Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult

 I confess I'm not a huge fan of Jodi Picoult. I have friends who buy her books as soon as they are released (which seems like every other month) and they devour them. Over the years I've read one or two of her novels and just felt kind of meh. But I knew this one was about Covid and a friend said it was wonderful and the library had a copy for me to download, so I gave it a try.

Jodi does her research. In fact, at the end of this novel is a note from her telling how she virtually wrote this entire book without leaving her house and did her extensive research online. One of my complaints about her writing is that she has so many facts and so much information that she feels she needs to write it ALL into the novel.... which makes the reading kind of awkward. 

I knew there was a big twist and so as I read, I was waiting for it. In the first half of the book, everything seemed very predictable so I spent most of my time trying to figure out when this twist would come. And when it did..... well, I just didn't see that coming. 

So did I love it and will I now join my friends in reading everything Jodi writes? Probably not, but I do think she did a good job with the second half of this book and made it an interesting read. - June

The Sentence by Louise Eldrich

As I read The Sentence, there were moments when I thought, "this book is brilliant". And then other times I wondered where in the world it was going. Is it possible that the author set out to write a certain plot line, and then at some point, COVID hit and so she just wrote that into the novel? And then George Floyd was killed, and since the setting of the novel is Minneapolis, she just included the protests in it too? And at some point, did the plot line shift?

It doesn't matter. I love the way this author writes. There are funny little thoughts that Tookie has, and you will love her for them. And she writes in a bookstore, so she has lots of recommendations for future reading. (Side note - Louise Eldrich owns a bookstore in Minneapolis.) The bookstore has a ghost which is also part of the story. There are just lots of moving parts in this novel, but it works and I loved it. - June

The Personal Librarian by Victoria Murray & Marie Benedict

What a story!!! This is historical fiction, and it portrays the story of Belle DeCosta Green, the woman who was the personal librarian for J. P. Morgan. She was responsible for helping him in acquiring and organizing his collection for the Morgan Library in NYC. Of course, a woman in this role was highly unusual at the time, but the real surprise is that she was Black and passed as a white woman! I had never heard of Green before, so her life and story were all new to me. Several people questioned Belle's background, and after looking at her photos, I can see why. But apparently she pulled off passing as white throughout her entire life.

This could have been a phenomenal book. It just needed a better author and editor. Unfortunately, her story is told by people who were knowledgeable and well-researched, but wrote in a manner that was often repetitive and overly dramatic. I usually understand something if I'm told once. Sometimes it's good to hear it again because I'm old and forgetful. But I'm insulted when it's repeated over and over.

I've also discovered that I struggle with historical fiction in general. Detailed conversations between J.P. Morgan and Belle....... did they happen? Maybe? The book references a "longing" they had for one another that they both chose to deny. She was 20-something, and he was in his 50's, fat and married, and (after looking at his photos) unattractive. Hard to imagine. So much of the "fiction" part of a book like this is simply the authors' imagination.

One part of her story that can be documented is her affair with Bernard Berenson, a fellow art-lover who was married and lived in Italy. She wrote him hundreds of letter during their relationship that spanned decades. She destroyed all of her personal papers before she died, but Berenson saved hers. Currently, the Morgan Library is working to transcribe all of her letters and make them available to the public. 

There is another book about Green that is more biographical and might be more fact-based. I'd recommend that one instead. - June

The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony

 Such an interesting book about a wildlife preserve in Africa where they are given a herd of elephants. At first the elephants are angry and fearful, and they keep trying to escape. However, the owner of the preserve develops a bond with the herd, and soon follow him and allow him to come close to them. The most interesting part to me was the way the elephants communicate with one another - how they can find the other elephants without calling out. It was fascinating. But sorry, BT, there are no giraffes on the preserve. - June

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

 It took me way too long to read this. Just too much goofing off this summer and not reading. Or maybe it was because I didn't want this one to end? The Great Believers is about the AIDS epidemic in Chicago in the mid-1980s. The focus is on Yale, a young man who is in a group of friends who all are living in fear of this deadly virus. They are all smart, creative, loving people who are faced with one terrible diagnosis after another. 

Another story is about Fiona in 2015. Fiona had a brother who was one of Yale's close friends who died from AIDS. She's in Paris trying to find her missing daughter. The two stories somehow come together at the end to tell the complete version of what happened to all the characters.

Highly recommend this one.

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

 A year ago, our wonderful local bookseller gave a book talk, and this was one of the many books he highly recommended. I guess I assumed that it was story taken from Hamlet so it appealed to the English major in me but I didn't rush out to buy it. However, I was wrong.

This is the story of Shakespeare's wife, Anne (also known as Agnes) and his family. William is a part of the book but a minor character and his name is never mentioned. He is simply known as Agnes' husband or Judith's father. Hamnet (or Hamlet) is Anne and William's son.

