This Bookshelf: 2021 Books
Links to All Steve Hopkins’ Bookshelves
Web Page
PDF/epub/Searchable
Link to Latest Book Reviews:
Book Reviews Blog
Links to Current Bookshelf:
Pending and Read
2021 Books
2021 Books
Links to 549 Books Read or
Skipped in 2020
2020 Bookshelf
2020 Bookshelf
Links to All Books from 1999
through 2020 Authors A-G
All Books Authors A through
G
All Books Authors A through
G
Links to All Books from 1999
through 2020 Authors H-M
All Books Authors H
through M
All Books Authors H
through M
Links to All Books from 1999
through 2020 Authors N-Z
All Books Authors N through
Z
All Books Authors N through
Z
Book of Books: An ebook of
books read, reviewed or
skipped from 1999 through
2020
Book of Books
This web page lists all books reviewed by Steve Hopkins at http://bkrev.blogspot.com during 2021 as well as books pending (The Shelf
of Possibility) or relegated to the Shelf of Reproach or the Shelf of Ennui. You can click on the title of a book or on the picture of any
jacket cover to jump to amazon.com where you can purchase a copy of any book on this shelf.
Key to Ratings:
*****
I love it
****
I like it
***
It’s OK
**
I don’t like it
*
I hate it
Title (Click on Link
to purchase at
amazon.com)
Rating
Blog
Date
Comments
Click on Picture
to Purchase at
amazon.com
The Turnout
****
12/13/21
Ballet. In her novel titled, The Turnout,
Megan Abbott choreographs a complex
story about three characters twirling
around each other at the Durant School of
Dance. Sisters Dara and Marie have
danced forever at the ballet school founded
by their mother, and prize student Charlie
married Dara. The balance in their lives
pirouettes out of control as the story
develops. Readers who enjoy dark novels
with interesting characters and complex
plots are those most likely to enjoy this
book.
While Justice
Sleeps
****
11/22/21
Keene. Knowing how busy Stacey Abrams
has been for years in her day jobs, I wasn’t
sure what to expect when I picked up her
legal thriller titled, While Justice Sleeps. I
was thoroughly entertained by the clever
and engaging story, the fascinating
characters led by protagonist Avery Keene,
and the fine writing. Keene is a law clerk
who finds herself appointed as legal
guardian for her boss, Justice Howard
Wynn who is in a coma. She learns that
Wynn has been investigating a case and
what he has learned is alarming. Keene
must solve a complex puzzle while
powerful people are rushing to carry out
their plans. I still don’t know how Abrams
found the time to write to write this novel,
but I’m happy she did. I was hooked and
delighted by the story.
Nightmare
Scenario: Inside
the Trump
Administration's
Response to the
Pandemic That
Changed History
****
7/22/21
Infighting. If someone you loved died of
covid-19, take a pass on reading a book by
journalists Yasmeem Abutaleb and
Damian Paletta titled, Nightmare
Scenario: Inside the Trump
Administration's Response to the
Pandemic That Changed History. Your
heart will be broken again when you read
about chaos, incompetence and infighting
as the Trump administration responded to
the pandemic. For readers interested in
public policy, reading almost five hundred
pages on this subject will involve reliving a
recent experience with the guidance of
journalists. This is the story of a tragedy in
how a crisis was mismanaged. Despite my
focus on what failed as described in this
book, it’s fair to say that the authors also
call attention to good things that were
done. The running count of deaths as time
went on overshadowed what good steps
were taken in response to the virus.
2034: A Novel of
the Next World
War
*****
4/22/21
Realignment. Many of us have the
tendency to think that the way things are
now will continue into the foreseeable
future. In their novel titled, 2034: A Novel
of the Next World War, former military
officers Elliot Ackerman and James
Stavridis present a plausible realignment
of the world order in the relatively near
future. We often read fiction for a good
story about people we recognize as fully
human. The authors provide readers of
this novel with a cast of compelling
characters from multiple countrisaaies.
Each main character is called upon to play
a role or complete a mission, and through
luck or fate they take actions that forward
the strategic interests of their respective
countries. Ackerman and Stavridis capture
the individual and collective vulnerability
we face and prompt readers to consider
how likely it is for their fictional tale to
become true.
Notes on Grief
*****
6/8/21
Visceral. Wracked with grief following
the death of her father in 2020,
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote a book
titled, Notes on Grief, about her personal
experience and as a loving tribute to her
father. Through her fine writing, we
participate in the visceral aspects of grief
and want to howl with her at the great loss.
Her words expose our own grief as well.
During the past two years millions of
people have experienced forms of
pandemic grief as our world changed
unexpectedly. Our connections to each
other can become stronger in the context
of grief, and this finely written book will
connect deeply with every reader with a
grief story of our own.
The Divorce
****
11/16/21
Imagination. If I were forced to place
César Aira’s book titled, The Divorce, into
a category, I would create a new one for
this author’s imagination and skill: post-
magic realism. Within the course of a few
pages, we move from one coincidence to
another. We think we can separate
imagination from reality, and then realize
we can’t. When we’re sure we are hearing a
mundane story, something magical seeps
in. Aira moves readers along as fast as we
can read, taking us tighter and tighter into
his imagination. This book is short enough
to read a second time for a different take,
but trust me, multiple readings may not
lead to greater understanding, just more
questions.
Leave the World
Behind
*****
1/16/21
Safety. One of the reminders we all
received as we opened the gift of the
pandemic is that life can change in an
instant. Rumaan Alam offers readers a
finely written novel titled, Leave the World
Behind, that places characters into a
setting of uncertainty in which they face a
world that has changed. A couple and their
two children rented a rural house for a
week’s vacation away from New York City.
The owners show up at the house late at
night and ask if they can stay there because
something caused a massive blackout in
the city. Alam explores the ways in which
we respond to shock and change, and what
creates a sense of safety or threat for us.
Readers find themselves in the middle of
issues of race, class, privilege and
ambiguity. Perhaps all we desire is to
survive whatever comes at us so we can
live for another day.
Straight from the
Horse’s Mouth
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Hospital: Life,
Death, and Dollars
in a Small
American Town
*****
5/14/21
Sick. Few Americans love our healthcare
system. Readers of Brian Alexander’s book
titled, The Hospital: Life, Death, and
Dollars in a Small American Town, will feel
sick about the situation he describes.
Rather than taking a policy approach to
examining healthcare, Alexander focuses
on one town, Bryan, Ohio, its local
hospital, and a handful of people in the
community. I finished this book with a
deeper understanding of what’s broken in
our healthcare system, and how the
incentives for change are misguided. Most
readers will feel deeply for the personal
stories in this book, and the plight of all
the characters involved. Through
understanding some of the root causes of
our current situation, we should be able to
work toward good solutions for the benefit
of all.
White House, Inc.:
How Donald
Trump Turned the
Presidency into a
Business
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
His Very Best:
Jimmy Carter, a
Life
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
A Man Named Doll
****
5/14/21
Kidney. The test for whether crime fiction
will appeal to readers often involves
whether the protagonist comes across as
authentic and interesting. In his novel
titled, A Man Named Doll, Jonathan Ames
introduces readers to Happy Doll, a Los
Angeles private detective who prefers to be
called, “Hank.” Ames passed the character
test for me because I came to really like
Hank, a former cop who loves his dog and
shleps from one predicament to another.
Queasy readers will find some gruesome
violence here, and it’s not too much of a
plot spoiler to say that Hank loses a kidney
in a nefarious scheme in this novel. There’s
a sense that most of life for Hank is a
close-run thing, and somehow or other,
he’s likely to come through. A series
featuring Hank is off to a great start with
this novel.
The Woman Who
Stole Vermeer: The
True Story of Rose
Dugdale and the
Russborough
House Art Heist
****
5/14/21
Revolutionary. Readers who enjoy true
crime stories are those most likely to enjoy
Anthony Amore’s book titled, The Woman
Who Stole Vermeer: The True Story of
Rose Dugdale and the Russborough House
Art Heist. Rose Dugdale grew up in an
affluent family, obtained an Oxford
doctorate, and embraced the Irish
Republican cause, whether the IRA liked
her actions or not. Amore proposes that
her education gave her the ability to be
selective in stealing the right artworks and
that she is the most probable thief of two
works by Vermeer. While the main
perspective of this book involves Rose’s
skill as an art thief, there’s also a more
complete presentation of her life, and that
offers readers insight into a formidable
woman who committed her life to the
pursuit of causes in which she believed.
Evil Geniuses: The
Unmaking of
America
*****
8/26/21
Patience. Most Americans focus on
family and work and assume that our
elected officials and business leaders look
out for the interests of the whole country
in performing their managerial roles.
Meanwhile some Americans have played a
long game in shifting the playing field in
favor of a few over the many. That’s the
analysis Kurt Andersen provides in his
book titled, Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking
of America. A variety of patient operatives
in business, government, law, and
academics have nudged changes in public
policy in ways that improve outcomes for a
few and have placed heavy burdens on
middle class workers whose relative
incomes have been frozen for a long time.
Andersen connects dots from about 1970
to the present to show the gradual
transformation of American life by patient
oligarchs. Beneficiaries of this shift of
wealth away from workers and toward
owners may not like the messages in this
book, but those readers concerned about
the decline of the middle class will come
away from this book with an
understanding of how this has been
accomplished so far and what might be
done to turn the situation around.
The Quiet
Americans: Four
CIA Spies at the
Dawn of the Cold
War--a Tragedy in
Three Acts
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Who is Maud
Dixon?
****
11/22/21
Schemes. I was truly surprised by some
twists in Alexandra Andrews’ debut novel
titled, Who is Maud Dixon?. The plot is
engaging, the characters complex and well-
developed, and the prose well written. The
schemes of the characters are delicious to
watch as they unfold, and the dark comedy
is entertaining. The pace moves fast, and
the clever writing offers frequent rewards
to readers as we race to the end of the
novel.
Tropic of Violence
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Twilight of
Democracy: The
Seductive Lure of
Authoritarianism
****
10/25/21
Vulnerability. The more pages I turned
while reading Anne Applebaum’s finely
written book titled, Twilight of Democracy:
The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism,
the more I felt vulnerable to trends taking
place around the world. As a historian,
Applebaum offers historical perspective
and insight. As a journalist, she presents
an engaging narrative. As a human, she
includes her own experience in recent
decades as an illustration of the changes
she has observed, and the friends lost as a
focus on identity led to realignment of
alliances. Readers interested in public
policy are those most likely to enjoy this
captivating book.
Looking for Eliza
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Mill Town:
Reckoning with
What Remains
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
A Passage North
****
12/6/21
Trauma. In his novel titled, A Passage
North, Anuk Arudpragsam explores life in
Sri Lanka after three decades of civil war.
Through finely written prose we are
absorbed into the atmosphere of the
setting, influenced by the trauma and
suffering of the characters, and see
everyday life transformed. One aspect of
this novel comes across as a love song to
people and places, while another reveals
grief for what those people and places have
experienced.
Black Buck
****
1/26/21
Selling. Mateo Askaripour’s debut novel
titled, Black Buck, skewers startups,
racism, the sales process, and workplace
life. The novel is structured as a sales
manual and offers pretty good advice
about selling. I expect that Black readers
will guffaw at the multiple scenes in which
protagonist Darren as the only Black
employee at Sumwun gets told regularly
that he resembles some Black celebrity, a
different one every time. Askaripour
speeds us through Darren’s transformation
into a highly successful salesman, and the
changes to his character as this happens.
We never get the chance to relax while
reading this novel, as we shift from a
dramatic scene to a selling takeaway. A
section that begins with tranquility ends
with violence. Kindness turns to cruelty.
White supremacy exercises power as a dish
best served cold. I loved every page of this
roller coaster of a book.
Dearly
****
4/13/21
Focus. I reflected not long ago that I
wasn’t reading as much poetry as I’d like,
so considering that April is National Poetry
Month, I increased my focus. One of the
collections I loved is by Margaret Atwood
and is titled, Dearly. The wide range of
themes is this collection demanded that I
read one poem per sitting, and that worked
just fine. It allowed me time to read the
same poem two or three times and then
think about it before reading another. I
will not stake a position on how Atwood’s
poetry compares with her longer fiction. I
will say with clarity that these poems are a
delight and should satisfy every reader
who enjoys contemporary poetry. Atwood
is a close observer of us and our world, and
her focus in these poems captures what is
important and essential in who and where
we are.
The Push
*****
9/8/21
Chilling. What does a parent do if your
child is a psychopath? Ashley Audrain’s
novel titled, The Push, gives readers the
opportunity to think about that question.
Not long after giving birth to daughter,
Violet, protagonist Blythe Connor begins
to think there is something wrong. Blythe’s
husband, Fox, denies and dismisses her
fears and concerns. Readers are left to
gape in horror at the consequences of not
taking Blythe’s concerns seriously. Audrain
captures the overwhelming sorrow that
enfolds Blythe as this chilling novel
observes Violet’s actions that fulfill her
mother’s greatest fears. Parents who read
this novel will hug their children longer
than usual as a way of thanking them for
not being like Violet.
Why Didn’t We
Riot? A Black Man
in Trumpland
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Baseless: My
Search for Secrets
in the Ruins of the
Freedom of
Information Act
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
A Gambling Man
****
5/6/21
Fortune. The second novel by David
Baldacci featuring Aloysius Archer is titled,
A Gambling Man. After the first episode
left Archer in peril, he heads West in hopes
of become an apprentice to a private
detective in Bay Town, California. A stop in
Reno brought him good luck, a large
bundle of cash, a rare 1939 Delahaye
convertible, and the companionship of
Liberty Callahan, a talented actress who
wants to make it big in Hollywood. Action
in Bay Town is stimulating and perilous,
and Archer and Liberty make a great team.
Readers need not have read the debut in
this series to enjoy this installment, but
one’s understanding of Archer’s character
is enhanced if one reads from the
beginning.
The Pessimists
****
12/18/21
Community. The suburbia setting in
Bethany Ball’s novel titled, The Pessimists,
bears little surface resemblance to the
world that John Updike mined so often.
On closer examination, we do find the
banality, white privilege, and moral decline
that Updike dissected. Readers with
experience of certain expensive private
schools will love Ball’s creation of Petra
School. The cast of characters present
themselves on one level to their
community, but beneath that presentation
there is something far more interesting.
Ball cultivates this landscape with great wit
and skill, and fans of fine writing will find
a lot to enjoy in this novel.
Permafrost
****
9/8/21
Poetic. The language and images in Eva
Baltasar’s debut novel titled, Permafrost,
are poetic and lucid. The narrator observes
the world and expresses her desires with
clarity. Readers find an inner life that
contrasts with that self she presents to the
world. We feel the protagonist speaks to us
with raw honesty and that’s something of a
privilege for us to savor, and to stimulate
the desire in us to know more.
The Granite Coast
Murders
****
6/8/21
Busman. The setting of the sixth
installment of Jean-Luc Bannalec’s
mystery series featuring Commissaire
Georges Dupin, is a two-week beach
vacation for Georges and Claire, a novel
titled, The Granite Coast Murders. While it
appears that Claire has disengaged from
her medical practice during their holiday,
Georges begins a clandestine investigation
of a local murder. While Georges has been
warned before about detecting outside his
jurisdiction, he can’t stand inactivity, and
prefers a busman’s holiday to lying on a
beach towel. Some readers will salivate at
the descriptions of some of the meals that
Georges and Claire enjoy. Mystery fans will
love the intricate plot. Fans of this series
will enjoy the return of familiar characters.
April in Spain
****
12/18/21
Recognition. For the eighth installment
in his Quirke series of crime novels, a book
titled, April in Spain, John Banville has
abandoned pseudonym, Benjamin Black.
Perhaps Banville recognized what many
readers concluded long ago: the difference
between literary fiction and popular fiction
is artificial and unnecessary. While on
holiday with his wife in Spain, on the coast
of San Sebastian, Quirke recognizes a
woman who couldn’t be there because she
was murdered years earlier. What follows
is an engaging and exciting story that fans
of this author by whatever name and of
this series will appreciate.
That Old Country
Music
****
12/6/21
Characters. I enjoyed reading Kevin
Barry’s short story collection titled, That
Old Country Music, for two reasons. First,
Barry’s prose uses finely crafted language
and when there’s dialogue, it always suits
the character and situation, thereby
bringing the story to life. Second, within
the efficient structure of the short story,
Barry finds ways to present complex and
interesting characters, full of the nuance
and inconsistency we find in people we
know.
The 22 Murders of
Madison May
*****
8/19/21
Multiverse. I thoroughly enjoyed Max
Barry’s exploration of the multiverse in his
novel titled, The 22 Murders of Madison
May. We follow the same cast of characters
in slightly altered universes in which the
same dynamics play out multiple times.
Readers already know that character
Madison May is murdered multiple times.
Journalist Felicity Staples becomes caught
up in a crime story and then tries to stop
the recurring psychopath from killing May.
The small details about the alterations that
Felicity finds as she enters a different
world add to the richness of the story.
What could have become repetitive turns
out to be richer with each version. Fans of
thrillers who can tolerate some science
fiction components are those readers most
likely to enjoy this entertaining novel.
Exit
****
4/27/21
Schemes. Fans of crime fiction are those
readers most likely to enjoy Belinda
Bauer’s novel titled, Exit. Protagonist Felix
Pink is a retired widower who volunteers
as an Exiteer, someone who accompanies a
terminally ill person exercising their right
to die. The role of the Exiteer is to be
present and not to assist the patient. After
Felix and a new volunteer arrive as
scheduled to be present for a planned
death, a mistake is made, and the bulk of
the novel’s plot drives from that error. The
prose is well written, the characters are
finely drawn, and the plot twists very
satisfying.
The Illness Lesson
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Festival Days
*****
10/8/21
Luminous. Readers who appreciate
outstanding writing are those most likely
to enjoy the nine pieces in Jo Ann Beard’s
collection titled, Festival Days. The depth
of character development leads to insight
about human behavior and highlights the
complexity of our interior lives. Beard’s
descriptions shine light on what’s often
hidden in what we fail to observe. Thanks
to her writing, the world become
luminous. Finally, I thought the ways in
which Beard reveals and constrains the
emotions of her characters enhanced the
depth of her insight and our enlightenment
after reading these stories.
Cuyahoga
****
12/13/21
Spectacle. Have you ever wondered what
the place where you live was like when
people first settled there? In his larger-
than-life story of the origins of Cleveland,
Ohio, a novel titled, Cuyahoga, Pete Beatty
presents a rowdy spectacle on which
contemporary readers can gaze agog. Set
in 1837, we meet an eclectic cast of
characters on the dirt streets of twin towns
vying to become the greatest city of the
Western Reserve. Their rivalry takes
expression in the form of building a bridge
across the Cuyahoga River. Readers will
laugh at the farce as the plot unfolds, enjoy
the exploits of interesting characters, and
admire the whole scenic spectacle that
Beatty describes with enthusiasm and joy.
The Secret to
Superhuman
Strength
****
7/17/21
Intensity. Prolific cartoonist Alison
Bechdel offers laughs and insight in her
graphic memoir titled, The Secret to
Superhuman Strength. Bechdel chronicles
her lifelong engagement in fitness,
following one fad or program after
another. Beneath that surface story is a
thoughtful examination of our
interdependent lives, expressed in multiple
ways with sensitivity. For those readers
who enjoy the visual stimulation of the
graphic form along with the compact text
to read will fine this book a delight.
The Windsor Knot
****
5/6/21
Clever. SJ Bennett opens a new crime
series featuring a familiar protagonist:
Queen Elizabeth II. Under Bennett’s
conceit, the Queen solves crimes in her
spare time, and proves herself to be an
unerring judge of character in the process.
The setting for the crime in the novel
titled, The Windsor Knot, is Windsor
Castle, where an overnight guest has been
found dead in one of the bedrooms.
Thanks to a poorly tied knot, what
appeared to be suicide looks now like foul
play. The manner in which the Queen
pursues her inquiries will delight those
readers who love crime fiction, and the use
of her assistant private secretary brings
those two women closer together. I was
entertained by this clever novel and look
forward to the next case investigated by
the Detective Queen.
The Power Couple
****
3/25/21
Secrets. Patient readers who allow Alex
Berenson to draw us inside a marriage will
be rewarded by the twists and surprises in
a novel titled, The Power Couple. While
Brian and Rebecca are celebrating their
20
th
anniversary on a trip to Europe with
their children, nineteen-year-old Kira is
kidnapped. Instead of a direct thrilling
plot, Berenson leads us away from the
current action to learn about the couple’s
backstory and secrets. While tension
remains taut, especially during Kira’s
captivity, our impressions of different
characters change as we learn more,
including delightful surprises that open
our eyes. By the time the novel comes close
to an ending, most readers will be unsure
exactly how things will turn out. They do
resolve, of course, to this reader’s great
satisfaction.
Northern Spy
****
12/6/21
Peace. Fans of thrillers may enjoy Flynn
Berry’s novel titled, Northern Spy, because
of the fast-paced plot action. Beneath the
tension and conflict that provide the
backdrop for the novel, there’s an
underlying hunger for peace. Berry
develops the characters in ways that
readers quickly appreciate the familiar
humanity in which every person makes
compromises and finds a space for love,
especially within families. On one page, we
are caught up in the turmoil of espionage,
while on another, we observe the nurturing
of a child.
The Kaiser’s Web
****
3/18/21
Heritage. The sixteenth installment in
the Cotton Malone series by Steve Berry is
a novel titled, The Kaiser’s Web. A
candidate for election as Chancellor of
Germany stokes nationalistic sentiments
and represents those who are proud of
their heritage. Cotton is asked to help the
incumbent Chancellor who is vulnerable in
her race for reelection. There are secrets
involved, investigations in South America
and South Africa, as well as in secret Swiss
vaults. Berry speculates about an alternate
Nazi history, and offers plot twists and
surprises that will delight fans.
Parakeet
***
2/4/21
Bride. Let Marie-Helene Bertino’s finely
constructed sentences lull you as you read
her novel titled, Parakeet, so you can
dream along with the surreal narrative. We
meet the protagonist known as the bride as
she faces the emotional intensity of her
wedding week. Her dead grandmother
visits her in the form of a parakeet and
presents a warning and a challenge. The
momentum of the novel involves the
bride’s response to the visit of the
parakeet. I loved the finely written prose
but can tolerate only so much surreality.
Afterland
****
1/5/21
Escape. Are you ready for a different
pandemic? If so, consider reading Lauren
Beukes’ exciting novel titled, Afterland,
about the journey of a twelve-year-old boy,
Miles, and his mother, Cole, who cross the
United States from Seattle to Miami to
escape a fate for Miles that Cole finds
untenable. Cole is fierce in her efforts to
protect Miles, and the plot momentum
delivers intensity and thrilling action.
Readers who love a great story with
interesting characters and thrilling action
are those most likely to enjoy this novel.
Each of Us Killers
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Cry Baby
****
8/19/21
Missing. Fans of recurring protagonist
Tom Thorne may feel a bit of whiplash as
the seventeenth installment by Mark
Billingham, a novel titled, Cry Baby, takes
us back to 1996. Close readers will see this
as a prequel to the debut novel,
Sleepyhead. Whether this is the first Tom
Thorne novel for you or if you’d read them
all, you’ll find in this installment a talented
detective in the middle of an interesting
case involving a missing young boy.
Tension builds after others connected to
the boy are killed. Fans of detective fiction
will love the dead ends and twists in the
story, and by the time you’ve guessed with
confidence what happened to the missing
boy, you will be well on your way to
finishing off an entertaining book.
Rabbit Hole
****
9/8/21
Unreliable. Alice Armitage, the
unreliable narrator of Mark Billingham’s
novel titled, Rabbit Hole, began to annoy
me within the first few pages of this book.
She’s a patient in an acute psychiatric ward
and her running commentary has an
erratic, frantic and troubled rhythm. While
this is not Wonderland, there is a rabbit
hole through which Alice serves as our
guide. Patient readers who stick with Alice
will be rewarded by a terrific narrative
with murders to solve and the constant
question about how reliable Alice is in
what she is telling readers. Spending time
with Alice in the psych ward was thrilling
and entertaining, and every twist was
executed by Billingham with great skill.
Animal, Vegetable,
Junk: A History of
Food, from
Sustainable to
Suicidal
****
7/17/21
Agroecology. In his book titled, Animal,
Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from
Sustainable to Suicidal, Mark Bittman
reviews human history through the lens of
food. After over three hundred pages of
relating a litany of disasters from slavery to
colonialism to famine to genocide to
climate change to big food producing
unhealthy and addicting junk, many
readers may have lost the appetite to read
further (or to eat anything processed ever
again). But after laying out a sorrowful
past when it comes to food, Bittman offers
a way we can transform current practices
and move toward a better future. He
makes a strong case for all the benefits of
agroecology. Readers interested in
nutrition and public policy will find a lot to
chew on after reading this book.
