[Very Belated] Book Report for July, August, and September

I realized yesterday that I had failed to do a book report for the months above, and decided that I would go ahead and do it - I mean, better late than never, right?  I wasn't about to turn it into a 4 month or plus one -  three months is plenty!

So here are my reads for the end of the summer/very beginning of fall.

Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens.  I know this book has been getting rave reviews, and that it is the author's debut novel. 

I thought it was good, but not amazing.  It details the story of a young woman, Kya Clark, who lives in the marshes of North Carolina.  When the story begins, she is a child watching her mother walk away, convincing herself that she will return.  Not that long after, her brother Jodie - her best friend - leaves as well, leaving Kya with her alcoholic and violent father.

Time moves along and eventually Kya is living by herself in the marsh, counting gulls and other birds as her friends and companions, and learning about where she lives in a personal and more intimate way than most.   She is known as "Marsh Girl" to those in the town, a place she only visits when necessary.  A new kind of existence shows up in the person of a friend of her brother's, named Tate, who teaches her to read and opens up more of the world to her.

By the summer of 1969, a well-known, popular young man named Chase is found murdered, and Kya becomes the primary suspect.  The story is told in alternating pieces, starting with Kya as a child watching her mother leave, then moving to the discovery of Chase's body, and so on. 

I liked the book.  I thought it was well-written overall, and that Kya's existence was described in a way that made you feel her isolation.  It's definitely worth reading, but I personally didn't find it to be as groundbreaking as a lot of the critics did.

City of Girls, by Elizabeth Gilbert.  What an interesting and entertaining book! 

Vivian Morris, a young woman in the early 1940s, has been sent by her proper and wealthy parents to live with her Aunt Peg in New York City, after failing out of Vassar and not seeming to have another plan.  The book opens with her beginning a letter to another woman, who it turns out is a daughter of a dear friend.  The daughter has asked her, "Just what were you to my father?" and Vivian sets out to tell her story, hoping that by giving her the whole thing, she'll understand the relationship she had.

Aunt Peg owns an off-Broadway theater (well before that was a term), and they put on plays for the neighborhood with a ragtag group of performers, a lot of them former vaudevillians.  This is a whole new world to Vivian, and she gets caught up into the life of those around her, and suddenly has a freedom that she never even thought was out there.

Gilbert writes Vivian as someone with a wry sense of humor, and with enjoyable powers of observation.  There are actually many laugh out loud descriptions of some of the other characters, and of the activities she undertakes with them.  New York City right before World War II is a no-holds-barred, exciting place full of adventure and excitement.  Of course, Vivian is too young to appreciate much of her behavior and its consequences until an incident occurs that changes everything.  And Vivian returns to her rather conservative, proper family.  She tries to live a "proper" life, even becoming engaged to a very nice man.  But things change when she learns her bother has been killed in the war, and fortunately Aunt Peg asks her to return to New York, where, as part of the war effort, she has been assigned the task of creating plays and entertainments for people working at the Navy Yard.

New York City during and after World War II is a different kind of place altogether, but Vivian manages to make a life for herself, and one that makes her happy.  By the end of the book, we have learned so much about Vivian, and also her relationship with the letter writer's daughter.

I really enjoyed this book, as I enjoy reading about New York (and other places as well) at a time described to me by my parents, who were young adults at that time in another place.  So many of the places, people, and activities were already somewhat familiar.  And Vivian's presentation of it all was really fun to read.

Maids of Misfortune, by M. Louisa Locke.  This was an enjoyable book.  It was a cheapie for my Nook, and was one of those "If you enjoyed X, you might like ___." 

Annie Fuller lives in late 1870s San Francisco, having moved there after her husband died, and when her aunt left her a family house.  Annie's husband died with an incredible amount of debt, so her personal fortune was gone.  But she moved to San Francisco and opened her inherited house as a boarding house, and things are going pretty well.

