I tend to avoid novels set during WWII, as there have just been way too many of them. However, I picked up The Postmistress by Sarah Blake at my local library and found it quite interesting. Iris James, the postmistress of the novel’s title, tells us in no uncertain terms that there is no such thing as a postmistress, it is simply postmaster for a man or a woman, so I do have to question the title of the novel. Set in a…
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant is historical fiction set in Medici Florence at the time of the fanatical monk Savonarola in the late fifteenth century. It is a time when art flourished and Botticelli’s Venus was born. Our story follows the life of fifteen year old Alessandra Cecchi, a young artist and daughter of a cloth merchant. Although her character is fictional, she could have been real, and the events and people all around her are taken from history….
I have read and enjoyed several of Sue Miller’s novels. The Good Mother is her first novel. It tells the story of Anna Dulap. A recently divorced mother of a 3 year old little girl. After the divorce, Anna finds a new lover that she loses herself in. This keeps her from always having the best judgement. I tried to sympathize with Anna, but I found it hard to understand some of the choices that she made. I actually found the novel mildly…
Gretel Ehrlich has spent countless hours in solitude in the observation of nature and how we fit into the big picture. Her observations cut so deep and are so heartwrenching, sometimes I just need to stop reading and let her words sink in. Islands, The Universe, Home is a book of 10 essays that take us through the seasons on her Wyoming ranch and on pilgrimage to Japan and other places. At times I am reminded of Robinson Jeffers, Gary Snyder, Matsuo Basho,…
Middle Son by Deborah Iida is a small, deeply moving novel about the middle son of a Japanese immigrant family, growing up in the worker’s camps in the cane fields on Maui. The novel brings us to the place so completely I can almost feel the cane spiders crawling on my skin and see the cane fires burning. Iida has crafted a tale of family tradition, love and obligation; also the need to distance oneself from their place of origin,…
The Night Journal by Elizabeth Crook kept me up all night reading. It is set in New Mexico, past and present, and weaves together four generations of women. Meg, who is now 37 has taken her grandmother back to her childhood home in Las Vegas, New Mexico, where long buried secrets are uncovered. There, she finally reads her great grandmother Hanna’s journals, that she has avoided reading all her life.The journals give us a wonderful portait of New Mexcio at…
The Last Aloha by Gaellen Quinn tells of the takeover of the Hawaiian Monarchy in the late 1800’s by American businessmen, descendants of missionaries. If you don’t know this story already, this is a good piece of historical fiction that will clearly paint the picture for you. The characters of Laura and her missionary relatives, were interesting, but not the best part of this book. The history lessons, and the story told of Hawaii’s last monarchs are what make this well worth…
I love Anne Lamott and have read everything she’s written, but somehow missed Crooked Little Heart, until now. It is the story of thirteen year old Rosie Ferguson, a gifted tennis player, just on the verge of adolescence, whose father died when she was four years old. Lamott writes with such heart and honesty, at times it is almost painful to read. She explores the vulnerability of the human heart, and all the sadness, grief and fear we can feel…
Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts by Lucy Dillon is a tender, funny novel set in the English countryside, about a kennel of abandoned dogs and their unlikely new owners. Dillon has crafted a novel that appeals to dog lovers as well as those who consider themselves ‘not really dog people.’ A fun, sweet read-it’s hard not to want to take home some of the dogs yourself, by the end.
The Romantics by Pankaj Mishra is a revelation. It comes across gently, slowly, with subtle grace that draws you in before you even know what’s happening. Mishra’s language is deceptively simple. His ideas and concepts are not. I was transported to Benares through the story of Samar, a young Indian, meeting many westerners for the first time, and following a very real journey of self discovery. I thought this was a truly beautiful book. The images of India, and the…