While I know I don’t read nearly as much as I did when my powers of retention were stronger, when—as a single mother of 3, working full time, writing pre-dawn, rehearsing children’s plays in the evenings—I probably read at least a book a week, I was surprised to see that I’ve read over 60 books in the last two years. Oh, right ! The quarantine. So, I should have read a lot more. Anyway, below is a list of my top recommendations:
BORN A CRIME - Trevor Noah - Great ‘voice’ (because we know the voice?) and very, very interesting about growing up in South. Africa, both during Apartheid and the period thereafter. An incredible homage to a unique mother and a good, not very long read. 4.3 out of 5 “stars”.
THE LIGHT IN THE RUINS - Chris Bohjallian - Gretchen doesn’t know this interesting novel set in Tuscany during the Nazi occupation—though, of course, the Italians were allied with Nazis. The moral compromises of the time. Much about art theft and such. I enjoyed the author’s SKELETONS AT THE FEAST (though I’d forgotten about it.) This was kind of a murder mystery too—not my cup of tea usually. Very interesting. 4.5.
WHERE’D YOU GO BERNADETTE - Maria Semple - I never intended to read this novel, but stranded in airport I bought it and loved it. So funny, such interesting characters, a clever & witty satire of Microsoft culture, private schools, Seattle—fascinating facts about Antarctica. I just loved it. 4.5.
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE - Elizabeth Strout - This novel of loosely connected stories, (like OLIVE KITTERIDGE) made me want to go back re-read MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON, since all of the characters were connected to her, however removed. Strout cuts directly to the gut in subtle way, while ‘memory’ serves as the central narrator. Really good read, set in the miserable mid-west. 4.5.
THE IMMORALISTS - Chloe Benjamin - An enticing story which begins with 4 young Jewish siblings going to a ‘fortune teller’ in late 1960’s in NYC. She tells each (separately) the date of his/her death. We follow three of the four siblings to that date. The AIDS epidemic, magic, medicine, San Francisco—then & now—all make up this interesting novel. 4.
THE MERMAID AND MRS HANCOCK - Imogen Hermes Gowar- Not being a historian, I can’t swear that this is an excellent rendering of a village on the outskirts of London in 1785—but the novel was rich with period details and fairly unpredictable characters. There are 2 mermaids, the later one quite mystical. I was engrossed in this story of whores, mistresses, ship builders and middle class merchants. And loved the ‘mermaid.’ Good read, with the ending, perhaps too rushed. A brilliant revelation of the State of Women in those times (in fact, in most times). 4.
IMPROVEMENT - Joan Silber - A tight novel, created from interconnected stories. As the back of the book says: “a remarkable novel that examines connection and the possibility of generosity in the face of loss.” Well drawn characters and surprising twists. 4.4.
WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES - Georgia Hunter - For people, like me, who have read a lot of Holocaust literature—there was much in the book that wasn’t new. The way Hunter unfolded her tale, with brief historical notes worked well. Getting this family, or most of it, back together was the cliff hanger. I hadn’t known a lot about how & why Jews made it to Brazil. Lots of characters—thanks to the writing—who were easy to follow and to whom the reader became attached. From the author’s notes, it appears that just about all of the characters are her real relatives. 4.
GIRL, WOMAN OTHER - Bernardine Evaristo - 12 women characters, almost all black and British. An interweaving of narratives and character, class, genders, time periods brilliantly done. Lots of gays a trans or three. No periods, but the stories wove themselves beautifully. 4.
THE LIBRARY BOOK - Susan Orleans - Non-fiction page turner about libraries. Just fascinating by the writer of the ORCHARD THIEF. Any book lover, library lover, will really get involved in the story set around the great fire that nearly destroyed The L.A. Public library. 4.5.
THE NICKEL BOYS - Colson Whithead - Better than THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD- But a hard read, a bright young black guy with a great future gets framed and sent to a ‘reform school’ like place of horrors. 4.
MEMORIAL DRIVE - Natasha Tretheway - A poet, coming to terms with her mother’s murder, 30 years later. Civil Rights and BLM so relevant. A short book. 4.
WRITERS & LOVERS - Lily King – The most engrossing novel I’ve read in memory. She got everything right, the push pull of the obsession to write (‘can’t get over it like the flu’), the nitty gritty of F&B in a high tone restaurant, grief, Boston, writer’s community, debt. All with witty and heart twisting insights. 5.
THE BEEKEEPER OF ALEPPO - Christy Lefteri-This story of a Syrian man and his blind wife, who have lost their only child to the bombing, trying to make their way to England through the dangers of smugglers, crowded camps, Istanbul, Athens, the horror and hopelessness. Well written and conceived by Lefteri, a British creative writing teacher who worked in the camps as an NGO. Elements of EXIT WEST; reality rather than ‘magical realism’ though. 4.5.
THE GIVER OF STARS - Jojo Moyes - Not great literature, predictable and packed with stereo types, yet such an interesting story set in Kentucky during the WPA—women carrying books by horseback and mules to families isolated back in mountain hollers, Engrossing. 4.
