida and listening to Talking Heads. But Madeleine Hanna, dutiful English major, is writing her senior thesis on Jane Austen and George Eliot, purveyors of the marriage plot that lies at the heart of the greatest English novels.


As Madeleine tries to understand why “it became laughable to read writers like Cheever and Updike, who wrote about the suburbia Madeleine and most of her friends had grown up in, in favor of reading the Marquis de Sade, who wrote about deflowering virgins in eighteenth-century France,” real life, in the form of two very different guys, intervenes. Leonard Bankhead—charismatic loner, college Darwinist, and lost Portland boy—suddenly turns up in a semiotics seminar, and soon Madeleine finds herself in a highly charged erotic and intellectual relationship with him. At the same time, her old “friend” Mitchell Grammaticus—who’s been reading Christian mysticism and generally acting strange—resurfaces, obsessed with the idea that Madeleine is destined to be his mate.


Over the next year, as the members of the triangle in this amazing, spellbinding novel graduate from college and enter the real world, events force them to reevaluate everything they learned in school. Leonard and Madeleine move to a biology Laboratory on Cape Cod, but can’t escape the secret responsible for Leonard’s seemingly inexhaustible energy and plunging moods. And Mitchell, traveling around the world to get Madeleine out of his mind, finds himself face-to-face with ultimate questions about the meaning of life, the existence of God, and the true nature of love.


Are the great love stories of the nineteenth century dead? Or can there be a new story, written for today and alive to the realities of feminism, sexual freedom, prenups, and divorce? With devastating wit and an abiding understanding of and affection for his characters, Jeffrey Eugenides revives the motivating energies of the Novel, while creating a story so contemporary and fresh that it reads like the intimate journal of our own lives. ~product description

Jenn's Review:  One of the marvelous things about our reading challenge is that it gets each of us to step outside our genre comfort zone.  That being said, this book is not of a genre I particularly enjoy.  I wouldn't say I had low expectations for this book, I was actually quite hopeful... I'm really looking forward to reading Alice's and Julie's reviews, because maybe they can point out something I missed, because I don't get it.

Seriously?  That's it?!?  I feel like I just sat through Remains of the Day again.  I just kept waiting for something to happen -anything to happen- and nothing ever did.  I would say that the story ends right where you expect it to, but, no, I actually think it ends just before that (perhaps as an effort to prevent anything from happening?).  I am a firm believer that a story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end.  It's why I don't write.  I only ever have two of the three.  For me, The Marriage Plot was all middle.

The characters were mildly interesting, but I wasn't really attached to them  I think it's actually a credit to Jeffrey Eugenides writing style that he kept me engaged enough to not set the book down.  It reads like three separate diaries and while I'm not sure why I should have taken an interest in any of them, I found his narrative style enjoyable.  However, I found it extremely odd that Madeleine has no genuine female friends.  I know dealing with mental illness can be isolating, but this detail was just downright strange. I'd chalk it up to the fact that we just didn't see them because the story was about her relationship with Leonard (and her lack of relationship with Mitchell), but those are exactly the things you involve your girlfriends in. It just doesn't fit.

Though I liked Jeffrey Eugenides narrative style, I obviously didn't care for his narrative. I didn't feel like any of the characters really learned anything or changed.  They were just amplifications of who they were when the novel began.  I hope my friends can enlighten me.  I'm mystified.

Final Take:  3/5

Alice's Review:  One of the many reasons I like challenges is it brings me out of my reading comfort zone. I wouldn’t have picked The Marriage Plot in a million years. I can’t remember the last time I read a novel in the literary fiction category. After reading this one, I know why.

Two things trouble me about literary fiction. The first is the use of ten-dollar words when nickel words work just fine. The second is using 100 words for something that could be said in five. This book is all about the big descriptions. Mr. Eugenides loves to go on and on. And on. Granted, he does it very well but after a while, I was speaking to my Kindle saying “spit it out already!”

I read this waiting for something to happen. Nothing happened or at least it felt like nothing happened. The novel follows the lives of three people who meet in college: Madeleine, the smart and beautiful girl who took the chance on love; Leonard, the charismatic but troubled boy warring with his inner demon; and Mitchell (my favorite), the visionary and seeker. The novel begins at graduation and ends a couple years later with each character passage into adulthood. Some journeys were literal but all were emotional.

