The Shadows We Hide by Allen Eskens

I've been in a reading slump the past few weeks - just too much going on and not focusing on books. I'll get back to them. But in the meantime, I had to drive to central Illinois so listened to this novel on the road.

It's a sequel to the book I read a few years ago, The Life We Bury. In the first book, we're introduced to Joe Talbert, his autistic brother, his mess of a mother, and his girlfriend. As a college student studying journalism, he interviews a prisoner and ultimately proves his innocence.  In The Shadows We Hide, Joe is now a working journalist but he puts all that on hold when he learns his estranged father has been murdered. He goes to the small town where his father lived and mingles with the locals... and once again he solves the mystery.

I enjoyed listening to this book. There were a few things that irked me but I guess they had to happen to move the plot along.... like information just sort of falling into his hands. But I liked the characters and the ending was a surprise.

Recommend this one especially if you liked the first one. - June

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

Whew! I made it to the end!!! The first quarter of the book was wonderful, and the ending was shocking, somewhat satisfying, and revealed that virtually everyone had a secret. But the 400 pages in the middle just dragged for me. When my Kindle said I was just 50% done, I wanted it to wrap up. 

Patch and Saint are teenagers and become friends when both seem to be social outcasts. Something terrible happens to Patch, and it alters his life from then on. The book takes place over the next two decades as both he and Saint try to solve a mystery that affects the lives of many others in their community.

The characters are well developed and the writing is good but maybe sometimes needed some grammar checking?? Or maybe that was just his style. Anyway, I'm glad I finished it because I had no idea how this could possibly end. But I recommend it because I loved a couple of the characters and it's worth reading to get to know them. - June

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

This fabulous novel will take me some time to process. It's the story Cyril Avery, a Irishman, born in 1954 to an unmarried woman and adopted by an eccentric couple who raised him. Cyril knows early in his life that he is gay, and his life in Ireland is filled with bigotry and violence. The hypocrisy of many of the Irish people (mostly Catholic, of course) is front and center. 

The author reveals his life story by skipping 7 years in each section which sounds awkward but it works. As we leap from one part of Cyril's story to the next, we catch up with what has happened in each step. Even with all this leaping, the book is well over 500 pages. But worth it.

Somehow this book manages to be funny, clever, tragic and sad. Some of the dialogue is almost too witty and cute, but it's fun to read. And the ending brings this wonderful cast of characters all together. 

I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend. - June

When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen

When a book is translated into English and it's beautifully written, who should get the credit? The author or the translator? Because it seems it isn't just a matter of throwing the words into Google Translate - there is so much more to it. This book was originally written in Swedish.

This is a wonderful book. It is sad, touching, emotional, lovely. It must be that I'm on a roll with books about elderly gentlemen, and I know few will agree with me, but I prefer this novel to Theo in Golden... although the books differ greatly.

Bo lives alone since his wife has had to move into a memory care facility. He is struggling with normal age issues like balance and muscle weakness, and so his son, Hans, has hired caregivers to come in throughout the day and help him. Most of the book is told in Bo's mind as if he is speaking to his wife. He often brings up old memories or thoughts of her and their life together, and these are constantly interrupted by the present. He keeps one of her scarfs in a jar and opens it whenever he wants to smell her scent. And he finds comfort in caring for his dog. However, Hans feels that he can no longer handle the dog and plans to move it to a family nearby which makes Bo furious.

This book is all about aging and the frustration of having to give up control to children and others to make decisions for us. It's also about regrets and ultimately wanting to make things right with our family and friends before it's too late. 

A nice little touch throughout the novel is there are notes left by the caregivers documenting Bo's activity for the next person who will visit. 

This is one that will stick with me for a while. Highly recommend - June

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

I'm the last among my friends to read this novel. Everyone's been raving about it for months, so I pushed other books aside and was anxious to read this one. It's a lovely story about a kind, generous man who arrives in the southern town of Golden. His background is a mystery but he soon befriends the locals and his kindness is contagious. It isn't until the end that we know who he was and why he chose to live in Golden for a year. 

You know how those first few bites of a sugary cereal can taste really good but after three or four bites your teeth hurt? Terrible analogy, I know, but that's the way I felt reading about Theo. He's this perfectly wonderful man... but after one act of kindness after another, I started to get a little bored. And frustrated with the big "secret" that we'd find out at the end. 

Everyone says that because of all the terrible things going on right now, we all need a little kindness and love. Agree. I'm just not sure I found it here. I guess when it comes to elderly protagonists, I prefer Ove and the woman from The Correspondent. They were more interesting characters. 

Still think you should read it so we can agree/disagree. - June

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

We need to update our wills. I need to give G my passwords and he needs to show me where our financial records are kept. 

