A Song Below Water

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow, 288 pages.
Tavia, tying to navigate her Portland high-school while also trying to hide her powers as a siren (in a culture which fears and criminalizes this particular power), finds herself being outed by some of her classmates. The stress of this is exacerbated by the problems her close friend Effie is having. Effie, whose mother died several years ago, lives with Tavia and her family and believes that she is a mermaid. There's also a large stone gargoyle hanging out around their house. Oh, and a bunch of people around Portland are being turned to statues. Nicely paralleling Black Lives Matters themes, this is an interesting book and a rewarding read.

Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Disaster

Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Disaster by Adam Higginbotham, 538 pages.

Higginbotham presents a wealth of terrifying detail about the 1986 disaster at reactor number 4 at the nuclear power plant in the Ukraine. The scale of the disaster, the probable human toll, and the size of the cover-up are now, after 34 years, coming to light.
It's an excellent book, and the author deftly places the narrative of the disaster in the strange vertex between the old Soviet style secrecy and the new openness of Perestroika.
Personal stories and a look back show how government secrets, spin, lies, and misdirection have kept the story of the slow response, and the frightening aftermath buried.
An excellent book and the winner of last year's Carnegie medal.

Clap When You Land

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, 417 pages.

Camino and Yahaira Rios, one in the Dominican Republic and one in New York, find out at roughly the same time that their father has died in a plane crash. They find out later, as plans are being made for the funeral, about each other and about the secrets that their father has kept.
Both of these young women must find a way to reconcile what they now know of their father with this new knowledge, and both of them want to see if they can forge a relationship with their secret sister. Another excellent book-length poem by the author of The Poet X.

Homie

Homie by Danez Smith, 84 pages.

Christa, a woman who, I believe, used to work here, blogged about this book several months ago, here: https://ucplbookchallenge.blogspot.com/2020/05/homie.html

Danez Smith describes themself as a black, queer, non-binary, HIV-positive writer and performer from St. Paul, MN. Danez writes with nostalgia and love about a wide range of subjects, love itself, sexuality, and the violence of life. In the poem, "Jumped," with the poem structured to ring around the author, and the violence tempered,

     but what could be safer 
   than a circle of boys
  too afraid of killing you
to kill you?

even in "fall poem" the violence of life is there when the poet  asks "is it possible to ban guns? even from this poem?"

An exciting work, Homie is available in Hoopla, and I am really starting to love listening to books of poetry read by the author. I hope that Hoopla keeps adding modern works.

Sight Lines

Sight Lines by Arthur Sze, 69 pages.

Sze, the first Poet Laureate of New Mexico, won the 2019 National Book Award for this book of poetry.
His poems, to me, are like passing through cool air or cool water. You remember the feeling but not in a way you can really retain.


The Far Norway Maples

Silver poplars rise and thin to the very twig,
but what thins at your fingertips?

The aspirations of a minute, a day, a year?
Yellow tangs veer in the water and, catching

sunlight, veer again, disappear from sight.
The unfolding of a life has junctures

that rupture plot: a child folds paper
and glues toothpicks, designs a split-level

house with white walls and pitched roof,
but his father snatches the maquette

and burns it. If you inhale and spore this moment,
it tumors your body, but if you exhale,

you dissolve midnight and noon; sunlight
tilts and leafs the tips of the far Norway maples.

Tiamat's Wrath

Tiamat's Wrath by James S. A. Corey,  531 pages.

The eighth and supposedly penultimate volume in the planned nine volume series, Tiamat's Wrath concludes the two-book arc involving Winston Duarte and the Laconians, aka the deserting Martians. Duarte has set himself up as a sort of immortal god-emperor on Laconia, and the protomolecule tech has made them well-nigh unstoppable. The pace shifts in this installment; Naomi and Jim are separated and both working their version of the long-game, Alex and Bobbie are on their own ship, and Amos is lost to all of them. All the main characters are more or less on their own, and there isn't a lot of hope that things are going to get better.
Bobbie and Alex have a plan though, and Naomi is quietly leading the resistance. A good, strong part of the series.

Plain Bad Heroines

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth, 464 pages

In 1903, two young girls, Clara and Flo, had fallen in love at Brookhants, their boarding school in Rhode Island. It was at Brookhants that the pair was chased into a yellow jacket nest in the woods by Clara's angry cousin, leading the lovers to their painful death. This event became the first of several unfortunate deaths that caused Brookhants to gain a reputation for being cursed. More than 100 years later, a young woman, Merritt, has written The Happenings at Brookhants, a history of the school and the many women who fell victim to its "curse," and now that book is being made into a movie. 

Plain Bad Heroines alternately tells the story of Brookhants headmistress Libbie and her lover, Alex, as well as the story of Merritt and the two women (Harper and Audrey) who have been cast as Clara and Flo in the movie. It's an intriguing, creepy, queer story, with a very spooky setting and more than enough yellow jackets. Good for fans of both gothic fiction and horror movies.

The River Home

The River Home by Hannah Richell, 355 pages

Summoned to her impulsive sister Lucy's last-minute wedding, Margot is heading home for the first time in eight years. Because it's a wedding, she'll have to deal with the disagreements she has with her father (who left her mother for a younger woman when Margot was 15), her overbearing oldest sister Eve (who is attempting to micromanage the heck out of Lucy's big day), and her mother, bestselling author K.T. Turner, who has been holding a grudge against Margot since she left home at 16 in what K.T. still considers a teenage tantrum. But as the wedding date rapidly arrives, the Turner family's long-buried secrets and resentments bubble up to the surface.

