Anxious People

Anxious People (2019) by Fredrik Backman, 336 pages.

Your palms are sweating; your heart is racing; you can't think straight. You are anxious. 
The bank robber stands in the apartment-for-sale--chest pounding, pistol in hand--and stares at the group of people ahead. These "hostages" include a young couple with a baby on the way, an older couple with a shared project, a banker with a haunting secret, an elderly woman, a real-estate agent, and a rabbit. Down on the street, assessing the situation, are two police officers working to diffuse this incident before backup from Stockholm arrives. Each of these people has plenty to be anxious about, even without the hostage situation. Each of these folks probably shares an anxiety with you. 

After reading My Friends--Fredrik Backman's most recent work, and loving it--I was excited to pick up this previous issue of his, and it did not disappoint. Anxious People shares many of the same themes as other Backman books, themes of loneliness and connection especially, and touches on some dark subject matter, such as suicide and addiction. Backman uses his characters to represent different anxieties that one might experience at different stages in life. He addresses the broken system in which we live but counteracts the hopelessness that it can cause with an call for community and connection. It can be a scary world, and sometimes the only way to get through is by reaching out. 

Coup de Grâce

 Coup de Grâce by Sofia Ajram, 139 pages.

Vicken steps off the metro on his way to his suicide and finds himself not near the St. Lawrence River, but in an incomprehensible structure of seemingly infinite architecture. It is a place seemingly designed for people, but conspicuously empty, and filled instead with a creeping sense of wrongness that threatens to swallow him forever.

This strange, experimental novel is twisty in a way that is frequently hard to follow. It's unsettling and weird, but I also found it very compelling at times. A good spooky season read.

How to End a Love Story

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang, 372 pages

When she was 16, Helen Zhang's sister, Michelle, killed herself by jumping in front of a car driven by the homecoming king, Grant Shepard. When Grant showed up at Michelle's funeral, Helen and her mother threw him out, and that was the last Grant and Helen saw of each other. Thirteen years later, Helen's a successful young adult author and her wildly popular series is getting a TV adaptation. One of the lead writers on the show? Grant Shepard. So now Helen has to figure out how to deal with seeing Grant on a daily basis in the writers room for the show while simultaneously figuring out her increasingly confusing feelings toward him.

I'll admit that this setup is not at all something I would expect to find in a romance novel, yet somehow Kuang makes it work. There's good character arcs and a spicy love story to satisfy any romance reader. My one quibble is that the awkward dislike/hatred between Helen and Grant shifts to sexy attraction pretty rapidly, considering there was no previous interest shown between them beforehand (maybe an unrequited mutual high school crush would've helped?). However, their complicated relationship is well handled, and that makes me less concerned about the steep on-ramp to the relationship.

A Fine and Private Place

 

A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle 317 pp.

I first read this book sometime in the 1970s and for some reason it stuck with me so I decided to revisit it. It's the tale of a man, Jonathan Rebeck, a former pharmacist who has hidden himself from society by living in an old mausoleum in a Bronx cemetery. Rebeck doesn't leave, believing he cannot pass through the gates into the outside world. A crabby raven brings him food stolen from local venders. In his nineteen years there Rebeck has met ghosts of people interred in the cemetery. When the ghosts first arrive they are very "alive" but as time passes and they gradually forget their former lives, they fade away. The latest cemetery residents are a middle-aged man who was poisoned and a young woman. Improbably, the ghosts fall in love with each other. Rebeck, too, finds himself with a lady friend who visits the mausoleum of her late husband. When Mrs. Clapper learns that Rebeck lives in the cemetery she tries to convince him it's time for him to return to the "real world." This book was originally published in 1960 and has recently been reissued. I listened to the audiobook which has an introduction by Neil Gaiman.

Flamer

 Flamer by Mike Curato, 366 pages.

I read this frequently banned graphic novel for banned books weeks, and have been extremely slow getting around to actually writing about it. Which wasn't a problem, because Byron wrote his review in a timely manner and I completely agree with pretty much everything he said! The graphic novel was sometimes a little crude for me (it seems boy scout camp has a very different atmosphere than girl scout camp), but I overall found it to be an extremely powerful story. I especially found Curato's use of bright pops of fiery color to be very effective. This is a powerful story of feeling othered in adolescence, and I definitely think it could do plenty of young people a lot of good.