ACCIDENTS IN THE HOME - Tessa Hadley - Quirky insights, a chaotic and (believable) “family tree” of a blended family—written with an insightful sense of children, the pull of biology and trauma, forgiveness and non-forgiveness; an occasional flash of really fine writing. 4.
DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD - Olga Tokarczuk - Nobel prize winning novel. “A brilliant Literary Murder Mystery.” Yes, the writing (translated from Polish) was good, the band of friends endearing, the barren landscape, isolated villages well-drawn. The book just never captured me. Maybe, with a more concentrated reading (not scattered over a month). Maybe with a deeper interest in astrology. Though I haven’t included any books rated lower than 4, I’m leaving this one in…. 3.5.
CASTE The Origins of Our Discontents - Isabel Wilkerson - Slow reading for my non-fiction reading self. But so important. I learned so much and this book is so very timely. Wish it could be required reading. Yes, we have a caste system, like India’s only younger. Learned that the framework of NAZI policy on Jew was modeled after the Jim Crow laws (though, some Germans felt those were too extreme). Left book with a deeper, much deeper, understanding of Trump’s appeal. 4.5.
THE DUTCH HOUSE - Ann Patchett - A deeply satisfying story of family and loss, sprinkled with little jewels, of children segregated and a crowded Thanksgiving: “..with kids stashed in the den to eat off card tables like a collection of understudies who dreamed of one day breaking into the dining room.” Patchett’s narrator is male and she does him great justice. I hear that the audio version is read by Tom Hanks. Perfect. 4.5.
HAMNET - Maggie O’Farrell - A rich re-imagining of the young Shakespeare, the times, his family—mostly interestingly—his wife almost a wood sprite, but domesticated. His children. His son, Hamnet—who dies of the plague and the author imagines inspired HAMLET, good on grief, and then overworked it. So many pages, near the end, were a bit too ponderous. The ending though was fine and fodder for the ‘personal’ in the creative process. 4.
TRANSCENDENT KINGDOM - Yaa Gyasi - Quiet the contrast to her first novel (HOMEGOING) in that this was personal, one character, one POV. Rather than a sweeping epic. Such good writing and a good story and a unique examination of science VS spiritual. Set at Stanford and in Huntsville Alabama. Would not recommend to my daughter, mouse experiments! 4.3.
FUGITIVE PIECES - Anne Michaels - This was my 2nd read of the powerful, poetic, heartbreaking novel. The Holocaust, hope, guilt (lots of guilt) love, passion, good and evil, weather, geology, archology, history.. .The little mud-covered boy, rising from the Polish bog, crying, “Dirty Jew! Dirty Jew!” Incredible descriptions of Greece, though the narrative goes from Poland to Greece to Canada and even dips into Antarctica; is filled with science and myth. 5.
HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD Inside The Mind Of an American Family - Robert Kolker - The front cover with 11 of the 12 children lined up before their parents on a curved stair case tells much of the story—the pregnant mom (the most determinedly optimistic woman possible in gruesome circumstances) is the only person smiling. ^ of the 10 boys develop schizophrenia. With so many names (not to mention names of researchers and drugs—it was a difficult book for me to stick to. The family dynamics were fascinating. The story both tragic and heartening. Leaving this ‘below 4 in too…3.7
AMERICAN DIRT - Jeanine Cummins - I was really caught up in the narrative of this controversial book. It follows and mother and her year old son as they flee a cartel from Acapulco to the U.S. border. A riveting story with good (perhaps ‘stock’ but still good) characters. Because the writer is not Hispanic and because the story was played for suspense and overlooked some of the deeper political issues, it was villainized. Still, I think, because it is a good read, the reader learns a lot about the plight of immigrants. And this time, more than any, is when we should be learning what is accessible. 4.5.
INTERIOR CHINATOWN - Charles Yu - Sister G recommended this book and I found it a powerful ‘speak out’ and an interesting read as racism against Asians seems to have raised its ugly head. The narrator places himself as ‘background’ in T.V. series where the stars and real character are a blonde woman cop, Black male cop in Chinatown where none of the Asians actually have ‘characters. Metaphor like S’s cancer ward was metaphor for the Gulag. Except lots of sly humor in this book. 4.
HOLD STILL - Sally Mann - This memoir resonated with me. I am not a huge fan of memoir, but there was so much I could relate to: the identification with ‘place,’ (the proximity of the place), family stresses, creative urge, even the times. The photos enhanced the narrative and also informed us about the creative process on some very familiar photos. It was interesting and I read the 470 page book a just a few sittings (all of train ride from NYC to Roanoke). 4.5.
MIGRATIONS - Charlotte McConaughy - Diane recommended this book, part meditation, part mystery, part adventure—set in the future, but not science fiction; just following the last bird migration. This blurb doesn’t do it justice. It was engrossing and moving. Important. 4.5.
THE WEIGHT OF INK - Rachel Kadish - Not actually sure when I read this, but forgot to record. A fascinating narrative like the Ay Byatt book—bounces from 1691 to preset day where scholars are unearthing letters they eventually discover were written by a Jewish woman in London. Great scenes of the plague, the Thames, Jewish tradition and immigration, gender roles, Etc. A wonderful read. 4.