I love reading dysfunctional family stories, and while it's not as funny as many of its counterparts, this one definitely fits the bill. It's a great examination of stale love, miscommunication, and unintentional selfishness, all of which exist in just about every family I've ever encountered. There are some difficult subjects discussed in this book, but it's a wonderful book all the same.

Burning Roses

Burning Roses by S.L. Huang, 160 pages

In this novella, Huang melds North American and Asian folklore through the story of two older women who are hunting down the sunbirds that are wreaking havoc on the land. As they chase the sunbirds, Rosa tells her story of hunting human-animal shapeshifters in a quest for vengeance against the talking wolf that killed her grandmother, while archer Hou Yi reflects on the circumstances that caused her to lose her family. It's a well-told tale of regret, personal demons, and love, and my only complaint is that I wish it was longer.

The Unspoken Name

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood, 462 pages

Csorwe (rhymes with doorway) has been raised from a very young age to be a sacrificial virgin when she becomes 14. But when her day to meet the god of her religion, a mysterious visitor to the shrine, a wizard from a faraway land, offers her another option, which she takes. Soon she has become the wizard's right hand, an assassin and general assistant to the man to whom she owes her life. But when Csorwe meets another young woman destined for a brutal future, Csorwe begins to question the motivations of her savior. 

The multiple lands, exotic races (did I mention Csorwe has tusks?), complex religions, and steampunk methods of travel are all phenomenal elements that Larkwood creates fully and wonderfully. But somehow, the parts don't add up to the amazing story that they should. Perhaps its Csorwe's naivety, or the obtuse nature of her savior and mentor, or even the combination of the two, but something just didn't sit right with this book. The universe and the characters are great though, and I'm curious to see where Larkwood takes them.

Too Much and Never Enough

Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump, PhD.  225 pp.

I'm going to start out by saying I cannot put into words how much I despise and fear the current person holding the office of President of the U.S. This book, written by his niece, explains a whole lot about why that person is the way he is. Being brought up the son of Fred Trump, an insensitive "sociopath" who had no time for anyone's "failure" to be what he determined they should be. After essentially destroying his first son, and namesake, all the focus went to "Donny" who could do no wrong and got anything he wanted even when it belonged to another family member. The death of Fred Jr. barely registered as a blip in the family who casually stayed home as he was dying in a hospital. With the exception of Fred Jr.'s children, the entire family took part in the distorted view of the Trump family's "malignant dysfunction." Some may see this as a retaliation by Mary Trump for being ruthlessly removed from her grandfather's will which denied her and her brother as children of Fred Jr. their portion of the Trump fortune, the amount which was falsely listed as millions less than the true worth. However, if that were the case, there is much more dirt that is already public knowledge that she could have included but didn't. As far as I'm concerned the only person in the family who deserves any sympathy is Fred Jr.'s disabled grandson who was denied the family medical insurance when his father and aunt sued for their inheritance.

A Bride's Story

 

A Bride's Story Volume 10 by Kaoru Mori  186 pp.

This volume of the graphic novel series returns to young Karluk, husband of the much older Amir. The separation of the young couple is hard and Karluk needs reassurance that Amir wants him as a husband. is learning to hunt from Amir's family members. He soon learns to handle the bow, and then how to hunt with a Golden Eagle.  The artwork is excellent, as always in this series, but the portrayal of the action of the hunts is exemplary. The second part of the book returns to Dr. Smith, who is still making his way to Ankara, Turkey with his guide, Ali. Because of the harsh winter weather and the approaching Russian army, they hook up with a caravan. The trip takes much longer than anticipated. In Ankara Smith's associate, Mr. Hawkins awaits his arrival with concern because of the movements of the Russian troops. When they finally arrive Smith is excited to see the new camera he requested. He is eager to head back to photograph the villages and nomadic clans he met on his journey but Hawkins tries hard to dissuade him because of the coming war. Smith is adamant about leaving until the appearance of Talas, a love interest from a previous volume.  

The Order

The Order by Daniel Silva  496 pp.

In this, the latest Gabriel Allon tale, the suspicious death of the Pope distracts Mossad Director Allon from a much needed family vacation. Pope Paul VII, whose life was saved by Allon in The Messenger, dies in his chambers while his personal secretary, Archbishop Luigi Donati is away from the Vatican. Because of the circumstances of the death and missing items from the Pope's study, Donati believes the Pope was murdered. He calls on his friend Allon to help investigate and together they learn of a plot by the secret Order of St. Helena, an organization with connections to the Nazis, to place the candidate of their choice as Pope and bolster the rise of their cause in Europe. Silva draws from today's headlines for much of the story's background. I only hope he is not as prescient as he was about the Arab Spring events in Portrait of a Spy. I usually read Silva's books as soon as it comes out and then wait impatiently for a year for the next one. I waited a bit before starting this one and now only have to wait 11 months. The audiobook was read by my favorite narrator, George Guidall, who does an excellent job, as always.

The Beauty in Breaking

The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper read by Nicole Lewis, 284 pages

An emergency room doctor who feels deep compassion for her patients and their problems, many of which are not medical issues. Part of her ability to empathize is rooted in her own troubled beginning.  Abused as a child and living in a family with deep and violent problems, she realizes how easy it is to hide her turmoil from others.  Once when she called the police, they were going to arrest her brother even though he had been fighting their father to keep their mother safe.  In the end, no charges are filed. Now as a doctor in the ER, the level of care she is responsible for is short term but that does not stop her from getting patients to open up to her and for her to appreciate the differences and individual struggles of the people she deals with.  I was deeply moved by this memoir - a times a little uneven but overall an interesting experience.  Nicole Lewis does a wonderful job with the narration.

Monet: Itinerant Of Light

Monet: Itinerant Of Light by Salva Rubio, illustrated by Efa 111 pgs.

