The Girl He Used to Know

The Girl He Used to Know: a Novel / Tracey Garvis Greaves, 291 p.

Annika and Jonathan meet at U of I in the '90s, fall intensely in love over chess, are separated by circumstances, and reunited in Chicago 10 years later.  Will they be able to make it work this time? 

The key feature of this story is that Annika is on the autism spectrum, while Jonathan is typical.  While autism is being increasingly explored in fiction, in ways that are humorous, bizarre, dark or edgy, I have to give Graves credit for creating a realistic, believable, and likable character on a trajectory that will be exceedingly familiar to anyone close to someone with Annika's challenges.  She has done her homework and it shows in every page.  And while Annika and Jonathan's story is in other respects conventional, it's also well-constructed and tender.  Recommended for fans of JoJo Moyes, and for anyone who'd like an accessible view of navigating life with special challenges.

The Nakano Thrift Shop

The Nakano Thrift Shop / Hiromi Kawakami, trans. Allison Markin Powell, 229 pp.

Hitomi, a young, slightly naive woman, works at the Nakano Thrift Shop along with the owner, Mr. Nakano, his sister, Masayo, and Takeo, the young deliveryman and clerk.  The group gossips, drinks tea and eats noodles together, yet they seem to mis-communicate with one another more often than not.  Hitomi and Takeo giggle at Mr. Nakano's frequent trips to "the bank," which is their code for Love Hotel, but when they begin a relationship themselves, things get complicated.

A simple, sweet and sad story written in one of the oddest prose styles I've encountered.  The characters speak in half sentences, and never quite say what they mean.  Much of the action centers around objects bought or sold at the shop. Mr. Nakano in particular is mysterious, with his shaved head and pompom hat, his cigarettes and his mistresses, but also quite funny.  I scratched my head in confusion throughout the entire novel, and yet I was reluctant to leave the shop when finished.

Romance Reader's Guide to Life

The Romance Reader's Guide to Life / Sharon Pywell, 308 pp.

A charming story within a story.  Neave grows up devouring books in Lynn, Massachusetts, before WWII.  While her older sister Lilly is beautiful, stylish, and charming, Neave refuses to play that game.  Yet she is fascinated by romance, at least as it is portrayed in her favorite novels, particularly The Pirate Lover, a steamy and thrilling bodice ripper which is excerpted throughout the book.

In adulthood, Neave and Lilly become business partners, manufacturing and selling cosmetics.  When Lilly disappears, Neave's life begins to take on the contours of a romance heroine's, as she faces down bad guys and discovers true love.

 Sweet, funny, and extremely eccentric, I suspect this novel is not for everyone.  But I genuinely enjoyed it, and appreciated the author's unusual approach.