The Devil You
Know: A Black
Power Manifesto
*****
2/13/21
Intentionality. Charles Blow makes a
perfectly reasonable proposal to fellow
Black citizens in his book titled, The Devil
You Know: A Black Power Manifesto.
Move back home to the American South to
increase the density of Black residents to
gain voting power to exercise Black power.
Through intentionality in aggregating
together, white supremacy can be defeated
by the actions of Black citizens. Blow
mentions specific states where such action
is most likely to succeed and uses his own
positive experience in moving to Georgia
as an example of positive change. His case
is convincing and bold and, if his
manifesto is followed, could result in a
successful reverse Great Migration.
Readers interested in public policy will
find a lot to think about after reading this
cogent book.
The Art of
Fairness: The
Power of Decency
in a World Turned
Mean
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
On the House: A
Washington
Memoir
****
6/19/21
Zippity. Former Speaker of the United
States House of Representatives John
Boehner’s memoir titled, On the House: A
Washington Memoir, should delight all but
a few readers. Boehner presents himself as
a humble guy who grew up in a big family
and the family bar, maintained
conservative values and lived a consistent
and genuine life following a set of
Boehnerisms that are listed in the book.
Looking beyond the awe shucks, regular
guy persona, he displays his political chops
in the ways he talks about a lot of people
he worked during his time in Washington.
Rest assured, Nancy Pelosi can look
beyond his words of praise, and Ted Cruz
won’t be using any Boehner quotes in his
next campaign. This is a cheerful story
from the guy who sang Zippity Doo Dah as
he bid farewell to public service. Follow his
example from the book cover and quaff the
tipple of your choice as you listen to what
Boehner has to say.
A Beautiful Crime
****
6/8/21
Venice. An interesting novel by
Christopher Bollen titled, A Beautiful
Crime, about scheming and deception
becomes more enchanted by the setting of
most of the novel in Venice. Nick Brink
and Clay Guillory meet in New York, fall in
love, and plan a crime to give them a
secure and happy future together. Bollen
draws readers into their deception and
before we know it, we are alongside the
characters in Venice, agog at the setting,
and shocked at the lengths to which people
will go once plans are set in motion. Fans
of crime fiction, and any reader who loves
Venice, will find something to enjoy in this
crime novel.
The Regrets
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Firekeeper’s
Daughter
****
6/19/21
Hockey. Angeline Boulley’s debut novel
titled, Firekeeper’s Daughter, introduces a
strong female protagonist who will delight
readers of this book. Daunis Fontaine
plays hockey with great skill as she’s ready
to leave home for college out of town in
hope that she will find her place in the
world. Family tragedy keeps her closer to
home as meth plagues the community and
the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis’
knowledge of Ojibwe traditional medicine
gets put to the test as she’s called on to do
things beyond her eighteen years. The plot
is engaging, the characters complex, and
Daunis a heroine to be remembered.
Talk to Me
*****
9/23/21
Sam. The center of attention in T.C.
Boyle’s novel titled, Talk to Me, is a young
chimp named Sam who appears on the
book jacket. Guy Schermerhorn is a college
professor devoted to a project in which he
is raising Sam in a human household,
teaching Sam to converse with human
housemates using sign language. After
undergraduate Aimee Villard moves in,
Boyle has the backdrop for exploring all
the ethical and philosophical issues to
explore about interspecies interaction,
which he does with great skill. I found this
novel develops the notion of what it means
to be human in ways that should engage
readers, and helps us appreciate and
understand the power of language. We also
have to face what we are willing to do for
love, in whatever form we find it.
The Profession: A
Memoir of
Community, Race,
and the Arc of
Policing in America
*****
7/22/21
Change. Bill Bratton’s leadership of police
forces in Boston, New York and Los
Angeles has given him a front row seat for
the significant changes in police work over
the past five decades. In his memoir titled,
The Profession: A Memoir of Community,
Race, and the Arc of Policing in America,
Bratton talks about the different roles he
has performed, and how, in every case, he
has assessed the situation, gathered data,
and implemented change. His account is
thoughtful and authoritative as he relates
his perspective on policing. Readers will
find it interesting to observe the pace of
change, which changes stuck, and how
fragile the profession can be to sustain
goodwill and effectiveness when rogue
cops behave in ways that taint those doing
a good job.
Undaunted: My
Fight Against
America's Enemies,
At Home and
Abroad
****
4/13/21
Values. Readers can learn a lot about
national security from former CIA Director
John O. Brennan’s memoir titled,
Undaunted: My Fight Against America's
Enemies, At Home and Abroad. If we are
able to set aside our political alignments
for a moment to read about the career of a
civil servant, we can find values that are
likely to be held in common by citizens at
all points along a political continuum.
Brennan grew up in working class New
Jersey, and a thread of integrity connects
his upbringing to his most important roles
in government service. Brennan is smart
and scrappy, and he leans toward candor
in this well-written book. I encourage
readers to set aside any preconceptions
about Brennan and listen to him tell the
story of his life and the jobs he performed
in the national security interests of the
United States.
The Authority of
the Court and the
Peril of Politics
***
10/25/21
Audience. I finished reading Supreme
Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s book titled,
The Authority of the Court and the Peril of
Politics, thinking about his intended
audience. If his audience is the informed
American citizen, his claims of the court
not being political come across as naïve. If
his audience is his fellow justices and his
message is for them not to overreach
because they may find the authority of the
court diminished, that made a bit more
sense to me. I thought of Alan Greenspan’s
confession about his foundational error in
the runup to the financial crisis. He
assumed that banks would act prudently as
a form of self-preservation. As we know,
they didn’t. Why Breyer might expect
fellow justices to preserve the authority of
the Supreme Court by not overreaching in
their decisions, I can’t imagine. We will all
watch the exercise of power and learn how
much peril can be absorbed by our
democratic republic.
Sad Janet
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Milk Fed
****
5/14/21
Appetites. Melissa Broder’s novel titled,
Milk Fed, offers a wide-ranging
exploration of appetite. Twenty-four-year-
old protagonist Rachel has abandoned the
Judaism of her youth to pursue an intense
focus on calorie counting. By controlling
what goes into her mouth, she believes she
has taken charge of her life. Life changes
for Rachel after a personnel change at her
favorite frozen yogurt shop. The precise
small portion that she used to receive
changes when the new employee, Miriam,
begins to dole out much larger portions.
Rachel is attracted to Orthodox plus size
Miriam, whose abundance provides the yin
to Rachel’s restrictive yang. What follows
is the pursuit of desires that will satisfy all
kinds of appetites and an examination of
how we want to be fed. There are many
times to laugh and wince on the pages of
this novel, but in Broder’s capable hands,
we see the changes in Rachel as she comes
to terms with who she is and what she
needs.
Assembly
****
11/16/21
Whiteness. By throwing out any
unnecessary words in her debut novel
titled, Assembly, Natasha Brown uses just
over one hundred pages to assemble and
dismantle the stories we tell ourselves and
each other about class, race, gender,
success, and safety. The Black female
narrator examines her life and experiences
with clarity. The societal canvas presents
Whiteness as the impossible ideal for
woman like her. The expectation of
obedience and complicity comes from a
colonial heritage that remains central to
contemporary life in Britain. This incisive
novel presents modern life head-on and
eyes wide open.
A Galway Epiphany
****
8/5/21
Miracle. The latest novel by Ken Bruen
featuring protagonist and private eye Jack
Taylor is titled, A Galway Epiphany. This
time out, Jack leaves his quiet country life
for a day in Galway. A truck hits Jack and
he spends three weeks in hospital in a
coma. When he awakens, he learns that the
whole country has heard his story because
people believe two children who tended to
him just after the accident are saints, and
his health is the result of a miracle.
Skeptics have asked Jack to find the
children so the miracle can either be
verified or some other truth can be
discovered. What follows is Jack Taylor at
his very best, to the delight of fans of this
series.
Everywhere You
Don’t Belong
****
12/13/21
Escape. Gabriel Bump’s debut novel
titled, Everywhere You Don’t Belong, tells
the coming-of-age story of protagonist
Claude McKay. Claude is an ordinary kid
trying to find his place in the world. Bump
draws the South Side of Chicago with care
and love, not flinching at describing the
troubled places. Claude seeks to escape
from his Chicago home and redefine
himself at a college far away from what
he’s known to this time in his life. Bump
gives us an Everyman story of struggle and
hope, filled with well-developed
characters.
No Heaven for
Good Boys
*****
2/23/21
Tradition. My heart ached as I read
about the plight of six-year-old Ibrahimah
in Keisha Bush’s novel titled, No Heaven
for Good Boys. In Senegal there is tradition
and honor for a young man to be sent away
from home to study the Koran with a
teacher called a marabout. A chance
encounter in Ibrahimah’s remote village
leads Marabout Ahmed to select
Ibrahimah to join his older cousin Etienne
in Dakar to study the Koran. After arriving
in the capital city, Ibrahimah finds little
instruction, little food and a life spent
begging to enrich Marabout Ahmed. On
the streets of the city, the dangers are life
threatening as the young boys called Talibé
are exposed to danger from many sources.
Bush drew upon true events to describe
this abusive practice. This story of a fight
for survival will be difficult to read, may
break your heart, and might bring renewed
confidence and hope in the goodwill of
most people.
In the Dark of War:
A CIA Officer's
Inside Account of
the U.S.
Evacuation from
Libya
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Deaths of Despair
and the Future of
Capitalism
****
2/23/21
Injustice. In their book titled, Deaths of
Despair and the Future of Capitalism,
Anne Case and Angus Deaton diagnosis
serious problems in American life and
offer thoughtful solutions to address the
current state of injustice experienced by so
many citizens. They are critical of areas in
which capitalism doesn’t seem to be
working, and they rail against the high cost
of healthcare that doesn’t deliver great
results. Supported by data, their analysis
provides a foundation for all parties
interested in public policy change.
Bestiary
***
3/18/21
Myths. In her debut novel titled, Bestiary,
K-Ming Chang introduces readers to three
generations of women who navigate
through a world of myth and reality. If
you’re comfortable with a woman growing
a tiger’s tail and remain at ease while
unsure what’s real and what’s imagined,
you’re likely to enjoy this novel. Chang’s
writing will appeal to readers who
appreciate literary fiction, and the motifs
of water, snakes and keys will delight such
readers. Personally, I don’t know enough
about Taiwanese mythology to appreciate
the references, but I found the writing
engaging and imaginative.
The Paris Library
****
4/13/21
Odile. Janet Skeslien Charles takes the
true story of the actions of the librarians of
the American Library in Paris during
World War II and uses her fine writing
skills to present a novel titled, The Paris
Library. Protagonist Odile Souchet was a
young librarian at the American Library in
Paris when the Nazis take Paris. Charles
tells us what Odile did at that time, and
also draws her in Montana in the 1980s
where she lives next door to a young
woman named Lily who loves language
and books. Charles connects Odile and Lily
as she lets readers see how relationships
make us who we are, and our relationships
with books and authors can also link us
together. After I read this novel, I made a
list of the libraries that have enriched my
life, and each of the ten I selected
contributed in significant ways to a life
well lived. Everyone who reads this novel
will think more about books, about
libraries and about the power of
relationships.
Sergeant Salinger
****
9/8/21
Trauma. J.D. Salinger has generated
curiosity among generations of readers
because of his reticence to talk about
himself and the reclusive life he led after
his writing became renowned. In his novel
titled, Sergeant Salinger, prolific writer
Jerome Charyn presents an account of
Salinger’s life during World War II.
Readers are left with the impression that it
was the trauma of the war and his personal
suffering that led to the quality of
Salinger’s writing. The contrast of Salinger
before and after the war is developed with
great skill and insight. Whether you’re
interested or not in a fictional
interpretation of Salinger, you’re likely to
enjoy this entertaining and finely written
novel.
Better Off Dead
****
12/18/21
Adversaries. The twenty-sixth
installment in Lee Child’s Jack Reacher
series is a novel titled, Better Off Dead, co-
written with his brother, Andrew Child.
The action opens with Reacher walking
west in the Arizona desert minding his
own business. What follows is his
enlistment in the search for a missing
person, and his pitting his skills against a
very worthy adversary. Fans of the series
will enjoy all the ways that Reacher plays
the angles, wipes out obstacles, and
improvises the best way to prevail.
Martita, I
Remember You
****
10/15/21
Friends. In her short novel titled,
Martita, I Remember You, Sandra Cisneros
explores close friendship. We meet three
young women in Paris and savor the
intensity of their brief time together.
Through letters and recollection, we learn
about their time in Paris and can choose to
read the narrative in English, Spanish, or
both. The text of their letters reinforces the
depth of their relationships and how the
time and place where they first met comes
alive as it is remembered.
Piranesi
****
1/5/21
Labyrinth. For an imaginative escape
from your own reality, consider reading
Susanna Clarke’s novel titled, Piranesi.
Most of the novel is set in an alternative
world, a labyrinth with what seems like
unending rooms full of beauty where
tidewater ebbs and flows. Protagonist
Piranesi explores this world and learns the
rhythms of life. For a while Piranesi seems
to be alone, but after the “Other” appears,
things get even more interesting. It will
take a while for many readers to become
acclimated to Clarke’s prose, but patience
pays off for those who enjoy a complicated
structure and lots of levels of meaning.
There’s no time like the present for
exploring a new world.
The End of the Day
****
2/23/21
Secrets. Introspection leads us to confirm
or regret past decisions. In his novel titled,
The End of the Day, Bill Clegg lets readers
meander across multiple characters and a
long period of time as we gradually come
to see the connections among people and
the consequences of past decisions. After
secrets are kept for what seemed like good
reasons at the time, the consequences of
those secrets have unexpected
repercussions in the lives of different
people. Patient readers who surrender to
confusion about connections are rewarded
after the pieces all fall in place.
State of Terror
****
11/22/21
Bombs. Readers willing to place political
allegiances aside for a few hours and
acknowledge that two women had a ball
collaborating on a novel so maybe there’s
something to enjoy in the product of their
efforts. Former United States Secretary of
State Hillary Rodham Clinton joined forces
with crime novelist Louise Penny to write a
thrilling novel titled, State of Terror. With
Penny’s skills at character and plot, and
Clinton’s insider view of world affairs, the
result is an entertaining novel about
bombs ready to devastate three locations
in the United States. Penny fans will love
the connections in this book to Three
Pines, and Clinton fans will love the
behavior of the fictional Secretary of State
as she interacts with the President and
various world leaders. I was thoroughly
entertained.
Win
*****
3/25/21
Reprised. Fans of Harlan Coben will be
delighted that he’s reprised a past
character for a complete and exciting novel
of his own, titled, Win. Protagonist
Windsor Horne Lockwood III becomes a
person of interest after a recluse is found
murdered in a penthouse apartment on the
Upper West Side. Inside the apartment
was a Vermeer stolen from the Lockwood
family two decades earlier, as well as a
suitcase bearing Win’s initials. There’s
mystery behind the identity of the recluse,
and secrets in the Lockwood family that
have been kept for a very long time. The
story moves quickly, the characters are
interesting, and the development of Win in
his own novel was satisfying.
The Archer
****
1/5/21
Guidance. Philosophers tackle tough
questions about the meaning of life. Gurus
of every type offer guidance on “how to”
almost everything. In his novel titled, The
Archer, Paulo Coelho tells a story about
how to live a meaningful and integrated
life. While brief with words, this novel
overflows with wisdom and guidance for
every reader’s thoughtful reflection. For
readers who are spiritual but not religious,
this book can provide a launchpad for
thinking about one’s life.
This Is the Voice
****
4/22/21
Informative. As an amateur singer and
multi-decade member of a choir, I came to
John Colapinto’s book titled, This Is the
Voice, with some knowledge about the
instrument I use when I sing. Happily, I
was both entertained and informed by this
book which crosses many disciplines to
describe the ways in which our ability to
convey meaning through sound has
defined our species. I ached when I read
about how Colapinto damaged his voice
and thought about the skills of those
otolaryngologists who restore and
strengthen voices. Next time I feel strain
while reaching for a note, I’ll think of this
book, relax, and not put my vocal
instrument at risk. Readers who enjoy
popular science books will find a lot to
learn from this entertaining and
interesting book.
Big Bad
****
7/22/21
Wild. The baker’s dozen collection of
short stories by Whitney Collins in a book
titled, Big Bad, are funny, thoughtful,
quirky and in each case, deep. Collins’
finely written prose can capture character
in a few sentences and reveal with great
creativity some aspect of the darkness
inside each of us, that thing that gets the
best of us from time to time. Collins places
characters in ordinary places and reveals
the extraordinary depths of human
behavior. Each of these stories can be a
well-savored treat for those readers who
love short fiction and enjoy the breadth of
ways to live one’s life.
Detroit Style: Car
Design in the
Motor City, 1950-
2020
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Saving Justice:
Truth,
Transparency, and
Trust
****
3/18/21
Lessons. You’ve already decided whether
you’re interested in reading a book by
former FBI Director James Comey, so
what I have to say may have no impact. In
his book titled, Saving Justice: Truth,
Transparency, and Trust, Comey talks
about lessons he learned from his life and
shares with some candor specific mistakes
he made, especially early in his career as a
prosecutor for the Department of Justice.
Someone needs to speak to a general
audience about the principles and values
that provide direction and guidance to the
administration of impartial justice in the
United States. Comey may or not be the
right voice, but what he says in this book
made sense to me and reinforces the
importance of fairness and equity in the
enforcement of law and the administration
of impartial justice.
The Law of
Innocence
****
1/26/21
Defendant. The sixth installment of
Michael Connelly’s Lincoln Lawyer series
featuring defense attorney Mickey Haller is
a novel titled, The Law of Innocence.
Haller’s world turns upside down after he
is arrested for murder and has to defend
himself from jail. Mickey knows that he’s
innocent although the evidence looks bad
for him, and that to restore his reputation
he will need to find the real murderer.
Fans of crime fiction and this series are
those readers most likely to enjoy this
novel. I enjoyed the plot momentum and
the return of familiar and interesting
characters.
Vanderbilt: The
Rise and Fall of an
American Dynasty
****
12/18/21
Dissipation. Journalist Anderson Cooper
and historian Katherine Howe
collaborated to write an account of the
Vanderbilt family in a book titled,
Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an
American Dynasty. Cooper is the great-
great-great-grandson of Commodore
Cornelius Vanderbilt who built a family
fortune in shipping and railroads. We see
the gilded age from a family perspective in
this book and watch the dissipation of the
dynasty through family dysfunction and
overspending. The individual family
members are presented with insight and
sensitivity. Readers interested in history
and family dynamics will find a lot to enjoy
in this entertaining and interesting book.
Razorblade Tears
*****
12/13/21
Fathers. Try to take a break during those
few moments while reading S.A. Cosby’s
novel titled, Razorblade Tears, when the
tension pauses. Catch your breath, smile at
the finely written prose, and then get back
to the story. Two ex-cons team up to track
down whoever killed their sons. The
complex characters are well developed in
this story, and Cosby explores violence,
prejudice, and love with great insight and
skill. Fans of crime fiction will love this
story and may well end up quoting some
lines from Cosby that are just plain superb.
What’s Mine and
Yours
****
4/27/21
Decades. Naima Coster packs so much of
the range of human experience in a
handful of characters across a few decades
in her novel titled, What’s Mine and Yours.
The narrative moves back and forth in
time, as we get to know these characters
and how they navigate through life and its
struggles. We settle in to appreciate the
different ways that families are made and
broken, and how love and marriage can be
both deep and fragile, strong and weak. It
doesn’t take long for us to care deeply
about what happens to these characters as
they go through their lives. Coster
addresses issues of contemporary life with
a light touch, since it is all done through
those characters that we come to know and
appreciate as humans just like us, doing
their best with the hands they’ve been
dealt.
Panthers and the
Museum of Fire
****
4/27/21
Manuscript. Join the stream of
consciousness of the narrator of Jen
Craig’s novel titled, Panthers and the
Museum of Fire, and enjoy a fascinating
trip visiting the narrator’s world. The title
refers to a manuscript of that title that the
narrator received from a recently deceased
writer. That dead writer picked the title
from a highway sign directing drivers to
two locations, Panthers, and to the
Museum of Fire. The riffs in this novel
explore friendship, conversations, and
adolescent struggles. The prose is finely
written, and the novel will appeal to those
readers who enjoy literary fiction and
appreciate not needing a novel to follow
any specific rules or expectations. Sit back
and enjoy the prose and become enthralled
by the life of this narrator.
The French
Paradox
****
5/14/21
Jackie. The eleventh installment of Ellen
Crosby’s Wine Country mystery series
featuring vintner Lucie Montgomery is a
novel titled, The French Paradox. Fans of
the series will be delighted with the return
of a familiar cast of characters and a plot
that involves Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
Onassis and her multi-decade relationship
with Lucie’s grandfather. True to the
formula, there’s also a murder to solve.
Here Is the Beehive
****
10/25/21
Structure. In her first novel for adults
titled, Here Is the Beehive, Sarah Crossan
chose to take risks and trust that readers
will make it all work. She chose verse as
the structure for the novel and made
adultery the subject. Protagonist Ana is a
lawyer whose affair with Connor ended
abruptly with his sudden death. Having
written his will, Ana ends up getting to
know Connor’s wife, Rebecca, while
handling the estate. The novel moves back
and forth in time without much warning,
thereby requiring a reader’s close
attention. The title refers to a nursery
rhyme and Ana’s keeping of the great
secret of her affair. We feel the sting of life
for Ana as her inner and outer lives are out
of sync.
The Wind Traveler
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
American Crisis:
Leadership
Lessons from the
COVID-19
Pandemic
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Second Place
****
7/10/21
Artists. What we see in others may not be
matched in any respect by what others see
in us. The characters in Rachel Cusk’s
novel titled, Second Place, seem to bring
out the worst in each other. At the least,
they desire some reciprocal response from
each other and instead find disgust or
rejection. Thanks to Cusk’s finely written
prose, we bask in the pleasure of observing
complex and interesting characters pursue
relationships. Writer M invites painter L to
come to live and work in the second
structure where she and her husband live
in the primary house. That setting provides
the landscape for this engaging novel.
The Saboteurs
****
8/5/21
Panama. The twelfth installment in the
Clive Cussler franchise featuring detective
Isaac Bell is a novel titled, The Saboteurs.
Most of the action in the novel takes place
at the site where the Panama Canal is
under construction in the early part of the
20
th
century. As usual with this series, the
pacing is brisk, the heroes and villains are
well matched, and Isaac succeeds in
completing his mission against tough odds.
Fans of this series are those readers most
likely to enjoy this romp in Panama.
Fast Ice
****
4/13/21
Chilly. Choose a warm place to read the
eighteenth NUMA files novel by the Clive
Cussler franchise, a book titled, Fast Ice.
So much of the action takes place in frigid
conditions that you might feel the chills as
the action propels readers from one cold
place to an even colder one. The familiar
NUMA cast is back, led by swashbuckling
Kurt Austin and his sidekick Joe Zavala.
All their skills and the expertise of other
recurring characters are drawn into a race
to defeat a finely drawn villain, Ryland
Lloyd, who is in the final stages of
implementing actions that will lead Earth
into another ice age. While the formula of
this series demands that the good guys
win, it’s a close-run thing that will satisfy
those readers who love fast-paced action
novels.
What Tech Calls
Thinking: An
Inquiry into the
Intellectual
Bedrock of Silicon
Valley
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Damnation Spring
****
10/15/21
Redwoods. The debut novel by Ash
Davidson titled, Damnation Spring, is set
in the redwood country of California in the
1970s. Through the lens of the Gunderson
family, we enter a world of hard work,
close family ties and tradition facing sea
change to their way of life. Colleen and
Rich are raising their son, Chub, in a
logging town. Davidson explores the
depths of love, betrayal, and redemption in
the setting of a tightly knit community
facing life-changing losses. The prose is
finely written, the characters are complex
and well-developed, and the story
engaging.
A Lie Someone
Told You About
Yourself
****
1/26/21
Fatherhood. Any parent reading Peter
Ho Davies’ novel titled, A Lie Someone
Told You About Yourself, will ache for the
unnamed characters at the heart of the
story. After testing in utero reveals the
likelihood of abnormality, a mother and
father struggle with the choice of whether
or not to abort the pregnancy. We feel their
struggle with this decision and the guilt
and shame that they face. When their next
pregnancy produces a son, we see
parenting mostly from the father’s
perspective, as parents exude love for this
most wanted boy who has secured a place
on the autism spectrum. Davies’ fine
writing and insights into fatherhood will
propel readers through this novel and into
thinking about many dimensions of
fatherhood.