A beautifully illustrated graphic novel that covers much of the life and times of Monet.  He spent much of his life struggling and in poverty.  He bounced around on loans from a variety of people and an occasional benefactor. He had a hard time feeding his kids but he never considered trying something else to make money. He knew he was a painter and nothing else.  The art here is full of Easter eggs of famous paintings that weave into the story.  Lovely.

Drawing the vote

Drawing the vote: an illustrated guide to voting in America / Tommy Jenkins, Kati Lacker (ill), 208 pgs.

A little history, a little political science and a little contemporary guide, this graphic novel tells the story of voting in a simple and engaging way. They art really helps with a set of complex topics that are touched upon but leave you wanting more.  Not only the standard coverage, this book shows some of the historic events from a different perspective.  The focus here is on the value of voting as the core of democracy.

The wave

Wave / Sonali Deraniyagala, 274 pgs.

The author is the sole survivor of her family and friends who were caught in a tidal wave in Sri Lanka. Swept away were her husband, two children, her parents and her best friend.  How do you recover from something like that?  How do you "move on" when every important person is gone?  At first you plan to die yourself but as time passes you live.  Do you remember your kids and compare them to their friends or do you try to forget them?  Can you enjoy things they once enjoyed or do you feel guilt because they are no longer here to enjoy them.  Complicated feelings never go away.  I was more focused on how the author managed to survive?  It is the biggest mystery of all.

The Husband's Secret

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty (2013) 396 pages

In Sydney, Australia, Cecelia accidentally finds a letter in her attic addressed to her, to be opened in the case of her husband's death. But John-Paul is very much alive, and when he learns that she has found the letter, he freaks out, leading her to open the letter after she has agreed not to. What Cecelia learns will turn her life upside down, making the very organized woman lose her focus in everything she was known for: selling Tupperware, organizing parents at the local Catholic elementary school, hosting large parties, etc. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, Tess has just been told that her cousin Felicity and her husband Will are in love. She flees to Sydney with her six-year-old son to figure out what to do next while helping our her mother, who has broken her ankle. Another family group in Sydney includes Rachel, a 68-year-old woman who still acutely feels the loss of her 17-year old daughter some 28 years ago. The killer has never been found, and the only balm for her hurt is her two-year old grandson. She has just learned that her son and daughter-in-law plan to move to New York for two years, which devastates her. She comes across some information that she believes fingers her daughter's killer after all this time and she is determined to find justice.

Liane Moriarty weaves a most compelling story around these different families, linking them together. The interrelated plots are captivating, and how the characters speak and deal with their quandaries rings true. I don't usually read a book of this length in one day, but this one wouldn't let go!

Sad Janet

Sad Janet / Lucie Britsch, read by Kristen Sieh, 276 pgs.

Janet is very sad.  Downright depressed.  She is a young woman whose boyfriend moved on after her not taking anti-depressants, she works in a run down dog shelter, she isn't all that fun.  By contrast, she does own her sadness.  She sees that feeling isn't a bad thing.  Everyone in her life is taking a bunch of medication, they want her to take some too. She isn't that into it.  But when a special "Christmas" pill comes around...she gives in and decides to take the treatment that will help her enjoy the holidays and then it is designed for patients to wean off and return to their natural state.  In addition to the pills, you have to attend meetings.  Janet isn't into any of it but decides to go along.  Does she make it through Christmas with a new attitude? I'm not going to give you any spoilers here.  Kristen Sieh does a great job narrating although maybe she doesn't sound sad enough.  I still enjoyed hearing her reading.

Challenge Accepted!

Challenge Accepted! : 253 steps to becoming an anti-it girl / Celeste Barber, 243 pgs.

Australian super Instagram celeb and comedian Barber tells us all her thoughts.  Some are pretty silly which is what you hope for in a book by a comedian.  She also has some "deep thoughts" too.  Reading this is a lesson in Aussie slang, body acceptance and having a laugh.  I recommend taking a look at her Instagram where she recreates sexy celeb photos and videos with her own twist.

Isabel's Bed

Isabel's Bed by Elinor Lipman (1995) 385 pages

Harriet Mahoney is blindsided when her live-in boyfriend of 12 years asks her to move out so that another woman can move in to their apartment. Nursing her wounds, Harriet finds both a new job and a new (temporary) home when she is chosen to ghostwrite Isabel Krug's autobiography. Harriet moves into Isabel's fabulous home along the Massachusetts coast. Isabel is renowned as the huge-breasted mistress whose lover was shot to death when he and Isabel were caught in bed by his wife. The story gets stranger and stranger the more Harriet learns about it. When Nan, the wife-murderess, is released from an institution once she is deemed capable, she comes into their lives, wanting to write her own story. Nan's son, a soap opera star, figures in as well. Isabel's husband, Costas Dimantopoulos, is another unexpected character.

I often wondered where this story was heading, but enjoyed the unexpected turns as Harriet, out of her element, handles her new role, and a possible new love interest.

Persepolis Rising

Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey, 549 pages.

In the seventh book of the Expanse we lose or have lost a couple of the almost-main characters. It's not totally unexpected; we've been through a few civil wars, and alien battles, and now it's three decades since the end of the last book.
The Laconian gate was last used by the mutineers of the Martian Navy, fleeing the war they had helped the self-styled Free Navy start and taking with them the last sample of the protomolecule. Duarte and the rest of his Martian troops have made good use of their time and when they come back through the gate, things at the ring and beyond take another turn. Things get weird again. Bobbie, Naomi, Alex, Amos, and Holden get separated for an extended time, and the conflict in this book extends into book eight.
The two writers who make up Corey do a wonderful job of moving the story along through the long improbable arc of this series.