She was also educated by her father to understand a great deal about finance and predicting financial stability, but since she knows that as a woman, no one will listen to her, she takes on the personage of a clairvoyant known as Sybil, since men are more likely to believe fantastical predictions, and it has paid off for her.  When one of her clients is found dead in his home, the police come looking for Sybil, since she was the last one to see him, and is now a suspect.  Annie realizes that she needs to find out what happened, so that her "cover" is not blown.

The bulk of the story involves her efforts, and I enjoyed reading about the people and city of San Francisco at the time time period.  Like most cozy mysteries, there were things that required suspension of disbelief, but for the most part, it was well-written and it kept me wanting to keep going.

I have since learned that the author is an expert in Women's History, and I imagine that is what made the book hold together so well.

Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng.  I know that everyone has been raving about this book, and I get it, I just was not as enamored as most.

The Richardson family of Shaker Heights, Ohio, have a lovely life, or so it seems.  Mrs. Richardson is a native of the town, having been born and raised there, and whose grandparents were among the first settlers there.  She inherited a house from her family, which she rents out selectively to those she feels that she can really help.  When Mia Warren and her teenage daughter Pearl move into the house, it seems like a good match.  Mia is a struggling artist, and Pearl is the same age as one of the Richardson children, and they become fast friends.

I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say that certain events lead to an ending that is both relevatory and sad, and the reader sees that regardless of how much someone of privilege thinks they can help others, they bring their own biases to the table that can have a devastating effect.

This book was certainly readable, and interesting enough, but I was not in love with it.

The Pawful Truth, by Miranda James.  Another good entry in this series.  This time, Charlie and his cat Diesel become inadvertently involved in a murder of a professor at the college where Charlie works. 

Charlie has signed up to audit a course in the Medieval Studies dept, taught by a professor that is well-known, and one of the most popular teachers in the college.  He attends the first sesssion, and is both impressed and inspired.  His friend and colleague Melba tells him the professor is known for having an eye for the ladies, and that popular gossip is that his wife, another professor at the college, as well as a popular novelist, does not appreciate the behavior of her husband.  But, there are also rumors flying about that she is also having an affair!

Lo and behold, the professor that the wife is supposedly seeing ends up being a temporary boarder at Charlie's house when his home is being renovated.  Shortly after all of this begins, Charlie's professor is found murdered, and the list of suspects includes nearly every single person involved one way or another in the campus gossip. 

What I enjoy about this series, is that the author is clearly familiar with the academic world, and all of the intrigues - real and imagined - that take place on a regular basis.  She also understands the work of a cataloger in a library, which is extremely rare.  So even if a lot of things seem unlikely, the stories are readable, and the mysteries usually pretty good.

Eventually, Charlie finds out who murdered the professor, why, how, and this time, is nearly killed in the process.  It will be interesting to see if he becomes more "tame" in future entries in this series as a result.

Above All Things, by Tanis Rideout.  This book was fascinating.  It takes the story of Charles Mallory's attempt to be the first to successfully climb Mount Everest in 1924, and intersperses it with the story of his wife, left at home with their children, wishing that he had not gone in the first place, but also hoping for any good news that arrives.

I admire people with a sense of adventure, but after reading 'Into Thin Air' and then this book, I just don't really understand the desire to conquer Everest.  Apparently, Mallory was the first person to give the answer "Because it's there."  The story of the team's efforts to get here, and the extreme conditions and challenges included are both fascinating and depressing.  Frankly, by the time I was finished with the book, I felt that Mallory was incredibly egotistical more than brave.  Though I also realize that ego is often what leads people to even attempt these things.

The parts of the book dealing with his wife and her experiences were both frustrating and sad to me.  At the beginning, he has sworn to her that he is finished with Everest, and that they can begin to lead a normal family life.  Then she sees a telegram congratulating him on joining the team before he does.  Due to social constraints of the time, and the fact that she does seem to genuinely love him, all she can do is express her frustration and annoyance, and then wait to see what happens. 