The Silence
****
1/16/21
Bearings. What happens when we lose
our bearings? In his short novel titled, The
Silence, Don DeLillo presents another take
on the dread of contemporary life and the
immediacy of our mortality. Because of his
finely written prose, we feel the struggle of
the characters like us in this novel who
struggle to find language and engage in
conversation after technology has
suddenly shut down. Following such a
shock, how do we know where we are,
where we are going, and what the hell is
going on? Welcome to our world as
presented by a talented writer who finds a
way to condense so much into this short
book.
Eat the Buddha:
Life and Death in a
Tibetan Town
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Perishing
****
12/6/21
Immortal. Readers can approach
Natashia Deón’s novel titled, The
Perishing, from a variety of perspectives.
For those who enjoy historical fiction, this
novel brings to life 1930s Los Angeles.
Readers who enjoy science fiction
elements will enjoy how a character who is
immortal ties together the past, the
present, and the future. And those readers
who can’t read enough about strong Black
female characters, this novel will be a
perfect fit.
The Patient
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Let Me Tell You
What I Mean
****
3/9/21
Incisive. There are twelve essays by Joan
Didion in a collection titled, Let Me Tell
You What I Mean. These pieces were
written between 1968 and 2000 and
showcase this fine writer’s incisive focus
and her concurrent detachment as she
presents her views. Her use of language is
always a model for aspiring writers, and
these essays provide loads of examples of
how to write well. Like all great artists, her
eye sees something that most of us miss,
and that when she shows us what she sees,
we can understand better our lives and our
world.
At Night All Blood
is Black
****
7/17/21
Hands. Take a close look at the image of
the hand on the cover of David Diop’s
finely written novel titled, At Night All
Blood is Black, because you are likely to
retain the image of hands as you read this
book. Set during World War I, the novel
takes readers into the horror of trench
warfare where hands will represent the
madness that can take over the actions of
soldiers, especially protagonist Alfa
Ndiaye, who left Senegal to fight with the
French. The spare prose leads readers to
concentrate attention and receive images
that place us in the setting of trauma.
Attack Surface
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Cloud Cuckoo Land
*****
10/25/21
Continuity. Fiction fans will love the
connections that Anthony Doerr makes in
his finely written novel titled, Cloud
Cuckoo Land. Readers become enthralled
by the past, the present and the future tied
together by their immediate challenges
and linked by a manuscript. We go from
fifteenth century Constantinople to a
performance of a story in a library in
contemporary Idaho to a virtual library in
a spacecraft in the future looking for some
place more hospitable to humans than
Earth. Doerr weaves out the overall story
bouncing back and forth in time, making
all the shifts relative and letting us get lost
in the fragility of all stories. I felt great
satisfaction after all the pieces came
together and found great pleasure in the
journey with these complex characters and
in the manuscripts that contain all our
stories.
The Suicide House
****
2/13/21
Westmont. The setting for multiple
deaths in Charlie Donlea’s novel titled, The
Suicide House, is an elite school in
Indiana, Westmont Preparatory High
School. Donley develops multiple plot lines
and layers depth onto multiple characters
as he pulls readers into what happened on
this campus. While there’s been a
conviction for murder, not everyone sees a
closed case. Following more deaths,
psychologist Lane Phillips and his partner,
reconstructionist Rory Moore, converge in
Indiana to get to solve the mystery. Fans of
character-driven fiction will love Rory and
notice our hearts beating faster as she
finds herself in peril.
The Adventures of
Isabel
****
7/22/21
Unnamed. Perhaps Jane Candas Dorsey
chose to withhold the name of the narrator
of her novel titled, The Adventures of
Isabel, because the narrator would assume
that we know who she is. I expect few
lukewarm reactions to this novel: most
readers will either find this protagonist
and narrator exciting or too different to
accept. Mystery fans will love the sharp
prose, the snarky amateur detective, and
the plot’s rapid pace. Having read this first
in a planned Epitome Apartments series, I
want to get to know this narrator a lot
better, and I am prepared to savor the fine
writing and laugh at the sharp wit.
Tropic of Stupid
****
2/13/21
Genealogy. The twenty-fourth novel by
Tim Dorsey featuring Serge Storms is
titled, Tropic of Stupid. Set as always in
Florida, this time out Serge decides to send
his DNA to a genealogy testing company so
he can build a family tree and meet his kin.
While on the road with sidekick Coleman,
they visit Florida parks and run into
situations that call for Serge’s particular
methods of administering justice to those
who take advantage of others. Fans of the
series will love the plot and laugh at the
latest exploits of this quirky duo.
Burnt Sugar
****
9/8/21
Tara. For her debut novel titled, Burnt
Sugar, Avni Doshi selected an examination
of one of those most challenging motifs in
fiction and in life: the mother-daughter
relationship. Could any writer have a new
perspective on this relationship? We have
the impression of Tara as a free spirit who
left her husband to join an ashram, where
she placed her daughter, Antara, in the
care of Kali Mata, an American devotee.
Both Tara and Antara remember the past
in different ways, learning the subjectivity
of truth and the porousness of identity.
The powerful emotions Doshi presents are
delivered with finely crafted prose and
insight into human behavior. We ache with
Antara at her mother’s selfishness and
instability and smile with her as Tara
suffers. Doshi handles anxiety and rage
with a perspective that perhaps does add
new dimensions to a relationship about
which millions of pages have already been
written.
Love
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Saint Makers
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Live Not by Lies: A
Manual for
Christian
Dissidents
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Truly Like
Lightning
*****
5/27/21
Big. Many novelists select a sliver of
human experience and convey something
about life with insight. In his novel titled,
Truly Like Lightning, David Duchovny
tackles the big questions of life and offers a
story of a tragic hero who struggles with
finding his place in the world doing what
he discerns is right and trying to be aligned
with what he thinks God would want him
to do. The setting of this novel in the
desert offers a backdrop for addressing
those big questions through the choices
protagonist Bronson Powers makes for
himself, his wives, and his children, as they
try to live out a life as Mormons conflicted
with the mores of contemporary American
life. We all try to answer for ourselves the
big questions explored in this finely
written novel. We feel deeply for the
characters in this novel as they struggle to
discern a right path forward in their lives.
Every Day Is a Gift
*****
4/27/21
Upbeat. I’m thrilled that Tammy
Duckworth is one of my senators, and I
thoroughly enjoyed reading her memoir
titled, Every Day Is a Gift. Partisans should
note that politics are only slightly present
in this book. What all readers get to savor
is a life well-lived and told with candor and
grace in a voice that’s totally down to
earth. The whole narrative is upbeat and
involves doing whatever it takes to meet a
goal. She tells of her early life spent
helping her family survive poverty and
make their way in the world. We hear of
her patriotism in joining the military and
becoming an officer and helicopter pilot.
We learn about the rocket propelled
grenade that hit her helicopter, caused her
to lose her legs, and of the heroic efforts of
those who saved her life. We learn of her
becoming a mother later in life, and about
the path by which she entered politics.
This is the inspiring story of a patriot who
loves her country, has served it with honor,
and now works every day to help all
citizens.
Trafik
****
10/8/21
Home. After your everyday reality turns
to crap, what will you do next? The
characters in Rikki Ducornet’s finely
written novel titled, Trafik, decide to f-it,
and set their sights on an idyllic place and
head in that direction. This becomes a
journey toward that comfortable place we
usually call home, but here is known as
Trafik. On the journey toward Trafik,
readers are treated by hundreds of finely
crafted sentences that cry out to be read
more than once. Sometimes, you just need
to embrace the absurdity, and in reading
this science fiction novel, the sooner you
release all your moorings, the better the
experience.
Winter in Sokcho
****
9/8/21
Contrasts. In her debut novel titled,
Winter in Sokcho, Elisa Shua Dusapin
structures a variety of contrasts for our
close examination. Set on the border
between North and South Korea, we start
with that dramatic geographic and cultural
contrast. The protagonist is a young
French Korean woman who is the
receptionist at a guesthouse. Her mother
works at a fishmarket and has the skills to
prepare those fish that could be venomous
to eat should others wield the knife
improperly. A French cartoonist arrives at
the guesthouse and develops a constrained
relationship with the receptionist, as
Dusapin mines their differences to
contrast their lives. When they travel
together, the inspiration he seeks never
seems to be discovered. He avoids the
reception’s offer to cook for him. We
anticipate the culmination of all the
contrasts of life and death as he prepares
to leave the guesthouse. Fans of literary
fiction are those readers most likely to
enjoy this novel.
Widespread Panic
****
9/16/21
Noir. I can think of no better setting for
an enjoyable noir novel than Hollywood
during the 1950s. James Ellroy masters
this setting and that era’s style in his novel
titled, Widespread Panic. There’s dirt to
mine on Jack Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe,
Rock Hudson, and a host of other
prominent figures of that time. The person
to reveal all the secrets is protagonist
Freddy Otash, a talented rogue. Freddy’s
voice in Ellroy’s hands provides the perfect
rhythm to draw readers into that special
time and place.
Which Country
Has the World’s
Best Health Care?
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Dear Senthuran
****
10/25/21
Letters. Akwaeke Emezi’s book titled,
Dear Senthuran, is a memoir in letters.
Their prose matches the voice readers have
come to appreciate in fiction. The
expression to family, friends and lovers
exposes an inner life and an outer
manifestation that contains great depth,
complexity, and life-changing decisions.
We may not understand their life, but we
learn about it through finely written prose
and heartfelt engagement with the world.
Their storytelling, intelligence, and candor
will keep readers entranced by a voice that
roars.
The Death of Vivek
Oji
****
6/19/21
Cousins. Multiple narrators collaborate
to give readers of Akwaeke Emezi’s novel
titled, The Death of Vivek Oji, many facets
of the life and death of Vivek Oji. With
finely written prose, Emezi discloses
secrets and examines close relationships,
especially the one between Vivek and his
cousin, Osita. With great sensitivity to the
complexity of human behavior, Emezi
gently explores issues of identity and
acceptance alongside the violence of forced
alignment with community expectations.
The Voyage of the
Morning Light
****
2/13/21
Home. Readers who enjoy historical
fiction are those most likely to appreciate
Marina Endicott’s novel titled, The Voyage
of the Morning Light. Set in 1912, we join
an interesting and memorable cast of
characters on a journey from Nova Scotia
to the South Pacific and back. Endicott
explores the questions of what it means to
be family and where we find home as we
join these characters on their journey. She
also provides a contemporary lens on the
topic of prejudice as she relates what are
considered differences and what are
similarities in the way we conform or rebel
to the expectations of society. Many
readers will find the moral complexity in
this novel will lead to reflection about
contemporary life.
Infinite Country
****
5/6/21
Identity. Readers will marvel at how
much ground Patricia Engel covers over
the course of two hundred pages in her
novel titled, Infinite Country. We find a
family with identity rooted in both
Columbia and the United States. We
observe separations and unifications. We
picture the people and places with clarity
thanks to Engel’s descriptive prose. We
live alongside five family members as we
read this novel, and we feel deeply for each
of them, and note an increased intensity as
a deadline approaches rapidly.
The Dangers of
Smoking in Bed
****
10/8/21
Horrors. Many of us who enjoy short
stories want to go to unfamiliar places and
see human behavior from fresh
perspectives. In her collection titled, The
Dangers of Smoking in Bed, Mariana
Enriquez uses the backdrop of Argentina
to open our eyes to look at the horrors she
presents without flinching. Within a few
sentences of each story, I found myself
unsettled and uncomfortable. It was easy
to become distracted by the tone which
made everything presented seem typical
and normal, which it is not. Perhaps when
we receive the creepiness of someone else’s
life in a place far away through fiction, we
can put down the book and examine our
own lives with joy and relief. In the time
spent with these finely written stories, I
was captivated by characters and
situations that Enriquez presents with
directness and compassion.
L.A. Weather
****
11/6/21
Control. If you think weather in Los
Angeles (sunny and warm) is boring, you
have not been paying attention. To remedy
that, consider reading Maria Amparo
Escandón’s novel titled, L.A. Weather. We
meet the Alvarado family as aspects of
their life seem to be out of control. Peril is
at hand for reasons known and kept secret.
Renewal is required but brings risks.
Readers will enjoy spending time with this
fascinating extended family as they
navigate the storms of life together and
apart.
The Office of
Historical
Corrections
*****
2/13/21
Black. The short stories and novella in the
collection by Danielle Evans titled, The
Office of Historical Corrections, reveals the
wit, wisdom and struggles in
contemporary American life. The finely
written prose in this collection captures
dialogue, mood, and struggle with
precision. The strong Black female
protagonists emerge from the shadows to
reveal their experiences of what life is like
for them. Evans conveys in each story
some aspect of what these women face and
how no matter what they do it never seems
to be enough. Readers who enjoy finely
written prose and stories packed with
insight and wisdom are those most likely
to enjoy this collection.
The Light Ages:
The Surprising
Story of Medieval
Science
****
2/13/21
Westwyk. I learned a load of interesting
stuff about medieval science as I read Seb
Falk’s book titled, The Light Ages: The
Surprising Story of Medieval Science. Falk
brings the topic to life through one
scientist, John Westwyk, a talented
inventor, astronomer, and master of the
astrolabe. We learn about how knowledge
spread throughout the world during the
Middle Ages. Falk pulls readers into
monastic life and manuscripts and the
ways in which the advancement of
knowledge was encouraged. Westwyk
comes across as the quintessential geek
whose interests and tinkering would be
recognized by scientists of any time period.
Fevers, Feuds, and
Diamonds: Ebola
and the Ravages of
History
*****
6/8/21
Context. Until I read Paul Farmer’s book
titled, Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds: Ebola
and the Ravages of History, I thought I
understood a lot about the 2014 Ebola
outbreak in Sierra Leone, Liberia and
Guinea. Thanks to the context that Farmer
provides in this book, it will be obvious to
all readers that the situation in West Africa
in 2014 was the consequence of hundreds
of years of exploitation and injustice. He
shows how the strategy of containment
may have limited the spread of disease, but
by not also focusing on medical care of
patients, the people in this region (and
others) do not have the health systems to
address problems when they arise, let
alone provide basic health care for people.
Farmer writes with clarity and empathy,
explaining history and medicine in terms
that all readers can understand.
His & Hers
****
1/26/21
Deception. Three narrators alternate
chapters in Alice Feeney’s psychological
thriller titled, His & Hers. The plot will
hook most readers quickly as we meet
interesting and complex characters and
develop suspicions about almost all of
them. We find ample motivation in lots of
characters to commit murder, and not
many are eliminated from suspicion
quickly. Readers who love plot twists and
thrillers are those most likely to enjoy this
exciting novel.
Rock Paper
Scissors
****
11/6/21
Lies. The plot twists are reason enough
for thriller fans to pick up Alice Feeney’s
novel titled, Rock Paper Scissors.
Something is not quite right in the
relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Wright.
Adam is a screenwriter whose face
blindness means he cannot recognize
faces, even those closest to them. When the
couple head to the Scottish Highlands, the
lies in their marriage start to unravel, and
Feeney offers readers one twist after
another as the truth eludes us. The
narrative proceeds from multiple
perspectives and readers remain uncertain
right to the end of the novel.
Life Is in the
Transitions:
Mastering Change
at Any Age
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Arab Winter: A
Tragedy
****
7/10/21
Collective. After I finally read Noah
Feldman’s book titled, The Arab Winter: A
Tragedy, I realized what I had gleaned
about the Arab Spring focused too much
on Egypt, not enough on Tunisia, and I
didn’t reflect much about the
consequences of the collective action of the
citizens of multiple countries. Feldman has
expanded my perspective on that region
and the implications of collective action on
what’s likely to come next. Many of us may
not have liked how the people in the region
exercised their agency, but Feldman
proposes that a future Arab Spring is more
likely because the subservience of the
people in the past to unrepresentative
leaders may have changed for good.
Swimming Back to
Trout River
****
12/6/21
Separations. Linda Rui Feng’s debut
novel titled, Swimming Back to Trout
River, uses the backdrop of the Cultural
Revolution in China to pull readers into
the stories of three generations in a family
separated by the upheavals in society. Feng
pulls readers into caring for each member
of this family. Momo leaves wife, Cassia,
and daughter, Junie, to stay with his
parents in the small town where he was
raised while he heads to American for a
better life. Cassie also separates from
Junie and her in-laws as she, too, leaves
for America. A musician named Dawn
from Momo’s college days has also moved
to the United States. Feng explores all
these separations, the trauma and pain,
with insight and understanding. The result
is a finely told story that will resonate in
special ways for all immigrants.
How to Order the
Universe
****
7/10/21
Hardware. María José Ferrada’s debut
novel titled, How to Order the Universe,
tells the story of a daughter and her father
in Chile during the 1970s. Seven-year-old
M loves when her father, D, takes her with
him to hardware stores for his work as a
salesman. We see the Pinochet era from
M’s perspective and feel a sense of wonder
as they drive an old Renault from town to
town. Even the durability of hardware
cannot protect them from the waves of
change. It is the lessons about the human
heart that M learns during her time on
these sales routes, more valuable than
what she would have learned in school.
The simplicity of hardware contrasts with
the complexity of the world.
The Cover Wife
****
12/13/21
Hamburg. Fans of thrilling plots are
those readers most likely to enjoy Dan
Fesperman’s novel titled, The Cover Wife.
Set in Hamburg in 1999, this is a fictional
take on the terrorist cell that a few years
later participated in the 9/11 attacks.
Protagonist Claire Saylor is a CIA agent
who is sent undercover to try to find out
what the terrorists are up to. We observe
Clair’s incredulity at her assignment, and
we come to appreciate how frustrating life
as a spy can be. Character development
takes second place to plot momentum.
An Extravagant
Death
****
5/27/21
Gilded. The fourteenth crime novel by
Charles Finch featuring protagonist
Charles Lenox is set in 1878 and titled, An
Extravagant Death. Prime Minister
Disraeli has a good reason for Lenox to be
away from London, and thanks to advice
from his wife, Lady Jane, Charles
negotiates a trip to the United Sates as the
representative of the Queen. On route from
New York City to Boston, Lenox is lured to
Newport, Rhode Island where a young
woman has been murdered. Most of the
action of the novel takes place in the
Gilded Age cottages of the very wealthy.
Readers even get to peek inside one of
Lady Astor’s balls. Fans of crime fiction
will enjoy an engaging plot with a
fascinating cast of characters. Finch leaves
readers hanging at the end of this novel
about what Lenox will do next. Personally,
I’m open to anything that this author
dreams up for this finely drawn character.
Triple Chocolate
Cheesecake
Murder
***
3/25/21
Coffee. Fans of cozy mysteries are those
readers most likely to enjoy the series by
Joanne Fluke set in Wisconsin featuring
baker Hannah Swensen. In this latest
installment, a novel titled, Triple Chocolate
Cheesecake Murder, the familiar formula
is carried out like a favorite recipe. There’s
lots of baking followed by massive
consumption of sweet treats by a large cast
of recurring characters. There’s a murder
that Hannah solves, of course. Every
chapter provides recipes for the sweet
treats that are made as the novel
progresses. It might just be me, but a
difference I noted in this novel was the
volume of coffee that the characters guzzle.
I've yet to bake any of the treats in these
novels and have begun to think of this
series as camp. I’m entertained mildly,
even as I roll my eyes.
Never
***
12/6/21
China. Just because you’ve enjoyed
reading Ken Follett’s historical fiction, it
doesn’t mean you’ll like his take on
contemporary global affairs in his eight-
hundred-page novel titled, Never. The plot
mix involves Islamic terrorists, North
Korean misbehavior, and escalating
tension between the United States and
China. While the plot is thrilling and will
engage most readers, the characters are
rarely complex and the size of the novel
means spending a lot of reading time with
shallow individuals. Readers who like a
thrilling plot and are patient with
incomplete character development are
those most likely to enjoy this novel.
Oranges and
Lemons
****
3/25/21
Revival. Add together murders, nursery
rhymes, and church bells and you have a
case for London’s Peculiar Crimes Unit. In
the seventeenth installment of the Bryant
and May series by Christopher Fowler, a
novel titled, Oranges and Lemons, a case
cries out for the PCU. But in the last
installment, the unit was shut down. PCU
chief Raymond Land is on the Isle of
Wight, Arthur Bryant has been missing for
at least a month, and John May is
recovering from a bullet wound. Not only
is the old team revived for this case, but a
new and quite intriguing character is
added to the cast. Fans of crime fiction,
especially this series, are those readers
who will enjoy this novel.
The People, NO: A
Brief History of
Anti-Populism
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Crossroads
*****
11/6/21
Feast. A multi-course feast for readers
who enjoy finely written literary fiction
begins as Jonathan Franzen presents the
first course, a novel titled, Crossroads,
introducing the Hildebrandt family, mostly
in the 1970s. Franzen polishes each family
member’s character through finely written
dialogue, backstory, and omniscient
revelation of deep inner lives. Russ
Hildebrandt is a hapless associate pastor at
a suburban Chicago Protestant church, and
he becomes something of a comic foil
through his foibles and weaknesses. His
wife, Marian, entered their marriage with
secrets, and the more we discover her
depths, the more we appreciate her rage,
no longer repressed. The children are each
developed with empathy and insight and
face their own setbacks. While the title
refers to a teen group at the church, it also
describes and presents the turning places
for each family member of the course of
this novel. I loved this first course and
found Franzen more sympathetic to these
characters than he’d been with earlier
novels. The religious themes in this novel
can be examined by any reader through
additional reflection, and there should be
plenty of time to digest this novel before
we are presented with the next installment.
Divided We Fall:
America’s
Secession Threat
and How to
Restore Our Nation
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Searcher
****
3/25/21
Cal. Where would you go if you wanted to
escape your present circumstances? In her
crime novel titled, The Searcher, Tana
French introduces protagonist Cal Hooper
who needed to get away from an
acrimonious divorce and a job that he no
longer wanted to do. Cal chose the
opposite of his life on the Chicago police
force: retiring to a rural village in Ireland
where he bought a fixer-upper. A young
neighbor asks Cal to help find his brother
who has gone missing. Before long, Cal
finds himself in peril as his search for the
missing person stirs up a mess that had
been put to rest. As usual, French develops
each character with great skill, and by the
time the action for Cal reaches a critical
point, we can anticipate how he will
respond to what he learns during his
search.
Troubled Blood
***
1/16/21
Bloat. It can feel perfect to settle into a
thousand-page novel knowing that the
story to follow is likely to be interesting
and engaging. I anticipated that feeling as I
opened the fifth installment of the
Cormoran Strike series that J.K. Rowling
writes as Robert Galbraith, a novel titled,
Troubled Blood. For a while it was
satisfying to be back with Strike and Robin
Ellacott as the detective partners took on a
cold case. The middle five hundred or so
pages of this novel felt like bloat to me as
the exposition became a tad tedious and
the various plot lines, investigations, and
personal relationships moved at a glacial
pace. Instead of setting the book aside, I
slogged on to the end, and enjoyed the
resolution of the main case. Readers who
enjoy mysteries and this series are those
most likely to enjoy this novel, especially if
one can remain patient for just under a
thousand pages.
Everyone Knows
Your Mother Is a
Witch
****
11/6/21
Avarice. The sharp wit in Rivka Galchen’s
novel titled, Everyone Knows Your Mother
Is a Witch, provides a balance to the
exploration of avarice at the heart of the
story. Galchen places neighbors
underneath a high-powered microscope
and reports what she observes with energy
and passion. While set in Germany in the
17
th
century, aspects of this story are
present in every contemporary
subdivision, apartment building, or
community group. Galchen’s finely written
prose will give reading pleasure to all fans
of literary fiction, and her lessons about
living alongside others will appeal to every
reader.
Twenty After
Midnight
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Promise
****
11/16/21
Inheritance. Damon Galgut won the
2021 Booker Prize for his novel titled, The
Promise. This family saga set in South
Africa focuses on a farm, a house and an
inheritance, told over the course of time
and four funerals. We watch the end of
apartheid through the decline in the Swart
family. We watch their suffering and loss
from a rot at the core of their lives. We
watch the progression of moral bankruptcy
as they try to hold on to what cannot be.
Galgut takes us beneath the surface in
every scene to examine what’s really going
on whether we want to see it or not. Fans
of literary fiction are those readers most
likely to enjoy this award-winning novel.
Bunker: Building
for the End Times
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
How to Avoid a
Climate Disaster:
The Solutions We
Have and the
Breakthroughs We
Need
****
5/14/21
Steps. General audiences can learn a lot
about our climate crisis from Bill Gates’
book titled, How to Avoid a Climate
Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the
Breakthroughs We Need. Gates
approaches the subject in an organized and
disciplined manner. He examines efforts
that are currently underway, examines
how the situation has changed, and
outlines a variety of practical solutions,
many of which are underway. Power Point
fans will be pleased that there are charts to
examine. There’s optimism on the pages of
this book, and a real sense that we can act
in ways that produce success.