Growing Up with the River

 

Growing Up with the River: Nine Generations on the Missouri by Dan & Connie Burkhardt  120 pp.

This juvenile non-fiction book sparked my interest when I browse through it and saw one of the chapters features the town of New Haven, Missouri, the town where my grandmother was born. Each chapter covers part of the last 100 miles of the river St. Louis as it was in different time periods. As this is a special edition published for the 2018 St. Louis Climate Change Summit, there are brief articles about environmental problems in the area. The chapters begin in 1806 at La Charrette (near Marthasville) where Lewis & Clark stopped early in their journey west and again when they returned. The following chapters are Femme Osage/Dutzow (1832), Hermann (1862), New Haven (1883-five years before my grandmother's oldest brother was born), Marthasville/Peers/Treloar (1904), Washington (1932), St. Charles (1959), Augusta (1986), Chesterfield (2016), and The Missouri River Valley (looking forward to 2040). The German immigrants who settled along the river because of its similarity to the Rhine River valleys and the residents of the towns of Hermann and New Haven were German speaking is mentioned. (Although born in Missouri, my grandmother did not learn English until she began to attend school.) Included is the quote from the Hermann Wochenblatt newspaper, "We hold ourselves as free men who did not escape slavery in our old home lands to support it here in America." However, no mention is made of the Missouri German regiments that fought for the Union in the Civil War. I enjoyed the history and emphasis on the nature of the area which includes the prevalence of the now extinct Passenger Pigeon and Carolina Parakeet. Lots of information and illustrations are packed into this book.

Clean hands

Clean Hands: a novel by Patrick Hoffman, 280 pgs.

Corporate power lawyer Elizabeth Carlyle is under pressure.  A junior associate has his phone stolen...the phone has a LOT of very sensitive documents on it and no pass code.  If that information gets in the wrong hands, the whole firm may be in jeopardy.  She calls in her "fixer" ex-CIA agent Valencia Walker who manages to get the phone back.  Unfortunately, the information was stolen and the firm is being blackmailed.  Walker doubles back and finds the blackmailers and stamps out that issue but as she does, anonymous information is leaked to the Wall Street Journal. How did this grow so big so quick? Well, I'm certainly not going to add a spoiler, if you like fast moving intricate thrillers, this one might be for you.

Imaginary Museums

Imaginary Museums: stories by Nicolette Polek, 117 pgs.

One of the reviews I read called this "unnerving" and I kind of agree.  I liked a lot of the stories, all very short and mostly odd, but I can't say I really understood many of them.  Or maybe I understood what I was supposed to, who knows?  Still, this is an interesting collection, some have that "I'm very well written" attitude.  The book is short enough that if this makes you at all curious, give it a try.

If I had your face

If I had your face / Frances Cha, 274 pgs.

Set in Korea, the four main characters each have very different lives and interests but all live in the same apartment building.  This "slice of life" novel gives a little back story on each character but is mostly a contemporary setting where they interact with each other and beyond.  They are trying to figure things out, live their lives, make progress.  I feel like there were interesting cultural differences but also reinforced how much people deal with the same issues.  There were great lines and situations. Cha has a gift to make the ordinary seem extraordinary.

Babylon's Ashes

Babylon's Ashes by James S. A. Corey, 536 pages

Book  six of the series here.  The Expanse continues after the devestating events in the last book that have left the Earth crippled and everyone at war with the self-styled "Free Navy."
Bobbie Draper and Clarissa Mao have joined the Rocinante as crew members, and Naomi must still figure out how she can move forward with her relationship with Filip (and Marcus, too, but she's pretty sure which way she wants to go with that one). I want to thank Martin for recommending this series. I finished the first four books while the library was closed and finished the other four during this time of reduced service, mask-wearing, and isolation. I've got two more books to blog about and then the forthcoming and maybe mythical ninth book.
The Expanse has been a good read.

Nemesis Games

Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey, 563 pages.

I keep expecting to be let down by the Expanse books and it has yet to happen (we're in book 5 here). The author's have not, to this point, been afraid to introduce new characters, and big shifts in the story, while keeping true to the themes and arguments made in the earlier books. The greater good for humanity, equity for all people, regardless of who or where they are, and how sociopaths who are willing to follow good people can themselves be good people are all paths we follow here, regardless of the big shifts in the series's universe. In book 5 we meet Filip and his father, Marco. They both have a strong connection to the core characters and they work with some other newish characters to totally upend the environment in which everyone is living.
Naomi Nagata reconnects with members of the OPA, Amos reconneccts with Clarissa Mao, and Alex reconnects with Bobbie. Holden is sort of left to find his lonely way for a while, but it all comes full circle. Good fun.

Wolf Hall

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, 604 pages.

I read this when it came out, around ten years ago already, and enjoyed it immensely. This time, I decided to listen to the audio, and let the narrator figure out who was speaking. Thomas Cromwell, born the son of a blacksmith, flees his abusive father, becomes a soldier, then a merchant, lawyer, and eventually a member of the king's council.
The most common complaint I have heard about the three books in this series is that Mantel structures the text in such a way that sometimes (or always, depending on who you are talking to) it is difficult to determine which character is speaking (as an addendum, I did not notice Linda's post about this same book until right after I hit publish). Simon Slater, narrator of the Mantel audiobooks, does a tremendous job giving unique voices to each of the large cast of characters. So if you had that particular problem with the books, listen to the wonderful audio. It's all on Overdrive (or on CD).
A remarkable first book in a truly remarkable series.

