Some great books in the last couple of months, as well as some that were good but not necessarily great... In order of reading:
Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen, Susan Gregg Gilmore. This is one I picked up at the last minute in a charity shop because I was waiting for someone in a coffee shop and ended up without a book. It was a nice sort of coming-of-age novel, or a self-discovery novel, or whatever you want to classify it as. Readable, but not earth-shaking. Which is fine.
That Summer at Hill Farm, Miranda France. This was one of those books that I liked fine at the time, but which has left very little impression on me. I remember the plot, but can't really say much about otherwise. Not much of a review!
Life after Life, Kate Atkinson. I generally like Kate Atkinson books, though some I like more than others. This, I thought, was fantastic. Occasionally, I had to stop and think and try to work out how far back we were going into the characters' lives, and therefore what actually had happened and what hadn't, but that wasn't annoying, just took a little thought (kind of like the first time I read The Time Traveller's Wife). The premise is, what might happen if, at a given and crucial point in one's life, something different happens. The story begins with a baby being born and dying. Then it begins again and this time, the baby doesn't die. But at a later point, something significant happens which results in an outcome. Then, the story goes back to that signficant point and whatever it was, doesn't happen, or happens differently, and thus the outcome changes. And so on. It's not always a dying/not dying situation, though that happens sometimes. Anyway, the book is constructed well, and the idea is clever without being so clever that it's only about being clever (pet peeve of mine) and the story and characters really grab you. A real keeper and one I will no doubt read again. I'm sure this will be making my end of year Top Books list.
All Together Dead/From Dead to Worse, Charlaine Harris. And after the seriousness (in some ways) of Life After Life, a little light relief. These are the last two of the Sookie Stackhouse southern vampire series that I had, but there are a few more in the series, so I might get them from the library to finish them off.
The Last September, Elizabeth Bowen. It's funny how much books can be a product of their time, not in content, but in style - this, written in 1929 (ish) is very much a case in point - which isn't a bad time, as I quite like the feel many of the deceptively still and gentle novels of the early 20th century (especially those written by women). Set in Ireland during the war for independence, this seems to be the story of a house party, but things aren't always as they seem, and as is often the case, the inevitable tragedy looms, then arrives.
Black Narcissus, Rumer Godden. Another novel of a certain age, again written in quite a restrained style, with many undercurrents of emotion and tension. This is the story of a group of nuns who set out to make a home/school/hospital in the hills in India and how the place affects them, and the subsequent effects on the community. I thought this was great - looking forward to some more of Godden's novels from this era.
In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez. I know we can't all know everything about history, but sometimes whole sections kind of pass you by - this is how I felt about the history of the Dominican Republic. Most of us know a bit about Haiti (or at least the name Papa Doc Duvalier) but the other half of the island? Not so much, perhaps beyond a vague awareness of a dictator and the usual "disappearances"... This story was based (sometimes loosely) on the true story of three sisters who were in the resistance movement, and killed in the early 1960s for their activities therein. But it's a lot more than that - it's a novel of family, of self-discovery, of freedom, of politics and a good read, too. Another winner.
Sisterland, Curtis Sittenfield. I read (and really liked) An American Wife, by Sittenfield and expected to really enjoy this one as well - and I did like it, but I didn't think it was a patch on American Wife, though it was very readable. And I liked that it didn't take too easy of a way out of a difficult situation near the end, which I won't give away.
1000 Days in Venice, Marina de Brasi. The memoir of an American woman who falls in love with an Italian (Venetian, obviously) and moves there and a bit about her life there. And it's about food, too. However, unlike Lunch in Paris (Elizabeth Bard), which I read a few months ago, I found this one a little unsatisfying, I think because the author keeps vaguely referring to things in her past without really talking about them. Either put them in or leave them out; it's distracting.
There but for the..., Ali Smith. Having read Hotel World many many moons ago, I happily picked this up in a charity shop, and then it sat around for a while, finally picked it up and wondered why on earth I waited so long. Fantastic. Loved the premise (a guy comes to a dinner party, and then goes and locks himself in a room upstairs, but the hostess, not wanting the embarrassment of police, leaves him there. Things ensue.) and the way all the pieces of the story tie together. Another one for the end of the year list.
Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Great novel about life America when you are a "non-American black", from the point of view of a Nigerian immigrant. I thought the explorations of race issues were honest and inforative and presented in such a way that this non-black reader at least could feel like the point was to allow people inside how an African immigrant feels, rather than simply feel guilty. I have very little in common with the main character of the book, other than being a woman and writing a blog [ok, I also am a person living outside my native country, but I don't really encounter race issues], but I had no trouble relating to her. This novel is a great example of what's so important to me about reading fiction - I can read facts about Jim Crow Laws and the US Civil Rights Movement (not that this book is directly about those things) and I can study Nigerian history and read articles about race discrimination in America until I am blue in the face, but nothing makes you begin to feel what it must be like to face these things in your daily life until you identify with a character in a book and get inside their life. Fiction lets you begin, perhaps just a little, perhaps a bit more, to BE another person, with another set of life experiences, and the more you can do that, even if only between the covers of a book, the more you appreciate people who aren't like you, in the real world.
Tinkers, Paul Harding. A Pullitzer Prize Winner, and I can see why, as parts of it are beautifully written. I found it a little hard to follow in places, but generally a small, well-formed novel, parts of which I enjoyed very much. Didn't like it quite as much as the last book I picked up which had won the Pullitzer, though (Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout).
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