I was also fascinated to learn that Mallory's body was finally found in 1999.  I guess I never paid a whole lot of attention to him and his story before, mostly because it seemed like another "for God and kingdom" story, which of course it is, but the author managed to use archival materials and actual letters exchanged between the couple to make the story interesting, frustrating, and sad.

Queen Lucia, by E.F. Benson.  This is the first in the "Lucia and Mapp" series of books that were also made into a TV dramatization.

Mrs. Lucas, "Lucia" to her friends, is the reigning queen of Riseholme, a small English town.  She considers herself and her opinions to be expert, and is suspicious of anyone who disagrees.  Georgie Pillson is her neighbor, friend, and on occasion, the one who wants to bring her down a peg.

When a series of events culminates in the arrival of a famous opera singer who moves to the village, it seems that Lucia's reign is over - even Georgie is smitten with the newcomer. 

This is an amusing book, full of the types of characters we all encounter on a regular basis , who act in similar ways and who can be frustrating.  Things look questionable for a while, but everything works out in the end, as you might expect.

The Scholar, by Dervla McTiernan.  Late on a Friday night, Dr. Emma Sweeney is going to her lab on the campus of a university in Galway, when she comes across a dead girl who has been run over.  Her first instinct is to call her boyfriend, Cormac Reilly, who is a detective with the Galway police.  They had moved from Dublin to Galway for her job at the lab, a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Emma is being very successful in her career, now working for Darcy Pharmaceuticals, a private enterprise with their lab on the campus; Cormac has been given cold cases to review, and is getting tired of not being able to have current cases of his own.

At first it is thought that the victim is the granddaughter of the head/owner of Darcy Pharmaceuticals, but then it turns out that it is another young woman.  Mystery surrounds the relationship of the two girls, and why/if/how they worked in the lab together.  As the case moves forward, we learn some upsetting facts about everyone involved, and Cormac becomes more and more concerned first that Emma could be harmed, and later that somehow she was involved.

These books remind me somewhat of Tana French's work, but they stand very well on their own.  This one  is by turns creepy and frustrating.  And the politics of the police station are really interesting to me.  I liked this book a lot.

The Book of Speculation, by Erika Swyler.  I liked this book well enough.  I also know that it's going to be one of those books that everyone I know thinks is amazing not just "good enough" (I'm looking at you, "Discovery of Witches."

Simon Watson is a librarian who lives in the family home on Long Island Sound, a house perched on a cliff that is in terrible and disintegrating shape.  Simon's life takes an unexpected turn when he is laid off as a result of budgetary cuts. This is shortly after he receives a book from a Midwest bookseller because the bookseller thought it might be of value to him, as he suspects it is related somehow to Simon's family.

I'm not going to say much more, because I don't want to have spoilers for those who will like the book.  But suffice it to say that the book leads to a lot of revelations that Simon - and often the reader - are not expecting.  The chapters in the book alternate between current day Simon, and the circus group where some of his ancestors worked, and where the magical realism of the story comes in.

It's not a bad book - it's very readable, and interesting, and I'm glad I read it.

Post Captain, by Patrick O' Brian.  My husband loves these books, and I have read the first one.  He wanted to read this one to me aloud, which is fine with me, I love reading aloud - both to and from!

Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin cover a lot in this book.  Stephen works as a spy for the British government, Jack gets into troubles due to debts, and both of them have issues with female relationships.  Add to that when they are assigned to a new, experimental type of ship, which has its own set of problems and issues.

This was a very enjoyable story, though I'm sure I would have liked it more if I had read the first book more recently - there was a lot of "remind me now, what/who is that?"  At a time when a lot of naval activity was mercenary, it was also interesting to learn how upset the admirals would be if a ship returned to shore with no treasure.  Jack gets upbraided several times in this book for that.

Stephen's character is actually more interesting to me, as a doctor and as a naturalist who sees things in an entirely different light than the rest of the characters, who are primarily those in the navy.