Flamer

 Flamer by Mike Curato (2020) 366 pages

This past week was Banned Book Week. I read Flamer over the weekend. This graphic novel is one of the books most often challenged in recent years. It is fictional, set in the 1990s, but semi-autobiographical. I loved the art, which is mostly in black and white with yellow, orange, and red highlighting certain things. Aiden is on a camping trip with his scout troop in the summer between middle school and high school. He is anxious about switching from Catholic school to a Public school. The symbolism of flames from campfires to X-Men Jean Grey's Phoenix to passionate emotions are so layered and deeply textured. Boys of this age can be rude and crude. The story deals with homosexuality, bullying, Catholicism, and attempted suicide. It explores all this very sensitively and honestly. I give it 5 out of 5 stars, and it should definitely be read by more people rather than be restricted. Parents do have the responsibility to monitor what their children read and discuss issues with them. The problem is when one group of parents try to make choices for all other readers.

The Summer Pact

The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin, 336 pages

Tyson, Summer, Lainey, and Hannah were about as different as could be when they met in college, but soon formed an unbreakable bond. But when promising athlete Summer tragically dies just before graduation, the remaining three make a pact to be there for one another any time and anywhere the other two ask. And when Hannah catches her fiancé cheating on her, she activates that pact, leading her, Tyson, and Lainey on a literal trip of self-discovery.

This was a quick read, I'll give it that. Otherwise, the book was pretty blah, as it was difficult telling which of the three main characters was narrating at any given point (should've been easy, given their differences) and nothing really dipped below surface level. There are better books out there.

Rabbit Hole

Rabbit Hole by Kate Brody, 374 pages

Ten years ago, Teddy's older sister Angie went missing. After a decade of obsessive searching for her, Teddy's dad has given up, committing suicide by driving his car off a bridge. Now Teddy and her mother are trying to deal with the compounded grief and the mess Teddy's dad left behind. But as she starts to go through his things, Teddy gets sucked into the search for Angie, particularly the online cold-case communities and a young woman who had helped Teddy's dad with the search.

While there is a mystery in this book, the main theme is Teddy's grief, and the ways in which she is poorly attempting to manage it. It's not a cheerful story by any means, and SPOILER ALERT doesn't have the happiest ending, but it is a very gritty and realistic look at grief and dealing with the trauma of the past. I'd recommend it for fans of Long Bright River by Liz Moore, and for those who are intrigued by unlikeable protagonists.

Molly

Molly by Blake Butler (2023) 316 pages

I confess that I didn't know about the writer Blake Butler, who has published 9 full-length books, until I heard a bit of controversy over whether he should have "told all" in his memoir about his late wife, Molly Brodak, who took her own life in 2020. 

Molly was a college teacher and a poet who had been published widely, and may have been best known for her memoir "Bandit," in which she went into the effects her father‒a bank robber‒had on his family. Molly was a perfectionist in both writing and baking, but never seemed to trust that she was good enough or worthy enough. Blake has a strong work ethic, too, and is a devoted son to his parents, but he admits to having a temper and to drinking to a blackout state regularly.

Blake lets us into his relationship with Molly, starting on the day she kills herself, and then details how they met and gives the often-bumpy, but not fully chronological trajectory of their 10-year relationship, as well as the time after she has died, when he finds out things about Molly that he never would have suspected. Blake's writing is engaging, in spite of the difficult topic. Sections are separated by lots of white space, which makes it more readable. He quotes Molly's work frequently, and includes many photos.

 

Unthinkable

 

Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy (2022) 428 pages

Congressman Jamie Raskin writes about  his son Tommy, who took his own life on New Year's Eve of 2020, alternating this topic with his own appointment to head the team that tried the second impeachment of Donald Trump. These two topics dovetail well because of the love Tommy had for animals, people, and country, and Tommy's love for debate, his need to defend the underdog when bullies threaten.

Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, had just buried his son on January 5, 2021, one day prior to the insurrection of the Capitol by those who supported Trump's call to stop the official counting of the States' ballots from November's presidential election. Raskin's heartbreak over the loss of his son, and his anger over the insurrection found new purpose in the information gathering, legal considerations, and presentations for the impeachment trial. His 25 years as a law professor helped me understand some of the nuances related to what the impeachment managers chose to focus on for the trial.

