The Turtle House

The Turtle House by Amanda Churchill, 296 pages

In 1999 Texas, architect Lia Cope has hit a wall with her career and moved back home, where she shares a room with her grandmother, Mineko. Mineko recently moved in with her son and daughter-in-law after her house burned down. The forced proximity of Lia and Mineko has led to bonding, as Lia records Mineko's stories from her youth in Japan through her immigration to the United States. But when Mineko is forced to live in a senior living facility, the pair plots a course to recreate the titular Turtle House, a long-lost beloved place for Mineko.

While the stories of Mineko's life in Japan, and as a WWII Japanese bride for an American soldier, are fascinating and engrossing, the more modern elements, particularly Lia's tale of college and the run-up to her return home, falls a little flat in comparison. I kind of wish it had simply been a historical fiction story of Mineko without Lia's involvement. Oh well.

Nobody will tell you this but me

Nobody will tell you this but me: a true (as told to me) story / Bess Kalb, read by the author, 220 pgs.

A heart warming story of the relationship between a grandmother and granddaughter.  Neither gets along great with the woman in between (the authors mother) but have such a strong bond there is no room for another.  Told in the voice of the grandmother, we get snippets of phone conversations, emails, and voice mails.  Through this we learn about Bobby Bell's life, mother and daughter.  The author tells her own story. In some ways the perfect Jewish grandmother, she gives lots of advice to her granddaughter and reveals so much about herself.  I loved listening to this audio wherein the author takes an authentic voice for grandma and makes you feel like you know her a bit by the end.

Circus Mirandus

Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley  292 pp.

I re-read this in preparation for the Treehouse Book Club. It's the story of Micah whose dying grandfather needs a miracle. As a child Grandpa Ephraim was promised a miracle by the  "Lightbender" at the magical Circus Mirandus but he chose to save it instead of using it immediately. Now he wants the Lightbender to honor his promise but the Lightbender is trying to renege It's up to Micah, with his friend Jenny in two, to visit the magical circus and convince the Lightbender to keep his promise behind the back of Aunt Gertrudis, Ephraim's unpleasant sister. The strangeness of the circus in the story brought to mind The Night Circus.

My grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry

My grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry / Fredrik Backman, 372 pgs.

Elsa is almost eight years old and has no friends her own age. She does, however, have a devoted granny who appreciates everything about her. The two are delightfully eccentric and drive everyone in their apartment building crazy with their antics. The building is full of interesting characters, all of whom Elsa has known her whole life. When her Granny dies, Elsa finds out that she is missing a few details about all those around her. She is tasked with an adventure to find and deliver final letters to everyone. It is a great learning experience and adventure for her. She discovers that the long fairy tale she has heard is based on people in her real life. Elsa and the cast of oddball characters are charming and this book is fun to read.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman  372 pp.

Elsa is a bright seven year old who people call "different." She is bullied at school and tries to hide it from her parents and her grandmother. Elsa's grandmother is her best friend, companion, and protector. Grandmother is also quite bonkers and does things like climbing the zoo fence after hours and throwing poo at a policeman and shooting people with a paintball gun from her balcony. She has also led an amazing life that Elsa knows nothing about. Grandmother also regales Elsa with tales of a mysterious land where everyone is "different" and no on has to act normal. When Grandmother dies she leaves Elsa a mission to deliver letters to people she has wronged in some way. While delivering these letters Elsa learns much about the people who live in their apartment building and how they are connected to her, her grandmother, and each other. There is sadness, humor, and much that is touching in this story that mostly turns out well.

Flying Couch

Flying Couch: A Graphic Memoir by Amy Kurzweil  291 pp.

As the title says, this is a memoir in graphic novel form. Parts of the book are about the author's life, education, career, and her relationships with her mother and grandmother, But much of it is about her grandmother's life and how, as a young Jewish girl, she managed to hide from the Nazis and not get sent to the camps where the rest of her family died. Because of the grandmother's blonde hair and blue eyes she was able to escape the Warsaw ghetto and by pretending to be a gentile, she survived. The black and white art is full of motion and helps to convey the author's tale. This book was previously reviewed by Patrick.

Flying Couch: A Graphic Memoir

Flying Couch: A Graphic Memoir by Amy Kurzweil, 298 pages.
Kurzweil tells the story of her anxiety-laden childhood, of her relationship with her mother and with her grandmother. As Kurzweil grows, travels to Israel, and to Stanford, she relates more of her grandmother's story. Grandma Lillian Fenster was born Luba Skorka, and was confined to the Warsaw ghetto when the Nazis came. She had blonde hair and could pass for a gentile, and was able to sneak out of the ghetto to find food for her family. She alone of her family survived the Holocaust.
Kurzweil's art is interesting and moves the story along well.

A Tale for the Time Being

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki  422 pp.

This is an intricate story within a story. Sixteen year old Nao is horribly bullied at her school in Japan. Her father is has been out of work since the dot com bust and has unsuccessfully attempted suicide. Nao has decided she will commit suicide also because her life is so horrible. She wants to first write about the life of her 104 year great-grandmother, a Buddhist nun. Nao's story is discovered by Ruth who lives on Canadian island on the Pacific Coast. She finds the "Hello Kitty" lunchbox containing Nao's writings and an vintage wristwatch on the beach after the devastating 2011 tsunami hit Japan. Debris from the Japan is turning up on west coast beaches. Ruth and her husband get caught up in Nao's story which includes elements of Buddhism, visits from spirits, World War II, and teen-age angst. This is a novel that sucks you in and you don't want to put it down because there are so many mysteries to figure out.  

Our Souls at Night

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf  179 pp.

Spoilers ahead. This slim book chronicles the gentle relationship between two lonely septuagenarians. In a small Colorado town, widowed Addie Moore calls her neighbor, the widower Louis Waters to invite him to spend the night just as a comfort to each other. They spend their nights together lying in bed, holding hands, and talking, nothing more. When the town begins to talk about them, they go public with their slightly more than friendship. Addie's and Louis' children protest the relationship because of their age--unmarried old people sleeping together, the horrors!--even though at that point no sex had occurred. And Addie's son, an emotionally damaged man, is convinced Louis wants to marry her and take her money. Louis and Addie have a nice summer and Louis becomes friends with Addie's young grandson. In the end Addie succumbs to her son's emotional blackmail and breaks off her relationship with Louis. That whole situation sparked a lot of emotion in me, mostly anger that Addie's son is treating his mother the way he does and that she does not stand up to him. I know if one of my kids pulled that on me I wouldn't go down without a fight, but I think they know that. :-)

Half a Man

Half a Man by Michael Morpurgo  53 pp.

Michael Morpurgo (War Horse) does an excellent job of relating the horrors of war and its effect on people in a gentle, heartwarming way. In this slight book a boy relates the story of his grandfather, who was horribly disfigured when the merchant ship he sailed on was torpedoed during World War II. The boy does not know the whole story until his grandfather tells his story when the boy has graduated from school.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry / Fredrik Backman 372 pp.

From the author of the lovely A Man Called Ove comes a tale even more packed with characters and events but which lead, alas, to a less satisfying reading experience.  Elsa is seven and different; her best friend is her grandmother, an off-the-wall retired surgeon who makes a lifestyle of causing incidents such as frightening the neighbors by hiding inside a snowman and tacking pizza slices on Christmas wreaths.  Together they spend their days having adventures in the imaginary land of Miamas until Grandmother's days come to end.  Then, Elsa is sent on a dangerous quest to bring peace to her multi-family apartment building, which involves hidden letters and real predators.  Fanciful and sweet but with an artificial quality; Ove was a much more real character than anyone in this story.