Pack Up the Moon, by Irish writer Anna McPartlin is a deeply honest, funny, tender novel, full of friendship, grief and one too many drinks. The story centers around Emma, in her late 20’s dealing with a terrible tragedy, and her close knit friends who circle around her, while dealing with their own struggles. McPartlin was a stand-up comic before becoming a writer, and it shows in her writing. She’s funny and doesn’t hold anything back. Although somewhat predictable, I…
Breadfruit by Celestine Vaite is the first novel I’ve read by a Tahitian writer. It is the first in a trilogy where we meet Materena Mahi, a Tahitian woman who brings to mind Precious Ramotswe of The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Through Vaite’s deceptively simple writing, her characters come alive, and we are given a peek into true Tahitian culture. I found this book funny and thoroughly enjoyable.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home is a novel by Carol Rifka Brunt set in the 80’s when AIDS was just being named and feared by all. It is a coming of age story about 14 year old June Elbus and her sister Greta. June is an awkward teenager who is more comfortable pretending she is living in the middle ages, than hanging out with kids her own age. Her best friend is her Uncle and Godfather, Finn, who is a…
Love and Other Games of Chance by Lee Siegel started out really good, but soon got tiresome. We meet Issac Schlossberg, son of a famed sideshow performer. His life is that of an entertainer, magician, circus performer, conjurer; he is in love with an Angel. His travels take him across America, to India, England and beyond, in a giant game of snakes and ladders. At first I found the story very funny and very interesting. But the sustained frenetic pace…
The Lake of Dreams is the recent novel by Kim Edwards, author of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. In the novel, Lucy Jarrett has been living abroad in Indonesia, and Japan, as far away as she can get from the town she grew up in, Lake of Dreams, where her father died in an accident ten years earlier. When she returns home to spend time with her mother, after she has been in a minor accident, Lucy is dragged back into…
I love Bill Bryson. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is one of the most hilarious memoirs I’ve ever read. Recently, I picked up an earlier book of his called A Walk in the Woods, about his attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail with an overweight, out of shape, ex-alchoholic friend of his. Needless to say, they didn’t make it all the way. But they did hike a good portion of the trail, and this book tells of…
Daughters of Fire by Tom Peek, is a modern day adventure story set on the Big Island of Hawaii. It is a mix of myth, culture, romance, thriller, mystery, and ancient Hawaiian ritual. Having lived for many years on the Big Island, I loved this book. Hawaii’s volcano goddess Pele comes alive in these pages, and if you have been to the Big Island, then you know, she is an undeniable force. The modern culture clash between Hawaiians and developers…
Upside Down Inside Out by Monica McInerney is a fun, romantic, somewhat predictable, slightly silly novel about an Irish woman on holiday in Australia who meets the man of her dreams, who is on holiday from London, both posing as someone other than themselves. If you can suspend your disbelief, it is a nice, lighthearted tale of travel, romance and happily ever after. Nothing amazing here, but enjoyable nonetheless. A fun vacation read. I do wonder though-who is that blond…
Barbara Kingsolver is one of the few authors whose books I just have to have-even when they are still in hardback. Sadly, I was very disappointed with her latest offering, Flight Behavior. This novel tells the story of the Monarch butterflies changing their migration for the first time in thousands of years and landing in a forest in Appalachia. The whole book is a warning about Global Warming. Although this is a real problem, and I feel strongly about this…
Blind Submission by Debra Ginsberg is a book lovers book. Set inside a literary agency, and along the lines of The Devil Wears Prada, complete with the boss from hell, Ginsberg has concocted a story that is at times hilarious, at times mysterious, and always fully engaging. I stayed up half the night reading this book. It probably helps that, like the protagonist, my idea of heaven is being surrounded by wonderful books. Ginsberg’s writing is clever and witty-a well crafted tale…