A lesson in secrets, by Jacqueline Winspear

 Maisie Dobbs’ mentor, the psychologist and secret service agent, Maurice Blanche, has recently died, leaving Maisie comfortably well-off for the first time in her life. She also has a new love interest, the son of her former employers when she was in service, James Compton. More relevant to her working life, Maurice has recommended her for more hush-hush work than her usual investigations. Scotland Yard’s Special Branch has asked her to embed herself in a newly-founded college at Cambridge which is dedicated to peace studies. Her background from her college years makes her a good fit as a lecturer there. Pacifist Greville Liddecote established the school with the proceeds of a controversial children’s book he wrote. It may have caused a mutiny during the First World War. Called “The peaceful little warriors,” it is about children going off to the front to bring back their warring fathers. Deeply touched by its message, some soldiers on both sides defected and laid down their arms. British soldiers were shot by their own troops if they did this. Shortly after she arrives, Liddecote dies in his office under mysterious circumstances, which involves Maisie in the regular police as well as the secret branch. In many respects, however, Maisie is more concerned about the growth of support for fascism, and Hitler, among some of the impressionable students, more so than the Yard in fact. Written in 2011, I was struck by this passage, so relevant to our times – spoken by a wise retired professor she interviews during her investigations: “They’ve [the Nazi Party and Hitler] garnered considerable support in Germany and they’re very well organized in groups in other countries to ensure that German citizens abroad are brought into the fold. Wouldn’t surprise me if Headley [a controversial former student] isn’t a Fascist – mind you, the corridors of power are littered with Fascist leanings; anything to save the upper classes through disenfranchisement of the common man while allowing the common man to think you’re on his side.” 322 pp.

Members only, by Sameer Pandya

None of us during this pandemic year are having a particularly good time, but the week that Raj, the protagonist in Pandya’s new novel, has is certainly a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad time. It will make you thankful you aren’t him. Raj, a PhD in anthropology earned at Columbia, has failed to do the one thing that would advance his career, publish. As a result, he teaches large lecture classes in an unnamed California state school rather than continuing in the more prestigious job he left in New York. But he loves to teach, loves his wife, Eva, and his two sons, Neel and Arun. Both Raj and Eva grew up in the Bay Area and missed the sunniness of the climate and the ability to have a comfortable, affordable home. Raj, a devoted tennis player, is one of the very few members of color at their tennis club, which Eva, native-born and white, had belonged to and loved as a child. As the book opens, he has been invited for the first time to sit on the committee that will make decisions on the admission of new members, and there, he makes an unforgivable “joke” to a distinguished couple of Black doctors who are being sponsored by an imperious fellow doctor. Things rapidly go downhill from there – near the end of the week, his older son has gotten in serious trouble at his school; a group of students has accused him of being anti-Western and Christian and are holding a hunger strike calling for his dismissal; what he said in class that sets this in motion has gone viral on the web; he is being stalked by Robert, a loner student of his who may have initiated this movement; and he even has a suspicious mole on his foot removed and is waiting anxiously for the verdict of a biopsy. What more can go wrong? Well, lots. Underlying this often wry and funny book are considerations about race, class, and justice in this country, and Raj’s own questioning of his place in it. Thoughtful but never boring. 345 pp.

Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel

When the first book of Mantel’s now complete trilogy about Thomas Cromwell and the court of Henry the Eighth came out in 2009, I was so enchanted by the writing that bought a copy to take and savor at our summer cabin. The bookmark which I put in then, page 219, remained in place for the next eleven years! So, with her final volume perhaps winning an unprecedented third Booker prize, this was the year to finally start over and finish volume one. The writing, imagination, and characters were just as wonderful as I remembered. Here’s a passage: “When a woman withdraws to give birth the sun may be shining but the shutters of her room are closed so she can make her own weather. She is kept in the dark so she can dream. Her dreams drift her far away, from terra firma to a marshy tract of land, to a landing stage, to a river where a mist closes over the further bank, and earth and sky are inseparate; there she must embark towards life and death, a muffled figure in the stern directing the oars. In this vessel prayers are said that men never hear. Bargains are struck between a woman and her God. The river is tidal, and between one feather-stroke and the next, the tide may turn.”

Unfortunately, I still had difficulty following dialog in it on occasion. Mantel’s habit of not always being clear as to who is speaking (mostly, but not always, you can assume Cromwell), combined with every third male character being named Thomas (which the author humorously refers to herself more than once in the book) made it slower going. But very rewarding. Wonder how long it will take me to get around to the next 1000+ pages. And I will. In the intervening years, some of the political machinations and intrigues strike one as even more applicable to our current situation than they were a short decade ago. One wonders if Lin Manuel Miranda read this bit towards the end of the novel: “The fate of peoples is made like this, two men in small rooms. Forget the coronations, the conclaves of cardinals, the pomp and processions. This is how the world changes: a counter pushed across a table, a pen stroke that alters the force of a phrase….” Masterful. 532 pp.

Mapping of love and death, by Jacqueline Winspear

The events of this seventh outing for Maisie Dobbs, a character who continues to grow and surprise in each book, begin in California where a young cartographer is laying claim to an oil rich area in California. His heritage is British however, and the day he is to file his papers, he learns of the outbreak of World War I and rushes off to England to join up. His British parentage, and his necessary skills at mapping, give him entre into the British forces. Sadly, he is posted missing in action. When his body turns up in 1931, his parents travel to England where they engage Maisie to find the English nurse mentioned in the diary found with his body. One of the better parts of this series is there is almost always a secondary plot, as engaging as the first, which may or may not intersect with the main one. By the end of this volume, Maisie’s life will take a very different direction. 338 pp

The incredible journey of plants, by Stefano Macuso

This short book is an ode to the adaptability and the movement of plants, both in their rootedness, and in their ability to colonize far away places. Macuso is an authority in the field of plant neurobiology, which explores signaling and communication at all levels of biological organization. Each short chapter treats a different plant’s migration – from the familiar coconut (why are they so big?), to lesser known species, some limited to one tiny area and others finding success throughout the planet. How do some survive in very inhospitable places, how have others learned to cope when the animal upon which it depended to help spread its seed goes extinct, were hippopotamuses really considered as a solution the problem of the invasive non-native water hyacinth in Louisiana?. And when does a “non-native” plant become accepted as native in a habitat? As they say, all things are connected. 158 pp.

