Frankie by Graham Norton

This was the perfect book for a long international flight. Of course, I was drawn to the book because of it's title. And the excellent reviews on GoodReads. 

Frankie is an elderly woman who has broken her ankle, and Damien is hired to care for her. The two develop a bond, and Frankie tells him the story of her most interesting life. She grew up in Ireland in the 50's, lost her parents as a child, lived in London and New York, and found and lost the love of her life while working as a chef in a NYC restaurant. All this may not sound so fascinating but I did enjoy hearing her story and the people she knew and loved. 

The book also details life in New York in the 80's during the AIDS epidemic. Many of Frankie's friends were gay, working in restaurants and hoping to be actors. Not too many novels tackle this topic but I thought the author handled it well.

I recommend this one. - June

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

I have no idea how an author comes up with a title for her novel, but for some reason this one is hard for me to remember. Maybe it's because the last book I read by Elizabeth Strout was titled "Tell Me Everything". Somehow to me these two titles are connected. Tell me everything or the things we never say. Whatever. 

Anyway, there are a LOT of things I never say. 

I like Strout's characters. Olive Kitteredge is still one of my all time favorites. I'll never get over the scene where she is lying on her bed listening to a conversation about her during her daughter's wedding. But Olive isn't in this novel. Instead we meet Artie. 

Artie is a high school history teacher who appears to the world to be kind, loving, and friendly. Well, maybe he is all those things but he also is lonely and filled with self-doubt. He also feels he doesn't really KNOW people... that there are things we all keep from one another. And then he finds out a big secret that is being kept from him and it shakes his world.

I liked this book, but it also made me really sad. I guess it's a good book if it brings on feelings like that because I care about Artie. I do recommend it. 

P.S. Also, I should mention that Artie has very strong feelings about the current administration. Although the president's name is never mentioned, you know who he's talking about. If you agree with Artie, you'll be fine. And I'm guessing you do.