Memorial Days is a memoir by Geraldine Brooks, a wonderful Pulitzer Prize winning author, as she grieves the sudden death of her husband. Like her, he was an award winning journalist who packed a lot into his 60 years of life. The book shifts between the days immediately following his death and a time three years later when she goes to a remote island in Tanzania to officially mourn his death. It is a beautifully written memoir and a lovely tribute to her husband, Tony Horowitz, and their marriage.

Definitely recommend it.

Only one little tiny thing nags at me.... she wrote extensively about her solitary life on the remote island and how it helped her heal to be alone with her thoughts. However, in looking up information about the two of them online, I saw a documentary of her trip to the island. So technically she was not alone. There was a film crew with her??  I tell myself that maybe they were just there for a few hours to capture some footage before bolting away to leave her in peace. I'll stick with that. - June

God of the Woods by Liz Moore

I loved summer camp. And this book brought back some memories of the good times there. But it's also a mystery novel about a young teenaged girl who is missing one morning from her bunkbed. She just happens to be the daughter of the owner of the camp, and her brother also was missing years earlier. This is a book I couldn't put down because I wanted to figure it all out. Looking back now, there were some flaws but overall, it was a great read.  There are some very interesting characters although it certainly portrays all wealthy people as jerks. But I do recommend it. 

It would be perfect for a long flight - perhaps to Europe this May??? - June 

The Light of Luna Park by Addison Armstrong

What are the odds that I'd pick up a second book with such a similar plot as the one I just read (Black Cake).... adults seeking the truth about the lives of their mothers. Both mothers made unethical/illegal choices that altered their lives, and they kept them secret from their children who discover them only after their deaths.

This novel gets great reviews and the subject matter interested me. In the 20's in New York, a young nurse who is present during the delivery of a premature baby chooses to take the infant (without the parents' permission) to Coney Island where a doctor has set up a clinic with incubators. Crazy as it sounds, the  Coney Island story is true! There's also a separate story that takes place in the 50's where a young woman is searching for information about her mother. 

In the hands of an experienced author, this might have been an excellent book. But it fell short with all of the melodrama and constant repetition. Overall, I would say that the information about the care of newborns is interesting but not enough to recommend this book.

Should I have been tipped off when the cover shows yet another woman walking away? Why so many books with that same look?

And a crazy little aside.... what is with the reference to "toes"? I did a quick search on my Kindle for the number of times the word "toes" appears and it's 23. She refers to "clenching her toes" (not a sexual reaction), pinching her toes, curling her toes... her toes twitch, unclench, and flex. It got to the point that each time I came across another "toe" reference, I laughed out loud - and that was not the author's intent, I'm sure. -June

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

This novel started out with such promise and I loved the first half of the book. A woman who was from Jamaica dies and leaves a recording for her son and daughter to hear after her death. The recording tells the story of her life revealing many secrets. And granted, she led a very interesting life. However, somewhere in the middle of the book it just becomes frustrating to read it. I started not caring about the son and daughter at all. And the author continually jumped from one time to a different time almost in every chapter - just randomly. 

So I skimmed the end of the book wishing it had been better. - June

More Recommendations from BT

A few books that BT recommends.....

Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker. (This might be my next read)

Unspeakable Things. Dark, chaotic, intriguing

Land of Dreams: easy read. Either a rip off of LaLa Land or vice versa

American Pop: story of soda pop. Fun read

Believing the Lie  - appropriate for today's world

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

I probably wouldn't have picked this one up except that one of my trusted book-loving friends has declared it one of the best books she's ever read. It is a beautifully written novel about three people who live in different places at different times and how their lives are all woven together. They live near rivers, and water is a major theme throughout the book. There's a lot of sadness and violence but the story is compelling. I will confess some chapters felt like I was reading a textbook instead of a novel and I gave myself permission to skim some parts. But I also learned a lot about the Middle East throughout history. 

One of the major issues the book tackles is how museums in Europe and the US (and private citizens) have taken ancient artifacts from other countries to display them in their museums and homes. And how the people of the Middle East have lost these treasures. 

Highly recommend this one. - June

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

Lordy Lordy! This is one of those books I would hesitate to recommend to many of my friends. However, it is a fascinating story and very well written. One of the constant debates in my former book club was if you can like a book if you dislike the main character. If you fall into the category of those who need to relate to the character, you probably won't like this novel. Isabel is not at all a likeable person. She's stuffy, cold, and judgmental. She lives alone in a big house and has no friends. Even her family doesn't like her much. 

The novel takes place in Amsterdam in the early 1960's. When Isabel's brother has to go out of town, he asks Isabel if his current girlfriend can stay with her. The rest of the book is all about their relationship. And I'll just say that it is very intense and very graphic. And at times a little shocking. But I do recommend the book - an interesting character study in a unique time and place. It's also recently won a number of awards. - June