The Library at Mount Char

 

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins  390 pp.

Years ago a mysterious catastrophe destroys a town and it's people with the exception of twelve children. Those twelve are "adopted" by a man they refer to as father, who seems to be an all-powerful god-like being. The children are raised in what they call "The Library" where each is assigned and restricted to a "catalogue" of knowledge to learn. It is possible Father did this to ensure that no single one of them would gain the power to overthrow him. Or was it to make them an unstoppable force when they work together. When he disappears the children band together to find him, or find out what happened to him. However, some of them have their own agendas and are working to gain more power for themselves. Carolyn, who has learned to speak and understand all languages has the most useful intellectual power. Her "brother" David is also powerful because his catalogue was violence and he is ruthless and unremorseful in how he uses it. The rest of the twelve have healing, mathematical, animal communication, and other skills. The plot is intriguing and different, if violent. (I lost count of the dead bodies early on.) In spite of the bloody parts I enjoyed the story.

A Bride's Story

 

A Bride's Story Volume 9 by Kaoru Mori  227 pp.

This installment in this graphic novel series about the Silk Road involves the time building up to Pariya's engagement to Umar. Pariya is a difficult person to like because her inability to put into words what she means and her reclusiveness. Her attributes seem to be that of someone on the Autism spectrum. She likes Umar and hopes they will be betrothed but finds it impossible to put it into words with both her family and Umar. In addition her family is still reconstructing their home and business that was destroyed by invaders in a previous volume. The author/illustrator does an excellent job of depicting Pariya's frustration and anguish over her difficulties. I am always impressed by the elaborate detail she puts into every illustration. Now that they are betrothed, I hope the next volume will include the wedding of Pariya and Umar.  

The Boyfriend Project

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon, 344 pages

After getting catfished by the same guy and becoming reluctant viral video stars, Samiah, London, and Taylor become quick friends and make a pact to forgo boyfriends for the next six months to focus on themselves. But tech whiz Samiah has barely made the promise when a cute and sweet new guy arrives at her office. Can she work closely with Daniel without betraying her promise to her new besties?

I loved reading a book that has such a strong aspect of female friendship, who build each other up and support each other when they fall. As great as the romantic relationship was, it's that friend group that really made this book stand out for me. I can't wait to see what Rochon comes up with next for this crew!

Upright Women Wanted

Upright women wanted / Sarah Gailey, 176 pgs.

Esther witnesses the hanging of her lover and then her dad arranges a marriage with her dead lover's fiance.  Esther realizes it is best to get out of dodge.  She stows away in the wagon of the traveling librarians.  When she is discovered, she also discovers a world of queer librarian spies who are working against the regime that her father represents.  She feels at home but isn't immediately accepted. In the tough surroundings she needs to earn her keep, learning to fight, fire guns and ride horseback. An entertaining story.

Vera Kelly Is Not a Mystery

Vera Kelly Is Not a Mystery by Rosalie Knecht, 249 pages

As a reader, you have to assume that when a book's title is a statement, the fact of the book is the exact opposite (i.e. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine). Such is the case with Vera Kelly Is Not a Mystery. Turns out Vera Kelly actually *is* a mystery, but that's OK, because she's a former spy and they're kinda supposed to be mysterious. In this second book about Vera, she's left the CIA and is now a private investigator attempting to track down the teenage son of a Dominican politician. When she discovers that the people who hired her don't have the best intentions for the boy, she's faced with a decision: do the job she's hired to do or attempt to reunite the boy and his parents. All the while, Vera's trying to sort out her own messy life, thanks to a forced job switch and her girlfriend leaving her.

Knecht created a great, complex character in Vera. She's young, but an old soul and she's a professional woman dealing with multiple layers of discrimination in the late 1960s. The mystery of this story (where the boy is and whether or not he's safe) takes a backseat to Vera's character, but that's OK, as she's an excellent character. I'd like to see more of these books in the future.

Cats of the Louvre

Cats of the Louvre by Taiyo Matsumoto, 428 pages.

During the day, when people roam the Louvre, there is only the occaisonal cat. At night, though, the cats who inhabit the secret places in the famed Parisian museum lead an extravagant sort of life. Snowbebe, the cat most often found during the day, is the cat closest to the human employees at the Louvre, but he is also the most at odds with the other cats. Matsumoto does a fantastic job with the art in this engaging graphic novel, bringing to life both the museum and the weird alternate world that the cats inhabit at night.

Weather: A Novel

Weather: A Novel by Jenny Offill, 207 pages.

In a beautifully written, quiet and introspective novel set in a time when the climate has everyone on edge, the main character, Lizzie, is increasingly thinking about the end of the world. She is a librarian who juggles a couple of jobs.  And she also tries to balance her personal life and balance her relationships with her husband and son, and with other members of her family. Her mother takes up a good deal of time, too, as does her brother who is struggling with addiction. As she seeks to save her family and herself, she is continually convinced that it is all going to end.

Cibola Burn

Cibola Burn by James S. A. Corey, 581 pages.

