The Postman Always Rings Twice

The Postman Always Rings Twice James M. Cain 4/5	Published 1934 First Sentence "They threw me off the hay truck about noon."
Publisher's Description: An amoral young tramp. A beautiful, sullen woman with an inconvenient husband. A problem that has only one grisly solution--a solution that only creates other problems that no one can ever solve. First published in 1934 and banned in Boston for its explosive mixture of violence and eroticism, The Postman Always Rings Twice is a classic of the roman noir. It established James M. Cain as a major novelist with an unsparing vision of America's bleak underside, and was acknowledged by Albert Camus as the model for The Stranger.
Dear Reader, Can you believe I went into reading this book without ever watching any of the movies or knowing the plot line? Well, I did and you know what? I loved it. It might have been just because of that reason, I didn't know the plot. For anyone who does know the plot, you have to admit that it's pretty darn clever. You have a beautiful married woman who falls in love with a drifter who comes to work with her elderly and fat husband. The two elicit a love affair that turns into something more, plotting to get rid of the inconvenience of her marriage. What do you get when you put two terrible people together, make them fall in love and figure out ways to trust the untrustworthy? A really great story. That's what this is. After reading the book, now I've got to see the movies (especially the 80's version that stars Jack Nicholson & Jessica Lange). Check out some photos from the movie below (the last picture is just so you can check out the young & beautiful Jessica Lange): Lana Turner & John Garfield in the 1946 Movie Version Jessica Lange & Jack Nicholson in the 1981 Movie Version Look how adorable Jack & Jessica look! Love it! She is so beautiful, Jessica Lange with her bewitching stare. Just looking at those pictures makes me want to rush out and get the movies today! I would HIGHLY suggest reading this book before watching the films though. I read them unbiasedly, without certain Hollywood Actors in my mind (which is for the best in my opinion). Back to the book, I want to mention the language James Cain uses. He wrote the character of Frank (the vagabond) as exactly the way you'd suspect. We didn't even need a description, the dialogue alone gives us a rich and colorful view of who Frank represents. The same can be said about most of the characters, especially Cora, which results in extremely well written characters that can stand out without much of a story. However, James Cain gives us that story, and... it's a really fun ride. I felt thrown back into that time period, I could even feel the gritty air surrounding them. Cora shows us the reality of a woman selecting her path in life (to marry and be secure or to be a vagabond herself and wonder where the next meal will come from). So much has changed, yet we still feel for her because the discrimination still exists today. I also fell in love with Frank, even though he's a pretty rotten scoundrel in many ways. I think it's the typical bad boy attitude that got to me. This love story, it's my kind of love story... dirty (not in the sexual way) and honest, the way real relationships depend on trust and hardships. After reading this, I want to check out some more from James Cain. At least I can be secure in knowing the characters will be brightly colored and easily pictured, which is something I truly appreciate in any Author. Happy Reading, AmberBug

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Me and Mr. Booker

Me and Mr. Booker Cory Taylor 3/5	Published 2011 First Sentence "Everything I am about to tell you happened because I was waiting for it, or something like it."
Publisher's Description: Looking back, Martha could’ve said no when Mr. Booker first tried to kiss her. That would’ve been the sensible thing to do. But Martha is sixteen, she lives in a small dull town — a cemetery with lights — her father is mad, her home is stifling, and she’s waiting for the rest of her life to begin. Of course Martha would kiss the charming Englishman who brightened her world with style, adventure, whiskey, cigarettes and sex. But Martha didn’t count on the consequences. Me and Mr. Booker is a story about feeling old when you’re young and acting young when you’re not
Dear Reader, This was definitely a book. I'm not sure if I enjoyed it or what but I kept reading, so that's something. This has been compared to Lolita, and while I can definitely see why... I didn't have that same feeling of disgust. Martha, sixteen and bored with her small town life, meets the Bookers through one of her mother's parties. Lacking a father with any good qualities, it's hardly a surprise that Martha is taken with Mr. Booker. This couple is all glam (especially to a sixteen-year-old), with a keen interest in Martha, taking her out with them on a regular basis. I didn't exactly have anything to gripe about but I wasn't exactly wowed either. Cory Taylor writes a great page, and you definitely get a great feel of who the cast is. I just don't have much to say about anything else. It was a book. It was a book that I read start to finish. It was a book that kept my interest. It was a book.   Happy Reading, AmberBug

