The Financial Life of Poets by Jess Walker

Can you tell I have a "thing" about Jess Walker these days since I've read two of his books in the past month?  After reading Beautiful Ruins, I started checking out some of his other novels, and Financial Life of Poets was a deal to download on my Kindle.  It's certainly very different from Beautiful Ruins, but both are very well written.  Financial Life is the story of a man who lives with his wife, two sons, and his father who is suffering from dementia.  The man has lost his job as a reporter, and is not able to find another job.  He's days away from losing his home.  Somehow in the midst of all this bad news, there's a wacky sense of humor in the writing.  Then things get really crazy as our main character starts getting involved in selling pot, and he's convinced his wife is having an affair.  And there are several other sub-plots going on at the same time.  It may not be all that believable, but it sure is a fun read.  -June

The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman

Here we go again..... another Holocaust book.  That's kind of the way I felt about picking this one up, but a friend strongly recommended it so I added it to the Kindle.  The book starts off with a bang.  An elderly man who is attending his grandson's wedding realizes that the grandmother of the groom is his long-lost wife.  Now that gets your attention.  The author then goes back in time to Prague before the war where we meet the young woman and man along with their families.  Their stories are fascinating if you enjoy learning and reading about the horror of concentration camps and the torture the people endured.  Hard to read.  But I thought it was quite well written.

My only complaint is an odd one. The couple is separated soon after their marriage, and they continued to love each other throughout their lives.  Every couple of chapters, the author had one character or the other relive those few intimate moments they shared.  I'm no prude, and I think a few juicy sex scenes can be fun to read, but this was kind of soft porn overdone.  Some of these memories go on for pages.  I actually found myself skipping over them because they were repetitive.  But other than this one minor issue, I feel it's a good read.  If you're looking for yet another Holocaust book.  -June

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walker

While planning a recent trip to Italy, I read Nancy Pearl's review on this book.  She raved about it, and since some of it took place in Italy, I decided to add it to the old Kindle to take on the trip with me.  Good decision.  It's always interesting to be in the location of a book.  Actually, the Italy part of the book takes place in the Cinque Terre area of Italy which is a gorgeous part of that beautiful country.  This is one of those books that jumps around in time and from character to character.  The first story takes place in 1962 in Italy where we meet a man who owns a hotel on the coast of Italy.  A beautiful American actress arrives who is very ill, and, of course, the man is fascinated by this woman.  Story number two is in the present time in Hollywood where we meet a famous movie producer and his assistant.  As the two stories progress, they come together, and it's a fabulous story.  Really loved this book and highly recommend it.  -June

Straight Man by Richard Russo

When this book came out in 1998, I remember reading a review in the newspaper and knew I needed to read it.  I'd never heard of Richard Russo (this was long before his Pulitzer Prize) and I fell in love with this book immediately.  I raved about it to all my friends and made them read it.  So now, years later, I forced the book onto my book club telling them it's an all-time favorite.  Reading it now, I still love it, but as I read it this time, I wonder how my book club members will receive it.  I just hope they see the humor there and not just focus on a man who is obsessed with peeing.  The book takes place in one week in the life of Hank, a university professor and chairman of the English Department.  We meet his family and his colleagues who are all unique and, in typical Russo style, quite quirky.  One of my favorites is his secretary who ends every sentence as if it were a question by raising her voice at the end.  All hell breaks lose during this week, and as we read about Hank, it's hard to decide if he's incredibly sane or mad.  But we love him regardless.

I'm glad after all these years I was able to reread this book and know that I still love it.  I'll continue to force it on my friends. -June