After the Ring Gate opened in the third book of the Expanse series, the fate of humanity has shifted. People from Earth, Mars and the Outer Planets are all heading for the new frontiers and getting ready to take their chances on one of the 1300 gates to see and claim the planets those gates lead to.
One planet quickly becomes the focus of a violent disagreement between a group of refugees from the Jovian moon Ganymede, who snuck through the gate, and a corporate expedition whowant  claim the planet as their own. The Rocinante, with its crew of Nagata, Holden, Burton, and Kamal, is nearby enough for Fred Johnson of the OPA (the Outer Planets Alliance) and Chrisjen Avasarala of the UN to both ask them to mediate the disagreement.
James Holden finds he has another reason to head to the disputed planet, his dead friend, Detective Miller, speaking on behalf of the protomolecule, wants a look at the machinary under the planet.
It all sounds convoluted and complicated, but by the time this is over, you're over 2,000 pages into the series and it all makes sense. At the core of this book, as with many in the series, is the battle between those who are trying to do the right thing, and those who are in it for their own gain. Good, solid characters and a fast-paced, interesting story, make it all work; the Expanse books are always a joy. Bobbie Draper shows up briefly, and new recurring characters, Elvi Okoye, and Fayez Sarkis, make their first appearances.

The Night Watchman

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdritch, 451 pages.
Louise Erdrich is one of the best writers out there right now, and anything she writes is worth reading. Where her 2017 novel, Future Home of the Living God was further down the speculative and dystopian path, this, her 17th(?) novel, seems more familiar. Set in 1953 in and around the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota, the novel follows several stories at once. Thomas Wazhashk works as the titular night watchman at the Jewel bearing plant. He's also a member of the Chippewa council and in that capacity he helps argue that Congress should not abandon its treaty obligations. We also follow Patrice Paranteau in her quest to find and reconnect with her sister and her sister's child. Patrice, who works at the Jewelry Bearing plant follows a series of increasingly grim and disturbing clues as her search gets more and more desperate. Erdrich's characters and her stories never disappoint, and The Night Watchmen showcases her talent and skills.

Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came

 Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came by M.C. Beaton (2002) 213 pages

This was my first time reading an M.C. Beaton Agatha Raisin mystery. Agatha is divorced and listless, and finally goes on a vacation to try to forget that her husband left her to join a monastery and that her good friend went to France to get married without inviting her. When she returns home to her cottage in England, floodwaters cause grave problems, and as an onlooker on a bridge, she sees a dead bride floating down the river. She recognizes the young woman as someone she'd seen before. She puts on disguises and says she's planning a television documentary, in order to gain access to people the woman knew, to learn more about the bride's life.

Meanwhile, Agatha has a new neighbor named John, a divorced author who all the village ladies want to get to know. Agatha intrigues him because she's not overtly trying to snag him, even though perhaps she is. John tries to help Agatha gain information, but he's more ethical than she is, which makes for some awkward situations. 

Feminist City

Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-made World / Leslie Kern, 206 pgs.

 Kern is a feminist geographer - an interesting combination.  She looks at the urban environment and how it welcomes or hinders women.  Most public spaces are not designed for women.  There is nobody thinking about how a space works for someone with a stroller. Transit systems are not designed for people running errands or stopping to pick up and drop off kids at day care...those stops required you to pay additional fares unlike the person going from only one place to another...the model of the worker who isn't responsible for childcare. What would a feminist city look like?  What would it include? How would it benefit everyone?  An interesting look at how we might revise the urban landscape.

Ring Shout

Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark, 192 pages

It's 1922, and the Klan is raging in Macon, Georgia. Maryse is a young Black woman who's making a living bootlegging and fighting demons — specifically, the pointy-headed, hate-fueled Ku Kluxes that the human Klans may turn into — using the magic of Shouters and a Gullah woman, as well as a mystical sword that responds to her thirst for revenge. As the Ku Kluxes grow in numbers, and as other hate-filled creatures manifest around the screening of Birth of a Nation at Stone Mountain, Maryse must decide whether she's going to let her own hatred and quest for vengeance rule her, or if she can fight these demons in another way.

This is an AMAZING dark fantasy novel that reverberates through the last 100 years of U.S. history, and strips bare the white supremacy and problematic politics of today. It's powerful and unrelenting, and I can't recommend it heartily enough. This book needs to be read.

*This book will be published Oct. 13, 2020.

Last Tang Standing

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho, 403 pages

Andrea Tang is a workaholic junior partner at a multinational law firm, just steps away from her goal of becoming a senior partner. But at 33, she's a disappointment to her Chinese-Malaysian family, as she's one of very few women of her generation that are still unmarried. Even her lesbian cousin has agreed to a (sham) marriage with her personal banker to appease the aunties! Taking her mother's advice, she finally agrees to try to find someone suitable through blind dates and dating apps, with mixed results of course. This snarky book examines a woman trying to follow Sheryl Sandberg's advice to "lean in" and have it all, while appeasing an overbearing family. It's billed as "Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones's Diary," which is pretty apt, though Last Tang Standing pales in comparison to either. It's not a bad book by any means, especially for a debut novel, though it's definitely not making my list of favorites of the year.

A Deadly Education

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik, 336 pages

El is completing her junior year at her magical high school, and is understandably starting to get nervous about senior year and graduation. But her school is no Hogwarts. Instead of cozy four-poster beds in dormitories, delicious all-you-can-eat meals, and a sweeping vista of mountains and lakes, Scholomance is a teacher-free zone where students have to learn quickly to stay alive, what with all the evil beasts that feed on magical kids (yes, really) that lurk in the building, including in bedrooms and in the cafeteria's trays of food. Oh, and that view? It's a black void that causes anyone who enters to lose their minds. 