This book is beautifully written. Entire chapters could be pulled from the book and read independently and they are marvelous. I highly recommend this one. Really. It's great. - June

Update several months later - I had to reread this book so that I could lead the discussion at the book club meeting. And I admit that I liked it even more reading it the second time! Excellent book.

The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan

Let me say first that I love Lian Dolan. I've never met her, but I've listened to her radio shows and her podcasts for years. I feel like she's a friend. The Satellite Sisters is a funny, warm, entertaining podcast, and their FaceBook group is made up of fun-loving, intelligent women. Lian is one of the sisters who hosts it all, and she does a fabulous job.

Of course, Lian has been promoting her book on the podcast, and I wanted to give it a try. I knew the premise (after their father's death, three sisters find out their father also had another daughter) and thought it might be a creative read. I guess I'd say it was like a Hallmark movie. I got caught up in how it would possibly end but along the way, it was frustrating. Each sister has a unique personality, and she is described the same way over and over. There's a lot of focus on their clothing, their hairstyles, even their makeup. I know this is part of the character description, but it was repetitive. And I just knew that the book couldn't end until each of the sisters found a handsome man. So while I won't recommend that you read the book, I do highly recommend you listen to the podcast. I'm sorry, Lian. - June

The Cold Millions by Jess Walter

Don't you love how books can take you to a place and a time that you have never even considered before? How about Spokane in the early 1900's. There are two brothers, Rye and Gig, who jump freight trains and try to get by with day jobs. They become involved in the unions and the fight for fair pay. There's an interesting cast of characters, some of whom were real but most are fictional. It's also a book about brotherhood and betrayal. 

And at a time when women were not treated as equal, the female characters in the book are strong and outspoken - and wonderful! The writing is superb!

Definitely recommend this one. - June

The Night Portrait by Laura Morelli

Oh no! Not another WW2 book! I can't take any more!!!

But wait..... this one is a little different. Actually, each WW2 book takes a little different slant, it seems. This one is all about art - the creation of the art, the theft of the art treasurers, and the people who saved the pieces and returned them to their owners. 

Like so many novels, this work of historical fiction jumps around in place and time. We are with Leonardo di Vinci as he paints his masterpiece, Portrait of a Lady with an Ermine, and the woman who sat for the portrait, Cecelia. We also meet Edith, a German art restorer who is recruited to help in locating and moving paintings for the Nazis. And we also follow Dominic, an American soldier who is stationed in Poland during the war and assigned to help protect the Monuments Men.

The writing is good but sometimes things jump too quickly from one storyline to the next. And the author tends to state the obvious and is a tad repetitive. However, I did enjoy the book and think it's a fascinating topic. So I do recommend it. -June

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

This is one of those odd book titles that doesn't make a lot of sense to me so I keep forgetting it. But the book itself is quite good. It's the story of two families who live next door to one another. The book starts in the 70's and both the husbands are policemen. Something happens that changes the dynamics of the two families from that day on through multiple decades.

It's a story about mental health, forgiveness, family bonds, parenting and more. I guess I was hoping for a more dramatic ending, but I'm in the minority. Most readers loved the way it ended. I won't give anything away.

Recommend it. - June

Writers and Lovers by Lily King

Love, love, love this book. Sometimes a book just hits you, and this one was a great read! I've been struggling with reading during the pandemic, but the world and I seem to be coming out of it. I could hardly put this one down.

The wonderfully written novel is about Casey, a 31-year-old woman who is broke, living in the back of a garage belonging to a friend or her brother, while she tries to earn some money as a waitress. And she is also trying to write a novel. The story is about this period in her live as she struggles with her creativity, her relationships, and her grief after losing her mother. So much is going on in her life and yet not all that much really happens in the book. The writing is fun, poignant, and thought provoking. Just really enjoyed this book.... can you tell?  -June

P.S. And anyone who has been a waitress at some point in their life can relate to the restaurant scenes.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

 I found this to be a very good book with a number of difficult themes: race, identity, starting over, relationships with sisters, relationships with mothers and daughters, LGBTQ, and the list goes on. The first half is about two twin sisters who live in a tiny town in Louisiana. The residents of this town are light-skinned and Black. When the twins are teenagers, they run away from home together. After being away from their hometown for a few years, one of them leaves the other to begin a new life "passing" as white.

This book, like so many others, jumps from time to time and from character to character. We learn about the love lives of the twins as well as their daughters. And, of course, all of them come together at different times to reveal their lies and struggles.

It's well written but on several occasions I felt the author was preaching and repeating - which is always something that bugs me. There's just no need to say the same thing 5 different ways. But overall I do recommend this book for the memorable characters. - June