The Black Church:
This Is Our Story,
This Is Our Song
****
6/19/21
Center. In his book titled, The Black
Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our
Song, Henry Louis Gates describes the
myriad ways in which the Black Church in
the United States has been the center of
life for Black Americans. The form of that
centrality has varied across time and place.
Sometimes the church was a needed
source of refuge. Other times, it was the
place to go to mobilize with others for
change. Always, it was a place for
expression in words and songs the joy and
pain of the people in the community.
Whatever issues needed to be faced, the
place for the community to come together
has been the church. Readers of this book
are treated to Gates’ own story, the stories
of many others, and a clear-eyed
examination of this important part of
American life.
The Bomber Mafia:
A Dream, a
Temptation, and
the Longest Night
of the Second
World War
*****
5/14/21
Precision. I savor those times when a
book leads me to question my thinking.
I’ve always thought that indiscriminate
bombing in war was wrong, and that
precision should be deployed to avoid
civilian deaths. During World War II, I
considered the precision bombing efforts
by General Haywood Hansell to be morally
superior to the widespread and intense
method deployed by General Curtis
LeMay. After reading Malcolm Gladwell’s
book titled, The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a
Temptation, and the Longest Night of the
Second World War, I can understand that
LeMay’s massive bombing may have
ultimately saved lives and represented a
moral choice that could be viewed more
favorably than I thought. While LeMay’s
tactics replaced Hansell’s during World
War II, precision bombing has since
prevailed. Readers interested in this
subject should enjoy this thoughtful book,
which I recommend in the audio version,
which was the original format used by
Gladwell, and uses historical audio to
supplement the text.
Winter Recipes
from the Collective
****
12/6/21
Mortality. Ever since she won the 2020
Nobel Prize in Literature, I’ve been
meaning to read Louise Glück’s poetry. I
finally took the time to do that in the form
of her new collection titled, Winter Recipes
from the Collective. This collection did
exactly what I want poetry to do for me. I
slowed down and listened. The images
launched me toward deeper thoughts
about important stuff. Throughout this
collection, I was drawn into the fragility
and vulnerability of life, our certain
mortality, and the uncertainty we feel
about the changes we know we will face. If
you’re ready for some intensity and
seriousness, consider reading these finely
crafted poems.
Citizen Reporters:
S.S. McClure, Ida
Tarbell, and the
Magazine that
Rewrote America
*****
5/6/21
McClure’s. Stephanie Gorton’s book
titled, Citizen Reporters: S.S. McClure, Ida
Tarbell, and the Magazine that Rewrote
America, balances a narrative about a
distinctive era with a handful of characters
whose influence has endured for at least a
century. Gorton describes the rise and fall
of McClure’s, a popular magazine in the
early 20
th
century that launched
investigative journalism. We get to know
S.S. McClure, his best journalist, Ida
Tarbell, along with writers Ray Stannard
Baker and Lincoln Steffens, who together
established a foothold for investigate
journalism in American democracy.
Readers who love this period in American
history will find a lot to enjoy in this
engaging book.
Before the Ruins
****
6/19/21
Pursuit. After you read Victoria Gosling’s
finely written debut novel titled, Before the
Ruins, you can decide whether the
complex story, multiple timelines and
perspectives about modern life pay off for
you. We gradually learn about five key
characters, what happened in the past and
why one character has now gone missing.
A game played by the characters as
children involving a lost diamond
necklace, fake for the game, and possibly a
real one to be discovered, takes form in
different ways in the past and in the
present. Life is often not what we want it to
be, and frequently not at all like the one we
dreamed of while young and naïve. Gosling
uses this complex structure and interesting
characters to help us think about how we
became who we are, and how we feel about
how our lives have turned out.
Think Again: The
Power of Knowing
What You Don't
Know
*****
2/23/21
Flexibility. As of today, I consider
Wharton professor Adam Grant’s book
titled, Think Again: The Power of Knowing
What You Don't Know, to be wise,
thoughtful and helpful to any general
reader. Of course, thanks to what I read in
this book, I’m very likely to reconsider my
view and revise my assessment. Grant
explores the importance of mental
flexibility and humility in facing what we
don’t know. He offers processes that can
improve the ways in which we can use the
approach of a scientist in more dimensions
of life. Examine what works and revise
multiple times as new data becomes
available. In other words, remain flexible.
Don’t get stuck, but actively unlearn things
and relearn based on the current situation.
Ask questions about why you do what you
do every day. Start feeling good when you
see where you are wrong. That’s an
opportunity not a shortcoming. Misplaced
confidence leads to heading in the wrong
direction. Any reader who thinks he or she
has an open mind may think again after
reading this engaging and useful book.
The Anthropocene
Reviewed: Essays
on a Human-
Centered Planet
*****
7/10/21
Ratings. Prepare to fall in love with the
world as you read John Green’s brief
essays in a collection titled, The
Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a
Human-Centered Planet. Green’s
observations about our world are cogent,
quirky, often humorous, and always
packed with insight. In addition to
presenting his observations, he also
provides ratings on a five-star scale. Green
exposes his personal weaknesses,
vulnerabilities, and past and present
insecurities and neuroses. Thanks to his
fine writing, and clear-headed
observations, most readers will find great
pleasure in his ratings about our world and
will gently add our own ratings and
observations.
Libertie
****
6/24/21
Freedom. The story of Libertie Sampson
in Kaitlyn Greenidge’s novel titled,
Libertie, will encourage readers to stand
taller and to pursue the life we desire. The
core question in the novel involves where
we find freedom. Libertie’s mother works
as a physician in Brooklyn in a free Black
community just after the Civil War.
Libertie wants to escape her mother’s
vision that she train as a doctor to work
alongside her and instead pursue her
interest in music. After a man from Haiti
promises her a life of freedom married to
him, she finds his expectation of her
subordination to be another form of
bondage. She searches again for freedom
in motherhood, and wonders where a
Black woman can find freedom. Fans of
historical fiction will enjoy this finely
written novel and become entranced by
Libertie and root for her freedom.
Nobody’s Normal:
How Culture
Created the Stigma
of Mental Illness
****
10/8/21
Neurodiversity. Roy Richard Grinker
writes about culture and mental illness
from a place where he has lived at the
intersection of both. In his book titled,
Nobody’s Normal: How Culture Created
the Stigma of Mental Illness, Grinker
explores changing attitudes about mental
illness over time, and overlays his personal
connection to the topic. As an
anthropologist, Grinker brings an
expertise about culture to the
conversation. As the son and grandson of
prominent psychiatrists, he knows the
history of that profession from both an
academic and personal perspective.
Finally, as the father of a daughter with
autism, he understands the spectrum that
represents human neurodiversity. Grinker
examines the aspect of stigma and
examines the ways in which culture can
transform.
A Time for Mercy
****
1/5/21
Defense. The third novel by John
Grisham featuring Clanton, Mississippi
lawyer Jake Brigance is titled, A Time for
Mercy. The local judge has appointed Jake
to defend a teenage boy who shot and
killed a popular police officer. Jake doesn’t
want to take the case, and this temporary
appointment becomes permanent after no
one else will defend the young man. The
small town expects swift justice and a
death penalty sentence, and Jake’s
popularity and business activity declines
after he takes on the case. Before long,
Jake sees the case from another
perspective, and he ends up risking his
financial security during his defense. Fans
of Grisham are those readers most likely to
enjoy this legal thriller, full of heart about
characters who pop out on the page to
settle into our own hearts as we care
deeply about what happens to them.
Sooley
****
6/24/21
Basketball. While I have no interest in
basketball, I have often enjoyed John
Grisham’s novels, so I opened a copy of his
book titled, Sooley. Before long I was
caught up in the story of Samuel
Sooleymon, a young man from South
Sudan, who gets the chance to play
basketball in the United States. Grisham
contrasts the break that Sooley gets with
the situation in South Sudan. Most readers
will become caught up in this moving story
and with this charismatic character.
The Judge’s List
****
11/22/21
Patience. Three compelling main
characters and a thrilling plot combine
into an exciting novel by John Grisham
titled, The Judge’s List. Lacy Stoltz was a
character in an earlier Grisham novel, and
he loves her like a favorite child in putting
her at the center of this novel. In her work
for the Florida Judicial Review Board,
she’s approached anonymously by Jeri
Crosby with a shocking accusation: a
sitting Florida judge is a serial killer. Jeri’s
father was a victim of this judge’s revenge,
and Jeri presents Lacy with the results of
two decades of dogged investigation
presenting her case against the judge. The
judge has carefully planned his murders,
waiting patiently until the circumstances
allow him to act on his own careful terms.
Fans of crime fiction are those readers
most likely to enjoy this exciting novel.
Matrix
*****
11/6/21
Marie. Fans of compelling and complex
fictional characters are those readers who
will love Marie, the protagonist of Lauren
Groff’s novel titled, Matrix. Marie is the
half-sister of Eleanor of Aquitaine who has
dismissed the seventeen-year-old from the
royal court and sends her to join a remote
group of impoverished nuns. Marie thrives
in the abbey where her leadership
transforms the community and builds self-
sufficiency. Groff imagines all that a
woman could accomplish in the 12
th
century within an abbey free from life with
men. The prose is finely written, and
medieval life comes alive on these pages.
Readers who enjoy historical fiction,
especially with strong female characters,
are those most likely to enjoy this novel.
Keep Sharp: Build
a Better Brain at
Any Age
****
5/27/21
Practical. Neurologist and CNN
correspondent Sanjay Gupta offers
practical advice to general readers in his
book titled, Keep Sharp: Build a Better
Brain at Any Age. Gupta describes what
scientists have learned about the brain and
what their findings mean for maintaining
one’s cognitive health. Spoiler alert: there’s
no magic pill and yes, diet and exercise are
recommended. Many readers will enjoy the
way Gupta debunks long held myths about
the brain. Readers of any age will gain
some practical advice from this
informative book.
World War C:
Lessons from the
Covid-19 Pandemic
and How to
Prepare for the
Next One
****
11/22/21
Diagnosis. Two questions remained
unresolved for me after I read Sanjay
Gupta’s book titled, World War C: Lessons
from the Covid-19 Pandemic and How to
Prepare for the Next One. First, is it still
too soon in the progression of the
pandemic to be able to learn lessons?
Second, can lessons be learned in an
environment where we don’t share a
common fact base? Despite still having
those questions, I enjoyed Gupta’s
diagnosis and prescription. He writes with
clarity for general audiences and offers any
reader with an interest in this subject a
thoughtful assessment of where we’ve been
and where we need to go.
One of Our Own
****
3/18/21
Phily. Fans of Jane Haddam’s series
featuring protagonist Gregor Demarkian
will be excited to read the 30
th
installment,
a novel titled, One of Our Own. The former
FBI agent serves as a police consultant
while living with his wife in an Armenian
neighborhood in Philadelphia. The lively
cast of characters brings the neighborhood
to life. Gregor is asked to assist in a case
involving murder in his neighborhood.
This finely written novel is an upbeat and
hopeful ending to a beloved series and a
tribute to the vitality of one Phily
neighborhood as a model for every place in
the world to emulate.
The Comfort Book
****
9/23/21
Hope. During the darkest periods of life,
it can be difficult to find hope. Matt Haig
understands depression and darkness
from his own life experience, and he offers
a quirky book of fragments titled, The
Comfort Book, as a form of inspiration to
others that life will get better. Readers may
connect with some nuggets, roll eyes at
some aphorisms, reject parts as irrelevant,
and find comfort and hope from
unexpected places. Reading this book is
like getting a big hug. Who can’t use an
extra hug?
The Midnight
Library
****
1/16/21
Turns. In Matt Haig’s imaginative novel
titled, The Midnight Library, protagonist
Nora Seed gets multiple chances to lead a
fulfilled life. She visits a magical library
that contains an infinite number of
volumes about a possible life she could live
if she just made one tweak at some turning
point in her past. What would any of us do
differently if we could? How would the
stories of our lives play out had we done
one thing versus something else? What are
we looking for out of life, and where do we
find satisfaction and fulfillment? Haig
writes with delicacy and whimsy, leaving
most readers uplifted about life after
reading this novel.
And Now She’s
Gone
****
9/23/21
Gray. Private eye Grayson Sykes gets her
first solo assignment: finding somebody’s
missing girlfriend. In her novel titled, And
Now She’s Gone, Rachel Howzell Hall
developed Sykes with complexity, and
offers a thrilling crime novel. Somehow
Hall is able to place abuse and humor
within the confines of the same page, and
we appreciate both. The search for the
missing woman becomes more
complicated with every plot twist, and Hall
keeps us interested in both the case and in
Gray Sykes. Fans of crime fiction are those
readers most likely to enjoy this exciting
and finely written novel.
The Case of the
Reincarnated
Client
****
1/26/21
Memory. The fifth Vish Puri novel by
Tarquin Hall is titled, The Case of the
Reincarnated Client. This time out, India’s
Most Private Detective juggles two cases.
His indefatigable Mummy-ji provides both
impetus and wisdom especially in a case
from the past that had once been
investigated by Puri’s father. Hall focuses
our attention on memory and recollection
in this installment, and fans of Chubby’s
gustatory exploits will be alarmed by one
scene in which Puri actually seems to have
lost his appetite. Readers who enjoy crime
fiction, especially this series, are those
most likely to enjoy this entertaining
novel.
Clean: The New
Science of Skin and
the Beauty of
Doing Less
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Nights When
Nothing Happened
****
6/19/21
Touch. I rarely tire of finely written
novels that offer a view of the world from a
perspective unlike my own. Simon Han’s
debut novel titled, Nights When Nothing
Happened, explores the immigrant
experience in the China to Texas version.
Han describes the longing to find one’s
place in a community that was made for
others. The importance of touch as Han
presents his story resonated in a special
way following many months of pandemic
isolation. The tenderness expressed during
a sleepwalking motif provided deep
understanding of family dynamics. Han’s
prose draws readers into the intimacy of
family relationships and the impact of past
trauma on the challenges of assimilation,
feeling safe and finding a new home in a
strange land.
The Killings at
Kingfisher Hill
****
1/5/21
Puzzle. The fourth installment of the new
Hercule Poirot mystery series by Sophie
Hannah is a novel titled, The Killings at
Kingfisher Hill. The familiar and beloved
detective performs exactly as expected
within a twisting plot that will satisfy most
mystery fans. I found a few of the
supporting characters to be interesting and
complex, while most provided a bit of
backdrop, but little depth. What most of us
mystery readers want is a good puzzle, and
I found this one satisfying.
The Sweetness of
Water
****
9/8/21
Uncertainty. Now what? In his debut
novel titled, The Sweetness of Water,
Nathan Harris takes readers to rural
Georgia as the Civil War ends and every
character feels uncertain about how to
answer the question about what happens
next. Every character takes a tentative step
into the future. Hope and fear travel side
by side. Memories of past trauma remain
vivid. Healing may be possible. It doesn’t
take many pages for readers to feel deeply
about these complex characters and
observe unflinchingly what they need to do
to survive and thrive.
A Study in Crimson
****
12/13/21
Sherlock. The first time I encountered
the world’s greatest detective, Sherlock
Holmes, was in the film version set in the
1940s and featuring Basil Rathbone as
Holmes. Robert J. Harris chose 1942
London as the setting for his own Sherlock
tribute, a novel titled, A Study in Crimson.
Scotland Yard is stumped by a killer who is
murdering women on the same dates that
Jake the Ripper killed in 1888, so they turn
to Sherlock Holmes for help. Fans of crime
fiction homage are those most likely to
enjoy this novel.
The Other Black
Girl
****
8/19/21
Racism. The protagonist of Zakiya Dalila
Harris’ debut novel titled, The Other Black
Girl, works as an editorial assistant at
prestigious publisher Wagner Books.
Twenty-six-year-old Nella Rogers feels a
heavy burden in the workplace as the sole
Black employee and she’s frustrated that
there’s little appetite among her bosses
and coworkers for eliminating the forms of
racism she experiences on the job. Harris
disrupts the status quo by adding another
young Black woman to the workplace mix.
Hazel makes an immediate impact at
Wagner, but Nella finds herself torn on
whether the situation is better or worse for
her own career. The plot is thrilling, and
the satire is sharp.
The Prodigal
Daughter
****
7/10/21
Disillusionment. The tone of the fifth
installment of the Linda Wallheim Mystery
Series by Mette Ivie Harrison turns dark.
In the novel titled, The Prodigal Daughter,
Linda and her Mormon bishop husband,
Kurt, have started marriage counseling
because with their five sons out of the
house, and a bunch of other changes, they
are going through a rough patch. Thanks
to son Joseph’s request for Linda to find a
missing babysitter named Sabrina, Linda
gets out of the house, but she retains her
disillusionment with her life and with the
church. After she finds the missing girl,
she learns that Sabrina had been gang
raped by a group of good Mormon boys.
Linda’s darkness grows deeper as she
grapples with the likelihood that justice
will not prevail. Harrison presents a more
complicated Linda in this novel, and she
has become more real and interesting as a
result. Fans of the series may feel bummed
with the turn in Linda’s life, but hope that
the next installment will move in a
direction that pulls Linda out of the
darkness.
No Rules Rules:
Netflix and the
Culture of
Reinvention
****
2/13/21
Upended. Most managers who read Reed
Hastings’ book titled, No Rules Rules:
Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention, will
feel a bit uncomfortable. When co-author
Erin Meyer weighs in with her expertise
about corporate culture, many more
managers will begin to squirm. This book
upends many management practices that
are widely followed and explains why
there’s another way that produces
outstanding results. There’s a ruthless
quality that some readers will sense in
seeing the consequence of hiring the best,
paying them at top of market, adjusting
pay regularly to market, and providing
generous severance when they are no
longer “the best,” is that employees can
become one more disposable asset. Other
readers will see the value that comes from
empowering individuals to make decisions
without bureaucratic red tape. For some
people, working at Netflix must be a dream
come true, while for others it would be a
nightmare. Read the book and figure out
which side you fall on, and whether some
of Netflix’ management practices might
work at your company.
A Bright Ray of
Darkness
****
3/9/21
Hotspur. Readers can feel deeply the
anguish of the protagonist of Ethan
Hawke’s novel titled, A Bright Ray of
Darkness. He is a film actor making his
Broadway debut in Shakespeare’s Henry
IV, playing the role of Hotspur. His
marriage has fallen apart, and he falls
easily into self-destructive behavior. He
often seems clueless, as Hawke pulls
readers into the world of the theater, this
play, the actors in a philosophical
examination of art and the life of the artist.
A Slow Fire
Burning
****
9/23/21
Broken. There’s a fascinating cast of
broken characters in Paula Hawkins’
murder mystery titled, A Slow Fire
Burning. Along the journey to discover
who murdered a young man and why, we
learn about the lives of a half dozen
characters, each of whom has been broken
in their lives. Hawkins explores grief and
its long-term effect on multiple characters.
She allows multiple characters to present
their versions of the story, and gradually
we come to an understanding about their
lives and some reasons why they acted in
the ways they did. Fans of crime thrillers
may find a slower than usual pace in this
novel, but the characters are the treat here:
complex individuals moving through life
with heavy burdens to carry.
The Tyranny of Big
Tech
****
6/24/21
Reforms. I’m always on the lookout for
ways to achieve progress in solving
national problems that bring together
allies across the complete spectrum from
left to right. I was delighted to find a
glimmer of hope in Josh Hawley’s book
titled, The Tyranny of Big Tech. I can
imagine legislation that Hawley, Amy
Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren could co-
sponsor to reform the way the United
States deals with companies that dominate
sectors of the economy. I encourage
readers to keep an open mind to hear the
views Hawley raises in this book, and then
to read Klobuchar’s book titled, Antitrust:
Taking on Monopoly Power from the
Gilded Age to the Digital Age.
Early Morning
Riser
****
5/27/21
Sweet. Katherine Heiny’s novel titled,
Early Morning Riser, could have gone off
the rails in many different ways. With just
a few tweaks, we could find ourselves
laughing at these characters rather than
with them. She could have skipped the
complexity she layers in each character,
and we would not have recognized them as
complicated people, just like us. The
lightness of the story could have become
too saccharine to penetrate our senses;
instead, we receive a story that is sweet in
just the right ways. I felt better about the
world and the people in it after reading
this novel. That’s a tribute to this fine
writer whose wisdom about life fills these
pages.
The Paper Palace
****
10/8/21
Snapshots. Any reader whose summers
were defined by leaving one’s regular
house for a summer home will resonate
with how much meaning and how many of
life’s pivotal events can take place in such a
setting. In her novel titled, The Paper
Palace, Miranda Cowley Heller moves the
narrative back and forth in time, slowly
revealing, like flipping snapshots, the
secrets of protagonist Ella’s summer home
which was called the paper palace. Some of
the snapshots reveal joy and humor while
others display abuse. We find love and
violence, fidelity and betrayal. Isn’t that
the usual story at the summer house?
The WEIRDest
People in the
World: How the
West Became
Psychologically
Peculiar and
Particularly
Prosperous
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Good Sister
****
6/24/21
Twins. The protagonists of Sally
Hepworth’s novel titled, The Good Sister,
are fraternal twins Fern and Rose.
Hepworth captures readers in just a few
pages as we want to learn more about
these women. Before long, we feel like we
are inside their family and beginning to
understand their interpersonal dynamics.
After not very long, we realize that there
are family secrets that have been long held,
and we begin to see Fern and Rose in new
ways. Hepworth’s prose is finely written,
and her insight into human behavior
resonates.
Slough House
****
6/8/21
Erased. The seventh installment of Mick
Herron’s series featuring the MI5 spies
who are surplus to requirements is titled
after the series, Slough House. Strong
satire bites sharply on these pages, as news
is manipulated, and MI5 has been used for
private purposes. Internal politics has led
to the erasure of Slough House in the MI5
records. Jackson Lamb, however, knows
how to play an inside game. Amid deaths,
diversions, lies and power grabs, Lamb
finds a path toward survival for him and
for most of the Slough House rejects.
The Vapors: A
Southern Family,
the New York Mob,
and the Rise and
Fall of America’s
Forgotten Capital
of Vice
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Clark and Division
****
9/23/21
Investigation. Naomi Hirahara’s novel
titled, Clark and Division, pulls readers
into an investigation into a death in
Chicago in 1944 that introduced me to
things most readers probably don’t know
about Chicago during World War II.
Inspired by historical events, Hirahara
tells us about the lives of Japanese
Americans who went from productive lives
to internment to resettlement far away
from their former homes. Protagonist Aki
Ito and her parents arrive in Chicago to
join Aki’s sister Rose who arrived before
them. Just before their arrival, Rose was
killed by a subway train. Twenty-year-old
Aki wants to find out the truth about
Rose’s death which was ruled suicide. Fans
of mysteries will love the investigation.
Readers who enjoy historical fiction will
enjoy learning about the lives of Japanese
Americans in Chicago in 1944.
The Heart
Principle
****
11/16/21
Spectrum. Helen Hoang continues to
present characters on the autism spectrum
to readers of her novels. In her book titled,
The Heart Principle, we find concert
violinist Anna facing burnout. After her
boyfriend surprises her that he wants to
pursue an open relationship before
committing to each other, Anna decides
she wants an open relationship as well.
What follows is a story of finding true love,
taking on roles that are difficult, and
retaining one’s individuality within a
family.
Virtue
****
10/15/21
Privilege. In Hermoine Hoby’s novel
titled, Virtue, we meet two interns working
in New York City for an elite magazine.
Twenty-two-year-old protagonist Luca
finds himself drawn toward a wealthy
couple, she a prominent artist and he a
filmmaker, and he finds himself welcomed
into their privileged lives. Intern Zara
arrived at the magazine speaking candidly
about injustice and creating tension in the
offices of the magazine. Luca’s attraction
to the allure of privilege distracted him
into complacency about the actions that
Zara pursues with passion. Hoby contrasts
Luca and Zara in ways that lay bare the
shallowness or depth of social activism in
recent years. We observe choices with
consequences and the ways in which young
adults search for their place in the world.
The Orchard
****
4/13/21
Intensity. Protagonist Ari Eden finds his
life turned upside down after his family
moves from their insular ultra-Orthodox
Brooklyn neighborhood to the fleshpots of
Florida, even inside the walls of the Jewish
academy where he faces his senior year in
high school. The debut novel titled, The
Orchard, by David Hopen captures the
essence of adolescence and the intensity of
life among a small group of smart and
privileged friends. Prompted by a
charismatic rabbi, the students examine
their religion and philosophy in ways that
disturb their comfort. Ari’s reinvention in
Florida feels nothing like the life he left
behind in Brooklyn. Many readers will
finish this novel thinking about divine
intervention and suffering as well as the
resilience of youth.