El has some amazing (if somewhat potentially evil) powers, which she hopes can help her make alliances to see her through graduation next year — graduation being a literal monster gauntlet to escape the school alive — if only her aloof and sarcastic personality doesn't repel them all. So it's something of a surprise when Orion Lake, the big hero on campus, goes out of his way to pay attention to El. What's that all about?

Novik's creativity in building Scholomance (which is based on a school of the same name in Eastern European folklore) is absolutely amazing, from the classes and creatures to the students themselves. Despite the impossible setting, the characters are nuanced and relatable, even the jerks you don't want to like. I can't wait to see what comes next in this series!

*This book will be published September 29, 2020.

Olive again

Olive Again / Elizabeth Strout, 289 pgs.

I admit to loving Olive.  She doesn't really give a shit about what you think and what could be more attractive in an aging woman?  In this book, Olive has aged, is aging...maybe is losing a little confidence here and there.  Maybe finding some happiness with a second husband, maybe looking deep into herself and not always liking what she sees.  She is still admirable and doesn't beat around the bush much.  It is a bit sad for me to see her getting older but she is out there still learning and doing and enjoying a pedicure.

Upgrade Soul

Upgrade Soul / Ezra Claytan Daniels, 271 pgs.

Hank and Molly are looking for the fountain of youth.  They decide to undergo a "rejuvenation" process through a company they have been funding. Things go wrong (surprise, right? I mean what else could the book be about?) and their bodies age significantly while a "clone" is made that never physically matures but is mentally superior to their originators.  Now everyone is struggling to figure out how to live and things are getting messy.  Interesting plot and consequences.

Zen Pencils Vol 2

Zen pencils: Volume two: Dream the Impossible Dream, Gavin Aung Than, 117 pgs.

Another win from Than, this volume is a delight from start to finish. The way he uses his art to expand the words...all of which are deep and meaningful anyway, is impressive.  I lingered over each and every page.  My biggest problem now is that I've read everything available by the author.  Looking forward to his upcoming middle grade series.

Abaddon's Gate

Abaddon's Gate by James S. A. Corey, 566 pages.

So, the third book of the Expanse series takes us into some new territory.  Sure, Fred Johnson, Bobbie, and Avrasala are back, and Miller is too, in an altered form, anyway, but the solar system, the galaxy, and maybe the universe are all altered.
Everyone, the new and the old, in this volume are heading out to the Ring, the latest project from the beings that brought you the protomolecule, and the thing that lets everyone know that things are now a bit different.
Mostly it's the crew of the Rocinante again, at least half of the time, letting us see what is going on. They're really solid characters by this time and they're back to try and accidentally save humanity again. Julie Mao, the young-woman-turned-protomolecule-vector isn't really present, but because of her, younger sister Clarissa makes her debut.  There are lots of twists and turns, with interesting characters and a believable universe. An interesting book in a really enjoyable series.

Caliban's War

Caliban's War by James S. A. Corey, 611 pages.

The second volume in the Expanse series keeps the action going. James Holden, Naomi Nagata, Amos Burton, and Alex Kamal are now officially the crew of the Rocianante (the Canterbury is long gone and they've convincingly renamed the Martian Corvette class ship, Tachi) and the protomolecule is still a big worry for all of humankind. The protomolecule shows up on the Jovian moon, Ganymede, and because of that we're introduced to recurring characters Bobbie Draper, Prax Meng, and (I think) Chrisjen Avasarala. Holden and his crew find themselves saving everyone again. A good solid middle book that doesn't seem like it when you're reading it. Really enjoying this series.

Life on Mars

Life on Mars: Poems by Tracy K. Smith

Here's an edited version of what I wrote five years ago, when I first read Smith's poetry:Smith's 2011 collection of poems won the Pulitzer Prize. I failed to notice this until I recently saw her memoir, Ordinary Light, hanging around the Library.
There are beautiful poems, (really great poems) like "Sci-Fi," "Ransom," and "Challenger," that explore the world, and the larger universe as we imagine it might be. Smith has a great villanelle (or maybe a semi-villanelle, I'm not sure), "Solstice" and it is another example of the author's greatness, as it's ostensibly about JFK airport, but also explores the terror inherent in the lives we're living. "our time is brief, we dwindle by the day."
Strikingly, there are more David Bowie references than I expect from prize-winning poetry. I checked out four of Bowie's CDs after reading these, so I could re-acquaint myself with the source material and get more from Smith's excellent poems.
Let me just add, several hours after I posted this that I believe Smith is the best poet alive. Cool.

Hitting a Straight Lick with A Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance

Hitting a Straight Lick with A Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance by Zora Neale Hurston, 252 pages.

Twenty-one stories from one of America's premier writers. We chose three novels by Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Moses, Man of the Mountain, and Jonah's Gourd Vine back in 2016, and in that time I had forgotten what a joy it is to read her fiction. The twenty-one stories in this collection feel fresh and original, despite the decades that have gone by since they were written. Eight of the stories included in the collection have never before been published. Well worth the read, but also a great audiobook with narration by Aunjanue Ellis.

Hole in the Heart; Bringing up Beth

 Hole in the Heart: Bringing Up Beth by Henny Beaumont, 283 pages.

Beaumont, a London based artist, wrote this moving book about her relationship with her daughter Beth. Her third daughter, born in 2001, was diagnosed with Down syndrome, Beaumont, pulling no punches, and particularly hard on herself, shows the hurdles, heartache, and the wrenchingly difficult decisions she and her family faced with swim lessons, school, and everyday family life. The author's beautiful portrait-like art is very effective at conveying the fraught emotional state that she and her family often found themselves in. Written five years ago, the book ends on a hopeful note, when Beth was a young teen, so, you know, we can only hope that things are still going well.