The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise by Julia Stuart is a quirky novel set in the famous Tower of London. Our protagonist, Balthazar Jones, is a Beefeater (Yoeman Warder of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Member of the Sovereign’s Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extrodinary.) He is given the job of keeper of the Queen’s menagerie, which includes all the exotic animals that have been gifted to the Queen from all over…
A Wild Ride Up the Cupboards is a brilliant and emotionally charged debut novel by Ann Bauer. She writes of 4 year old Edward disppearing from his family and the world, into a slow and uncharted descent into Autism. Bauer writes from the point of view of Rachel, Edward’s monther, and shows the effect Edward’s withdrawal has on her, and her marriage, and the things that desperate parents will do to try to help their children. The story is so believable in part because…
The Dive from Clausen’s Pier by Ann Packer is an amazing debut novel-the best novel I’ve read in a while. Set in Wisconsin and New York City, we follow the lives of young Carrie Bell and her fiance Mike as their relationship changes, due at first to growing apart and then to a tragedy that changes them both forever. I loved Packer’s writing and was drawn in from the start. She created a story with honest characters and moral dilemas I…
Quite a Year for Plums is a quirky little novel by Bailey White. The story was original and funny and engaging. I loved all the peculiar characters. Roger, the peanut pathologist, Della the bird artist, Louise and the typographer attempting to contact aliens with just the right combination of letters and numbers, to name just a few. I was transported to the slow pace of small town Georgia life and didn’t want to leave. Bailey White is a magnificent storyteller…
Bossypants by Tina Fey seemed to be a huge hit with everyone this past year, so I decided to read it. I did find it mildly entertaining and at some moments even laugh out loud funny, but it just kept making me think of another book – Everybody into the Pool-True Tales by Beth Lisick, a female comedy-memior that really had me laughing out loud until I was crying. Very different books for sure, and Lisick’s book might not be…
I’ve read a lot of Elizabeth Berg’s books, some I like better than others. Say When is probably one of my favorites. It is such an honest portrayal of a marriage falling apart. Berg writes convincingly from the point of view of Griffin, the husband. Although I didn’t always understand Griffin’s choices, or that of his wife Ellen, the story felt so real to me-it told of two flawed people, just like any of us, trying to make their marriage…
Flying Changes by Sara Gruen is the follow up to her first novel, Riding Lessons. We again follow Annemarie Zimmer and her daughter Eva who is now ready to ride competitively, with the possibility of having an Olympic career; a dream that ended for Annemarie when she was 18 and had a tragic fall that killed her beloved horse, and nearly killed her. Although at first this seems like it is a novel about Eva, it turns out to be the…
The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt, a novel in pictures, by Caroline Preston is a wonderfully original book that I didn’t want to end. It is written in the form of a scrapbook filled with pictures, ticket stubs, ads, candy wrappers, vintage postcards, etc. It’s the kind of book you just slowly pour over again and again. Frankie is a young and independent girl in the 1920’s, and although her story is a bit cliche and predictable, it doesn’t matter. The book…
I picked up Stone Arabia by Dana Spiotta, author of Eat the Document, as it seemed like an interesting departure from what I’d been reading. It follows Denise and Nik, siblings who grew up in 80’s LA, now in their late 40’s. Nik is a brilliant, but obscure, musician/artist who obsessively creates art only for himself and his sister, Denise, who more often than not ends up supporting him. Spiotta is an original writer, delving into the depths of the…
Feast of Roses by Indu Sundaresan is the follow up novel to The Twentieth Wife. This new novel follows the life of Mehrunnisa after she marries Emperor Jahangir in 17th century India and becomes Empress Nur Jahan, “Light of the World.” We learn that it is she who is really in control of the Empire. This book is a fascinating portrait of India during the height of the Mughal Empire, and of one woman who managed to rule an empire against all…