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Olive Kitteridge

Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Strout 3 / 5	Published 2007 First Sentence "For many years, Henry Kitteridge was a pharmacist in the next town over, driving every morning on snowy roads, or rainy roads, or summertime roads, when the wild raspberries shot their new growth in brambles along the last section of town before he turned off to where the wider road led to the pharmacy."
Publisher's Description: At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town of Crosby, Maine, and in the world at large, but she doesn’t always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance; a former student who has lost the will to live; Olive’s own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and her husband, Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.  As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life–sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty. Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition--its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires.
Dear Reader,  Yeesh. This book should have been called “Everybody Cheats, Sometime” (with a nod to R.E.M., of course). I couldn’t get past how every single character in the book seemed to either be cheating on their spouse or wanting to. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m the biggest cynic I know, so I don’t think it’s necessarily unrealistic! I just would get my hopes up with each story that it would finally be one with a solid couple for once, and then: nope! Foiled each time. This didn’t influence my rating very much, but it was definitely the thing that stuck out the most! I have had this book on my Audible account forever; I wish I recall why I had added it, specifically. I did finally pick it up though because of the many comparisons to Kitchens of the Great Midwest, and I understand the connections people made: both books tell the story of one woman through the eyes of many others.  I did love the weaving of the stories of the people who reside in a small town in Maine, each interacting in some way with Olive Kitteridge. It was certainly a New England book. And there were some memorable characters and situations. Olive wasn’t my favorite, by a long shot - she was cranky and ornery 99% of the time. But she was definitely a strong character! And it makes sense why the book ultimately revolves around her - the ending sentence really does tie it all up nicely.  This book had the feel of a collection of stories, with the neat added bonus that they often subtly referred to one another. Despite some of the difficult subjects it tackled, t felt cozy and the perfect thing for a snowy day in front of the fireplace. Yours, Arianna

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Twain's End

Twain's End Lynn Cullen 4/5	Published October 2015 First Sentence "Isabel's mother watched her tie on her hat with the look of intense pride and suppressed doubt that is particular to the mothers of grown daughters."
Publisher's Description: From the bestselling and highly acclaimed author of Mrs. Poe comes a fictionalized imagining of the personal life of America’s most iconic writer: Mark Twain. In March of 1909, Mark Twain cheerfully blessed the wedding of his private secretary, Isabel V. Lyon, and his business manager, Ralph Ashcroft. One month later, he fired both. He proceeded to write a ferocious 429-page rant about the pair, calling Isabel “a liar, a forger, a thief, a hypocrite, a drunkard, a sneak, a humbug, a traitor, a conspirator, a filthy-minded and salacious slut pining for seduction.” Twain and his daughter, Clara Clemens, then slandered Isabel in the newspapers, erasing her nearly seven years of devoted service to their family. How did Lyon go from being the beloved secretary who ran Twain’s life to a woman he was determined to destroy? In Twain’s End, Lynn Cullen re-imagines the tangled relationships between Twain, Lyon, and Ashcroft, as well as the little-known love triangle between Helen Keller, her teacher Anne Sullivan Macy, and Anne’s husband, John Macy, which comes to light during their visit to Twain’s Connecticut home in 1909. Add to the party a furious Clara Clemens, smarting from her own failed love affair, and carefully kept veneers shatter. Based on Isabel Lyon’s extant diary, Twain’s writings and letters, and events in Twain’s boyhood that may have altered his ability to love, Twain’s End explores this real-life tale of doomed love.
Dear Reader, Lucky me! I got to read an advanced copy of this (via netgalley & BEA) from a well liked Author (Hi Lynn!) and a topic close to home. Samuel Clemens has so much history in Connecticut and anyone who lives here has been subjected to many Mark Twain themed educational romps. You can't grow up in Connecticut without some knowledge of who he was and what he wrote. I'm curious if people who haven't grown up around here have the same basic knowledge of him... it would be interesting to find out. My guess would be, other towns/states would have their own historical figure to learn about in detail, ours was just Sam Clemens (Mark Twain). For whatever reason, I had a feeling that I'd enjoy this book more than Mrs. Poe, but that wasn't the case. Although I really, really enjoyed "Twain's End", the subject, setting and characters had me more enchanted in Mrs. Poe.  Even though I had extensive knowledge surrounding SC/MT (my new nickname for him), I learned soooo much more from Lynn Cullen. She really dug in deep (just like she did with Mrs. Poe. Something I did know but maybe I should clarify for those of you reading this... Mark Twain is Samuel Clemens and vice versa (almost like an altar ego). Twain was the beloved (his pen name) and Sam was the grouchy/greedy jerk (the majority of the public only saw him as Mark Twain and didn't know he had this other side). Another tidbit I was aware of was the connection he had with a comet, how he felt it would be with the comet he would meet his death. But it wasn't just the background details that I loved so much, Cullen even added wonderful little references to the times (again, reflecting something I loved about Mrs. Poe): "Now I know why he called his stories 'Just So'. But I think he forgot the second 'so'." I know, I know... I'm not supposed to quote until the finished product but that was too good not to share! If it didn't make you giggle a little, you have a questionable sense of humor. Notorious Cigar Smoker There was so much the book had me questioning, "Is it true?", well rest assured that Lynn divulges all at the end, which makes the story even more enriching. For example, I had no idea Mark Twain was close friends with Helen Keller! Check it out: Helen Keller & Mark Twain That's right, Lynn based a huge chunk of the story on an actual meeting that happened. I never knew! Shame on me. Thankfully, Lynn Cullen is giving me the history lesson everyone wants (the gossipy one). Her books should have a tag line of, "These are the things you don't learn in school". Let's just say this woman opened up my repertoire of  fun facts to use while chatting it up with others - especially in Connecticut. I should also mention that the title of this book is very aptly named and will be something you'll discover once you read it... ahem... wink, wink... shove - go read it already!   Happy Reading, AmberBug P.S. - If any of you readers come to visit Connecticut, you should visit the Mark Twain House (one of the biggest 'not to miss' spots in CT): Mark Twain House in Connecticut