SALVAGE THE BONES - Jesmyn Ward - Reading this novel again grabbed me just as it did the first time. Brilliant and flawless in the integrity of recording the experience of Gulf Coast Blacks living in extreme poverty, the dignity of their struggle, the ties that bind family—no matter how dysfunctional. Hard reading. The dog fight, the suffering. Even if you intimately know this life, the ability to put it on paper stuns me. (I re-read prior to Ward’s speaking engagement here. (I was gifted with a fifteen minute one-on-one with her. As powerful a presence as she is a writer. Oh lucky me!) 5.
THE OVERSTORY - Richard Powers - I’ve long avoided this book, expecting something esoteric, trees talking to one another (500 pages, small print). Instead, while learning a great deal about trees, you follow 5 or 6 protagonists as they come from very different lives to bond in protecting trees/environment. A psychological adventure story; romance and tragedy. 5.
A LITTLE LIFE - Hanya Yanagihara - (voted one of “best 25 books of last 125 years) is based on the premise that a man abandoned at birth and terribly abused for the first 15 years of his life, run over by a car, subject to seizures, and constant self-mutilations enters Harvard at age 16 where he acquires 3 (lifelong) best friends who are part of an ever-widening circle of blindly devoted friends—all of them magnificently accomplished—who stick with Jude, though he lies to them pathologically and returns their devotion by acting from severe guilt, anger ,or deep distain toward his cult. The book has good writing, time and POV are handled beautifully, flawlessly. I loved the descriptions of the plays and movies his very best friend and eventual lover stars in. I loved, loved the descriptions of the art of his artist friend, and the house designs by his architect friend. The 4 men all become fabulously wealthy and skip together over continents and through rarely seen global locations, buy penthouses & such here & there. On & on it goes, pages of masochism and Jude’s self-loathing, over & over. 814 pages Again, leaving this ‘under 4’ in… 3.5.
ON EARTH WE’RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS - Ocean Vuong - Seldom, if ever, do I finish reading a book and have the desire to start all over again. Not because I missed something, but because it was transporting and beautiful, if painfully cruel sometimes. A gay American Vietnamese son’s ‘letter to his mother.’ Who cannot read. The descriptions, the empathy; horror and beauty Vuong sees, without judgement. Obviously a poet, a terribly gifted one and a brave and honest novelist. 5.
CROSS ROADS - J. Franzen - This man does family so well, and the American psyche too. Male ego; we watch the slow destruction of a young gifted teen by addiction—set adrift in the early 70’s time when parents were off ‘finding themselves, the Viet Nam war was winding down and there were a lot of guitars in churches. God is a theme throughout the book and the way the individual characters call upon, or interpret ‘God,’ is illuminating, quirky. Sin & freedom, family and the dissolution of it. I don’t remember THE CORRECTIONS & FREEDOM very well, but think this latest may be Franzen’s best novel. 4.5.
THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS - Laurie Frankel - An important book for understanding a Trans child and a family’s struggle to understand and protect the child. The quirky too cute family seemed to be invented by a writer more in love with the ‘idea’ of children than with children. The parents so in love and managing to make love all the time, despite a house full of young children. The trip to Thailand too conveniently inserted, some lay writing. But , ultimately, worth the read. 4.
BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2021 - edited by Jesmyn Ward - A diversity of stories POV writing styles, maybe two stories in the collection of 20 did not pull me in. A great feature is, along with their bios, the writers say a few words about their stories. 4.5.
GONER - me - In light of my sister’s forthcoming memoir, I re-read my novel, published in 2017. It was not dastardly as I feared. The most interesting part of the novel was where I played with the POV, commented on it, and the ending; the reimagined life for Margaret—how narrative or the existence of 4 people (& their descendants) can hinge on one mis-understanding, or one missed connection. 4.
THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY - Amor Towles - Not as good, or artful ,as A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW, but still an engrossing read of a sort of road trip, interesting characters, some nice plot twists and a good view of past WWII America. The good people are good, the bad people bad, but some nice gradations in between. 4.3.
BROWN GIRL DREAMING - Jacqueline Woodson - Listed as a YA novel, written in free verse, an autobiography of a Black girl, from her birth through much of childhood, vying between Brooklyn and So. Carolina. So forgiving, so caught between the contradictions of love. So much story with so few words. Just lovely. 4.6.
THE SONG OF ACHILLES - Madeline Miller - Not a book I’d usually read, a ‘retelling’ of the Trojan War, but it kept my attention. Kind of homoerotic and lots of interesting details relating to the Greek’s identification with their deities. Good book for a long day on planes and in airports. 4.
MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE - Lori Gottlieb - Recommended by my counselor (& avoided because I don’t do ‘self-help’ books), this book was witty, insightful, well-written and vastly helpful. The cover description: “A Therapist, Her Therapists, and Our Lives Revealed.” Something in here for everyone. 4.