Considering how difficult it was for me to get into this novel, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I am not sure if it was because of writing itself, of Mitchell and his journey, or if I was glad it was finally over. I really enjoyed how Mr. Eugenides filled the holes of the story with each person’s point of view. I loved the “two sides of every story” basis. As much as I criticize the wordiness of this novel, I think it is essential to reveal the inner workings of the characters. I like that the novel felt unfinished. That Madeleine, Leonard and Mitchell still had a way to go, their journey far from over.

If it wasn’t for the challenge, I wouldn’t have read this book. After reading it, I probably won’t recommend it unless someone wanted a good stick to your ribs novel, one that feeds your brain more than your soul. And truth be told, I’m not in a rush to read anything else by Mr. Eugenides.

Final Take: 3/5


Julie's Review: This was my pick for the GJR Challenge and while I've read Eugenides before, I was wondering if The Marriage Plot would live up to all the hype. It did and it didn't. While it was a solid book, it wasn't great. I felt that I was taking up residency in 3 people's minds that were a bit self-involved, which didn't make them likable at first. I did feel like the book had a beginning, middle and end but we just came into their lives for a certain snapshot of it. The book was more character driven than plot driven. So, if you didn't like them or identify with them or even care about them, the book would be a bore.

I will say that off the bat it took me a bit to get into the book and well honestly made me feel a little less than smart. I had to look up a bunch of the authors on Madeleine's bookshelves and what the heck semiotics meant. Once I got past the pretentiousness of the book, I started to enjoy it. I wanted to know what was going to have to the threesome. I loved that we got to see all three characters through each others eyes. It always gives you a different perspective. Since it was character driven, I need to talk about each of them separately.

Leonard: It's not that he's difficult to like but I had a very hard time understanding the attraction or appeal of him. I couldn't quite wrap my head around why the girls on campus thought he was hot stuff and then what it was that Madeleine saw him. Then I got it, he was intense and brilliant. He really listened to you. He was engaged in conversations, he looked people straight in the eye and made them feel important.

Unfortunately, Leonard became engulfed by his disease; manic depression and in the end it made him into someone else. Mr. Eugenides did a great job of describing Manic Depression and how it not only affected the person afflicted with it but also those around them. Do I think Leonard loved Madeleine? Yes I believe he did. He was a complex character because of being manic. Would Leonard ever fulfill his own brilliance? I can honestly say that he probably does not, which is sad.

Madeleine: For me she was the least likable character of the three. She lived in her head and in her books for far to long to understand what real life really was and how to deal with it. She wanted to rescue Leonard from himself because she was so in love with him, she thought she could. She was trying to learn about love from a book, instead of just living it. Every feeling or thought she had about love, had to be validated by A Lover's Discourse by Roland Barthes.

She had no sense of who she was when she was with Leonard. She became another appendage of his. Therefore, we had no true sense of who she was either.  It was in small flashes during the book that I really felt I could see what she could be, if she just let herself. In the end, Madeleine will probably go on to be a pioneer in Women in Literature studies at some university since in a book is where she feels most comfortable. For me, she lived her life on the sidelines instead of being in the game.

Mitchell:  He is perhaps the easiest of the three to like and identify with, at least for me. At first he's a bit like a puppy dog in regards to Madeleine. He is so desperate to have her, he becomes a bit desperate himself. The best thing he did for himself was go on his trip and yet he couldn't escape thoughts of Madeleine. I had to wonder if he was in love with her or if he was just infatuated with her because he couldn't have her?

He was the only character to really grow and change. Did he necessarily find what he was looking for in India? Probably not but as most people learn and he will to, life is about constantly learning and constantly searching. He is the one in the end who had the most peace, even if it wasn't through religion like he had pursued. He was the one that I championed for throughout the book.

In the end, the book was about growing up. Finding out who you are or in some cases who you aren't. It's about that weird stage in life where you go from being a student to having to be a self-sufficient adult. Some make the transition well and some will struggle their whole lives to figure it out.

Mr. Eugenides is a truly gifted writer and if this book had been written by someone else, it would have faltered. It's his eloquent writing that takes you through to the end. If you haven't read Eugenides yet, then I suggest starting with Middlesex. Also, Mr. Eugenides doesn't write a book annually, I will continue to read him because his books are intriguing and so well written.

Final Take: 3.75/5