People Love Dead
Jews: Reports from
a Haunted Present
****
11/16/21
Disturbing. The best essayists challenge
our thinking and demand that we look at
those things that are important. Dara
Horn’s critical essays in a collection titled,
People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a
Haunted Present, disturbed me and
challenged me. Horn takes on lies and
hypocrisy with focus and insight. She uses
anger as power to strengthen her prose
and succeeds with great skill in making her
critical case. If you are open to the notion
of structural racism, Horn makes a
compelling case for the global prevalence
of structural anti-Semitism. Horn’s
passion, scholarship, and insight make
these essays important reading that leads a
reader toward deeper understanding.
Just Like You
****
2/4/21
Tender. Nick Hornby offers up for
readers a novel titled, Just Like You, a
romance overflowing with tenderness. The
couple is an unlikely match: 42-year-old
Lucy and 22-year-old Joseph. She’s a
White, divorced mother of two boys. He’s a
Black aspiring musician who first met her
when he worked in the local butcher shop.
Love can overcome lots of obstacles, and
the use of text messages in the narrative
highlights the age difference between the
protagonists. I was receptive for a big-
hearted story, and this novel fit the bill
perfectly.
Via Negativa
****
3/9/21
Priest. Chances are readers have never
met a priest quite like Father Dan, the
protagonist of Daniel Hornsby’s debut
novel titled, Via Negativa. Retired and no
longer welcomed by the bishop of his
Midwestern diocese, Father Dan points his
Toyota Camry west and begins a journey
with a few touchpoint connections to his
past along the way. As if living in a car
wasn’t enough, Dan sees a coyote hit by a
minivan that doesn’t stop, so he patches up
the wild animal, and secures the animal to
the back car seat, adding to the
malodorous ambience of life inside the
Camry. His encounters along the road are
full of interest for readers, and the whole
nature of contemplation and reconciliation
with one’s past gets played out for all to
examine. There’s humor sitting beside
tragedy in the vignettes of the journey, and
we gradually gain insight into Father Dan
and his demons.
Moonflower
Murders
****
2/23/21
Clever. Readers who love clever crime
fiction are those most likely to enjoy the
second installment in the Magpie Murders
series by Anthony Horowitz, a novel titled,
Moonflower Murders. Detective Atticus
Pund returns along with publisher Susan
Ryeland for a murder mystery packed with
twists and the bonus of a novel within the
novel. Horowitz’ writing gives me great
reading pleasure, and I always feel
respected as a reader that I am expected to
engage my brain as the story unfolds.
Clutter: An Untidy
History
****
2/4/21
Stuff. Most of us have a lot of stuff. Some
of us become overwhelmed when there is
too much stuff for us to deal with. In her
book titled, Clutter: An Untidy History,
Jennifer Howard explores issues including
hoarding, consumerism, the prevalence of
big box stores and her personal experience
in spending huge amounts of time dealing
with all the stuff in her mother’s house.
She helps us examine how and why we end
up accumulating so much stuff, and the
challenges we all face as we receive and
dispose of things. While I read this book, I
thought of a friend who recently
mentioned her supply of about 1,000 face
masks, and how much longer we will be
likely to wear them. The day after I
finished reading this book, a photo on the
cover of a Toronto newspaper showed a
littered cityscape full of discarded masks.
This book will appeal to both neat freaks
and collectors of all sorts of stuff.
The Wild Laughter
****
2/13/21
Unmoored. Sure if it wasn’t for dark
humor in Ireland, we’d have no humor at
all. Caoilinn Hughes brought me laughter
and sadness as she presents the travails of
the Black family in her novel titled, The
Wild Laughter. Set in 2008, we meet
paterfamilias Chief facing bleak times, his
children engaged in sibling rivalry, and all
the man wants to do is die. Hughes is a
sharp observer of family devastation, and
her prose sings on these pages as she
encourages both smiles and tears.
Zorrie
****
12/13/21
Glow. If you’ve ever found yourself
standing before a portrait painting and
wondering what the subject’s life was like,
you’re likely to enjoy the compact yet
sweeping story of protagonist Zorrie
Underwood in Laird Hunt’s novel titled,
Zorrie. We find Zorrie in Depression-era
rural Indiana, orphaned first when her
parents died, and abandoned again when
the aunt who took her in also died. We
watch her scrap together a life, finding her
place in the world, glowing for real when
dusted with radium from the plant where
she finds a job. Laird gives us a complete
life to ponder in this novel, and the
resulting portrait is a masterpiece.
Off Grid Life: Your
Ideal Home in the
Middle of Nowhere
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Prodigal Son
****
3/9/21
Mother. With each installment of Gregg
Hurwitz’ series of novels featuring Orphan
X, Evan Smoak, we learn more about this
character and his depth and complexity
evolves. In the sixth novel titled, Prodigal
Son, Evan meets the woman who gave
birth to him and gave him up for adoption.
All of a sudden, Evan’s orderly world has
turned upside down. The action and
technology in this novel make for exciting
reading, and a reader’s tension remains
taut after the last page is read. Fans of the
series are those most likely to enjoy this
installment, and new readers can enjoy
this as a standalone story, then devour the
earlier novels to get to know this
fascinating protagonist.
Smoke
****
5/6/21
Installment. Some novelists who present
books with recurring characters build
stand-alone pieces that are enhanced for
those fans who read every installment. I
found that the fifth novel by Joe Ide
featuring private detective Isaiah Quintabe
titled, Smoke, feels like a middle piece in a
set: you really need to understand what
came before and know that something else
will need to follow. I’ve enjoyed this series,
especially protagonist I.Q., and was
entertained by the expanded cast of
characters in this novel. First time readers
may want to be introduced to I.Q. through
the earlier novels in this series. In the
current installment, I.Q. is on the run from
something that happened in the last novel,
so his profile abides more in the shadows
than on the center stage in this
entertaining crime novel.
A World Safe for
Democracy: Liberal
Internationalism
and the Crises of
Global Order
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
You Again
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Code Breaker:
Jennifer Doudna,
Gene Editing, and
the Future of the
Human Race
*****
4/22/21
CRISPR. If you don’t think gene editing is
exciting, you will after reading Walter
Isaacson’s book titled, The Code Breaker:
Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the
Future of the Human Race, in which he
presents the history of CRISPR (clustered
regularly interspaced short palindromic
repeats) and its many applications to date.
Isaacson’s personal excitement about this
subject appears on every page, as he
introduces us to scientists, their methods,
and their achievements. Readers quickly
become engaged in the process of
unlocking the mysteries of nature. We see
the ways in which curiosity will literally
save us. We learn how we reach the future
one step at a time. The liveliness of the
narrative becomes enhanced as we get to
know Jennifer Doudna, her fellow Nobel
Prize winner, Emmanuelle Charpentier,
their many colleagues and competitors,
and learn about the race to provide
applications for their research, including a
vaccine to treat COVID-19.
Klara and the Sun
*****
6/8/21
Hope. I confess to rolling my eyes when I
heard that the protagonist of Kazuo
Ishiguro’s novel titled, Klara and the Sun,
was an Artificial Friend. Shame on me for
thinking this was about robots or artificial
intelligence. Before long, I found myself
thinking about what it means to love. I
observed Klara’s hope as a model for how
each of us can live life fully. Klara is voice
that most readers will remember fondly
after reading this magnificent novel.
The Story of More:
How We Got to
Climate Change
and Where to Go
from Here
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Why We Eat (Too
Much)
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Kill Switch: The
Rise of the Modern
Senate and the
Crippling of
American
Democracy
*****
5/14/21
Obstruction. Until I read Adam
Jentleson’s book titled, Kill Switch: The
Rise of the Modern Senate and the
Crippling of American Democracy, I
thought I understood the filibuster
tradition in the United States Senate.
Thanks to this interesting book, I
understand better the intentions of the
founders in the structure of Congress and
how the current use of the filibuster
distorts the ways in which the minority is
heard and then majority rules. The current
state of obstruction means that we have, in
effect, minority rule, a state of affairs
anticipated by the founders who put in
place a way for the minority views to be
heard for a period of debate, then voting to
represent the will of the majority. Readers
interested in public policy are those most
likely to enjoy this book. I learned more
about the tradition of the filibuster and the
ways in which obstruction has led to
gridlock and thwarting the will of the
majority of Americans.
Lorna Mott Comes
Home
****
11/16/21
Manners. Octogenarian novelist Diane
Johnson still has a thing or to observe and
to say about how some of us live today. In
another era, her novel titled, Lorna Mott
Comes Home, might be considered a
comedy of manners, so perhaps that may
be the best summary of this novel.
Protagonist Lorna Mott Dumas has left her
second husband in France where she’s
lived for two decades and returns home to
San Francisco. She finds a place far
different from the one she left, and her
extended family are facing concurrent
challenges of coping with the ups and
downs of contemporary life. Fascinating
characters and fine writing make this
diversion a delight to read.
The Space Between
Worlds
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Extra Life: A Short
History of Living
Longer
****
11/22/21
Lessons. How does change happen in
society? In his book titled, Extra Life: A
Short History of Living Longer, Steven
Johnson explores the reasons for the
doubling of life expectancy over the past
century. There are lessons from his
analysis to apply in our society today,
especially since there are changes to life
expectancy because of responses to the
coronavirus pandemic. Many factors have
led to the increase in life expectancy and
curious readers may know some of them,
but few will be able to list all the ones that
Johnson describes in this interesting book.
Mirrorland
****
5/27/21
Twins. The shadows and hidden spaces in
the present and the past keep readers
somewhat in the dark as Carole Johnstone
unveils a psychological thriller story in her
debut novel titled, Mirrorland. As I read
this book, I kept thinking of 1 Corinthians
13:12: “For now we see through a glass,
darkly…” (King James Version).
Protagonist Cat returns to Edinburgh from
Los Angeles after a dozen year
estrangement from her twin sister, El, who
has disappeared. El and her husband,
Ross, purchased the old gothic family
home in which Cat and El had created an
imaginary world they called Mirrorland, a
place with secrets and shadows. As readers
follow Cat inside the family home trying to
follow clues left by El, we become
enlightened about events in the past and
the present. Johnstone’s fine writing keeps
the plot intricate and precise, as we twist
in the dark and the light searching for
answers.
How the One-
Armed Sister
Sweeps Her House
****
3/18/21
Ache. The beauty and affluence of Baxter
Beach in Barbados overshadows the ache
and sorrow of the poor who struggle to
survive there. In her novel titled, How the
One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House,
Cherie Jones draws us quickly into
grievous loss, inflicted pain and ongoing
abuse. We ache for these characters in
their pain, as we live with them on the
beach. There’s an intensity to this novel
that never lets up. These tragic heroes will
remain in your mind long after you finish
reading the novel.
The Prophets
*****
5/6/21
Representation. Thanks to the finely
written novel by Robert Jones, Jr., titled,
The Prophets, young gay Black men can
see themselves represented as enslaved
people on a Southern plantation. Jones
offers two memorable protagonists, Isaiah
and Samuel. He describes the intimacy of
their relationship and how even that
precious thing is subject to the whims and
oppression of slave masters. What Jones
does so well in this novel is lay out the
story of love in a context of evil and hate,
and how the human spirit thrives in love.
He describes pain and suffering, while
conveying what’s beautiful, where truth
lies, and the hope that becomes real in
love.
Noise: A Flaw in
Human Judgment
*****
7/22/21
Magnitude. There’s one big takeaway
from this book titled, Noise: A Flaw in
Human Judgment, by Daniel Kahneman,
Oliver Sibony and Cass R. Sunstein: there’s
a lot more variability in judgments than
you think there is. The authors elaborate in
multiple fields how much we are unaware
of the extreme variability in those
judgments that should be identical. They
explain why we are susceptible to noise in
making judgments, and what steps
individuals and organizations can take to
reduce that noise.
The God Equation:
The Quest for a
Theory of
Everything
****
6/8/21
String. If like me, your science reading
has been erratic, and you wonder if your
knowledge has fallen out of date, you can
get a quick and readable catchup with the
world of physics in Michio Kaku’s book
titled, The God Equation: The Quest for a
Theory of Everything. Like a university
teacher to a class of non-majors, Kaku
explains complex things in simple ways,
and his focus on string theory may actually
make sense to most readers. Kaku shares
with great joy the beauty and symmetry of
physics with readers, and how the great
questions are worth asking.
Red Widow
****
5/27/21
Mole. Readers who enjoy spy fiction are
likely to enjoy Alma Katsu’s novel titled,
Red Widow. Protagonist Lyndsey Duncan
has been called home to CIA headquarters
on administrative leave following an
indiscretion that has put her career at risk.
After three Russian assets were exposed,
the CIA suspects a mole at either Moscow
Station or headquarters. Lyndsey has been
asked to investigate. Katsu’s plot is
engaging, and the characters are complex
and interesting.
The Last Exit
****
8/19/21
Eden. In the near future presented in
Michael Kaufman’s novel titled, The Last
Exit, the superrich have secured their
future by taking a longevity drug, while an
epidemic of encephalitis hastens
premature death for average people.
Parents who choose euthanasia before they
turn 65 can make their children eligible for
the miracle drug to ensure longevity for
them. Protagonist Jen Lu works on the
elder abuse unit of the D.C. police
department, and her investigations lead
her toward a secret drug called Eden which
seems to be causing premature aging and
death. The characters in this novel are well
drawn, the plot twists entertaining, and
the subject fascinating. Most of all, Jen Lu
is a compelling individual who’s likely to
appear in future Kaufman novels.
Leaders Who Lust:
Power, Money, Sex,
Success,
Legitimacy, Legacy
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Things in Jars
****
3/18/21
Collectors. The more quirky Jess Kidd’s
novel titled, Things in Jars, became, the
more I surrendered to her finely written
prose. She gives readers a Victorian
detective mystery packed with a cast of
fascinating, unusual and sometimes
otherworldly characters. We see that
wealthy individuals would collect
specimens of all sorts of unusual things
and behave in ways that disturb modern
readers. There are curiosities and
spectacles that define the time period, and
a female detective whose skills are put to
the test in this intriguing case.
Castle Shade
****
7/17/21
Bran. Mary Russell and her husband,
Sherlock Holmes, head to the Carpathian
Mountains in Laurie R. King’s novel titled,
Castle Shade. After the granddaughter of
Queen Victoria, Queen Marie of Romania,
calls for help, Russell and Holmes head to
the castle of Bran which Marie has
received as a gift from the people. Perched
in the mountains on the border of
Romania and Transylvania, the setting is
described by King with vivid prose, and the
mystery will bring joy to fans of this series
and the genre.
Billy Summers
*****
9/23/21
Redemption. Stephen King respects
readers enough to allow us to read his
work on as many levels as we choose. For
those looking to read a gripping story, the
novel titled, Billy Summers, delivers an
engaging and entertaining story. For those
who enjoy complex characters who grapple
with issues of right and wrong, protagonist
Billy Summers reveals our own human
behavior with clarity: most of us try to do
the right thing; we sometimes do things we
know are wrong; and we try to find ways to
do things we know are wrong for what we
consider the right reasons. Billy is a
talented sniper, and he accepts
assignments to shoot people who have
done bad things. The novel presents what
he considers his last job. In the course of
this novel, he finds himself able to pursue
a journey toward redemption, and by the
time we reach that part of the story, we are
cheering for Billy no matter what he does.
King knows how to get our attention, how
to keep it, and how to throw a curve that
surprises and satisfies. I loved every
minute spent with Billy Summers.
Later
****
4/22/21
Evil. Leave it to Stephen King to give us a
novel titled, Later, about facing up to evil
during our current turbulent times.
Protagonist Jamie Conklin has the ability
to see the recently dead. He learns that
when questioned, they must tell the truth.
We all wrestle with evil in one form or
another, but most readers will feel
goosebumps when we read about Jamie’s
battle with evil. Isn’t that exactly what we
want from a Stephen King novel? Of
course, we also end up thinking about good
and evil, and there’s never any harm in
that, is there?
How to Fly
****
2/4/21
Transported. I love the way poetry can
call attention to something simple in
nature, provide a vivid image through
words, then send our minds off on an
adventure to some other place. In her
collection titled, How to Fly, Barbara
Kingsolver offers a wide range of poems
that provide transport from our home base
of reality to new places. With eyes wide
open to the wonders of the natural world,
Kingsolver uses carefully chosen words to
merge what she sees and feels with what a
reader can find when we join her on a
journey toward insight and understanding
and awe.
Intimacies
*****
8/19/21
Interpreting. Over the course of 240
pages in her novel titled, Intimacies, Katie
Kitamura presents an unnamed
everywoman as she struggles to interpret
meaning for her life while she interprets
language in her translating job at The
Hague. The need to interpret in both her
work life and personal life add to the daily
burdens of this fascinating character who
also grieves the recent death of her father.
We watch as the interpreter narrows her
focus and misses much of what is
important around her. At the same time,
we find that turning away from larger
troubles can open a capacity for intimacy.
As we read this book, we’re likely to shut
out other distractions and feel an intimacy
of our own with this finely written novel as
we try to figure out what is going on in our
world and how we find our place there.
Something New
Under the Sun
****
12/18/21
Drought. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit
that I laughed a lot while reading Alexanda
Kleeman’s dystopian climate change novel
titled, Something New Under the Sun. She
makes a catastrophic drought humorous.
Writer Patrick Hamlin leaves his wife,
daughter, and the east coast for California
where his novel is being made into a film.
His self-absorption provides a reliable
motif throughout the novel. Cassidy Carter
is a Hollywood starlet cast for the film, so
why would she not be self-obsessed?
Tinseltown satire is always funny,
especially when done as well as Kleeman
does here. Along with the characters,
readers adapt to the looming menace of
fires and the water shortage. We don’t
think twice as some characters shift to
drinking WAT-R, a commercial substitute
for the water that is no longer available.
Kleeman plays with absurdity in this novel,
and her sentences are so finely crafted that
their beauty can distract readers from the
overall story and I found that to be a
refreshing pleasure.
Antitrust: Taking
on Monopoly
Power from the
Gilded Age to the
Digital Age
****
7/10/21
Competition. Here’s a free and
important takeaway from Amy Klobuchar’s
book titled, Antitrust: Taking on Monopoly
Power from the Gilded Age to the Digital
Age, she makes the point that this subject
is more pro-competition than antitrust.
The trusts were entities one hundred years
ago. Today’s challenge is that competition
is stifled by large entities that wield too
much power and influence. In the book she
reviews the past and present and offers
concrete ways to move toward a better
future. I read this book shortly after Josh
Hawley’s The Tyranny of Big Tech, and
continue to think that these two politicians
and others should find common ground to
take action.
Believe in People:
Bottom-Up
Solutions for a
Top-Down World
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Biggest Bluff:
How I Learned to
Pay Attention,
Master Myself, and
Win
****
2/23/21
Writing. I couldn’t care less about poker.
If that was what Maria Konnikova’s book
titled, The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to
Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win,
was all about, I would have skipped
reading it. Instead, I found a well-written
exploration about how we learn new skills
and how we can control aspects of our
behavior through focused attention and
repetition of what we want to do better.
Konnikova’s personal story in this book is
captivating, her insights valuable, and her
writing superb. If you like poker, all the
better.
The Plot
*****
6/19/21
Crib. Good fiction can lead readers to
reflect about human nature and help us
appreciate the complexity of people just
like us. In her novel titled, The Plot, Jean
Hanff Korelitz presents protagonist Jacob
Finch Bonner, a young writer whose career
trajectory has plunged after showing initial
promise. While teaching creative writing in
a bottom tier program, a student tells
Jacob the plot of a planned novel that
Jacob sees could be a real unicorn: an
untrod story that would sell plenty of
books. After he learns of the student’s
death, Jacob decides to crib the student’s
plot idea and use it for a novel of his own.
Korelitz satirizes the publishing business
with skill, and captures the anxiety faced
by many writers who try to get their works
published. Fans of literary fiction and
observers of the publishing world are likely
to enjoy that part of the novel. The
intricate construction of this novel will also
thrill those readers who appreciate such
things. She also presents a thriller, and
fans of those novels will likely find her
efforts too predictable to be satisfying, but
nonetheless a page turner. I, for one, was
ready for several different final twists at
the end of the novel, and closed the book
wishing she pursued at least one of them.
Fans of psychological fiction will reflect on
several characters and how they responded
to the challenges of their lives. There’s a
great story at the core of this novel, and
that is likely to sell a lot of books to be
appreciated by different types of readers.
Never Far Away
****
4/27/21
Released. Fans of thrillers want to feel
our hearts beating faster as we become
engaged in the action of a story. In his
novel titled, Never Far Away, Michael
Koryta opens with thrilling action, relaxes
the tension for a bit, and then tightly winds
a coil until the tension demands to be
released. A mother made what she thought
was the best decision for her children. Her
plan falls apart, and she and her children
face mortal peril. There’s a battle between
worthy adversaries at the climax of the
novel, and by the time the tense coil is
released, our hearts have been beating at
an elevated rate for a long time. This is a
well-told thriller that’s packed with action.
Build Your House
Around My Body
****
8/26/21
Disappearance. The disappearance of
22-year-old protagonist Winnie provides
the main structure of Violet Kupersmith’s
debut novel titled, Build Your House
Around My Body. Winnie left the United
States in 2010 to teach English in Vietnam
and reconnect with that part of her
heritage. Like the snakes that play
prominent roles in this novel, Winnie
wants to shed her current mixed-ethnic
skin and become truly herself.
Kupersmith’s prose is finely written and
will please those readers who love literary
fiction. The supernatural elements of the
novel will appeal to those readers who
enjoy a certain creepiness and
otherworldly components in fiction. The
story will likely appeal to any reader who
loves folklore and appreciates a well-told
tale. I was delighted by the skill with which
Kupersmith tied all the pieces together.
The Beggar’s Pawn
*****
11/16/21
Trust. The issues explored in John
L’Heureux’ posthumous novel titled, The
Beggar’s Pawn, made me think the author
possessed a vivid awareness of his own
mortality. We find an affluent couple,
David and Maggie Holliss, easing into
retirement, and navigating the rough
terrain of complicated relationships with
their three adult children. After they
extend trust to a stranger in the form of a
small loan, that person seems to become
the center of their lives in ways that are
frustrating and tragic, allowing L’Heureux
to explore the terrain of charity and
justice. The strains of a health scare bring
all the underlying issues to bear and reveal
brittle and fragile bonds even where we
believe love is strong. Fans of fine writing
are those readers most likely to enjoy this
novel.
Whereabouts
****
6/24/21
Lost. Through her prose in a novel titled,
Whereabouts, Jhumpa Lahiri found a way
for me to feel the vertigo faced by her
protagonist. This unnamed narrator has
lost her bearings, and we join her
disequilibrium as she wanders in search of
what she has lost. The mood Lahiri creates
joins readers to the loneliness of the
narrator, and every fragment adds to our
hope that she will find her way. Before
long, we find ourselves becoming
observant with the narrator and rooted as
ourselves in a time and in a place. Fans of
literary fiction are those readers most
likely to enjoy this finely crafted novel.
Dusk, Night,
Dawn: On Revival
and Courage
****
3/25/21
Humanity. More than enough can pull us
down on the average day, so it can be
refreshing to read something uplifting. In
her book titled, Dusk, Night, Dawn: On
Revival and Courage, Anne Lamott
converses with readers using stories and
wit to reveal our common human foibles
and the ways in which we meander
through life. Her self-deprecating humor
can soften us for seeing the places in our
own lives where we become self-absorbed
and overlook daily gifts of bliss.
Reality and Other
Stories
****
8/5/21
Truth. The eight stories in the collection
by John Lanchester titled, Reality and
Other Stories, capture the mood of our
time when truth and reality can seem
flexible. We’re often disconnected from life
each day and distracted by the alerts on
our devices more than being present in
time and place. Lanchester explores the
uneasiness we feel as we navigate with our
devices and still experience stuff in real
life. There’s fun at play in this examination
of some dark parts of contemporary life.
Most readers will find something to like in
each of these stories.
Margaret Truman’s
Murder on the
Metro
****
7/17/21
Scheme. Jon Land has written his first
Capital Crimes novel in a series created by
the late Margaret Truman. The exciting
novel titled, Margaret Truman’s Murder on
the Metro, uncovers a scheme at the
highest levels of power that will demand
the greatest suspension of disbelief by
readers. Protagonist Robert Brixton, a
private investigator, was on a Washington
Metro train when his alertness led him to
thwart a terrorist attack. Before long he
teams up with an unlikely partner and
together, they prevent a much larger plot
from being enacted. Fans of crime thrillers
will find a lot to enjoy in this novel,
provided you can get beyond the
incredulity of the plot itself.
