The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

There are some books that take so long to develop, that I'm tempted to put it aside. As I read this beautiful novel, I admired the exquisite writing but I just was having a hard time picking it up - and was finding it was way to easy to put it down. I almost gave up. BUT I'm so glad I didn't.

The first half of the book introduces the main characters: Yun Ling Teoh, a retired judge who has returned to Malaysia; Maritomo, a renowned Japanese gardner; Magnus, a tea farmer who lives in the Malaysian Highlands, and more. The first half of the book leaves a lot of questions in the mind of the reader. The author jumps around to different times without any headings or other indications that he's now 30 years ahead or behind. And then there's the foreign words that are a mystery. And things are stated but never explained.

But then suddenly the questions start to be answered and the author fills in the holes. And it's wonderful! When my book club met to discuss this book, we all felt that this was a book worth the wait and requires patience. There are so many wonderful themes but I loved the parts about memories and what we remember and what we wish to forget. Just a special, beautifully poetic book. - June

My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

Lucy and I took a road trip together. At least that's the way I feel about it. She sat in my passenger seat and told me the story of her life..... her troubled childhood, her difficult relationship with her parents, her troubled marriage. And she helped make the miles go by as I listened to her stories. She's very articulate and expresses herself well, but there were times my mind wandered as she brought up childhood friends and old boyfriends.

OK, so the truth is I listened to the audio book as I road alone on a trip. The book is short, and so the narration only lasted about 5 hours or so. And as I listened, I kept waiting for a plot, for a change in a relationship or a person to step up show some emotion. That doesn't happen.

Much of the book is spent discussing the time when Lucy was hospitalized and her mother, who she hasn't seen in years, appears at her bedside. She spends five days with Lucy, and they discuss friends from their small town and make up names for the nurses. The do not discuss Lucy's children (who her mother has never met) or Lucy's husband (who the mother doesn't like or acknowledge) or even Lucy's father. I know that relationships don't get fixed in five days, but while Lucy appreciated her mother being there, it didn't seem to change their feelings for one another.

This novel is on many "Best Books" lists, and it gets great reviews from Goodreads. And generally, I like a novel where I can get inside the mind of a character. I loved Olive Kitteridge!! But this one left me wanting more... more plot... more development or change. Just more. -June