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Strong Motion

Strong Motion Jonathan Franzen 2.5 / 5	Published 1992 First Sentence "Sometimes when people asked Eileen Holland if she had any brothers or sisters, she had to think for a moment."
Publisher's Description: Louis Holland arrives in Boston to find that a minor earthquake in Ipswich has killed his eccentric grandmother, triggering a struggle between him, his sister Eileen, and his mother Melanie over the disposition of a $22 million inheritance. During a visit to the beach, Louis meets Dr. Reneé Seitchek, a Harvard seismologist who believes she has discovered the cause of subsequent earthquakes in Peabody. Louis, Reneé, and the Hollands' affairs become entangled with the petrochemical and weapons company Sweeting-Aldren, as well as a pro-life activist commune called the Church of Action in Christ, headed by Reverend Philip Stites...
Dear Reader,  I don’t know why I stuck with this book. It was frustrating in so many ways. But I picked it up at the wonderful Autumn Leaves bookstore up in Ithaca, NY back when I lived there from 2004-2005. I believe it was right around the time I was reading The Corrections, and I figured I might like other Franzen work, as well. This was one of his first publications, and it definitely shows. Every time I read a Franzen book, I not sure whether or not I enjoy it. It’s very odd. I suppose I do ENJOY them to a certain extent, or I wouldn’t read them, but I am not sure whether I like him as an author. I don’t recall much of The Corrections, frankly. Freedom stuck with me much better. But I feel sometimes as if he is a not-so-good John Irving. I may get totally torn down for that, but it’s kind of how I feel. He writes these familial epics which have a ton of promise, but end up falling flat, for me.  In any case, what frustrated me about this book is that Franzen writes well but then shoots himself in the foot but clearly writing like an MFA student who is trying to hard. The section about cars being like mismatched shoes, shuffling around the street? It was painful, honestly. But then he writes gems like: “It was if, in nuclear terms, the configuration of forces had changed and he was no longer an oppositely charged particle attracted to her from a great distance but a particle with like charge, a proton repelled by this other person until they were right next to each other and the strong nuclear force came into its own and bound them together.” I don’t know why, but that struck me. I loved it. Sure, maybe it’s also young-author-trying-too-hard material, and on the wordy side. But it works so well. So I think I kept reading the book because of small jewels like that.  Another frustrating aspect was how confounded I was by the actions of his characters. And he didn’t do this purposefully; they weren’t supposed to be crazy, just normal people. But they constantly reacted in ways I didn’t understand. I kept feeling like I’d missed something. I read books to learn about, get inside, understand other people.I couldn’t do that with this book. I found most of the characters’ actions perplexing in many cases. Someone would suddenly start yelling or acting sullen, and I couldn’t see the impetus. It left me vaguely upset. Like I said, it wasn’t that they were intentionally hard to predict characters. It felt more like Franzen didn’t understand the human psyche as he was writing.  (I’ll admit, my impressions of Franzen may currently be a bit colored by his Iraqi adoption scheme, as well. But I thought this way about the book even before I had heard about that odd little faux pas.) In any case, I have to admit, the book was worth reading (slogging through?) if only for the ending! When the earthquake hit and things started really getting in motion (and storylines began falling into place - and people began acting in more realistic ways!), I couldn’t put it down.  Yet I waffle on whether to recommend this book. I did love the scenes of early-90s Boston, and some of the messages (women's rights, and an interestingly prescient outlook on the equivalent of fracking) from the book. But I can’t 100% recommend someone spend 500 pages on it. Even if the ending really makes it worth it. Yours, Arianna P.S. I began reading this book in April (!) because it was a Franzen book I hadn’t read and we would be seeing him speak at BEA. Well...then I got sidetracked for quite a while from it! And while I tried to read a bit every few days, I didn’t end up being able to pick it up again to focus on until last week. It’s a little weird to think that I’ve technically been reading this book for almost 6 months! Haha.

