Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in US Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man

Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in US Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic, 578 pages.

Vincent and Vladic do an incredible job recounting the history of the Indianapolis, a storied ship, sunk by torpedoes at the end of the war. The authors fill the book with stories of the crew members, stories of the Japanese sailors involved in its sinking, and the lengthy saga of the Captain's court martial and the subsequent attempts to clear his name. The ship itself is central to the story. Indianapolis served as Admiral Spruance's flagship during the war. She delivered the "Little Boy" atomic bomb to Tinian in preparation for its flight and detonation over Hiroshima. Indianapolis was among the last major American ships sunk in the war. And the fact that only 316 men, out of a crew of over 1100 survived the sinking and the almost five days floating in the Pacific, made it, as the title states, one of the US Navy's worst disasters ever. The book explores the various naval failures that led to the huge delay by the Navy in mounting a rescue operation. It was only by chance that a patrol bomber spotted the men in the water days after the Indianapolis had sunk. While there was plenty of blame to go around, and at least two Admirals had some possible culpability, the Captain of the Indianapolis, Charles McVay, was the only man during the war to face a Court Martial for having his ship sunk in battle. The fight to clear his name lasted until 2000.
Vincent and Vladic have written a great book, it's compelling and eminently readable.

Washington Black

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan, 333 pages.
George Washington Black, born a slave in Barbados on Faith plantation, a horrendously brutal place, in the 1820s, finds himself a pawn in the family drama surrounding the plantation owner, Erasmus Wilde. George Washington Black becomes the personal assistant to Christopher, brother of Erasmus, known as Titch. Now known as Wash, his quick wits, and his ability to learn everything allows him to use his situation to his advantage. One day though, the Wilde family drama takes a turn and a cousin's death imperils Wash. Titch and he flee and they soon find themselves far from Barbados and the plantation, hunted by Erasmus and his lackeys. Wash travels to the Arctic with Titch. After tragedy and hardship, Wash continues his journey, from New England, to London, and onward. His explorations and adventures swirl around news of his past at Faith plantation. He often finds himself in danger, and sometimes near despair, but he continues to seek knowledge and peace.  An exciting and satisfying book. It already looks like it will be on many of this years "best of" lists, deservedly so. The downloadable audio is narrated by the always excellent Dion Graham.

Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions and We Should All be Feminists

Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chmamanda Ngozi Adichie, 80 pages.
We Should All be Feminists by Chmamanda Ngozi Adichie, 64 pages.

Two brief, but powerful essays / collections of essays from Adichie, the award-winning author of Americanah. We Should All be Feminists is based on the author's TED talk, and Dear Ijeawele is a series of essays that attempt to answer a friend's questions about raising her daughter as a feminist.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris, 336 pages.

The author based this book on an account given to her by the person on whom the protagonist was based. While it makes for compelling reading, and it is a decent book, I felt that the author did not do a great job in making the protagonist seem like a believable character. Just my opinion. I am willing to believe that the person on whom this story is based was as brave, resilient, and selfless as the author tells us, but I also feel that her telling did not really do that character justice. Or, I believe the story on which it is based, but not necessarily the character in the novel.

Lethal White

Lethal White by Robert Galbraith, 650 pages.
Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacot are back in the fourth of J. K. Rowling's mysteries. Their personal relationship move in fits and starts in this installation, mostly because the detective agency is so busy after their success in the Shacklewell Ripper case in the previous volume. This book opens with a more detailed look at Robin's wedding, giving a recap of the end of the last novel, and then quickly goes through the next year. The case around which Lethal is focused, the blackmailing of a prominent Tory politician, soon takes center stage. Strike is particularly intrigued by the politician's relation to a mentally ill man who had come to their office raving about a child's murder. Is the man raving, as everyone close to him claims, or did something horrible happen on the minister's estate years ago?
As the blackmail case winds to a close, the large cast of suspects and interested parties become suspects in what appears to be another murder. And near-evidence of the alleged murder from long ago keeps wandering in to orbit of the current cases.
 Ellacot and Strike, compelling and likable characters, find their personal lives unraveling and fraying as the main case and a few others, take their toll. The agency has hired a few other detectives, but they're not always reliable. It's a huge book, but it moves along nicely, and all-too-soon it's over and you're facing a long wait for the fifth volume. A great read.

Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America

Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy, 376 pages.
Macy presents a stunning and depressing overview of the current opioid epidemic, traces the twenty-some-year timeline of said epidmic, and explores the marketing campaign behind Purdue Pharma's new OxyContin, a supposedly addiction-free pain-relief compound that fueled its current fire. Macy focuses (many of) her stories in and around Roanoke, Virginia, reporting on the quickly growing problems with OxyContin and prescription opiods, and then with regular old heroin when the supply prescription pills dries up there.
Macy tells the story of Purdue spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on OxyContin-related merchandise, and pushing the "Pain: the fifth vital sign" mind-set among physicians and patients, encouraging the belief that pain-relief, with then new "non-addictive" drugs was the way to go.
There are the stories of many of the individuals caught up in the crisis, drug users and their family members, law enforcement officers, lawyers, doctors and the people at Purdue. An interesting book, shortlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for nonfiction.
The downloadable audio was narrated by the author.

The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife

The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman, 399 pages.
The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman, 326 pages.

I listened to the first two books in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy after listening to the new volume, The Book of Dust, at the end of last year. I was anticipating reading the rest of the new series, but I sort of lost my enthusiasm for the whole thing. Not that the first two books didn't hold up. They're fine as stories, but there's a little too much exploitation of children (sure, for very different reasons in this world) for me, currently. I don't remember liking the third volume quite as much, and given the author's recent comments, I think I will give this series a rest.

Why Not Me

Why Not Me by Mindy Kaling, 228 pages.
The TV comedy writer, actor, and humorist is back with her second book about her life and outlook. Something like that. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author, and enjoyed it. Kaling talks about the two shows she worked on, The Office and The Mindy Project. She recounts how she went from being a writer, to a writer /actor to getting her own show and achieving the coveted status of show-runner. Interesting and fun to listen to.

Reaper at the Gates

Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir, 458 pages.

In the previous volume of this series there was a big shift away from the magic-tinged, but ordinary battle. The battle, fought by people with modest, but helpful powers, shifted from the one being fought on behalf of the downtrodden, the scholars, and others, and against the emperor and against his commandant to one against some more powerful, mythical creatures.
The third (and obviously not the final) volume continues the battle against the Nightbringer and the djinn and the Commandant, who is fighting on their side for her own particular reasons. We're given information to show that the Commandant's motives are maybe not quite purely evil and self-serving, and we're shown that maybe Elias Venturius maybe stuck as the Soul Catcher for a good part of eternity (or maybe not). All-in-all, a fast-paced and engaging middle volume. I'm looking forward to the fourth (and maybe the subsequent) volume(s).

Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House

Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House by Omarosa Manigault Newman, 334 pages.
Other than as a Trump surrogate on the campaign trail and then as a person that people I paid attention to were maligning and making fun of, I was unaware of Omarosa. I had never watched The Apprentice (yes, I am bragging about that) and I was unaware of Omarosa's many other accomplishments. I did start the book with a bias against Omarosa, based on her pro-Trump stance and the things people I like and respect said about her, I found myself believing the author a bit after listening to her narrate this book.. She is obviously a smart woman, and she is used to controlling the narrative and convincing people of what she wants them to believe, and though she has an enthusiasm for reality TV and a poor choice in mentors, she comes across as an honest person who has seen the light about Donald's douche-baggery. As the Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison, Omarosa is able to give us well-formed opinions about Trump, Pence, Kellyanne, Bannon, and others. While she claims to have lingering respect for some members of Trump's inner circle, Melania, and to some extent Eric, she is now willing to acknowledge that the Trump side is dishonest, cult-like and that Trump is a sexual abuser and that he definitely said the n-word. More interesting than I thought it would be.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, 327 pages.
So I am the last one I know among the readers with whom I work to read Eleanor Oliphant. Here is what Linda, Kathleen, Christa, and Kara all had to say about it.
Eleanor, a woman who had had a horrific childhood, slowly comes to a sense of her life over the course of this book. She discovers that she can move on after a disappointing obsession with a local semi-celebrity, and she learns to start interacting with her co-workers. With the help of her new friends and the advice they give, she slowly puts some of her past behind her.
I listened to this book, mainly because I am listening to a lot of books this year, and I really enjoyed Cathleen McCarron's narration. McCarron does a wonderful job showing the cold and distant Oliphant's depth and her hidden warmth.

Transcription

Transcription by Kate Atkinson, 343 pages.

It's getting to the point that knowing that there is a new book by Atkinson coming can be a light off in the distance that keeps me going.
And while Transcription doesn't necessarily transcend all other recent fiction, in the way that Life After Life or A God in Ruins both did (admit it, they did), Transcription, with its switchbacks, slow motion pursuit, and plot-twists and turns, certainly equals the top tier of current fiction. Transcription is like the Jackson Brody novels in that respect. Juliet At loose ends after the death of her mother, Armstrong finds herself working for MI5. It's 1940 in Endland, and the 18-year-old is set to transcribing the secretly made recordings of meetings of Nazi sympathizers. Armstrong mus make decisions concerning the fates of those she is observing, her coworkers, and agents she hardly knows. Juliet discovers the layers of loyalty and betrayal that exist or that seem to exist. Her choices continue to impact her life as the story continues five years after the war's end. All of the characters are nuanced and finely drawn, and all of the situations and settings are shrouded in a foggy ambiguity. Armstrong, who seems so much older than eighteen, with a confidence that never seems misplaced, but oftne is, must decide who to believe and which path to follow. Fascinating.
The audio is very well narrated by Fenella Woolgar.