And of course, it's always interesting to see how the smallest, seemingly incidental behaviors of women at the time were interpreted and controlled.

Yarned and Dangerous, by Sadie Hartwell.  A fun read in a new series.  Josie Blair heads to a small Connecticut town to help her great uncle who has broken his leg.  He has been pretty recently widowed, and is on his own.  Josie heads there from New York City, where she is working for a fashion house and being frustrated by not being able to have her designs published.  She hopes the break will refresh her, and since it's just a short time - until her mother returns from a cruise - she thinks it will be pretty easy.

Of course, her uncle is a curmudgeon and only grudgingly happy for her help.  She reconnects with a high school friend, as she lived in the town for a couple of years during high school.  And she also learns that she is expected to clean out and sell the inventory of her late great-aunt's yarn store, Miss Marple Knits.  But when she shows up the first time to do it, she finds one of the women who wanted to buy it strangled in the back storage room.

So Josie finds herself with a lot more on her plate than expected.  Fortunately, some of the local knitting group who were also friends with her late aunt are willing to pitch in and help.  But as the investigation into the murders goes along, Josie's suspicions are raised when various things happen that make her wonder just what is going on in this little town.

I enjoyed this read, and liked some of the main characters.  I can see myself reading the next book in this series.

When You Read This, by Mary Adkins.  I read the first 20 pages or so of this book, which told in e-mail memos and blog posts, at least for those pages.

It didn't grab my attention, and I found it really annoying, so even if it picked up later to become one of the best books ever, I had no interest in going on.

The Death of Mrs. Westaway, by Ruth Ware.  Harriet "Hal" Westaway works as a tarot reader at a pier on the English coast.  She took it over after her mother was killed in a car accident.  Hal grew up there, and her mother taught her how tarot works.  She never knew her father, and doesn't have any other family, so she is on her own, and struggling to pay her bills.  One day in the mail she receives a letter from a solicitor's office, summoning her to a house in another part of England where the will of her grandmother will be read. 

Except Hal doesn't think they have contacted the right person - she is alone in the world, and her mother never mentioned any family, much less one of means.  But when a loan shark starts threatening her, she decides that maybe she could go along with the charade and get at least a bit of money out of all of it to get out of debt.

Things don't exactly go according to plan.  Particularly when Mrs. Westaway's will is read, and she has left the bulk of her estate to her granddaughter, Harriet Westaway.  The story gets turned around here and Hal is thrown for a loop.  But as she tries to figure things out, she learns a lot of unexpected truths about herself, her late mother, and the Westaway family itself.

I thought the book was a good, suspenseful read.

A Forgotten Place, by Charles Todd.  This was a very good book, if sometimes frustrating. 

Bess Crawford, a nurse who endured life on the front during WWI, is now working in a hospital where men have been sent to deal with ongoing diseases, and learn to function as amputees.  When she has leave, she decides to travel to Wales to see one of her patients, an officer whose leg was amputated and whose men in the same situation have committed suicide.

She ends up in a remote town on the coast of Wales, where he has gone to live with his sister-in-law.  The hired car that brought her there left in the middle of the night without letting her know, and the place is so remote, she has little hope of getting out.  Particularly since she had not told anyone where she was going.  The place is full of secrets, and she is seen as a threat to the people of the village, who think she is there to spy on them.

When bodies keep turning up and others are beaten up with no apparent cause, she begins to worry that she will never escape.

A lot goes on in this book, and it is frustrating because you understand Bess' concerns and problems, but also because it's upsetting to read about such a place.

Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder, by Catriona McPherson.  This was a really hard book for me to get started.  There seemed to be too much "extra" going on, plus some of the characters were just not that interesting.  But at a certain point, the story started to pull me in and I'm glad I finished it.

The basic premise is that Dandelion "Dandy" Gilver has been called in to find the missing daughter of a well-known retail family in a small Scotland town.  The daughter had become engaged to the son of th family's biggest competitors, and supposedly both families were vehemently against the marriage.  When it looks like the daughter had been murdered, and a few days later her fiancee appears to commit suicide, Dandy and her partner Alec start an investigation, even though they have been formally let go by the family.

