Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Here's a funny story. A book-loving friend sent me a few book recommendations and included a note saying Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I wrote her back and said that life is too short to read books that are just "fine" so I'll pass on that one. Ha! Good thing she responded and corrected me because Eleanor Oliphant is a whole lot more than just fine!

As we meet Eleanor in the book, we see a judgmental, socially awkward, and just plain weird woman in her late 20's living in Glasgow. There are times in the book where she will make you laugh, but when you begin to learn more about her life, your heart will break for her. It's a story about the power of friendship and impact that friends can have in changing your life. And how a person who is raised in a dysfunctional environment can overcome the trauma. Definitely read this one. -June

The Power by Naomi Alderman

I've said it before and I'll say it again and again.... I just love it when an author comes up with a unique idea... be it quirky or crazy.... and then pulls it off in a novel. Of course, one of my favorites in this department will always be Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. But I was prepared to dislike The Power. My Mother-Daughter book club selected this one, and it was one of the young Millennials who chose it. As she described it to the group, the Boomers were eye-rolling and trying to keep a neutral face. A few weeks later, one of my friends declared it to be "unreadable" and forced herself to finish it just so she could discuss her hatred for the book at our meeting.

Needless to say, my attitude was not positive as I opened it up. But I was pulled in... slowly at first, and then full on. I thought the obvious parallels the author drew between men having power over women and what might happen if this were reversed were brilliant. She described how men feared women and were afraid to walk the streets alone at night... something all of us know well. In this time of Me Too, this book was a perfect read and ideal for discussion. And it's one I never would have picked up on my own without someone pointing it out.  The goal of our book group is to share ideas across generations. Check that box for this book. - June

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

Have I mentioned I just finished all six seasons of The Americans? Yes, that is why it has taken me months to get through this book.

This is the perfect book to take on an airplane. It doesn't require a lot of brainpower, but it certainly keeps your interest... especially once you get about 1/3 of the way into it. I was kind of lulled into a sense of predictability while reading this book and almost thinking I'd give up on it. And then WHAM! Things twisted all over the place! And then another twist and then another.

If you liked Gone Girl or all the other books that have been written since then that say they are similar to it, you'll love this one. I won't say more because I really can't without giving things away. But just hold on and enjoy the ride. - June

Bettyville by George Hodgman

This book is at once hilarious, poignant, insightful, clever, sad and you must read it!  I'll admit I bought it for my Kindle because the blurb stated that is was about a man going home from New York to a tiny town in Missouri to care for his aging mother (Betty) AND it was $1.99.  I'm only half way through, but feel strongly enough about it to recommend (demand?). - BT

A Few Recommendations from BT

I just finished a couple books I would recommend: Becoming Nicole (the "which bathroom should a transgender use?" case in the northeast that hit the news mid 2005'ish).  Not only is the narrative around the actual case fascinating, heart breaking, joyful, hopeful, depressing, but I also appreciated the physiological treatment of human sexuality.

I accidentally bought Before We Were Yours (by that I mean, I paid full price) and found the plot intriguing as I usually wonder how an author invents a plot, begins a tale sufficiently interesting enough to take you inside the story, then fleshes out the characters and adds enough twists to bring you to the end...even if the end seems a bit contrived.  How about that sentence?!? (Well, I just went to your blog because I wondered if you had read this. And, sure enough, not only had you read it but we agreed--and are, apparently, in the minority)

I read Go Set A Watchman and admit disappointment, but chide myself for that assessment since Harper Lee was older than we are when she finished it?  (And then she died.)  Disturbing but likely at least partially accurate depiction of the "post war" southern mentality.  It made me wonder if the popularity of  was, in part, due to the fabulous movie and Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, my hero...

I'm reading Open City...another "Best Book" selection.  We'll just see about that!😊 - BT

A Book of American Martyrs by Carol Joyce Oates

My sweet daughter-in-law gave me this novel for Christmas this year. She said she read reviews of the book and really thought I'd like it. Did she realize it is over 700 pages long when she ordered it? Yikes! I could hardly lift it! I've read other books by this author and I know she has an excellent reputation, but starting a book of this size takes courage..... and the realization that this will take some time. So I took it to Florida thinking I'd read it there. Never touched it. And although it is most certainly not a "beach book", I saved it for summer.

In the first chapter of the book, a doctor who works in a women's clinic and preforms abortions is gunned down by a member of a pro-life group. The murder is described in detail and the book moves in many directions from there. The author describes how this event affected both the family of the doctor and the family of the shooter, especially their daughters. While I would guess that the author is pro-choice, she does a wonderful job of presenting both sides to a very emotional issue.