A Star Is Bored
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Good Neighbors
****
5/6/21
Sinkhole. Toxic muck runs beneath
bucolic Maple Street in a suburban Long
Island town. In her novel titled, Good
Neighbors, Sara Langan takes us beyond
appearances and into a dark reality of life
in many neighborhoods, especially when
some people don’t fit in. The Maple Street
enclave felt their first level of discomfort
after the Wilde family moved in from the
city. They don’t look right, they don’t act
right, and they are just not the right people
for Maple Street. After a sinkhole opens in
a park near Maple Street, a young girl falls
in. As the search to find her progresses, the
Wildes become the focus of accusations. If,
like me, seclusion during the spread of
COVID-19 made you look at neighbors a
little differently, say as potential vectors of
disease, a novel like this one will lead you
to all the bad places that such sentiments
can encourage visiting. We don’t want to
be like the neighbors on Maple Street, but
there are times when we will act just like
them. That’s a sinkhole to be avoided.
We Are the
Brennans
****
12/13/21
Family. Sure if it weren’t for the secrets
held close to the heart in Irish families,
there’d be nothing left to hold us together.
In her debut novel titled, We Are the
Brennans, Tracey Lange explores the ways
in which tightly knit families can be
wounded, and what it takes for all
members of the family to heal. Readers
who love interesting stories packed with
family drama are those most likely to enjoy
this novel.
No One Goes Alone
****
10/25/21
Ghosts. It’s never too late to enjoy a
Halloween treat in the form of a ghost
story. In a rare departure from non-fiction,
Erik Larson offers a fictional audiobook
titled, No One Goes Alone, that tells a
ghost story about a group investigating
mysterious disappearance on a North
Atlantic island in 1905. Rational
explanations are hard to come by after the
investigators become stranded on the
island, and face peril on many fronts.
Meant to be heard, the story draws readers
into the setting gradually, and by the time
tension builds, we are as scared as many of
the characters.
Shelter in Place
****
2/4/21
Aggrieved. Even the three dogs
(Bedlington terriers) in David Leavitt’s
novel titled, Shelter in Place, come across
as entitled elites. Leavitt skewers with
great skill the complete cast of characters
in this novel, mostly through his fine
deployment of dialogue to highlight the
aggrieved state as felt by those who are so
much better off than most. Residents of
wealthy enclaves in Manhattan know these
characters and possibly are these people. If
after reading a sample of this novel and
not finding the pointed wit, you may need
to do some additional introspection. The
world and the characters in the novel
revolve around the star of protagonist Eva.
Worried about life in the United States
under President Trump, Eva buys an
apartment in Venice as a potential refuge. I
thoroughly enjoyed spending time with
this cast of very unlikeable characters,
thanks to Leavitt’s fine writing and pointed
humor.
The Great Mistake
****
12/18/21
Green. As a proud son of Brooklyn, I
confess that I had never heard of Andrew
Haswell Green, the man responsible for
the consolidation of Manhattan and
Brooklyn, until I read Jonathan Lee’s
engaging novel titled, The Great Mistake.
Fans of historical fiction can escape our
current era and head to New York in the
nineteenth and twenty centuries. Green is
a complex and fascinating character at the
center of great transformations for New
York City. The scenes in this novel are
vivid, the story entertaining and
enlightening, and the characters
memorable.
Temporary
****
4/27/21
Satire. In her debut novel titled,
Temporary, Hilary Leichter leads readers
toward laughing at the ephemeral reality of
life and work. This is a satire about
capitalism that will delight those readers
who see the futility of tying one’s identity
to their work. Welcome to a finely written
swipe at the gig economy and the
precarious nature of contemporary work.
Leichter’s language will delight those
whose eyes roll when faced with corporate-
speak. If you can take any break at all from
your work, consider reading this novel and
then reflect on what’s most important in
your life.
Subdivision
****
10/25/21
Puzzle. Readers comfortable with the
surreal will love J. Robert Lennon’s novel
titled, Subdivision. We feel the excitement
and confusion of an unnamed narrator
who doesn’t know how she wound up in a
guest house in a place called Subdivision.
There is a task for both the narrator and us
to solve a puzzle, as the book cover
illustrates. Nothing seems familiar,
though, and some things are downright
absurd. Readers will find the book easy to
lead to laughter and interesting to explore
the changing environment. Isn’t all of life a
puzzle that keeps us trying to figure stuff
out? Lennon guides us in this novel to
solve our own puzzles.
Transient Desires
****
4/13/21
Waters. The thirtieth crime novel by
Donna Leon set in Venice featuring
Commissario Guido Brunetti is titled,
Transient Desires. The introspective
Brunetti reflects his own prejudices as he
becomes involved in uncovering serious
criminal acts outside his jurisdiction. A
larger than usual part of the plot involves
the waters around Venice and requires
Brunetti to trust colleagues he’s never met
based on a web of connections that
encourage treating strangers well because
of who vouches for them. The characters in
this novel are drawn with complexity and
deep insight into human behavior. Fans of
crime fiction with strong protagonists are
those readers most likely to enjoy this
novel and this series.
Zero Fail: The Rise
and Fall of the
Secret Service
****
8/26/21
Mismanagement. I found myself angry
after reading Carol Leonnig’s informative
book titled, Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of
the Secret Service. While mistakes in
protection often led to improvements in
procedure, a toxic culture meant repeated
mismanagement by successive leaders.
Those trying to harm public figures can fail
multiple times, but civil servants in roles of
protection must get it right every minute of
every day. The record of the United States
Secret Service as reported in this book
reflects an organization in grievous need of
repair. Leonnig chronicles the whole
situation with great skill.
I Alone Can Fix It:
Donald J. Trump’s
Catastrophic Final
Year
****
8/26/21
Sources. Washington Post journalists
Carol D. Leonnig and Philip Rucker have
written a follow up to their book titled, A
Very Stable Genius, that recounted the
first three years of the Trump Presidency.
They deliver their accounting of Trump’s
final year in their book titled, I Alone Can
Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic
Final Year. The subtitle summarizes their
assessment with a single adjective. The
book includes their own reporting from
that final year, and with some brief
distance from their daily reporting at the
time, they place events in more context for
this volume and offer a long and readable
narrative about that last year. I marveled
at the extent of their sources, their clear
access to those people who were present
for what was done behind closed doors.
Unlike for their earlier book, this time
President Trump agreed to an interview,
and he spent hours with the reporters,
which they describe in detail for readers.
Readers interested in public affairs are
those most likely to enjoy this account of
very recent history.
The Premonition:
A Pandemic Story
*****
8/26/21
Determination. Most readers will cheer
the people that Michael Lewis presents in
his book titled, The Premonition: A
Pandemic Story. Through sheer
determination and twisting in and around
bureaucracy, we learn about the important
part played by different people in
mitigating risk during the pandemic. We
meet people with expertise and passion for
their work, and we learn about the
importance of a high school science fair
project on public policy recommendations
for the United States. Through the fine
writing to which fans have become
accustomed, Michael Lewis digs into
something and finds fascinating people
and follows a subject where those people
lead him. The result is a book structured
around people most readers never heard
of, but whose determination and talent
saved countless lives during a significant
crisis. I’m still cheering them.
The Thousand
Crimes of Ming Tsu
****
9/23/21
Blind. Tom Lin’s debut novel titled, The
Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu, is like no
American Western you’ve ever read. The
novel is set alongside the tracks of the
Central Pacific Railroad during its
construction, and protagonist Ming Tsu
has embarked on a journey to settle scores.
Lin draws a landscape we thought we knew
with descriptive and vivid language that
makes it seem new and fresh. We learn
how Ming has been wronged and watch
him as he is led by a blind prophet through
the desolate West. I found myself
becoming hungry and thirsty as Ming runs
short of food and water. I felt satisfied
when Ming carried out frontier justice. I
marveled about how Lin helped me see
revenge as a path toward love, the driving
force behind Ming’s journey.
Some Go Home
****
7/22/21
Tensions. In Odie Lindsay’s debut novel
titled, Some Go Home, individual people
and particular places stand in for the
tension in many families and communities
over the past sixty years. The fictional
town of Pitchlynn, Mississipi could be any
hometown. The tension of race and class
can be focused at antebellum Wallis
House, now with new owners in
contemporary and gentrifying Pitchlynn,
but with vivid echoes of a murder there in
1964. Lindsay gives us race, class, memory
and a cold hard look at reality. The prose is
finely written, the characters complex, and
the narrative flows in irregular ways that
seep us into a story that we can come to
see from many perspectives and time
periods.
Rachel to the
Rescue
****
8/5/21
Wit. Here’s a tip to enjoy reading Elinor
Lipman’s witty novel titled, Rachel to the
Rescue: put Trump in the background and
let protagonist Rachel plow ahead with her
own antics. That approach led me to relax
and laugh as Rachel works in the White
House office of records management
taping back together papers that the
president had ripped up. I laughed at the
consequential reply all e-mail that has
happened to many office workers. As
Rachel experiences growing up while older
adults remain juvenile readers will enjoy
the humor of the novel and likely feel
affection for Rachel, who is the star of this
funny novel.
Dream Girl
****
7/17/21
Twists. Readers who enjoy suspense
novels are those most likely to enjoy Laura
Lippman’s novel titled, Dream Girl.
Protagonist Gerry Andersen moved from
New York to Baltimore to care for his
elderly mother. Ensconced in the
penthouse of a new highrise, Gerry’s
mother died, and Gerry has suffered an
injury from a fall and now requires help
from an assistant during the day and from
a nurse during the night. In his drugged
condition his dreams are haunting, and he
has been contacted by someone who
claims to be the character he created in a
successful novel. Lippman maintains
tension and suspense as she twists the plot
in ways that will delight her loyal fans and
all readers who enjoy suspense novels.
A Confederacy of
Dumptys: Portraits
of American
Scoundrels in
Verse
****
10/25/21
Rogues. John Lithgow completes his
trilogy of satire in verse featuring Donald
Trump with a book titled, A Confederacy of
Dumptys: Portraits of American
Scoundrels in Verse. In addition to the
final chaotic days of the Trump presidency,
Lithgow presents a rogue’s gallery of other
men and women from American history to
illustrate where Trump fits into our
tradition. When I finished this final
offering, I was reminded again of how FDR
put artists to work during the depression.
That kept creative types like Lithgow too
busy to roast the president. While I knew
most of the rogues in this collection, I got
to meet some for the first time. Readers
who have an appetite for satire are those
most likely to enjoy this book.
Comrade Koba
*****
2/4/21
Loneliness. The precocious and naïve
protagonist of Robert Littell’s novel titled,
Comrade Koba, is a ten-and-a-half-year-
old boy named Leon Rozental who lives in
an apartment building called the House on
the Embankment, near the Kremlin. After
Leon watches from a hidden room as the
secret police arrest his mother, he and
some friends find ways to survive on their
own as they navigate secret passageways
and find money to eat in the building’s
cafeteria. While on his own, Leon stumbles
into a passageway to a large apartment
where armed guards are protecting an
elderly man. The lonely old man summons
Leon into the apartment where the two
spend much time in conversation over
several weeks. Leon believes the man to be
a high ranking official, but he doesn’t
realize that he is speaking with Stalin.
Thanks to Littell’s wisdom and insight, we
see the elderly Stalin reflecting in
loneliness about his life and finding a
nonjudgmental and receptive audience in
young Leon. We find Leon to be a prodigy
beyond his years, finding a way to get what
he wants from the old man. At times funny
and always poignant, I loved this
thoughtful character study set at the time
of Stalin’s death.
No One Is Talking
About This
****
3/18/21
Inventive. Patricia Lockwood brings our
connected lives to a whole other level in
her novel titled, No One Is Talking About
This. Readers receive fragments, snippets,
details, images, just like we do online as we
navigate our days online. We can laugh at
some, scratch our head at others, and just
wait and see for the rest. Suddenly,
something really important intervenes,
and by then Lockwood has us running
ahead with her to encounter a baby, to
learn about Proteus Syndrome and find the
places in the endless daily scroll that offer
kindness, love, understanding and
support. This inventive novel speaks
directly to our time and place and shouts
with clarity to pay attention to what
matters.
Extraterrestrial:
The First Sign of
Intelligent Life
Beyond Earth
*****
4/13/21
Astrophysics. Every time I read a good
science book, I think fondly of those
college friends who, unlike me, majored in
physics and were compelled to take the
mandatory 8am Saturday class with the
head of the department. While I slept in
until closer to lunch, these friends were
learning laws of physics that have since
been disproven, while I continue to enjoy a
good night’s sleep. With that fondness, I
was enraptured when I read Avi Loeb’s
book titled, Extraterrestrial: The First Sign
of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth. Holy cow!
Somehow I did not pay attention to what
happened in 2017 when scientists observed
an anomaly passing through our solar
system that points toward its origin in a
distant alien civilization. Was this not a
page one story? Did I miss the PBS
Newshour story? In case you missed this
story as well, Loeb’s book offers critical
thinking that supports the view that what
was observed has implications and
consequences that requires more thought
and study. Nerd out.
Ruthie Fear
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Finisher
****
12/18/21
Race. The backdrop for the nineteenth
novel to feature Bath detective Peter
Diamond, a book titled, The Finisher, is a
half marathon race. What Diamond sees
among the finishers of the race puts him
on full alert. What follows is an
entertaining crime novel, in which Lovesey
offers twists on multiple finishers as the
story unfolds. Fans of this series are those
readers most likely to appreciate the return
to a familiar character and setting.
What Were We
Thinking: A Brief
Intellectual History
of the Trump Era
****
3/9/21
Survey. I thought I read a lot of books
about the rise of Donald Trump, the
factors that led to his election, and his
presidency. Washington Post book critic
Carlos Lozado beat me by a mile with the
150 or so books that he consumed on this
subject. In his engaging book titled, What
Were We Thinking: A Brief Intellectual
History of the Trump Era, Lozado
assembles what he read into themes and
offers a survey of the books relating to
those themes. While there have been many
books on this subject, much of the history
of this time will take time to be written. In
the meantime, those readers interested in
public policy will find this survey
interesting to read while time passes,
should any appetite for this subject
remain.
Loop
***
8/5/21
Notebook. Fans of innovative or
experimental fiction are those readers
most likely to enjoy Brenda Lozano’s novel
titled, Loop. Structured as a woman’s diary
or notebook, we find the narrator riffing
from one thought to another. We learn that
her boyfriend has left Mexico for Spain and
she feels his absence acutely. We learn that
she continues to recover from a serious
accident. We search with her for the
perfect notebook. We join her in a world of
ideas. We pursue curiosities. Mostly, we
wait with her for the return of her beloved
and share her notes in the meantime.
Agatha of Little
Neon
****
9/23/21
Nun. You’ve gotta love these nuns. Claire
Luchette’s entertaining debut novel titled,
Agatha of Little Neon, draws readers into a
fascinating cast of characters, including
nuns. Protagonist Sister Agatha is forced
to leave her comfortable convent in
Lackawanna when she and fellow sisters
are assigned to run a halfway house in
Woonsocket. Luchette develops Sister
Agatha as a complex and interesting
character and injects the novel with even
does of humor and insight. The prose is
finely written, and the time spent with the
sisters and the ensemble cast was totally
enjoyable. No matter how much you love
nuns as you start reading this novel, you’ll
love them a lot by the end.
How God Becomes
Real: Kindling the
Presence of
Invisible Others
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Kraft
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The End of
Everything
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Bright and
Dangerous Objects
****
7/10/21
Ambition. The protagonist of Annelise
Mackintosh’s debut novel titled, Bright
and Dangerous Objects, reveals the
incredible power of ambition. While she
works as a deep-sea diver, Solvig has a
larger ambition: she wants to be among
the first people to colonize Mars. Her
partner, James, wants to have a child with
Solvig. Mackintosh allows the competing
demands of ambition and obligation fight
it out as Solvig, like many women before
her, have to make life-changing choices.
The prose is well-written, the characters
interesting, and the revelation of human
behavior insightful.
Hostage
****
12/18/21
Manipulation. Plot twists and thrilling
action propel Clare Mackintosh’s
psychological novel titled, Hostage. Flight
attendant Mina Holbrook has volunteered
to work on the inaugural flight of nonstop
service from London to Sydney, a twenty-
hour journey. Mina left unresolved family
issues on the ground. It’s what’s in the air
that becomes fascinating, a group of
terrorists who have been manipulated by
someone with a dastardly plan. Book club
leaders would ask around the circle what
each reader might have done in Mina’s
place.
War: How Conflict
Shaped Us
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Bag Man: The Wild
Crimes, Audacious
Cover-up, and
Spectacular
Downfall of a
Brazen Crook in
the White House
****
1/16/21
Prosecutors. If what you remember most
about the Nixon administration is
Watergate, may I mention the name of the
Vice President of most of those years to jog
your memory? Spiro Agnew was a larger-
than-life character, relatively unknown
outside the State of Maryland when Nixon
chose him for Vice President to shore up
support from conservative Republicans
(who weren’t the only variety in the 1960s
and 1970s). In a book titled, Bag Man: The
Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-up, and
Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in
the White House, Rachel Maddow and
Michael Yarvitz lay out Agnew’s crimes
and what led to his resignation from office
in 1973. The heroes in this story are the
young prosecutors in this story who built a
solid case that had nothing to do with
Watergate. Attorney Elliot Richardson
listened to the prosecutors, gave them
room to operate and ended up negotiating
terms of resignation for Agnew that put the
interests of the United States first. Fans of
recent history and public affairs are those
most likely to enjoy this account of crime
in high places.
Ghostlove
****
7/22/21
Haunting. Dennis Mahoney explores the
boundaries between life and afterlife in his
novel titled, Ghostlove. Protagonist
William Rook has moved into a haunted
house in upstate New York and revels in
the exciting experiences inside the house.
After he falls in love with June, who has
been dead for a long time, he explores a
way in which he can help relieve the pain
she experiences while she’s trapped in a
limbo state between her past life and what
may be ahead.
The Bright Side
Sanctuary for
Animals
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Entitled: How Male
Privilege Hurts
Women
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
A Matter of Life
and Death
****
4/13/21
Setup. The fourth novel by Phillip
Margolin to feature attorney Robin
Lockwood is titled, A Matter of Life and
Death. Robin reluctantly accepts becoming
the defense attorney for a homeless man
who has been setup to take the fall for the
murder of a judge’s wife. DNA evidence
makes a strong case for her client’s guilt,
and Robin pursues the hardest path
toward release of her client: discovering
how her client was framed and identifying
the true murderer. Fans of crime fiction
are those most likely to enjoy the details of
capital crime litigation.
A Reasonable
Doubt
****
2/23/21
Magician. The third novel by Phillip
Margolin featuring attorney Robin
Lockwood is titled, A Reasonable Doubt. A
magician with a checkered past named
Robert Chesterfield requests help from
Robin’s firm which she reluctantly
provides mostly because her retired
partner had defended Chesterfield in two
cases decades earlier. Fans of crime fiction
will find a strong protagonist, interesting
cases, and some satisfying twists.
How Beautiful We
Were
*****
5/6/21
Village. In her novel titled, How Beautiful
We Were, Imbolo Mbue places readers in
Kosawa, a fictional African village where
life has turned sour after an American oil
company ravaged the environment. A
dictator leads the country’s government,
and the pleas of the villagers for
reparations and restoration of the land
have been ignored for decades. Protagonist
Thula left Kosawa for school in New York
City, and her mission in life becomes
justice for the people of Kosawa. Mbue’s
prose is finely written, the characters
complex and interesting, and the setting is
described with care. Readers will come to
care about the village and the people who
live there, and root for Thula while
knowing her mission’s success remains
unlikely.
The Choice
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Greenlights
****
5/6/21
Learning. Having arrived at age 50,
Matthew McConaughey decided to take
stock of his life up to that milestone, and
offers his reflections in a book titled,
Greenlights. The sentiment of the book is
to share what he’s learned about life. He
lays out joy, sorrow, success, failure, luck
and how to catch the right wave, or in his
case, the green lights, instead of the yellow
and red lights (which he says eventually
turn green). His voice in this book has that
aw shucks quality, and the tone is upbeat,
offering a celebration of life. He tells great
stories in this book and encourages all of
us to find the way forward in life, wherever
that takes us.
1979
****
11/6/21
Allie. I’m often reluctant to open the first
novel in a planned series, since I know that
if I like it, there will be a larger queue
building of books I will want to read in the
future. Once I picked up Val McDermid’s
novel titled, 1979, and met protagonist and
journalist Allie Burns, I knew I would read
all future installments. Allie is the rare
woman working for Scotland’s daily
newspaper, The Clarion. McDermid
describes life in Scotland in 1979 with
great skill, and we watch Allie hold her
own as she investigates stories and finds
comfort at work and in life. Fans of crime
fiction are those readers most likely to
appreciate the character and plot
development in this novel. I’m already
wondering what Allie will do next.
The Cave Dwellers
****
8/19/21
Alienation. The title of Christina
McDowell’s debut novel, The Cave
Dwellers, refers to a self-described
appellation for Washington D.C.’s
wealthiest and longest residents. While
many others come and go from
Washington, especially politicians, the
cave dwellers remain as a form of
aristocracy holding up the standards of
society. McDowell grew up in that
environment and suffered a great fall from
the lofty place of her childhood. That
experience informed her fictional
approach to the alienation and changing
times being faced by the cave dwellers. She
explores class and race, exploitation, and
privilege, and gives us a cast of characters,
young and old, who are trying to navigate
through a changed world. Part satire and
part tragedy, McDowell draws attention to
what morality means for our time. Much of
the narrative is overwrought and
characters are sometimes stereotypes, but
anyone who has spent time living in DC or
observing the upper echelons of the local
society will recognize all the types that
McDowell presents in this novel.
The Atmospherians
****
10/25/21
Toxic. Alex McElroy’s debut novel titled,
The Atmospherians, takes a satirical swipe
at contemporary life. Protagonist Sasha
Marcus experienced rising success with
her business offering wellness for women
until she lost her reputation thanks to the
actions of an internet troll. Sasha’s oldest
friend, Dyson, proposes that they work
together to rehabilitate men at an
abandoned summer camp in a venture
they call The Atmosphere, in essence a
cult. A dozen men pay for the privilege of
coming to the camp to detoxify. The world
McElroy describes includes hordes of men
some of whom are doing things that most
readers would consider good deeds and
being feared by society as a result. We find
normalized eating disorders and finely
written prose filled with images that will
remain in your mind long after you finish
reading this novel.
The Sum of Us:
What Racism Costs
Everyone and How
We Can Prosper
Together
*****
5/27/21
Solidarity. If you’re as sick and tired of
divisiveness as I am, consider reading
Heather Mc Gee’s finely written book
titled, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs
Everyone and How We Can Prosper
Together. Her premise is that when we buy
into the notion that progress for some of us
comes at the expense of others, we incur
great losses for all of us. Not everything is
a zero sum situation. There’s something
evil about the process of pitting some of us
against others of us when practical things
can be done for the benefit of all of us. It’s
past time to stop dividing and it’s
imperative that we start uniting. This book
offers a message of solidarity along with
practical advice on how to move ahead for
the good of us all.
Lean Fall Stand
****
11/22/21
Aphasia. Fans of finely written literary
fiction will marvel at the way Jon
McGregor finds just the right words in his
novel titled, Lean Fall Stand, to draw
readers into the life of someone suffering
from aphasia. In the opening section,
Lean, we find protagonist Robert Wright
on an expedition in Antarctica caught in a
storm, hanging on a cliff, and suffering a
stroke. His stroke has led to aphasia, and
the middle section of the novel, Fall,
focuses on his wife, Anna, and her role as
caregiver. McGregor dissects the ways in
which communication obstacles strain love
and burden those in relationship. For the
final section, Stand, Robert joins a support
group and begins to find his voice. All
along the way, McGregor’s prose suits each
section perfectly, and displays his
considerable skill.
The Dark Remains
****
10/15/21
Completed. At the time of his death in
2015, William McIlvanney left an
unfinished manuscript of a novel
highlighting the first case of a Glasgow
detective named Laidlaw developed in
three previous novels. Prolific crime fiction
author Ian Rankin completed the
manuscript and presents the combined
effort with McIlvanney in a novel titled,
The Dark Remains. Set in the early 1970s,
we find Laidlaw at the beginning of his
career, acting in ways totally consistent
with the character loved by readers of the
other novels. The style and atmosphere
seem all McIlvanney in this novel,
meaning that Rankin subordinated himself
out of love and homage to the late
McIlvanney. Fans of crime fiction,
especially the Scots variety, will find a lot
to enjoy in this special novel.
A Million Aunties
****
2/23/21
Kindness. We never have too many
people in our lives who treat us with
kindness and make us feel loved and
welcome. Alecia McKenzie’s novel titled, A
Million Aunties, lets us spend time with
some of those special people who provide
healing and community. Art and flowers
provide continuity as the story moves
through New York, Jamaica, and Paris.
Caring for others can be contagious, so as
we follow one character who needs healing
after a loss, we watch him provide support,
kindness and healing to others. Extended
families take many forms, and this
endearing cast of characters made me wish
I could spend time basking with them in
the kindness they provide to each other.