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The Painter

The Painter Peter Heller 2 / 5	Published 2014 First Sentences "I never imagined I would shoot a man. Or be a father. Or live so far from the sea."
Publisher's Description: Peter Heller, the celebrated author of the breakout best seller The Dog Stars, returns with an achingly beautiful, wildly suspenseful second novel about an artist trying to outrun his past. Jim Stegner has seen his share of violence and loss. Years ago he shot a man in a bar. His marriage disintegrated. He grieved the one thing he loved. In the wake of tragedy, Jim, a well-known expressionist painter, abandoned the art scene of Santa Fe to start fresh in the valleys of rural Colorado. Now he spends his days painting and fly-fishing, trying to find a way to live with the dark impulses that sometimes overtake him. He works with a lovely model. His paintings fetch excellent prices. But one afternoon, on a dirt road, Jim comes across a man beating a small horse, and a brutal encounter rips his quiet life wide open. Fleeing Colorado, chased by men set on retribution, Jim returns to New Mexico, tormented by his own relentless conscience. A stunning, savage novel of art and violence, love and grief, The Painter is the story of a man who longs to transcend the shadows in his heart, a man intent on using the losses he has suffered to create a meaningful life.
Dear Reader, Ugh. This just felt like way too much of a “bro” novel to me. Perhaps it resonates with male readers, but I just could not connect in any way to the protagonist. He was this dude (it actually made me feel a bit as if his attitude was modeled after The Dude) who lives to paint and fish. Which is fine with me - I absolutely don’t have to identify with a character’s interests in order to like them! But Jim just was so … smug, and SO full of himself. He thought EVERY SINGLE WOMAN he encountered wanted to jump his bones. Every. One. It was annoying and offensive. I would have liked to have seen him brought down a peg by a woman even just once in this book, but they instead just compliment him and have sex with him, and generally support him in every way. The women in this book are flat characters, with absolutely no real value other than to play the role of backup singer to Jim. (There’s no way this would pass the Bechdel Test!)  I also realize I am not supposed to base my dislike of a book solely on my dislike of a character - but believe me, I am not. This novel felt as if it never moved. And the premise - Jim just murdering this guy because he saw him mistreat a horse this one time?! It felt like such a stretch. (Even for me, a true blue animal lover!) Granted, the author did a bit of explaining why he felt so protective of the filly later in the book, but I could have used that explanation earlier, because I spent most of the book disbelieving Jim’s motivation. Nothing seemed right about this book, or based in reality. And the ending was SO unbelievable and extremely frustrating. I want to discuss that more, but can’t give away the meat of the book, which I believe is the question of whether Jim gets caught for several illegal acts he committed. I don’t believe there was any other real point to this book then whether this smug asshole could somehow slime his way out of the debt he owes society - whether or not the man he murdered deserved it. (I am a fan of vigilantism, too - and I felt as if the Siminow brothers were certainly slimy - but perhaps I just didn't feel as if Jim, the new guy in town, was the person to make that judgment call.) I didn’t take any life lessons away from this book, that is for sure. And I didn’t even really enjoy myself during a lot of the reading! I kept finding myself drifting, having missed the last few minutes of what I’d read...and then realizing I didn’t care.  My favorite things about this book were the artist’s name - it just seems so fitting - and the scene where he did his study of the twin girls for his commissioned painting. That was the only time I saw Jim as being charming and self-effacing enough to redeem his otherwise awful character.  I added this book to my Audible queue a few years ago because it was getting a lot of hype. I am really uncertain about why it did. I was pretty disappointed.  Yours, Arianna

