Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant is historical fiction set in a convent in 16th century Italy. Almost half of all noblewomen of the time were put into convents as their families could not afford to marry off more than one daughter. The novel takes place entirely within the walls of the convent and is populated only by women. What could have been a rather boring story is brought to life in the most fascinating way by Dunant. There is the…
The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri is an imaginative novel centering around an apartment building in Bombay, all the families that live there, and Vishnu the man who has lived for many years on the landing and now lies there dying. This provokes various responses from the tenants who have known Vishnu for years. Suri skillfully weaves Hindu Mythology in and out of the story and transports the reader on a wonderful journey. At times funny, at times sad,…
The Hatmaker’s Heart by Carla Stewart is a novel about a young English girl living in NYC in the 1920’s trying to make her way as a hatmaker and designer. Its a wonderful story, full of the fashion and jazz scene of the times, even taking the reader to England for a royal wedding. I was enjoying this book until the end when the author suddenly starting talking a lot about God. It seemed strange and out of place and…
The Children’s Crusade by Ann Packer is a novel about four kids growing up with an unhappy mother and a stable father south of San Francisco on a piece of property that would eventually become very valuable. We meet them first as kids, then later as adults when one wants to sell the house they grew up in. Although the title is misleading, it is an engrossing and well written family saga. Packer has a way of delving into family…
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner is an incredible novel based on true events in Cambodia at the time when the Khmer Rouge came to power in the late 70’s. Ratner lived through this with her mother when she was a little girl, the rest of her family was killed and only she and her mother got out alive. She went back as an adult and researched this story for many years. What makes it a truly…
The Legacy of Eden by Nelle Davy is a family saga about an Iowa farm named Aurelia and generations of the family that lived and died there. At the head of the family is Lavinia Hawthorn, the matriarch who helped build the farm up and then destroyed all those who cared about it. After the last family member on the farm dies, three estranged sisters who grew up there are called back to tie up loose ends. This brings all…
I was looking for something to read that was less intense than my usual fair, Mercury in Retrograde by Paula Froelich fit the bill. A slightly silly, inconsequential, at times funny novel about three women in their late 20’s/early 30’s living in NYC whose lives have all taken a turn for the worst, They end up living in the same building, doing yoga together and becoming best friends. A good book for a day at the beach. Fans of Sex…
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow is a novel about a biracial young girl who survives a family tragedy. Beautifully written, yet heartbreaking; this novel takes on issues of race, addiction, family, identity and ultimately survival. Although some of the characters could have been more fully developed, it is still a powerful book.
Lamp Black, Wolf Grey by Paula Brackston is a novel set in Wales both past and present day. Laura, an artist moves from London to the Welsh countryside with her husband Dan, hoping to find a quiet place to paint and finally conceive a child. What she doesn’t imagine is that the veil between worlds is thin here, for those who have the eyes to see, and before long she encounters none other than Merlin himself. Brackston had me hooked…
Hold on to Your Kids, Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gorden Neufeld, Ph.D. and Gabor Mate M.D. is a parenting book I think all parents should read. Updated to include a section on raising kids in a digital world, this is a profound rethinking of how we are raising our kids. Rather than looking to their peers for direction, values, and identity, children should be looking toward their parents and the adults in their life for…