There are so many twists, turns, and revelations, I'm not sure I even got them all.  But it was interesting and in some ways entertaining once I got more into the story.  I realize that I might have been more ready to read it if I had previously read any of the books in this series - who knows?

Himself, by Jess Kidd.  Mahony arrives in the small town of Mulderrig with a mission - growing up in an orphanage, one of the nuns gave him a photograph of a young woman holding a baby, with writing indicating it is Mahony and his mother - him, called Francis Sweeney, and his mother, Orla Sweeney.  Mahony wants to find out more.

The people in the town remember Orla - she was a wild young woman who seemed to court trouble.  They all knew she had a baby without being married, which was a scandal.  The story is that she left town with the baby after its birth.  But Mahony suspects that's not the truth.  He hopes to learn more, as well as maybe determine the name of his father.

This is a really good book, a story of a small town, with a lot of small-minded people with long memories who don't want the past dug up.  Anyone helping Mahony or who seems to be on his side raises suspicion.

There are so many interesting characters, so much colloquial language, as well as some doses of myth, folklore, and magic.  The only reason I gave this 3 stars rather than 4 stars is because it suffered from the same thing so many books nowadays do - you are reading along and everything takes its good old time with the story.  Then the big moment/reveal happens, and the ending is very sudden and wrapped up quickly.  When you have gone along for the ride long enough, you want the ending to be more pleasing.

This Chair Rocks : A Manifesto Against Ageism, by Ashton Applewhite.  I wanted to really really like this book.  I made it a bit more than halfway through it.  But at least in my opinion, it was preaching to the choir, and the writing didn't grab me. 

Ageism is alive and well.  I live with it every single day.  I already knew a lot of the information in the book before I ever picked it up.  Maybe for others, and especially for younger people, there will be revelations.  There just were not for me.

Except the Dying, by Maureen Jennings.  I am not familiar with the TV show that is an adaptation of this series, so I had no preconceived ideas about Detective Murdoch or any of his cases.

The book takes place in the winter of 1895 in Toronto, Canada.  A young woman, a housemaid, is found naked in the snow.  The coroner determines that she had opium in her system and was pregnant.  Once the girl's identity is established, she is identified as the housemaid to a prominent doctor's family.  From there, Detective Murdoch and his team try to figure out the details of what happened and bring the killer to justice.

I found this book interesting for a number of reasons.  I liked the backdrop of late nineteenth-century Canada, since I haven't read many books set there during this time.  It was interesting to read about the anti-Catholic sentiment among the upper classes, and in society in general.  Detective Murdoch, for instance, is unlikely to advance in the police culture due to his background and religious faith.  And of course the case itself was interesting.

I would definitely like to read another installment in this series.

The Evolution of Jane, by Cathleen Schine.  This book was a good read.  I wanted to like it more than I did, but it was nonetheless worth reading.

When Jane gets a divorce, her parents decide that she needs a big change in scenery, so they arrange for her to go on a tour of the Galapagos Islands.  She is looking forward to the trip and is truly surprised when she arrives and finds that the guide for her tour group is none other than her cousin Martha.  The same cousin that was her very best friend as a child and teenager, and then just faded away without any warning.

As the tour goes along, Jane finds that the group she is with becomes more interesting, and more convivial as the days pass, and she really enjoys that.  But she is somewhat obsessed with finding out why Martha dropped her as a friend.  The book alternates between the Galapagos trip and the girls' childhood and their relationship.

There's a lot of good stuff here - the natural history of the Galapagos, tales of Darwin and his work, and the story of two girls who become best friends at an age where best friend means "twin."  There's a lot about family and how it can affect relationships, both as children and as adults. 

It's a good book, just not an incredible book.

*****

Have you read anything interesting - or even awful - lately?