a collection of tried and true
A man in his mid-40’s has recently lost his job, is about to go bancrupt and lose his over mortgaged house and is pretty sure his wife is having an affair with him. He then accidentally becomes a drug dealer to try to maked ends meet and it all comes apart.
PJH rating: ***1/2
The middle aged Burgess brothers help their sister whose teenage son is accused of a hate crime in a small town in Maine. The novel explores the intertwined lives of the depressed siblings through their viewpoints as well as through other family members and friends. While I didn’t enjoy it as much as Strout’s other novels, it still is a wonderfully written book with the author’s recurrent themes of loneliness, and the redemptive qualities of family members who are just awful on the outside. She is definitely one of my new favorite authors.
PJH rating: ****
The third in his series of Holt, Colorado small town stories, the story of “Dad”, a 90 year old’s last month as he is dying and the lives of his family and neighbors. Simple, ordinary, very touching. I love the last paragraph.
PJH rating: ****1/2
A collection of short stories of down and unlucky men on the west coast, mostly in Portland. Written by the author of Beautiful Ruins, one of my favorite books in a while, a diverse, interesting and at time times funny group of stories.
PJH rating: ****
Different stories of people in New York City in early 1970’s. All the stories connect, in amazingly ways, to the true story of the a man walking a tightrope across the soon to be completed World Trade Center Towers. A brilliant book!
PJH rating: ****1/2
Set immediately after WW2 an English journalist/author learns through chance of the plight of the people who lived on Guernsey, an Island in the English Channel between France and England. Told completely through letters, the novel (?) tells the story of the author, her family, her romantic interests and the people of Guernsey. Great stuff.
PJH Rating: **** 1/2 and 3/4
Courtney has been trying to get me to read this forever as she thought I would like it. I was always turned off by the title as it sound like one of those chic lit southern novels that I’m not too fond of. As usual Courtney was right… I loved it and it wasn’t anything close to what I thought it was. This is one of those books that I couldn’t put down, I read it straight through after work for the past two nights totally wrapped up in it and wanting to stay home to finish it. It is so sad to read the author died, this was her first novel, just before the book was published and her niece (Annie Barrows – a children’s fiction author – she wrote Ivy and Bean – one of our favs) finished it up. So sad to think what other great stories she would have come up with. Makes me SO HAPPY to be reading good stuff instead of watching the crap on TV – although I feel so out of it that I don’t know any of the details of all the craziness going on in Cleveland news these days that is all anyone is talking about wherever we go… rambling.
A group of short stories set in a small town in Maine spread out over thirty years. Olive Kitteridge is the main character in some stories, just an incidental character in others, but the powerful central force of the book. Olive is truly an awful woman although I sympathized with her a bit towards the end… just a bit. I feel that many might say this book is terribly depressing but I really loved it. The writing is wonderful. You really are drawn into each character. The last page or two is the best ending I think I have ever read in a book.
PJH Rating: ****1/2
A virus causes humans to turn into zombies who bite other humans to turn into zombies that almost take over the world. Story told as set of interviews looking back over the years when the zombies started and when the world went to war with them. A fun and very readable book… will be interesting to see how the movie is that comes out in June with Brad Pitt starring. The way the book is written would be impossible to film.
PJH Rating: ****
The donated organs from a man turn out to have an unusual virus that causes medical complications to the many donors who received the organs. Written by a physician at University Hospitals where I currently work and who I used to know when I worked in dialysis. While not very well written, it was an interesting read regarding the transplant, medical and malpractice industries in our country.
PJH Rating: ***1/2
The story of Bit, born in a VW bug on a caravan on the way to Arcadia, a hippie commune in New York. The novel is told from his point of view when he is five years old in the growing commune, when he is fifteen in the thriving commune and then years later when he is an adult at different times including the future. I have been waiting for this book FOREVER in my library overdrive queue and it was well worth the wait. I really loved it and highly recommend it. Great writing and very moving. It’s amazing to me that it was written by someone who is in their early 30’s.
PJH Rating: ****1/2
Eat On Edgecliff 