When the Stars Go
Dark
****
5/6/21
Suspense. Novelist Paula McLain has
turned to suspense for her book titled,
When the Stars Go Dark. Protagonist Anna
Hart works as a missing persons detective.
Following tragedy in her personal life, she
leaves San Francisco for Mendocino,
where she had lived as a child with foster
parents. Instead of finding refuge, she
learns that a local teenager has gone
missing, and Anna becomes obsessed with
finding the missing girl. Thanks to
McLain’s expert storytelling, the backstory
weaves into the suspense of the current
case, and readers are rewarded with the
development of Anna as a complex and
interesting character.
The Hero Code:
Lessons Learned
from Lives Well
Lived
*****
8/5/21
Virtue. Spend a little time reading retired
Admiral William H. McRaven’s book titled,
The Hero Code: Lessons Learned from
Lives Well Lived, and reflect about it for a
long time. Every culture develops
distinctive mores, that combination of
norms and behaviors that are viewed as
acceptable. When mores breakdown
communities become divided. McRaven
proposes in this book the behaviors
practiced by those models of the best
behavior in our culture, those who are
called heroes. The individual heroes who
helped McRaven see these lessons are all
ordinary people, just like us, so there’s an
inspirational quality to this narrative that
encourages us to emulate certain
behaviors. Perhaps from his military
perspective, the word “code” described
these behaviors as he sees them. I consider
the behaviors he describes more as virtues,
and behaviors to which our better natures
should always aspire.
Nine Nasty Words:
English in the
Gutter: Then, Now,
and Forever
****
8/26/21
Linguistics. All word lovers will enjoy
reading about the evolution of profane
expression described by linguist John
McWhorter in his book titled, Nine Nasty
Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now,
and Forever. While reading this
entertaining and interesting book I fondly
remembered listening to the late poet John
Ciardi’s reflections on etymology during
NPR’s Morning Edition. Using similar
expertise and good writing, McWhorter
presents readers with an enjoyable book
about how language changes over time,
and how our choice of the right profanity
also changes when we want to make a
verbal point. Before releasing your next
epithet, be sure to read this book.
His Only Wife
****
1/26/21
Undaunted. Readers who love strong
female protagonists will enjoy meeting Afi
Tekple in Peace Adzo Medie’s debut novel
titled, His Only Wife. Afi works as a
seamstress in Ho, a small Ghanaian
village. After her mother encourages Afi to
marry a wealthy businessman named
Elikem, the favored son of their landlady
who is the mother’s bossy employer and
head of a prominent family. Medie
explores the ways in which individuals
scheme and manipulate different family
members who fall in and out of favor for
various reasons. Afi moves to Accra and
quickly adjusts to finding her way in a
larger world with a husband who neglects
her, works hard, and has another loving
relationship and a child he loves living in a
home he owns and with his complete
support. We cheer Afi as she stands up for
herself, undaunted by the pressures
coming from her family and her husband’s.
This is one of those engaging novels that
will animate your next Zoom book club
meeting.
Hurricane Season
****
5/14/21
Brutality. The intensity of Fernanda
Melchor’s prose in her novel titled,
Hurricane Season, never seems to let up.
Through long sentences and long
paragraphs, multiple narrators run on and
on about the depravity, violence, and
brutality in the Mexican village where the
novel is set. By the time we’ve heard from
every narrator, the chronology makes
sense, and we know what life and death are
like in the village, and we are ready to
depart, somewhat brutalized ourselves
from what we’ve read. Melchor’s talent will
make this excursion worthwhile for those
readers who enjoy finely written literary
fiction.
The Shadow King
****
7/17/21
Warriors. Maaza Mengiste’s novel titled,
The Shadow King, is set in Ethiopia during
Mussolini’s 1935 invasion. The novel
elaborates on a lesser-known aspect of that
episode: the role of women as warriors.
The plans and actions of this brave women
inspire the Ethiopian military as they face
Mussolini’s army. Mengiste’s prose will
appeal to readers who enjoy fine writing,
and the story is likely to engage all readers
who enjoy well-developed characters and
historical fiction.
Demagogue for
President: The
Rhetorical Genius
of Donald Trump
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
22 Minutes of
Unconditional
Love
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Kant’s Little
Prussian Head &
Other Reasons
Why I Write
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Maidens
***
7/10/21
Unreliable. In most novels, we can count
on at least one character to anchor the
story, mostly because we recognize their
behavior because of our own life
experience. In Alex Michaelides novel
titled, The Maidens, it seemed as if every
character was unreliable in some form or
other. We’re told that protagonist Mariana
Andros is a brilliant psychotherapist, but
she seems clueless or incompetent in every
setting that would draw upon her
expertise. A Greek professor at Cambridge
does things no contemporary teacher
would get away with, and his dialogue was
often more suited to a London pub
frequented by traveling salesmen than to
the heights of the academy. The young
female students referenced in the title
seem quite different from what we would
expect of anyone attending Cambridge.
Some readers will delight in the plot twists,
but I found some inevitability in how the
story ends and was pleased to finish the
last page here and turn to something else.
Monogamy
****
2/23/21
Complexity. One of the joys of reading
novels involves encountering in new ways
the remarkable complexity of humans
whose contradictory behavior should by
this time in my life come as no surprise. In
her novel titled, Monogamy, Sue Miller
excavates the three-decade long marriage
between Graham and Annie, both of whom
had been married before. Graham is an
outgoing bookstore owner, and Annie an
introspective photographer. Following
Graham’s sudden death, Annie learns
things about Graham that cause her to
question how well she knew him. Miller
picks away at the complexity of the
characters in this novel, as we’re forced to
think about our own frequently
contradictory behavior.
Borderline Fortune
****
12/6/21
Generations. I found more threads of
unresolved thought as I kept reading
Teresa K. Miller’s poems in a collection
titled, Borderline Fortune. I began to think
about what we owe our parents and
grandparents, and what we have inherited
from them, for better and for worse. I
think of the changes to places across
generations and whether our course is
toward healing or disaster. I think about
restoring ravaged land and doing
something to heal the planet. I observe
extinction and grieve loss. If the
stimulation of thinking is why you read
poetry, be sure to explore this finely
written collection.
Zo
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Rizzio
****
11/16/21
Bloody. The last place I expected to find
Denise Mina’s fiction is in a retelling of the
bloody 1566 murder of Mary Queen of
Scots’ secretary, David Rizzio. In her short
novel titled, Rizzio, Mina dramatizes the
events leading up to the murder, and uses
her skills to build suspense on every page.
Readers who know the history will enjoy
how Mina provides context and insight.
Some readers who enjoy Mina’s fiction
may want to learn more about history after
reading this novel.
The Less Dead
***
1/26/21
Search. Before you commit to searching
for something or someone, do you ever
hesitate with second thoughts about what
you might find? In her novel titled, The
Less Dead, Denise Mina’s protagonist, Dr.
Margo Dunlap goes on a search for her
birth mother following the death of her
adoptive mother. What Margo finds on her
search shakes her bearings and unsettles
her life. Mina offers darkness and humor
in this novel, and contrasts characters
whose life choices made all the difference.
Tokyo Ueno
Station
****
1/16/21
Unreachable. I wouldn’t have noticed Yu
Miri’s novel titled, Tokyo Ueno Station,
had it not won a National Book Award.
Protagonist Kazu has led a sad and
unlucky life, much of connected to Tokyo’s
Ueno Station. At so many times during his
life, better times were so close, just outside
his reach. Instead, he faced loss, grief,
homelessness and scraping along on the
margins of the busy city life around him.
The descriptive language soars with beauty
on these pages and builds melancholy in a
reader with each passing page. Readers
who enjoy finely written literary fiction are
those most likely to enjoy this haunting
character and his story through life and
after death.
The Easter
Confession
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Death in Her
Hands
****
3/25/21
Imagination. The novel titled, Death in
Her Hands, by Ottessa Moshfegh starts
with a bucolic image of a woman talking a
walk into the woods with Charlie the dog.
After she finds a mysterious note, her
imagination leads her into a fog of
suspense, horror and uncertainty about the
difference between illusion and reality. The
dark humor in the novel and finely written
prose will appeal to those readers who
enjoy fine writing.
Blood Grove
****
3/9/21
Danger. The fifteenth novel by Walter
Mosley to feature Los Angeles private
detective Easy Rawlins is titled, Blood
Grove. Fans of this series will delight in the
return of a cast of endearing and complex
characters, an interesting plot, and a clear-
eyed and uncompromising view of what it
is like to live as a Black man in L.A. in
1969. After Easy reluctantly takes on a
client’s case, he finds himself in danger
from which escape will be a close-run
thing. Easy calls for help from reliable
friends and navigates a path that involves
justice and integrity. It comes as no
surprise to fans that once Easy takes on a
case, he will see it to some final resolution.
Summerwater
****
4/27/21
Rain. Sarah Moss wastes no words in her
novel titled, Summerwater. All of domestic
life becomes condensed into one rainy day
on vacation in Scotland. She develops
characters smoothly, sometimes through
just a few sentences of the character’s
inner thoughts. We picture the setting
easily when we learn of poor construction
of tiny cabins too close together on a loch.
As the rain falls, we feel the frustration of
vacationers who are not receiving the value
they desired. We feel the boredom as
neighbors turn their focus on each other.
Then there’s that one cabin of partygoers,
oblivious to their proximity to others who
may be disturbed by their rowdiness. I
enjoyed spending this particular rainy day
in Scotland, thanks to Moss’ fine writing.
The Immortality
Key: The Secret
History of the
Religion with No
Name
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Facing Reality:
Two Truths About
Race in America
****
9/16/21
Provoking. Libertarian Charles Murray
joins the fray on the topic of systemic
racism in a new book titled, Facing Reality:
Two Truths About Race in America.
Murray offers numeric ammunition to
those who deny racism by recycling some
of his prior analysis of intelligence and
criminality. His book title alone stakes the
high ground in any debate by claiming
what he offers is both reality and capital
“T” truth. He also dismisses any contrary
views by describing that he is presenting
data, not opinion, that differences in
outcome by group are explained by White
and Asian cognitive superiority and Black
and Hispanic high violent crime rates. Any
barriers to upward societal mobility by
group can be explained by the numbers he
presents, proving there is no such thing as
systemic racism. I find Murray’s
presentation disingenuous, but I liked this
book because I can see that because of his
facile acceptance of false assumptions, his
argument falls totally apart, and those who
look to him for a counter argument to
systemic racism will find a lot of data but
no insight.
The Last Million:
Europe's Displaced
Persons from
World War to Cold
War
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
That Time of Year
****
3/25/21
Overstayed. Fans of The Twilight Zone
or Alfred Hitchcock are those readers most
likely to enjoy Marie NDiaye’s novel titled,
That Time of Year. Instead of returning to
Paris from their rural vacation on August
31, a family waited one more day in the
village, a decision with dramatic
consequences. The horror in this weird
and odd story kept me turning pages,
always agog at how everything can change
overnight.
The Traveller and
Other Stories
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
New Waves
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Committed
****
9/8/21
Paris. Five years after his award-winning
novel titled, The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh
Nguyen reprises many of those characters
for a novel titled, The Committed, set in
Paris when the Sympathizer arrives there
in the early 1980s to join a criminal gang
and deal drugs. Nguyen explores big
question in this novel about post-colonial
culture. Characters are caught between
conflicting ideas and opposing moral
codes. The past is never far behind, and
the future remains cloudy.
Fraternity
****
2/4/21
Association. Benjamin Nugent reveals all
the ingredients of our human stew in the
stories collected in a volume titled,
Fraternity. We find sweet, savory and sour
tastes inside these stories about college life
through the lens of a fraternity, its
members and those with whom they relate.
There were times when I could almost
smell the air inside. There’s darkness and
tenderness in these stories highlighting the
struggles of boys trying to figure out what
this stage of growing up is all about. While
the men in these stories are somewhat
predictable characters, the range comes
from the strong female characters, one of
whom is called “god.” Nugent updates
Greek life on campus in ways that are in
the context of tradition, but authentically
set within today’s culture.
What Are You
Going Through
****
4/27/21
Empathy. Will we be prepared to offer a
friend what they need when the time
comes? In her novel titled, What Are You
Going Through, Sigrid Nunez explores
empathy, and what it means to be a
companion to others as they face struggles.
When all else passes away, what’s left is
love. In this novel, we see the enduring
love of a long friendship. Nunez finds
words to express what we can often feel
and never talk about. We journey through
life together. With some or with many, but
not alone. There’s a grace in this novel, and
an emotional resonance that captures the
essence of life lived together, in love.
The Road Trip
****
11/22/21
Light. When you’re in the mood for a
funny and lighthearted relationship novel,
consider reading Beth O’Leary’s novel
titled, The Road Trip. A funny thing
happens on the way to a wedding in
remote Scotland: two cars crash, and one
is not drivable. Since they were going to
the same event, the passengers decide to
travel together in the less damaged vehicle.
The awkwardness is that two of the
passengers broke up two years earlier, and
it’s a small car and a long drive for Dylan
and Addie. This sweet and messy story
develops quickly and ends easily, hitting all
the light touches that provide brief,
mindless entertainment.
Curse the Day
****
8/19/21
Syd. Judith O’Reilly takes a trope we think
has been exhausted and she finds a new
way to engage readers with her thriller
novel titled, Curse the Day. A tech genius
named Tobias Hawke has made a
breakthrough in A.I. with a machine
learning device named Syd. If Syd acquires
consciousness, what will Syd do, especially
to humans? This technothriller pops with
action from the first exciting page, and the
intensity never breaks. The cast of
characters provide great interest to readers
and the pace will excite all those who love
this genre.
American
Melancholy
****
8/5/21
Poems. I couldn’t recall the last time I
read poetry by the prolific author Joyce
Carol Oates, so I savored her book titled,
American Melancholy, her first poetry
collection in a quarter-century. I found
myself early in the morning, reading a
poem or two once twice silently, and then
once aloud to hear the language
proclaimed. What readers find in this
collection is an eclectic mix of observations
and reflections into the essence of a
thought or feeling filtered by a very
talented artist. I’ve been trying to read
more poetry this year, and I found this
collection to be a great pleasure.
Cardiff, By the Sea
****
1/16/21
Disturbing. There are haunting settings
and chilling stories in the four novellas by
Joyce Carol Oates collected in a book
titled, Cardiff, By the Sea. The threats to
the fully formed characters in these
novellas are usually chilling, and Oates’
insight into psychological states allows
readers to experience goosebumps of our
own as we read the expertly crafted prose.
I found myself embraced by a sensation of
dread as I turned these pages. If that’s how
you’d like to be entertained, consider
reading this book.
A Promised Land
*****
1/16/21
Descriptive. The first volume of Barack
Obama’s presential memoir is titled, A
Promised Land. Using a conversational
writing style that flows easily, Obama
describes the job of president with clarity,
giving readers a feel for the role as a job.
The text is thoughtful and introspective,
and he presents his recollections in ways
that allow readers to feel like close
observers of what happened during his
presidential terms of office. He offers more
personal information that I expected, and
a vulnerability that came across as
refreshing and candid. Readers interested
in hearing the former president’s thoughts
are those most likely to enjoy this finely
written memoir.
The Killing Hills
****
12/13/21
Betrayal. Chris Offutt’s novel titled, The
Killing Hills, appeals to fans of thrillers in
multiple ways. Protagonist Mick Hardin is
a complex and compelling character who
reveals himself as skilled investigator,
supportive brother, insubordinate
employee, and distracted husband. The
rural setting and a suspicious death allow
Offutt to riff on the alliances and secrets
among families in the Kentucky hollers.
Mick’s sister is a local sheriff who asks her
brother to help her out on her first murder
case. The intensity builds on every page,
and the tight prose and clear dialogue
propels readers at a quick pace toward a
satisfying conclusion.
The Man Who Died
Twice
*****
10/25/21
Curiosity. The second installment of The
Thursday Murder Club series by Richard
Osman is a novel titled, The Man Who
Died Twice. While readers of the earlier
novel will have some advantages with
characters, this mystery can stand on its
own. When someone from Elizabeth’s past
arrives looking for help, the club members
rally to his aid. Osman lays out lots of
twists and plot lines along with multiple
levels of meaning for the title, to the
satisfaction of those readers who love good
mysteries. There’s clever writing, lots of
wit, and unending curiosity by the murder
club members. By the end of the novel, the
resolution leaves nothing undone. I was
entertained and delighted by reading this
novel.
The Thursday
Murder Club
****
3/9/21
Kindness. I thoroughly enjoyed reading
Richard Osman’s debut novel titled, The
Thursday Murder Club. At its core, this is
an engaging mystery novel with twists that
will satisfy fans of this genre. The complex
characters, especially a female detective
and four septuagenarians, treat one
another with respect and kindness as they
sleuth together to solve a case. Osman is
often funny and always clever in this novel
which will appeal to fans of mysteries and
crime fiction.
The Hole
****
4/27/21
Dreamy. I love a novel in which illusion
and reality drift seamlessly in and out of
the narrative. Horoko Oyamada’s novel
titled, The Hole, presents readers with the
world that protagonist Asa finds when she
moves with her new husband to the
countryside where he is now working.
While her husband works, Asa explores
her new rural surroundings, and what she
sees makes her question her sanity. We are
all looking for our place in the world, and
Oyamada shows how some creatures find
places that are fit perfectly for them, while
others search endlessly for the right fit.
Isolation and disconnection have become
unexpected parts of contemporary life
around the world during the COVID-19
epidemic. This novel captures those
sensations and makes readers disturbed
and uncomfortable in all the right ways.
Peaces
****
5/27/21
Train. Amtrak Joe has never been on a
sleeper train like the one in Helen
Oyeyemi’s novel titled, Peaces. A kind aunt
gives Otto and Xavier Shin a special gift: a
train journey on The Lucky Day. All
journeys involve mystery and discovery,
and Otto, Xavier and their mongoose
become bound closely together thanks to
this magical train trip. Many readers will
find this novel weird, and others will see it
as wonderful. I had to grab the
straphanger at times to lurch with
Oyeyemi’s unexpected leaps. Readers who
enjoy eccentric literary fiction are those
most likely to enjoy this novel.
The Book of Form
and Emptiness
*****
10/15/21
Zen. The key question, what is real, is at
the heart of Ruth Ozeki’s novel titled, The
Book of Form and Emptiness. Protagonist
Benny Oh turns twelve-years-old in the
year that his father is killed. He and his
mother, Annabelle, are overcome with
grief and try to adjust to life after that
tragedy. Benny begins hearing from
objects, and the more things Annabelle
collects as she begins hoarding, the louder
the voices in Benny’s mind. Ozeki takes
readers into aspects of Zen that flow
smoothly through this narrative. We begin
to find acceptance of the impermanence of
things. We notice objects more closely.
Even the book becomes a voice and
character in the novel. We appreciate the
messages from poems, and the ways in
which the library provides both refuge and
rescue for troubled lives. I encourage fans
of literary fiction to surrender to Ozeki in
this finely written novel and let her take
you through an exploration that faces the
question of what is real. Along the way,
there’s an enchanting story and characters
that we come to love.
Antiquities
****
6/19/21
Memory. Lovers of language will relish
Cynthis Ozick’s novel titled, Antiquities.
Lloyd Wilkinson Petrie struggles to write a
memoir and encounters challenging
aspects of his fading memory. Ozick
reveals the pervasive aspects of anti-
Semitism that defined the culture of
Temple Academy for Boys, where Petrie
had been a trustee. Ozick does more in
writing a short phrase than many writers
achieve in dozens of pages. The result is a
story rich in irony and packed with insight.
Last Best Hope:
America in Crisis
and Renewal
*****
9/16/21
Overview. George Packer overviews the
contemporary situation in the United
States and proposes that there are four
narratives running simultaneously and
dominating sectors of American life. In his
book titled, Last Best Hope: America in
Crisis and Renewal, he names these
narratives: Free America, Smart America,
Real America, and Just America. Packer
suggests that these narratives may be
barriers to sustaining democracy, and he
suggests the development of a common
identity. It turns out that “we” are our last
best hope and can repair our fractured
society. Readers interested in a cogent
narrative about contemporary public
affairs are those most likely to enjoy this
finely written book.
Love and Other
Crimes
****
6/8/21
Compact. I’ve enjoyed every novel by
Sara Paretsky featuring Chicago private
detective V.I Warshawski. I don’t recall
reading her short fiction, so I looked
forward to a collection of her stories titled,
Love and Other Crimes. Vic shows up in
some of these stories, but this is certainly
not a one-protagonist collection. Paretsky
shows that she can tell a compelling story
in a compact form and develop interesting
characters with efficiency. Readers who
enjoy crime fiction and short stories will
find a lot to enjoy in this collection.
Borges and Me
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Dolly Parton,
Songteller: My Life
in Lyrics
****
2/13/21
Joyful. The title of Dolly Parton’s memoir
titled, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in
Lyrics, conveys how she thinks of her life’s
work: she tells stories in her songs. Leave
it to Dolly to come with her own word,
songteller, to describe this essential aspect
of herself. With joyful enthusiasm, she tells
readers about loads of her songs and the
personal stories or writing process that led
her to finding the right way to tell a story
in song. The book contains lots of pictures
to support the memories from sixty years
of songtelling. Readers who love Dolly and
country music, as well as those looking for
a joy vaccine are those most likely to enjoy
this cheerful book.
The Madness of
Crowds
*****
9/23/21
Correlations. The ways in which groups
can become so caught up in
misinformation and delusions rose to a
crescendo in many places as the
coronavirus spread. In the seventeenth
novel by Louise Penny to feature Chief
Inspector Gamache titled, The Madness of
Crowds, spurious correlations by a
statistician rile up a crowd and infect a
community. When murder in Three Pines
follows, Gamache and his team need to
solve a case that is too close to home. On
top of all the usual fine writing in this
series, Penny adds a heavy moral question
for society that makes the novel all the
more engaging.
Fresh Water for
Flowers
****
7/22/21
Cemetery. Few readers would have
imagined that work as a resident cemetery
caretaker could be as life affirming and
ebullient as it is for Violette Toussaint,
protagonist of Valérie Perrin’s debut novel
titled, Fresh Water for Flowers. Perrin
tones down some of the cheer with dark
stories including sexual violence, but we
observe Violette create a satisfying life
despite obstacles. Violette observes with
compassion, listens with empathy, and
greets all with hospitality. As we
accompany Violette in her life, we feel the
depth of relationship and friendship and
feel wonderful about life, even as we spend
time in a cemetery.
Perilous Bounty:
The Looming
Collapse of
American Farming
and How We Can
Prevent It
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Secret Lives of
Church Ladies
****
2/23/21
Desire. The characters in the nine stories
by Deesha Philyaw in the collection titled,
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, all find
themselves struggling with desire and
passion. The wide age range of the Black
women in these stories provides a variety
of ways in which relationships develop.
Their longings are usually hidden but are
no less real. Philyaw’s insight into human
behavior is wise, and her prose and
character development will bring each
character to vivid display within a handful
of pages. There’s an intensity underlying
each story, and Philyaw manages the
exposure of that with great skill.
Elena Knows
****
12/18/21
Mothering. There’s pain on every page of
Claudia Piñeiro’s novel titled, Elena
Knows. Protagonist Elena will not accept
that her daughter, Rita, committed suicide.
Despite the pain of Parkinson’s, Elena
traverses Buenos Aires to solve the
mystery of her daughter’s death. We join
Elena on this journey as Piñeiro explores
the topic of the control of women’s bodies
and the relationship between mothers and
daughters. Piñeiro leads readers to view
the world as it is and to show us who we
are whether we want to accept that or not.
Lake Life
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
This Is Your Mind
on Plants
****
8/26/21
Trio. I find that when I reader Michael
Pollan’s books, I begin to modify the way I
think about some things that he explores.
In his book titled, This Is Your Mind on
Plants, Pollan offers perspectives on three
plants: opium, caffeine and mescaline, and
the ways in which those plants interact
with human bodies and minds. We learn
some history from Pollan, a lot of biology,
much about the mind and drug policy.
While I confess to have been jacked up as
usual on my drug of choice while I read
this book sipping tea and coffee, most
readers can enjoy it while on none, any, or
all the trio of plants explored in the book. I
plan to stick with just the caffeine, thanks.
Brood
****
10/8/21
Chickens. Could it really be that the
meaning of life has everything to do with
the chickens? Jackie Polzin’s debut novel
titled, Brood, pulls readers into the story of
a nameless narrator who wants to keep her
four chickens alive through a brutal
Minnesota winter. We have all the other
building blocks of life in this novel: family,
predators, and hope. We spend a year over
the course of this book with interesting
characters and chickens, laughing and
grieving, in the cycles we experience in
every well-lived life. Polzin’s fine writing
will appeal to all readers who appreciate
literary fiction.