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The Boston Girl

The Boston Girl Anita Diamant 3.5 / 5	Published 2014 First Sentence "Ava, sweetheart, if you ask me to talk about how I got to be the woman I am today, what do you think I'm going to say?"
Publisher's Description: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Red Tent and Day After Night, comes an unforgettable coming-of-age novel about family ties and values, friendship and feminism told through the eyes of young Jewish woman growing up in Boston in the early twentieth century. Addie Baum is The Boston Girl, born in 1900 to immigrant parents who were unprepared for and suspicious of America and its effect on their three daughters. Growing up in the North End, then a teeming multicultural neighborhood, Addie's intelligence and curiosity take her to a world her parents can't imagine - a world of short skirts, movies, celebrity culture and new opportunities for women. Addie wants to finish high school and dreams of going to college. She wants a career and to find true love. Eighty-five-year-old Addie tells the story of her life to her twenty-two-year-old granddaughter, who has asked her "How did you get to be the woman you are today." She begins in 1915, the year she found her voice and made friends who would help shape the course of her life. From the one-room tenement apartment she shared with her parents and two sisters, to the library group for girls she joins at a neighborhood settlement house, to her first, disastrous love affair, Addie recalls her adventures with compassion for the naïve girl she was and a wicked sense of humor. Written with the same attention to historical detail and emotional resonance that made Anita Diamant's previous novels bestsellers, The Boston Girl is a moving portrait of one woman’s complicated life in twentieth century America, and a fascinating look at a generation of women finding their places in a changing world.
Dear Reader, I have had this book on my shelf for a few months, and actually partly picked it up so I would stop getting the Pushstars song stuck in my head every time I saw it. Plus, my sister (whose taste is uncannily similar to my own) really enjoyed it, and knowing Diamant from The Red Tent, I looked forward to seeing her writing in a more modern setting. I was a little disappointed though, because I think I expected more North End Boston (the one-time home of me and my sisters, at various times) and the book certainly didn't focus too much on that place, although it got its mentions. The book takes place all over Boston, which I suppose is the reason it’s not called “The North End Girl”, and the author does the entire city justice - you can see her love for its history.  I loved the conceptual notion of the main character, Addie: she was a strong, smart, independent first-generation American woman, who figured life out on her own terms. However, as much as I liked her and probably would have wanted to be her friend had I met her in real life, I felt as if there was something missing that didn't allow me to care about her as much as I would have liked. Granted, I couldn't put this book down; I sped through it in two days. But I was unable to entirely connect. Luckily, the story carries the reader along, and there is enough personality in the book from all of Addie’s family and friends that you still do grow to care to know what happens. While the point of the book is only really about the love Addie has for those she holds dear, I found myself tearing up a bit at the end. So that says something. I found the chapter titles interesting: each was a significant sentence pulled from the following pages which embodied the spirit of what was being said. I am not quite sure how I felt about that style. Knowing how things were set up, though, I often found myself flipping back to see what sentence had been pulled from the preceding pages, and taking a moment to ponder the significance. I don’t recall if that is a Diamant idiosyncrasy or if it was just used for this book, but I do think it made me sit for a moment after every chapter to consider the important phrases. I think I liked that.  Overall, the book was a lovely little portrait of a young Jewish girl finding her way in early 1900s Boston. I thought it was a charming story about family and independence. Certainly a great summer read for the beach or a long trip. Yours, Arianna