Oates is a great writer; there is no doubt about this. However, the book could have used a bit more editing to get it down to a manageable size. But I did find that the more I got into the book, the more I liked it and became invested in all of the characters. When I get the chance, I'm sending this one to you, BT. I don't think I know anyone else who will take the time to read it other than you. And it's worth the time. -June

Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance

There's been a lot of buzz about this book ever since it came out last year. I've heard that it's something we should read to try to figure out how Trump's base thinks and why the people in Ohio and Kentucky flocked to support him. And I think it accomplished this. It does portray a family and way of life that certainly is different from what I know. For that, I was glad I read it. However, it wasn't an enjoyable read for me. -June

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

What's wrong with me? Everyone loves this book. It gets fabulous online reviews. My friends can't stop talking about it. At my book club, I was the only one out of 18 people who said, "It was just OK" as everyone else babbled on how it was their favorite book of the year.

It has two story lines and while I often like the technique of a current story and a story in a different time, I only liked one of the stories here. In the 1930's, southern children were being taken away from their parents, put in the Tennessee Children's Home, and then sold to wealthy families. This part of the story is true. In the novel, we follow one young girl, Rill, and her struggle to keep her siblings together through this horrible ordeal. This was a great story.

The second story line takes place in the present time and is about Avery Stafford, an attorney from a wealthy, political southern family, who is home to help her family through a health issue. She's engaged to marry a family friend, but it's oh-so-very clear from the moment she meets Trent that her fiance is toast. The author lost me when she went into detail on Trent's looks including his ripped abdomen. I knew then how Avery's story would end. I love a good love story, but this one was just too predictable.

But then I'm the only one on the planet who questions this novel. I suppose you should read it and decide for yourself. Or just read the parts about Rill and skip over Avery. - June

Birds of America by Lorrie Moore

I don't usually choose to read short stories. They remind me of reading assignment in school where we had a huge literature anthology that included poems, essays, and short stories all bound together. I only remember The Lottery; the rest are forgotten. Give me a nice juicy novel to get lost in any day!

My book club reads novels and non-fiction, and to my knowledge, they have never read a book of short stories. So I proposed this one not having read it and only knowing that it gets great reviews. And it was supposed to be funny. I love funny. But when I read a review and I heard what the stories were about........ a woman who accidentally killed a baby, a couple finds out their young son has cancer..... I thought that there could be no way that this book has humor. I was so wrong! I can't begin to count the number of times I laughed out loud one minute and nearly cried the next.

Here's just a little example:

"Where am I from?" Agnes said it softly. "Iowa." She had a tendency not to speak up.
"Where?" The woman scowled, bewildered.
"Iowa," Agnes repeated loudly.
The woman in black touched Agnes's wrist and leaned in confidentially. She moved her mouth in a concerned and exaggerated way, like a facial exercise. "No, dear," she said. "Here we say O-hi-o."

Lorrie Moore is my new hero, and I'm determined to read everything she writes. She lives just miles from here in Madison, and I want to be her best friend. I have always had a quirky sense of humor, but so does Lorrie, so I know we could get along. She is a fabulous writer who can pack so much into just one or two sentences.

Here's a quote from one story about infidelity:

Holding fast to her little patch of marital ground, she’d watched as his lovers floated through like ballerinas, or dandelion down, all of them sudden and fleeting, as if they were calendar girls ripped monthly by the same mysterious calendar-ripping wind that hurried time along in old movies. Hello! Good-bye! Ha! Ha! Ha! What did Ruth care now? Those girls were over and gone. The key to marriage, she concluded, was just not to take the thing too personally.

Please read this, BT. I could hear you laughing with me as I read this and I want to know you really are. - June

 

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

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

In hockey you're an experienced player at twenty-five, a veteran at thirty, and pensioned off at thirty-five. Sune is twice that. And with age he has become shorter and broader, he's got more face to wash and less hair to comb, and finds himself annoyed by narrow chairs and poor-quality zippers. - Beartown

I don't know why, but I love this quote.

Here's something you might not know about me. If you were to look at my high school yearbook and if you were to look at my senior picture, there would be a few comments there. One of these would be "avid hockey fan". Yes, I rarely missed a game and I yelled myself hoarse numerous times. But I'm not sure if I loved the game or loved the players. But either way, when I started reading Beartown, I thought I'd found a fun little book about hockey. And since it's written by the author of A Man Called Ove, a novel I love for it's wisdom and wit, I assumed this book would be the same.

It isn't. Yes, there is a lot in this book about hockey. But it is so much more and so much darker than I imagined. It's about friendship, loyalty, and the importance of belonging. But also about bullying, the "good old boy" mentality, and the obsession with sports.....and much more that I don't want to mention for fear of giving things away.

There are what seems like hundreds of characters in this book, so it can sometimes be tough to keep them all straight. But it's worth it. It's a fabulous book, well written and with characters that will stay with me for a long time. -June