I thought the narrative flowed, and was both informative and poignant. 

The Friend

 The Friend by Sigrid Nunez (2018) 212 pages

Longtime friend of a man who has committed suicide is asked by the man's wife if she'll take the man's dog. The dog is a Great Dane that the man had found alone and tagless in a park. The narrator (never named) reluctantly agrees, although the terms of her apartment lease specify that no dogs are allowed. 

What follows is an adjustment period for both the dog and the woman, who are both in mourning. It's hard to hide a Great Dane, even when he's a quiet dog, and the apartment manager sees her with the dog and eventually reports the infraction to the owners. This prompts a series of notices from the owners for the woman to remove the dog or to vacate the building.

Meanwhile, the woman continues to consider the life of her friend and conversations they'd had; it's apparent that she had strong feelings for him. Once upon a time, the man had been her professor. He became a well-known writer, a Romeo type who married three times and had a large number of girlfriends and lovers over the years. As the woman battles depression and the apartment owners, her relationship with the dog deepens. It's a good story, although it's not at all clear to me if the title refers to the woman, the man, or the dog. Perhaps all three.

Anxious People

 

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (©2019; translation ©2020) 341 pages

If you've never read Fredrik Backman, you must! A failed bank robber's entrance into an open house of an apartment for sale affects the lives of every person at the scene, including those of the policemen who respond, but not in the way that you think it will. The characters first strike me as somewhat ornery, but stay and watch all of them turn into people you care about. An important backdrop to the story is a suicide that had occurred ten years previously, with connections from that suicide weaving themselves into the present day. Despite that event, the book is uplifting.

Backman's page of thanks at the end reveal that his characters portray issues very close to him. He brings it all to life in this extraordinary book.

The Midnight Library

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, 288 pages

Nora Seed was depressed well before her cat died, but when she got fired from her job and missed the piano lesson she was supposed to teach and had her elderly neighbor "fire" her from picking up his prescriptions for him THE VERY NEXT DAY... well, she couldn't see a way forward. The Midnight Library takes place in the moments after Nora's suicide attempt, where it's unclear whether or not survive. During this time, Nora visits The Midnight Library, where her childhood school librarian helps her look at the choices she's made in the past, and the lives that she may have lived if she'd chosen differently. It's a bit like It's A Wonderful Life, but with a really fantastic therapist on hand. Haig does a wonderful job of presenting anxiety and depression accurately and kindly, so that this book could be absolutely wonderful for someone who is on the road to success when it comes to managing their mental health. That said, it could also be a depressing story for someone who's not in a great state of mind. Though I enjoyed the story, I'm hesitant to give an all-out recommendation for this.

Where Reason Ends: A Novel

Where Reason Ends: A Novel by Yiyun Li, 170 pages.

Li's slim 2019 novel, her sixth book, takes the form of conversations between a writer and her child; the son who is no longer there. The book was written in the months after Li's own son committed suicide. Sad, but not maudlin, a reminiscence and an exploration of the thoughts and feelings we keep hidden. The fictional son says, "to live you have to propagate delusions. . . One is not enough.  A few are not."

Nine Perfect Strangers

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty (2018) 453 pages

Nine people converge on Tranquillum House, a health resort run by Masha, a highly driven woman with a type-A personality who had survived a massive heart attack ten years prior. The guests have responded to the ads for the expensive resort either to lose weight, improve their health or their personal relationships, or gain spiritual nourishment. One young couple have relationship issues stemming from having won the lottery. One family is there to heal as the 3rd anniversary of their son's/brother's death nears. One woman is there to pamper herself because her latest romance novel has not been purchased by her publisher, making her concerned that she's all washed up in her fifties. Plus she's lost her American boyfriend, which is another story in itself. All of the guests have fascinating backstories, as does Masha, the owner of the resort.

The guests are surprised to start the ten-day regimen with five days of silence, punctuated with frequent smoothies and diets tailored just for them, along with meditations, yoga, massages, and more. By the time I'd gotten just beyond the halfway point, I felt that the book had already given me a full experience, as the characters learned about themselves and their fellow guests. But there were 200 pages left. Where was the author going to go next? All I can say is to expect the unexpected as the revelations continue!