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Gilead

Gilead Marilynne Robinson 3.5 / 5	Published 2004 First Sentences "I told you last night that I might be gone sometime, and you said, Where, and I said, To be with the Good Lord, and you said, Why, and I said, Because I'm old, and you said, I don't think you're old. And you put your hand on my hand and you said, You aren't very old, as if that settled it."
Publisher's Description: Twenty-four years after her first novel, Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations from the Civil War to the twentieth century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. Writing in the tradition of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, Marilynne Robinson's beautiful, spare, and spiritual prose allows "even the faithless reader to feel the possibility of transcendent order" (Slate). In the luminous and unforgettable voice of Congregationalist minister John Ames, Gilead reveals the human condition and the often unbearable beauty of an ordinary life.
Dear Reader,  I know I was supposed to love this little book. I found it beautiful, and moving at times. But it was so slow. For such a slim volume, it felt like it took me ages to read. And it was so religious! It just wasn’t my cup of tea. I was able to look past the religiosity because I didn’t feel as if that was the writer’s point, but it was glaringly there all the while, as the book detailed three generations of preachers.  With her spare prose, the author manages to write some very memorable moments. She reminds me quite a bit of Faulkner. I felt the wideness of the prairie and the smallness of the town and of John’s life in every sentence. He never strayed far from Gilead, but that suited him. He was a preacher to a small congregation in a small and weary town, one which had an auspicious history but which now feels dusty and run-down. Quiet. Unassuming. And for John, home.  John Ames had a simple way about him, finding joy and beauty in the world, and I did appreciate that about the book. He found joy in the simple pleasures and noticed the smallest wonders, which is a thing I strive for always, and so I found a kindred spirit in him in this. I think I would have loved to have spent some time just sitting with the narrator on his front porch. I liked the juxtaposition of the town’s beginnings and the book’s ultimate conflict (if that is what Jack’s story amounted to), but I feel as if it just wasn’t enough for me. I got drawn in by the stories of John and his father and grandfather, all three very strong personalities in their own ways. But I found I just stopped caring, and I don’t have much interest in what happens to John’s son, when he finally begins to read the pages. The story was quaint, and sweet, and touching. I’ll give it that. And it had a lot of promise. But I just didn’t feel as if I was able to take anything away from it. And I think that should be the point of any book. Don’t you? Yours, Arianna P.S. Not that it should sway you one way or the other, but, just so you know -- this is one of Obama’s favorite books. P.P.S. Full disclosure: I read this for my book club. Would I have picked it up anyway? Probably. It’s been enjoyed by many. And it's a Pulitzer Prize winner, after all.

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The Good House

The Good House Ann Leary 3 / 5	Published 2013 First Sentence "I can walk through a house once and know more about its occupants than a psychiatrist could after a year of sessions."
Publisher's Description: A riveting novel in which an engaging and wildly irreverent woman is in complete denial — about herself, her drinking, and her love for a man she's known all her life. The Good House tells the story of Hildy Good, who lives in a small town on Boston's North Shore. Hildy is a successful real-estate broker, good neighbor, mother, and grandmother. She's also a raging alcoholic. Hildy's family held an intervention for her about a year before this story takes place — "if they invite you over for dinner, and it's not a major holiday," she advises "run for your life" — and now she feels lonely and unjustly persecuted. She has also fooled herself into thinking that moderation is the key to her drinking problem. As if battling her demons wasn't enough to keep her busy, Hildy soon finds herself embroiled in the underbelly of her New England town, a craggy little place that harbors secrets. There's a scandal, some mysticism, babies, old houses, drinking, and desire — and a love story between two craggy sixty-somethings that's as real and sexy as you get.  An exceptional novel that is at turns hilarious and sobering, The Good House asks the question: What will it take to keep Hildy Good from drinking? For good.
Dear Reader, Okay -- is it REALLY that illegal to sleep with a former patient? One you only saw professionally like once before you become involved and thus didn’t treat anymore? Totally unethical, yes. Ugh because they were also both married. Risky to his professional career, yes. But - illegal? I don’t buy it as being such a big thing as they are making it out to be! (Okay, I have learned after doing some research that there are states (anywhere from 15-23 of them) which do have laws criminalizing sexual therapist-patient relationships, and I do get that - there is a vulnerability there which can certainly be taken advantage of - but again, if a person removes themselves from the doctor-patient relationship for that reason, is it then illegal? - of course, we know that the characters in this book could have done no such thing officially, since they were both married…) Anyway! What an odd thing for me to focus on, but I just kept not being able to get past that while reading. Apparently, I should have - it is in fact the reason the author even wrote the book: originally, it was the story of the illicit relationship, but evolved into being the story of a recovering alcoholic, and the reader then sees affair story through her eyes. In other news, I could not STAND Hildy. She and her daughters clearly hated each other 99% of the time. Why were they even in each other’s lives? And she was so self-righteous even when she was clearly in the wrong. And so entitled! Believing she deserved a real estate listing just because she’d known the seller for so long. Granted, okay, I did believed she deserved it too, because she was the only local agent, but...it was just annoying. How she almost threatened Peter over it! I really disliked her right then. Part of it must have been the narrator’s voice. She always sounded so freaking SMUG, about everything! I don’t think she read the book right. Plus, if she wasn’t smug, she sounded like she was just about to laugh with everything she said. I like that SOMEtimes. Not with every single sentence of the book! And let’s not get me started on how awful I thought her Frank voice was…! However, I can’t say I disliked this book, particularly because it was not about the character of the narrator so much as it was her story of recovery - and I understand that the author wrote her very much the way she did so that she could show the true nature of denial and pride that many alcoholics hide behind. So I did appreciate that aspect of the book, and why Hildy had such a grating personality. (I guess I just  couldn’t see why everyone in town seemed to like her, too, though! Maybe it was just her longevity in Wendover...) Oddly, this was the second novel I have read this year where the protagonist has to sort through the broken memories of an alcoholic blackout in order to remember whether a crime had been committed! One of the things I loved best about this book was the strong connection to witchcraft - in a not-fantastical way. As in, Hildy had ancestors who had been tried as witches in the Salem trials, and she felt as if she still had a bit of that nature in her own blood. She was able to “read people’s minds” (a parlor trick she was quite good at) and she called her pet dogs her “familiars,” which I found cute. There was a bit of that old New England feel about the whole town, which I felt connected to - I especially appreciated that it was a story which took place in the North Shore of Boston. It felt cozy and comfortable and familiar to me.  I’d recommend this to a book club, as I think readers will have much they want to discuss. I think it is the perfect book for a group, with all of its layers and subplots. While not a favorite, an enjoyable and well-written read. Yours, Arianna P.S. Until typing out that first sentence above, I hadn't recalled its portentousness!

