April 30, 2023 ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE

 I'm a huge fan of Charles Dickens. He is arguably the greatest novelist of  his time. He was a

master  at creating characters who came alive. They seemed so real that they could have been a neighbor or you wanted them to be your neighbor. Dickens' characters understood what readers needed and helped them learn from their experiences in his novels.  He understood the human psyche to a tee and wrote about abandonment, poverty and social injustice with a mixture of humor  and emotion that was exceptional. He could also paint a scene with words as wonderful as a Monet painting. When I read book reviews--and see the word  Dickensian--I immediately read the book and those are the authors who become my favorite writers. When I heard that Barbara Kingsolver's new book was a modern adaptation of David Copperfield, I knew I had to read it. Kingsolver is also an incredible writer so I knew I could count on her to do Dickens justice in Demon Copperhead. Damen Fields a.k.a. Demon Copperhead, the narrator of this novel, is born to a teenage mother and lives in a single wide trailer in the mountains of Southern Appalachia. Early on he becomes an orphan and is shuffled through the DDS system where he spends time in several foster homes. This is a story of resilience and survival as Demon lives in poverty then struggles with success, addiction, misunderstood love, and loss. It's also about our society, that's structured to keep the poor living in poverty. It seem that everytime Demon takes a step forward, he takes 3 steps back. He story is at times  heartbreaking, but Demon also finds the humor in his situation as he is wise beyond his years. He's is a character every reader will love and root for because of his unfortunate situation. It was a page turner for me because I was invested in the characters and wanted to know how they would turn out in the end.  This book is a bit of a commitment at 560 pages, but it's well worth the effort as the characters and their plights will stay with you for a long time. Enjoy

APRIL 23, 2023 ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

 

Not sure if you saw the article in the paper the other day--"Trump touts authoritarian vision for a second term: 'I am your justice'". It should scare the crap out of you. His intention is to instill FEAR so that the public with give HIM the power to fix EVERY problem in our nation because ONLY HE KNOWS HOW TO FIX THEM. Yes, times are CRAZY right now BUT if anyone thinks TRUMP is going to make things better--THINK AGAIN--or read Celeste NG's new book Our Missing Hearts. Set in the unknown distant future, A "Crisis" has taken place in the United States and the new Authoritarian government--based on fear, bigotry and racism--is in power. They have instituted PACT--Preserving American Culture and Traditions--as a way to control the masses. Books are banned, history is rewritten, neighbors are spying on each other and reporting suspicious activity to the government. There is also  a deep hatred of Asian people (the scapegoats)  where violence against them is commonplace. The main character in this novel is twelve year old Bird Gardner. He lives with his father Ethan and mother Margaret in Cambridge. His mother is a famous Chinese American poet whose books have been banned and one day she quietly disappears. The story centers on Bird's quest to find his mother and understand her disappearance when any mention of her name is unpatriotic. That's all I'm going to say about this timely novel except this is a cautionary tale of what could happen in the United States......and it scares me. This 350 page novel is a must read account of HOW NOT TO LIVE. 

April 15, 2023 THE POST WAR DREAM

 

Couldn't have asked for a better April break. The weather was incredible. I actually went to the beach a few times because it was 80 degrees! When I wasn't at the beach though--I somehow managed to buy TOO many books. A few here and then a few there and before I knew it--well you know. I can't help myself. It's kind of like that with me and shoes too. I am always on the lookout for a new pair of sandals, boots, running shoes. That's why I've got to get back to work--I need to stop spending money. Just finished a great book that you might be interested in. Did you read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas? It was written by John Boyne--one of my favorite writers. Well, he has a new book out that I couldn't resist buying called All The Broken Places. Turns out that it's about Bruno's older sister Gretel. Bruno was the boy in the striped pajamas whose father was the commandant at Auschwitz. In All the Broken Places, Gretel Fernsby is a 91 year old woman living in London. She doesn't talk about her past for many reasons including the fear that she could be arrested. After a new family moves into her building, Gretel befriends the young boy who stirs up  memories she'd rather forget. The chapters go back and forth between the past and the present where the reader learns about Gretel's life and the guilt, grief and pain she's managed to hide for most of her life. I really enjoyed revisiting the characters from the first book. It was interesting to learn about Gretel and see how the war shaped her life. It's about 380 pages and well worth the read. 

April 9, 2023 DON'T CRY OUT LOUD

Happy Easter. It's a great day. The sun is shining and the birds are chirping. I know this because I've finally been cleared by the doctor to walk again......No running.....but I'll take it. Can't believe it's been 6 weeks since I've ventured out. It's funny--the things we take for granted. I'll never take my feet for granted again. I might even get a pedicure when I get the okay to run. I've never had one AND MY FEET DESERVE IT. I'll even paint my nails a very LOUD and TACKY color too. Can't wait. So I just finished another memoir. I'm really not a memoir person but this book had such a troubling title and cover that I just couldn't resist. It's called I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy. Strange right?  Well if you think that's odd--you have to see the cover--McCurdy dressed in pink-SMILING-holding a pink urn. I kid you not. I didn't realize who McCurdy was when I picked up the book, but you may know her as a child actor from the Nickelodeon series iCarly. McCurdy's mother, Debra, was a piece of work. She wanted to be an actress, but that never panned out so she forced her young daughter into the business. Jennette loved her troubled, emotionally abusive mother deeply and would do anything to keep her happy including "calorie restriction" so she would appear younger. This led to eating disorders, anxiety, shame and a host of other problems. I don't want to say too much more about this well-written  heartwrenching.... and at times laugh-out-loud funny book about a very complicated SERIOUSLY DYSFUNCTIONAL relationship between a mother/daughter. I totally understand why she's glad her mom died. I am too. 