Dead Souls

Dead Souls by Ian Rankin  406 pp.

I haven't read many of the books in the Inspector Rebus series but I generally enjoy them because Rebus is far from the perfect cop. This episode, however, was hard to get through. There are so many story lines going on it was hard to keep track of all the characters. A police colleague of Rebus's committed suicide with no explanation, a known pedophile has come under Rebus's suspicions, a released convicted murderer deported from the U.S. is targeting Rebus and his friends and family, the son of old friends has gone missing, and Rebus's love life becomes convoluted. To add to my confusion the pedophile is named Darren and the missing man is named Damon. Everything is resolved satisfactorily at the end but it was a slog to get there. 

The lost night

The lost night / Andrea Bartz, read by Kristin Sieh 314 pgs.

Ten years after Edie committed suicide, her friend Lindsay revisits the memory and decides she was actually murdered.  She gets in touch with her crew from that time and opens her own investigation by talking to them and requesting official documents from the time.  She is a fact checker at a magazine and believes she has the skills to look deeper into the situation.  She enlists the help of her current friends Tessa and Damien to bounce ideas off, computer help and video retrieval.  As the story progresses, she starts finding that she is the prime suspect.  Black out drunk, she knows she was mad at Edie that night and she has a history of violence when drunk.  Does all of what she finds make sense? Are there any other suspects? Where will this investigation lead?  A well paced thriller that didn't exactly thrill me. Well narrated by Kristin Sieh.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters, 404 pages

16-year-old Mary Shelly Black’s life is falling apart. The year is 1918 and between WWI and the Spanish flu, death breathes down everyone’s neck. Furthermore, her father has been arrested under the Sedition Act and she is forced to move to a new city to live with her overprotective aunt. The one silver lining to this is that she will once again be close to her childhood best friend, Stephen. It is only once she arrives in town that she finds out he has enlisted and will be leaving within the week. A telegram arrives shortly thereafter announcing that he has died a hero’s death on the battlefield. When Stephen appears to her and she herself has a near death experience, she is forced to re-think her entire worldview. She now must help him understand what has happened - and solve her own mysteries - in order for him to rest.

Winters brings this book to life through archival photos and descriptions so evocative, you can practically smell it (I will never look at an onion the same way again). I recommend this for anyone who likes strong female protagonists, historical fiction, or books about resiliency in the face of disaster.

Robin

Robin by Dave Itzkoff  529 pp.

In August of 2014 the world was shocked at the news of the suicide of hugely talented, intelligent, and wildly hilarious actor and comedian, Robin Williams. This biography covers Williams life from his upper middle class childhood, through his days at Julliard and his career as a stand-up comedian which led to a long and varied acting career. He was a man who obsessively worked at his trade to make his improvised lightning wit his stock-in-trade. His near photographic memory and instant recall of things he saw or heard rendered him capable of a spontaneity that brought laughter to millions. Behind the humor was a man with his share of problems; substance abuse, poor choices of film roles, failed marriages, and increasing bouts of depression haunted him. When his body began failing him, first with a heart valve replacement, then a misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease, Williams became a changed man. Not until his autopsy was it discovered Williams had Lewy Body Dementia, a disease which can affect movement, Altzheimer's-like cognitive, depression, and other problems. Friends and family did their best to help but Williams had never discussed suicide to anyone his choice of that ending came as a total surprise. In spite of the rumors, he was not under the influence of alcohol and drugs when he died. Itzkoff has written a heartfelt biography that describes the man, his faults, and his glories without aggrandizement.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (1926) 221 pages

This is one of the few books by Agatha Christie where I remembered who the murderer was. Even though I've now read it at least three times, I continue to enjoy this Hercule Poirot mystery.

Doctor James Sheppard is a friend of Roger Ackroyd, who is killed with a Tunisian dagger from his own collection. When Ackroyd's niece pleads with Poirot to take the case, he agrees to come out of retirement in this small village called King's Abbot. Instead of Poirot's longtime associate Hastings narrating this story, Doctor Sheppard tells the story of the murder investigation. It's a tale not only of murder, but also blackmail, suicide and a missing person. We see Poirot's meticulous use of his "little grey cells" (plus his somewhat over-sized ego) to sort it all out. If you read it, you'll see why it's such a memorable book.