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At the Water's Edge

At the Water's Edge Sara Gruen 4 / 5	Published March 31, 2015 First Sentence "The headstone was modest and hewn of black granite, granite being one of the few things never in short supply in Glenurquhart, even during the present difficulty."
Publisher's Description: In her stunning new novel, Gruen returns to the kind of storytelling she excelled at in Water for Elephants: a historical timeframe in an unusual setting with a moving love story. Think Scottish Downton Abbey. After embarrassing themselves at the social event of the year in high society Philadelphia on New Year’s Eve of 1942, Maddie and Ellis Hyde are cut off financially by Ellis’s father, a former army Colonel who is already embarrassed by his son’s inability to serve in WWII due to his being colorblind. To Maddie’s horror, Ellis decides that the only way to regain his father’s favor is to succeed in a venture his father attempted and very publicly failed at: he will hunt the famous Loch Ness monster and when he finds it he will restore his father’s name and return to his father’s good graces (and pocketbook). Joined by their friend Hank, a wealthy socialite, the three make their way to Scotland in the midst of war. Each day the two men go off to hunt the monster, while another monster, Hitler, is devastating Europe. And Maddie, now alone in a foreign country, must begin to figure out who she is and what she wants. The novel tells of Maddie’s social awakening: to the harsh realities of life, to the beauties of nature, to a connection with forces larger than herself, to female friendship, and finally, to love.
Dear Reader, This book took a little while for me to get into. However, knowing I’ve enjoyed a couple other of the author’s books in the past, I figured I’d give this one a bit more time. And I am glad I did - the story played out nicely, portraying a young woman caught up in strange madness during WWII. No, not really anything to do with the war, surprisingly! Rather, Maddie’s husband and his friend set off on a mad caper to Scotland, on a hunt for the elusive Loch Ness monster. Whew, I didn’t think this one could end well! I figured the author would either have to refute or “prove” the monster’s existence in order for the book to complete, but that was luckily not the case (you’ll see).  The story started off very promising, it being that of a young newlywed couple going a bit overboard during 1945 New Year’s Eve celebrations. I loved all of the characters presented at the start: the carefree trio of best friends, the staid and snooty parental figures, and the backstories of how everyone interconnected. As in Water for Elephants, Gruen is great at painting vivid personalities while also keeping her characters grounded. The adventure truly begins when the footloose and fancy-free trio set off for an overseas adventure - to prove the existence of Nessie! (Marshall would be thrilled.) Perhaps she should have seen it coming when she was coerced into traveling to Scotland during the height of the war, but this is also when things begin to go downhill for Maddie, as the true nature of her husband and his best friend are slowly revealed. While all of that story seemed plausible enough, I have to say there was another romance which I just did not see happening until I was bludgeoned over the head with it. Ultimately, they seemed perfect for each other, but I felt as if a bit more build up - more of a connection developed between the two - would have been better. Overall, this book was not Gruen’s best (I’d put it on equal ground with Ape House), but I did get drawn into the story, and I certainly cried at the end! And that always says something to me, when a book can make me feel like that. Read this with a book club (there is plenty to discuss!) or as a summer read, especially if you love historical fiction. This will not disappoint. Yours, Arianna