Severance

Severance by Ling Ma, 291 pages.

I love post-apocalyptic novels that are less about the grim struggle and more about the nostalgia, and are quietly reflective on the smaller things that were lost, more about the continuity of small sadness after the world has come crashing down. Station Eleven and Colson Whitehead's magnificent Zone One stand out in this sub-genre. And now Severance is there too. This is a character-driven piece of Post-A fiction and Candace is a quiet, likable, and compelling central character.
Candace is rooted in her small apartment in New York, still stuck in the loss of her parents and in the sense that she disappointed them. As Shen fever takes hold, and the world starts falling apart, Candace is left with her job, her photo-blog, and her failing relationship with Jonathan. The book cuts back and forth through time, settling at times in scenes of memory; Candace's parents and their journey to America, and their ongoing battle about staying or returning to Fuzhou, or the recent past with Jonathan, and her work on the Gemstone Bible, or settling into the present with Candace's role as a reluctant member of a survivalist group / low-rent cult, following the not-so-charismatic Bob on his quest to relocate to the mythical and sad "facility" somewhere outside of Chicago. A quietly great book.

Every Heart a Doorway

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire, 173 pages.

After reluctantly returning home after a stint in the underworld, Nancy finds herself shipped off to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, a boarding school for children trying to readjust to life on the everyday earth after having traveled to any one of  a number of fantasy realms. Nancy wants to return to the underworld and her beloved lord of the dead, but finds her quest interrupted by the murders of several of her fellow students. Initially suspected by her classmates, Nancy joins forces with some new-found friends and attempts to stop the carnage. Interesting and fun to read.

Cherry

Cherry by Nico Walker, 317 pages.
A great, somewhat depressing, and moving debut novel by a man who, like his main character, served as a soldier in Iraq, was a heroin addict and a bank robber.
Adrift as a teen in Ohio, the narrator joins the army, not out of a surfeit of patriotism, but more because his girlfriend has changed schools and is due to leave him. Soon he is off to Iraq as a medic, but he doesn't find much in the Army or in Iraq that inspires him. There is no heroism or patriotic awakening in the narrator's experience, it's mostly grim, stupid and wasteful. Once back home, and reunited with his wife, the narrator mostly focuses on his opiod addiction. That's where the bank robbery comes in. Walker presents his characters with a grim humor and empathy and makes the book a compelling read.

A Place for Us

A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza, 385 pages.

The story opens with Amir returning for his sister Hadia
's wedding and then jumps back to Amir, Hadia, and Huda's childhood in California. Their parents, Layla and Rafiq, are devout Muslims and strict parents. Huda and Hadia do their best to please their parents, but Amir chafes at their rules and rebels. Amir blames himself for a lot of his failings as a dutiful son, but as we hear their stories and see the crossroads traveled by the family and the choices they make, we realize that not all the fault is his. But, honestly, most of it is. A pretty good book.

Moby Dick, or The Whale

Moby Dick, or The Whale by Herman Melville, 507 pages.
Melville's classic novel, written in 1851 stands up well to the test of time. Sure it has the racism and sexism of its time, but less so than many works written much later. The broad strokes of the book reflect the prejudices of its time more than the more detailed portraits of the principle characters. Queequeg, Tashtego, and Daggoo are judged by the author (to paraphrase the great MLK) more for their character as whalers than for their color of their skin.
Among these characters, Ishmael, the narrator, and Ahab, the obsessed captain have entered the shared consciousness, as have Starbuck, and Queequeg to a lesser degree. In the book itself we find the other wonderful characters that are also deserving of our attention and acclaim, Pip, Stubb and Flask, are there, as are Tashtego and Daggoo.
Melville's language is as strong as the characters he has drawn. Attributing the formality and cadence of his characters' speech to the Quaker roots of the Nantucketers among them, we encounter  many resounding, colorful, and hyperbolic speeches that jump off the page. Likewise, in his lengthy discourses on "cetology," and other nautical topics, Melville keeps the lengthy narrative flowing.
Not the slog I was expecting at all; a joy to read and / or listen to. The audio, narrated by Anthony Heald, is a lengthy, but enjoyable listen.