April 1, 2023 NO SPARE PARTS

Some people are REALLY into the Royal  Family. I'm not one of them. While some watched breathlessly when Diana and Charles tied the knot--I was probably hanging out in a bar watching sports. I was saddened when Diana died, but again, I didn't get obsessed with her. I never cared about Camilla and Charles or William and Kate. I vaguely remember that they have a few very cute kids though. And who is Prince Harry and this woman Meghan Markle?  Again--Don't know. I'm probably in the MINORITY  though. People seem to be fascinated by their every move---which became obvious when reading Spare by Prince Harry. I NEVER would have read this book in a million years BUT my book club picked it so I felt obligated to read it. Another thing I feel obligated to mention is that Prince Henry did not write the book--it was ghostwritten by J. R. Moehringer. (That just seems all wrong to me--taking credit for something he didn't write.) The last thing that bothers my mind is that Prince Harry is very young to be writing his memoir which leads me to believe this is a money making scheme because he has to pay his own way now that he is on his own. Back to the review. If you like the Royal Family then you will enjoy this dry, reserved tell all. It is Harry's life--warts and all. His struggles with anxiety, depression, loss, the Paps, and being a member of the Royal Family. You couldn't pay me enough to be with that dysfunctional crew-- I thought my family was loony?? It seems that Harry had a pretty uneventful  life before his mother died but then things went terribly wrong. He struggled in school and in all aspects of his life. He never felt good enough because his was the Spare to the Heir. He later joined the British Army and finally met and married Markle. Again, it wasn't my thing but ignore me if you are a fan of the FAMILY. It's about 415 pages of............

March 19, 2023 HANGING AROUND

Hopalong Cassidy here-hobbling toward week four. The black and blue and brown and yellow and purple is finally gone. The swelling is getting better too. Can't wait to go back to the doctor next week. I'll have another Xray. Praying for good news. It is VERY hard for me to sit around. Thankful for the NCAA tournament. It's given me something to do between books. Speaking of books, I just finished the first installment of Claire Mackintosh's new crime series The Last Party. The series features Ffion Morgan, a detective constable in Wales. She's thirty years old, recently separated and living with her mother Elen and sister Seren in Cwm Coed. The story begins on New Year's Day as a body washes up on Mirror Lake during the annual Polar Plunge. The body--Rhys Lloyd-- was a famous singer from Cwm Coed who recently returned to build "The Shore" a resort for the wealthy--much to the chagrin of the residents of Cwm Coed. As the lake borders both Wales and England, Leo Brady, a detective constable from England  teams up with Fifion to investigate Lloyd's death. It seems everyone in Cwm Coed had a reason to want Rhys Lloyd dead. This is a real page turner with so many twists and turns that you won't know who killed Lloyd to the very last page. It's refreshing to read about a woman detective--especially one as rough around the edges as Ffion. The cast of characters including the wealthy people living at The Shore are in sharp contrast to the residents of Cwm Coed, which adds a whole other layer to the mystery. I really enjoyed this mystery and look forward to the next book. It's about 400 easy pages that you'll have trouble putting down. 

March 4, 2023 BAREFOOT BLUE JEAN NIGHT

 

Took a tumble in Florida. Mini Tsunami hit me from behind and I went flying. When I got up--I knew something was wrong. My foot was killing me. Rallied though. Spent three more days in Florida limping/dancing around AND  trying to ignore it. Finally had an X-ray on Monday. I have an oblique, mildly displaced fracture of the distal fifth metatarsal metadiaphysis. What the HELL does that even mean?? Basically--I can't run, play pickleball or walk for exercise for at least 6-8 week. I broke a bone near my right baby toe. SO SAD. Thankfully--I have a stack of about 10 books here to keep me occupied and help me stay sane. It's going to be a long 6-8 weeks though. If you enjoyed Snowflower and the Secret Fan then I think you will thoroughly enjoy Juhea Kim's debut novel Beasts of a Little Land. Set in Korea during the Japanese occupation, it is 1917 and a lone Korean hunter is tracking a tiger in the mountains when he is captured by Japanese soldiers. He later leads the soldiers out of the mountains in exchange for his life and the tiger he initially hunted, survives unharmed--setting a major theme in this historical fictional novel--there are several different kinds of beasts in Korea--figuratively speaking. The majority of the novel then follows Jade, a young girl whose mother sells her to a courtesan. As an apprentice, Jade becomes life long friends with Luna and Lotus. Jade grow up to become a celebrated courtesan and movie star in Seoul where she, Luna and Lotus befriend several men including Myungbo--who is fighting for Korean independence. Minister Ma, a lethal man with many mistresses. Jungho, an orphan and leader of a street gang and HanCol, a rickshaw driver who is in love with Jade. Find out what happens to these unforgettable characters as they try to survive a ruthless war, death, despair, starvation and heart ache. This novel is about 400 pages but the prose is beautiful and it's well worth the read. Enjoy