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A Little Life

A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara 5/5	Published March 10th, 2015 First Sentence "The eleventh apartment had only one closet, but it did have a sliding glass door that opened onto a small balcony, from which he could see a man sitting across the way, outdoors in only a T-shirt and shorts even though it was October, smoking."
Publisher's Description: Brace yourself for the most astonishing, challenging, upsetting, and profoundly moving book in many a season. An epic about love and friendship in the twenty-first century that goes into some of the darkest places fiction has ever traveled and yet somehow improbably breaks through into the light. When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they're broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity. Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever. In rich and resplendent prose, Yanagihara has fashioned a tragic and transcendent hymn to brotherly love, a masterful depiction of heartbreak, and a dark examination of the tyranny of memory and the limits of human endurance.
Dear Reader, Is it too much to say this book is one of my all time favorites? Ever!? Well too bad! I'm going to stick by this statement. I haven't read a book that made me cry so hard in a LONG time. A Little Life is tragic, emotional, heartbreaking but beautiful, loving and warm at the same time. Right from the start, we are introduced to this close knit group of friends that intertwine in so many ways but all the lines end with Jude. Jude is the private, quiet but sentimental sweet one. He is also looked out for by the group due to a disability. You don't have to try very hard to love Jude, I guarantee you'll be as head over heals with him as I was within the second/third chapter. Not to say that all the other characters don't have as much to give, because they each have a great personality and story to tell. Malcolm; the ambitious architect, JB; the talented addicted artist, Willem; the theater boy turned famous actor, and Jude; the tortured lawyer. The list of amazing characters doesn't even end there though, we have Harold; the kind old man who mentors Jude and Adam; the overcaring doctor that tends to Jude at whatever day or time is needed. When I first read the description of this book, I have to admit I did an eye roll... ayep. I'm so OVER the friendship stories that span a lifetime, yes... they speak to me and I can relate to them BUT enough of them already! Boy, I was in for a treat. I had read Yanagihara's first book, "The People in the Trees" and really enjoyed it and if it wasn't for that, I probably would have missed out on this excellent piece of literature. I would like to kiss Yanagihara's feet for this book (and I HATE feet). Some parts of this book had that brilliance that we got to see in her first book, like when Harold drones on and on about law, but ultimately, this dribble of a speech is fascinating. Who would have thunk!? Yanagihara, thank you so much for coming into my life! I need more books, please! Let me gift you with a few glorious parts I had to save for later: "Fairness is for happy people, for people who have been lucky enough to have lived a life defined more by certainties than by ambiguities." "His persistent nostalgia depressed him, aged him, and yet he couldn't stop feeling that the most glorious years, the years when everything seemed drawn in fluorescents were gone. Everyone had been so much more entertaining then. What had happened?" "Relationships never provide you with everything. They provide you with some things... don't you see it's a trap? If you keep trying to find everything, you'll wind up with nothing." I think what brought me so close to this book and Jude is that I can completely relate to the way he deals with problems (no, not cutting). Those parts that describe memories like hyenas snapping and hungry, clawing at the door, wanting to break free. I know exactly what that is like, and being able to relate to that brought me very close to Jude. In no way is my life even close to being as messed up but I think anyone who knows what suppressing bad memories is like, will be able to relate to this character. Yanagihara can clearly paint a picture of someones life, I can only imagine she knows what suppressing bad memories feels like (there is no way she did it so clearly without that experience). I have SO much more to say but it would go beyond what is acceptable to talk about in a review. I want this book to be a little surprise to everyone... so before you read this, do what I did and roll your eyes and say, "not again!" Trust me, you'll be in for a big surprise! Happy Reading, AmberBug

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