The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

Just finished "The Heretic's Daughter" by Kathleen Kent and highly recommend it. It is historical fiction about the Salem Witch Trials unlike any I've read because it is told from the perspective of the young daughter of one of the women hung for a wtich. Some of the passages were so moving and exquisitely written, I dog-eared the pages before remembering that the book wasn't mine (otherwise I would have brought it with me to Oregon). The author is descended from the protagonist. Anita Shreve (one of our favorites) says "The Heretic's Daughter is raw, honest, and completely captivating. Kent takes what would seem to be a familiar subject and gives it fresh, new perspective--moving us through a wrenching gamut of emotions as she does so. A searing look at one of the worst periods in our history." It's a winner! -BT

The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Steig Larrson

OK, I'm the last person on the planet to read this book so I hate to even write my review. But let's just say it is a wonderful book, and I immediately started on the sequel. I did make the mistake of seeing the movie before reading the book, and even though I knew the ending, there is just so much more wonderful detail in the book. Sometimes books that are translated into English seem confusing or unclear, but this one has no traces of that. - June

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

Just finished “A long Way Gone”. True story of a twelve year old boy who was forced to become a soldier in Sierre Leone in the mid 2000’s (just a few years ago) after his family was slaughtered in their village. Heart wrenching. I guess we all need to be reminded of our blessings. - DS

The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman

I really like this author and (I think it's her latest) "The Story Sisters." Now I want to read "The Third Angel" which she wrote before this one. "Here on Earth" was an Oprah selection and we read "Turtle Moon" and "Practical Magic" (made a movie) and the last one I read was "The Probable Future." I think June turned us on to Alice Hoffman, but I've slept plenty since then, so... Anyhoo, this is a page turner, odd, disquieting, sad and Jodi Picoult says "Alice Hoffman has outdone herself" but they probably all say that about one another. I liked this snippet best: "A bewitching weave of psychologically astute fantasy and shattering realism...This is an entrancing and romantic drama shot through with radiant beauty and belief in human resilience and transformation." - BT

The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall

I completely loved reading this book. The author has a style I adore, and I found myself laughing out loud at some of the story lines that may or may not have been intentionally funny. I was happily sucked into the lives of this family of one husband, four wives, and over 25 children. Fortunately, the book focuses on just a few characters, and I found them to be fascinating. I'll admit that the ending caught me off guard. I found myself saying "He/She wouldn't do that! Why did the author throw that in there?" Maybe I missed something along the way, but I'd like to rewrite my own ending. - June

Book Update from BT

The Gathering was stunning with the critics comparing the narrative tone to Joan Didion's "furious, cool grief" and James Joyce's Dubliners. It won the Man Booker Prize in 2007. Another review said "Entrancing, unflinching and insightful....a haunting look at a broken family stifled by generations of hurt and disappointment, struggling to make peace with the irreparable." I liked this summary best: Anne Enright's fiction is jet dark--but how it glitters."

Am thoroughly enjoying Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls (The Glass Castle) and it seems like may a couple of you recommended that? As you recall, Glass Castles was autobiographical and Half Broke Horses is about her grandmother and is sprinkled with sepia-tone photos. I just love her style. -BT

The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg

There are books that make you think, and then there are books that are just light and fun to read. Elizabeth Berg's books fall into the second category. I like to read her books after I've read something that might be a tad dark or depressing. So this was the perfect thing to pick up after finishing Cutting for Stone. And it's a very quick read. This story is about a group of individuals preparing for their 40th high school reunion. Over half of the book is spent presenting the characters and their angst over this reunion. The rest of the book is the actual reunion itself and how it doesn't necessarily play out the way the characters had planned. But as always, Berg's characters end up wiser and happier than they were at the beginning. A fun, quick, easy, mindless read. -June

Cutting for Stone - Abraham Verghese

This book received many rave reviews. The characters are great, and the setting in Ethopia is fascinating. Although I really liked it, I felt there were times it could have been condensed somewhat... the book is over 600 pages! Surgeries are described in minute detail, and I found myself skimming right over those parts. Perhaps if I had a medical background, those sections would have more meaning. But read it to know the characters. I think they will stay with me. -June
P.S. This turned out to be a great book to read and then discuss. My book group spent the entire time talking about it. Very interesting!

Comments from BT

I just read the latest by Michael Chabon (autobiographical): Manhood for Amateurs, The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father and Son. (He also wrote, among others, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay--fabulous book for which he won the Pulitzer for fiction a few years back)
Sample paragraph:
"This is an essential element of the business of being a man: to flood everyone around you in a great radiant arc of bullshit; one whose source and object of greatest intensity is yourself. To behave as if you have everything firmly under control even when you have just sailed your boat over the falls. "To keep your head...when all about you are losing theirs." (Rudyard Kipling) but in reality, the trick of being a man is to give the appearance of keeping your head when, deep inside, the truest part of you is crying out, Oh shit!" It was good.

I LOVED Amazing Adventures but couldn't get into The Yiddish Policemen's Union -- story of a Jewish settlement (60 years after seeing refuge following WWII) in Sitka, Alaska. I read 1/4 and may return to it because the reviews were superb...

And I think I already wrote that House Rules is very, very good--although I may have had an extra interest because of the extraordinary insight into Asberger's Syndrome.

The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano

I suppose it's only fitting that I would buy a book in the Rome airport that is written by an Italian author and, of course, takes place in Italy. But in truth, the book has nothing to do with Italy. It could take place anywhere. It's about two people, Alice and Mattia, who each have secrets and each have major hangups and problems. Yet they are drawn to each other based on what they have in common. Certainly not the best book I've read this year, but a quick, good read. It's headed your way, BT. -June

Welcome to the Great Mysterious by Lorna Landvick

Started out clever but.. About 2/3rds of the way through, I got bored with Welcome to the Great Mysterious. And then it was like she didn't know how to end it, so jumbled a whole bunch of stuff into 5 pages and decided "The End." And predictable, too. -BT

A Friend of the Family by Lauren Grodstein.

Could not put down A Friend of the Family by Lauren Grodstein. I checked it out because the last note on the back cover was by the author of Olive Kitteridge: "What a wonderful and compelling read....You will have a hard time putting it down." One of her quotes is also on the front: "These people will stay in our head and keep their hands on your heart. Grodstein's skills at storytelling are unwavering." -- When I typed heart, I left out the r so it read "their hands on your heat." and, being in a junior-high kind of mood, I almost left it that way. - BT