Inside the NRA: A
Tell-All Account of
Corruption, Greed,
and Paranoia
within the Most
Powerful Political
Group in America
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Bewilderment
*****
10/15/21
Intensity. I still ache from the intensity of
reading Richard Powers novel titled,
Bewilderment. We meet Theo Byrne an
overworked astrobiologist grieving the
death of his wife, and trying to care for
their son, Robin, who is on the autism
spectrum. Robin has focused on the plight
of endangered species, and we feel for him
and for Theo as they seem engaged with
what’s critically important but
disconnected by how others expect them to
behave. Father and son find solace in the
wild and encounter indifference at home to
the plight facing all life on earth. Theo and
Robin see the world in ways that everyone
should. This novel is a song of love and
loss that penetrates a reader’s indifference
with an intensity that cries out for our own
engagement with what matters.
How Should a
Government Be?”
The Lew Levers of
State Power
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Upswing: How
America Came
Together a Century
Ago and How We
Can Do It Again
****
6/19/21
Hope. Most readers will finish Robert D.
Putnam’s book titled, The Upswing: How
America Came Together a Century Ago
and How We Can Do It Again, with hope
that better times can be ahead. Through
alternating storytelling and presentation of
statistics, Putnam describes a century-long
transformation from I to We and back to I.
Putnam proposes that we are capable of
moving again to We. He makes a strong
case that a society based on community
can be achieved. We’ve done it before and
we can do it again, and we should.
The Law of Lines
***
9/16/21
Debt. Fans of finely written literary fiction
are those readers most likely to enjoy Hye-
Young Pyun’s novel titled, The Law of
Lines. We find parallel stories of two
women, Se-oh and Ki-jeong as they deal
with loss, grief, and debt. A crime
investigation ties the two stories together
and the links they discover are thrilling
and dark. I found myself feeling some
dread as I read this novel, and
uncomfortable in the darkness. When debt
overwhelms, we feel its power.
The Five Wounds
****
10/15/21
Resonance. Life is messy. We often know
what we need to do but don’t have a clue
how to do it. We find ways to escape or
cope with what life throws at us. All those
aspects of life resonate in Kristen Valdez
Quade’s debut novel titled, The Five
Wounds. We spend a year in New Mexico
with the Padilla family and observe how
they take the next steps in their lives.
Quade describes their outer lives and
discloses the inner lives of a fascinating
cast of characters. We find hope and
despair, love and loss. We accompany the
family in their pain and wonder with them
when the suffering will finally end. We also
laugh and watch redemption and resilience
play out while life continues to stay messy.
Black Widows
****
11/16/21
Plural. Rest assured that Cate Quinn’s
novel titled, Black Widows, is not about
spiders. Set in rural Utah, the novel
explores the lives of a family practicing the
tradition of plural marriage. The point of
view shifts among three wives of Blake
Nelson, and our understanding of these
characters changes as the novel
progresses. First wife Rachel seems
obedient and reticent. Second wife Tina
seems rebellious and unmoored. Young
wife Emily seems naïve and frightened.
Quinn develops each character with
empathy and skill and moves them
through a plot that will entertain most
fiction fans.
The Man in Milan
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Doughnut
Economics: Seven
Ways to Think Like
a 21st-Century
Economist
****
7/10/21
Sustainability. Once you’ve seen the
image of the doughnut illustrated and
explained in Kate Raworth’s book titled,
Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to
Think Like a 21st-Century Economist,
you’re likely to remember it as you shake
up your thinking about what you think
you’ve learned about economics. Without
quite saying bullshit or hogwash, Raworth
explores a way to think about economics
that deviates from where most economists
have staked their careers. She offers a way
to explore sustainability and reframes a
way to think about economics. Her prose is
straightforward, often playful, and she
presents her views with clarity. In 2021,
the city of Amsterdam has adopted
Raworth’s framework and other cities are
in process of putting her theory into
practice.
Such a Fun Age
****
3/9/21
Uncomfortable. In her debut novel
titled, Such a Fun Age, Kiley Reid makes
readers laugh and experience just the right
amount of discomfort. Protagonist Emira
Tucker is an underemployed Black twenty-
five-year-old who works part-time as a
typist and does babysitting for a wealthy
White family. Reid unveils the contrasts in
contemporary life based on race, class, and
age cohort. Emira navigates life’s
challenges with great skill as she adapts
and adjusts to both the familiar and the
new when it comes to working, dating or
being racially profiled. Most readers will
finish this novel thinking about privilege
and rethinking what constitutes complicity
with structural racism.
Graceland, At Last:
Notes on Hope and
Heartache From
the American
South
*****
11/6/21
Columns. Margaret Renkl’s column in
The New York Times makes my “must
read” list every Monday. Sixty of those
columns from recent years have been
collected and slightly revised for a book
titled, Graceland, At Last: Notes on Hope
and Heartache From the American South.
What I want from a short essay is some
observation and insight about the world
that makes me think a little bit harder and
longer about something important. These
columns reflect observation and insight
and wisdom that always encourages me to
think. Renkl’s prose is finely written, and
whether you’ve read her before or start
here, you’re likely to find yourself thinking
a little harder and longer about something.
After the Fall:
Being American in
the World We've
Made
*****
8/5/21
Identity. Forget for a moment that Ben
Rhodes worked in the Obama White
House, and approach his book titled, After
the Fall: Being American in the World
We've Made, with an open mind. Rhodes
tells compelling stories in this book as he
travels across the world. Rhodes writes
with great skill as he tells his own story,
examines American identity from multiple
perspectives, and tells stories about the
strengthening of authoritarianism in
Russia, Hungary and China. Introspection
can lead to insight that can encourage
change. Rhodes has no policy proposals in
this book or cures for what ails us. He
presents a view of American identity and
the direction of changes throughout the
world and encourages us to find patterns
and insight. Change will be up to us,
should we find the situation as gloomy as
Rhodes see things. Rhodes knows how to
turn a phrase and tell a story, so read this
account whether you agree with his
assessment of world affairs or not.
The Discomfort of
Evening
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
We Need to Talk: A
Memoir About
Wealth
****
9/16/21
Disconnected. It’s hard to talk about
money. I recall some decades ago making
conversation with another parent during
parent’s weekend at a university. From my
clueless ignorance, I asked a dairy farmer
how many cows he had, not realizing that
that question was the equivalent of asking
to peek at a statement of his financial
assets. In her memoir titled, We Need to
Talk: A Memoir About Wealth, Jennifer
Risher shares her own life experience with
money, and how upon achieving
significant wealth, she found herself
conflicted. I found myself wincing often as
I read this book, realizing how
disconnected Risher’s life is from all but a
tiny proportion of our planet’s population.
Her memoir involves a privileged first
world millionaire trying not to decide how
much private jet travel can be done as a
family before the children feel entitled. I
encourage readers of this memoir to
consider the experience like a trip to the
zoo: the observation of a species not quite
like our own.
Black Sun
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Beautiful World,
Where Are You
*****
10/8/21
Transcendental. The richness and depth
of Sally Rooney’s novel titled, Beautiful
World, Where Are You, blew me away. She
had me with the interesting relationships
among characters Eileen and Simon, and
Alex and Felix. Her dialogue and
description make readers feel present and
engaged with their attraction and the ways
they interacted. At some point I found
myself exploring Metaphysics as Rooney
teaches about goodness, beauty, truth and
unity, those transcendental properties of
being. Take this finely written novel on any
level of meaning you want: it’s terrific.
Cold Moon: On
Life, Love, and
Responsibility
****
1/26/21
Fragments. Those who pay attention to
the night sky know that the full moon that
arrives in December is called the “cold
moon.” I had the good fortune to read
Roger Rosenblatt’s wise book titled, Cold
Moon: On Life, Love, and Responsibility,
just after the latest cold moon arrived to
announce the winter solstice.
Acknowledging his own arrival in the
winter phase of life, Rosenblatt offers in
this book fragmentary reflections that
celebrate being alive, that remind us of the
centrality of love, and that focus our
attention on the meaning that we find
when we extend care to others and become
responsible to specific individuals. It can
be easy to get distracted as we muddle
through life, and in this wise book,
Rosenblatt helps us gain and retain focus
on those things that really matter. He
brings light to the dark nights of winter.
The Art of Violence
****
10/8/21
Artist. I’m a newcomer to the Lydia Chin
and Bill Smith mystery series by S.J.
Rozan, so I’ve probably missed a lot of the
color contained within the novel titled, The
Art of Violence. Since I enjoyed the novel,
let’s assume that it can stand alone for
those who haven’t read other books in this
series and fans of the series may find
additional reasons to like it. A serial killer
has been attacking women in New York
City’s contemporary art scene. Lydia and
Bill have been called in to look for answers,
while the bodies continue to pile up. An
artist can’t remember whether he
committed these murders or not. Meeting
this quirky artist in print is one good
reason to give this mystery your time.
Super Host
****
12/13/21
Questions. In her debut novel titled,
Super Host, Kate Russo tells the story of a
painter and three women in his life. At age
fifty-five artist Bennett Driscoll’s life seems
rudderless. Among the questions he
addresses in this novel is what does he
want? The three women that come into his
life open him to new possibilities. Russo
will make many readers laugh and the
portrait she draws will lead to questions of
our own as we consider what’s next in our
lives.
Convince Me
****
4/13/21
Quartet. Four characters form something
of a quadrant in helping readers sort out
Nina Sadowsky’s novel titled, Convince
Me. Justin Childs connects three other
characters, and he is not who he seemed to
be. Suddenly dead from a car accident, we
learn about Justin from three narrators:
his wife Annie, his mother Carol, and his
friend and business partner, Will.
Sadowsky’s fine writing unravels Justin as
each of the three narrators comes to terms
with the reality and the illusions. We begin
to understand how Justin the charmer
developed the capability to deceive with
great skill. The narrative twists brought me
great reading pleasure and I enjoyed
spending time with this intriguing quartet.
Survive the Night
****
9/16/21
Movies. The thrilling action of Riley
Sager’s novel titled, Survive the Night,
takes place on a single night, mostly in a
rideshare car. Protagonist Charlie has
decided to take time off college following
the murder of her roommate. Charlie’s
lifelong love of cinema has led her to see
the world as if we were all in a film. She
regularly zones out from reality as her
brain plays a reel for her. Not long into the
car trip home, she begins to suspect that
the stranger driving the car might be her
roommate’s murderer. Fans of mystery
thrillers are those readers most likely to
enjoy this novel, packed with twists and
with interesting characters.
China Room
****
12/6/21
Confinement. Two time periods and two
characters link in the finely written novel
by Sunjeev Sahota titled, China Room. We
meet Mehar in 1929 as a young bride in
Punjab, confined with two other brides,
who were wed to three brothers in a single
ceremony. Around them, the Indian
independence movement searches for
recruits. Seventy years later in the same
Punjab setting, we meet Mehar’s great-
grandson sent here from England to
recover from drug addiction. Sahota
explores all the tension between
individuals and those with power over
them. Fans of literary fiction are those
readers most likely to enjoy the finely
written prose and the deft exploration of
human resistance and resiliency. Readers
who just like a good story will find one
here that’s memorable and well-told.
Gold Diggers
****
6/24/21
Alchemy. Be prepared to laugh and nod
as you read Sanjena Sathian’s debut novel
titled, Gold Diggers. Also, be patient with
receiving a dose of magical realism.
Sathain explores what immigrants are
willing to do to make it in America. We
meet high school student Neil Narayan
who wants to meet his parent’s
expectations to be accepted into an Ivy
League university. Neil is smitten by
neighbor Anita Dayal and discovers that
her family has found a way to practice
alchemy: converting gold into the means of
achievement in the United States. I
enjoyed this creative story and look
forward to ordering Anita’s special
lemonade sometime soon.
A Swim in a Pond
in the Rain: In
Which Four
Russians Give a
Master Class on
Writing, Reading,
and Life
*****
4/22/21
Views. Teachers never have answers, but
the best teachers lead us toward finding
our own answers to the right questions. In
a delightful book titled, A Swim in a Pond
in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give
a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and
Life, Syracuse professor and prominent
writer George Saunders uses seven short
stories to help readers answer questions.
We hear Saunders’ views on these stories,
and we join him in exploring answers to all
the right questions that lead us toward
finding views of our own. Writers need
readers. Readers who approach texts with
good questions and who develop cogent
views often find great joy in reading. For a
glimpse of what the world of closer reading
can provide to you, read this exploration of
how great writing works and how our mind
behaves as we connect with the words we
read.
An Inventory of
Losses
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Jeeves and the
Leap of Faith
*****
2/4/21
Wordplay. The P.G. Wodehouse estate
made a great decision when they selected
Ben Schott to reprise Jeeves and Wooster.
The second novel from this project is
titled, Jeeves and the Leap of Faith. Schott
gets it all right: the wordplay, puns,
escapades and eccentricities. I even
laughed about wallpaper as selected by
Jeeves and Wooster. Fans will especially
enjoy the way that the Drones club chooses
to solve their financial predicament.
Readers looking for entertainment and
humor, especially Wodehouse fans, are
those most likely to enjoy this novel.
Schott offers a finely written homage: fresh
action, true to the original.
Truthtelling:
Stories, Fables,
Glimpses
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Nightworkers
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
My Vanishing
Country
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Rise Up:
Confronting a
Country at the
Crossroads
****
1/26/21
Activism. Reverend Al Sharpton offers a
commentary about contemporary social
justice issues in his book titled, Rise Up:
Confronting a Country at the Crossroads.
This lifelong preacher knows how to listen
and how to speak. This book presents a
message about activism and its importance
as we respond to injustice. Sharpton
invites us to examine our core values and
apply them to the challenges of modern
life. Street protests can make many citizens
uncomfortable while allowing a voice for
the victims of injustice to be heard. In the
calmness of wherever it is you read,
consider absorbing this book and finding
the form of activism that you find
appropriate to meet the challenges of this
time in America.
Think Like a Monk:
Train Your Mind
for Peace and
Purpose Every Day
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Great Circle
*****
6/8/21
Lift. If you’re likely to ready only one book
this summer, consider Maggie Shipstead’s
novel titled, Great Circle. Fans of historical
fiction will find a compelling story about
Marian Graves through most of the 20
th
century. After Marian and her brother,
Jamie, are orphaned and rescued from a
sinking ship, they are raised in Montana by
their uncle whose neglect makes them self-
sufficient. Marian falls in love with
aviation when a biplane comes to town. At
two critical points in her life, she is asked
what she would like, and both times she
answers that she wants to fly. In the first
case, she wants to learn to fly an airplane.
In the second, she wants to circumnavigate
the earth from pole to pole. Shipstead
enhances the total novel by adding a
contemporary story in which a movie is
being made of Marian’s life. There’s a big
cast of compelling characters, engaging
stories set in the past and present, and fine
writing over the course of six hundred
pages. If that doesn’t lift your summer to a
new level, consider looking skyward every
now and again as you read this novel, and
think about the lift that Marian achieved
throughout her life, and feel great about
the world and all its possibilities for each
of us.
Should We Stay or
Should We Go
*****
6/24/21
Exits. The protagonists of Lionel Shriver’s
novel titled, Should We Stay or Should We
Go, are looking for ways to address the
reality of their mortality. Husband and
wife Cyril and Kay are medical
professionals who have watched the
elderly depart the world in ways that are
not gentle. While in their fifties, they
decide to commit suicide together after
their eightieth birthdays. Using humor
regularly while exploring a sober topic,
Shriver organizes her book into chapters in
which Kay and Cyril exit the world in
different ways. Readers in long term
relationships will recognize the humanity
of these characters and their patterns of
communication and interaction. We laugh
at the ways in which they agree and
disagree, and how they deviate from plans
in ways that we recognize as fully human.
Beyond a certain age, it would be
dysfunctional not to think about death.
Shriver uses Kay and Cyril as stand-ins for
us who will face a wide array of different
things that happen as our lives end.
Our Country
Friends
****
12/6/21
Colony. Fans of literary fiction have a
feast waiting in the form of Gary
Shteyngart’s novel titled, Our Country
Friends. The ingredients involve the
backdrop of the pandemic, a rural setting
in the Hudson River Valley, a cast of eight
eclectic characters, all shaken and stirred
as they gather for six months of close
living. We enjoy the funny and sad, the
sweet and sour side by side. Perhaps it is
too soon to stand back from our pandemic
isolation and precautions to revisit our
recent experience, but Shteyngart’s fine
writing offsets any concerns about a topic
that’s still raw and fresh.
Secrets of
Happiness
*****
7/22/21
Structure. Joan Silber structures her
novel titled, Secrets of Happiness, as
linked stories and that was a perfect way to
engage readers. Six narrators provide
readers with deep perspectives as they
reveal their part of the total story, and we
continually improve our understanding of
the “whole” story from these narrators. We
never quite get a whole story, which is
perfect. We get to observe different lives,
some overlapping or connecting, and
others oblivious to the world as
experienced by other narrators. Happiness
is different for these different narrators,
and by the end of the novel, we are led to
thinking about what happiness means for
us. Silber’s prose draws us in, her insights
intrigue us, and her ability to show us a
wide range of people just like us allows us
to connect whatever dots we choose in our
own pursuit of happiness.
The Cellist
****
7/22/21
Haydn. For the twenty-first installment of
his series featuring Israeli spy Gabriel
Allon, a novel titled, The Cellist, Daniel
Silva adds music to the arts he includes
after focusing on painting in all the earlier
novels. Silva focuses on dirty Russian
money and how it is being used to cause
mischief in the West. There’s an entity
called the Haydn group that has a plan to
foment violence in the United States, and
Allon works on stopping the plot with help
from a talented musician whose expertise
from working at a dirty bank that launders
Russian money helps Allon defeat the
enemy. Fans of this series and protagonist
are those most likely to enjoy this novel.
Perestroika in Paris
*****
1/5/21
Fun. Step aside, Emily in Paris, there’s a
new woman in town. For a fun reading
adventure set in Paris, consider reading
Jane Smiley’s warm-hearted and
entertaining novel titled, Perestroika in
Paris. The protagonist is a thoroughbred
horse named Perestroika, Paras for short,
who wanders away after winning a race
and settles into a months-long adventure
in the heart of Paris. All the animal and
human characters in this novel will make
most readers smile, from the dog, Frida, to
a young boy named Etienne, who cares for
his nonagenarian great-grandmother, who
is blind and deaf. This novel positively
reeks with kindness, and I can think of no
better way to be entertained during these
interesting times.
A Promise of
Ankles
****
4/13/21
Warmth. The fourteenth collection of the
44 Scotland Street serial that Alexander
McCall Smith writes for The Scotsman is
titled, A Promise of Ankles. Life in
Edinburgh for the large cast of characters
continues to present opportunities to live
life to the fullest: love, loss, anticipation,
adventures, and even ankles. I turn to
Smith’s writing when I need a good dose of
warmth and an affirmation of the best
qualities in human nature. Even those
characters who can sour aspects of life for
those underserving of malice seem to
become disinfected of their malevolence by
the sunshine of love and caring that comes
from others.
How to Raise an
Elephant
****
2/4/21
Forgiveness. The twenty-first
installment in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective
Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith
is a novel titled, How to Raise an Elephant.
Kindness abounds for the large recurring
cast, and yes, there is an elephant. Mma
Ramotswe has new neighbors and her
white van experiences mishaps. After
spending time with these endearing
characters and drinking bush tea with
them, fans will close this novel thinking
about the importance of forgiveness and
reflecting about where there is need for
each of us to forgive or to be forgiven.
Pianos and
Flowers: Brief
Encounters of the
Romantic Kind
****
4/27/21
Imagination. The power of imagination
is on full display in Alexander McCall
Smith’s novel titled, Pianos and Flowers:
Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind.
Each chapter opens with an old sepia
image. What follows is the writer’s
imagination running off with what is seen
in the image and creating a story that will
lead a reader to take another look at the
photograph. I used my second
examination of the photo as a jumping off
point for my own imagination to conjure a
different story. In Smith’s imagination, all
the images lead to stories of happiness,
friendship, even love. Readers are
reminded of how much a picture can
contain, and how what looks simple can be
deeper and more complex. Readers who
love to indulge one’s imagination can have
a field day with this little book.
The Man with the
Silver Saab
****
10/15/21
Dog. A dog named Martin achieve pride of
place in a novel titled, The Man with the
Silver Saab, the third installment in the
series by Alexander McCall Smith
featuring Malmö Detective Ulf Varg. As
Martin has lost his hearing, Varg has
taught him lip reading, and Varg proudly
thinks this skill is unique in Sweden. In the
perpetual contest between dog and
squirrel, Martin lost a battle as the squirrel
bit his nose, which the vet reattaches
upside down. Love for dogs changes the
tone of an expected disciplinary meeting
with Varg’s superior. In the background
the Department of Sensitive Crime that
Varg leads solves an interesting case.
Along the way, we chuckle on most pages,
and enjoy the characters that Smith
develops in such an endearing way.
The Unspoken
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Nick
****
1/26/21
Carraway. Have you ever imagined the
life of the narrator of The Great Gatsby,
Nick Carraway, and what experiences led
him to his time in West Egg? In his novel
titled, Nick, Michael Farris Smith offers
readers one way to think differently about
this fictional character. In Smith’s telling,
Nick has been traumatized by war and the
loss of love. Instead of heading from the
trenches of France back home to
Minnesota, he changes trains in Chicago
and goes to New Orleans where he loses
himself in new ways and heals in others.
After just a few pages, I gave little thought
to Fitzgerald’s Nick Carraway, because
Smith’s life of Nick before Gatsby offers a
compelling story in its own right, and this
complex Carraway will appeal to those
readers who enjoy richly developed
characters whether new, familiar, or
imitated.
The Golden
Thread: The Cold
War and the
Mysterious Death
of Dag
Hammarskjöld
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Lion’s Den
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Disappearing
Act
****
7/17/21
Audition. Catherine Steadman draws
readers inside the competitive Hollywood
scene for her novel titled, The
Disappearing Act, in which we see the
lengths to which some actors will go to get
a role. After an unexpected relationship
breakup, protagonist Mia leaves England
and looks for new acting roles in
California. The plot takes a noir thriller
twist following an audition where she
meets an actress named Emily. Emily
disappears and Mia becomes focused on
finding her, while continuing to audition
for parts. Fans of thrillers are those
readers most likely to enjoy this novel.
Self Care
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Dear Miss Kopp
****
3/25/21
War. In the sixth installment of the Kopp
Sisters series by Amy Stewart, the United
States has entered World War I and the
three Kopp sisters are doing their part in
the war effort. In the novel titled, Dear
Miss Kopp, we find Constance performing
intelligence work for the Bureau of
Investigation in Washington, Fleurette
entertaining the troops across the country,
and Norma with her pigeons serving with
the Army Signal Corps in France. War
changes life for each sister, and the letters
the sisters exchange over the course of this
book will engage most readers. Fans of
historical fiction that doesn’t drift far from
the record are those most likely to enjoy
this novel.
Miss Kopp
Investigates
****
10/15/21
Fleurette. The title of Amy Stewart’s
seventh novel featuring the Kopp Sisters,
Miss Kopp Investigates, made me think
that the sister doing the investigating
would be Constance, fresh from wartime
experience in Washington. Instead, in
1919, we find the investigator is Fleurette
whose singing voice has failed her. As with
the earlier novels, we find an engaging
story packed with interesting and complex
characters, drawn from the lives of real
people. Fans of historical fiction with
strong female characters will find a lot to
enjoy in this novel and this series.
Want
****
4/22/21
Precarious. In her novel titled, Want,
Lynn Steger Strong dissects the fragility of
contemporary life for those we used to be
members of what we call the middle class.
The desires of protagonist Elizabeth are
not fleeting whims. It just seems that she is
unable to get what she wants. Instead of
getting a tenured university job with her
English literature Ph.D., she has one job at
a charter high school, and another as an
adjunct at her alma mater. Her husband
had the bad luck to lose his finance job at
Lehman Brothers, and now does artisanal
woodwork when he finds a client. There
were big medical bills and past
psychological strife and addiction. There
are now kids in their crowded Brooklyn
one bedroom. There’s a bankruptcy
looming. A cherished friendship ruptured,
and now that friend’s life has also taken a
turn for the worse. Therein we find what
we all really want: kindness and the
nourishment we can receive from friends.
The litany of laments could have
overpowered this narrative, but Strong’s
writing skill kept us facing reality while she
led us to appreciate our vulnerability and
the precarious nature of life for all of us.
Oh William!
*****
11/22/21
Marriage. The depth of insight about
marriage throughout Elizabeth Strout’s
novel titled, Oh William!, will arrive to
readers like a slowly rising tide. No one
moment ratchets up the insight, but before
we notice, we are in deep water. Strout
reprises her complex protagonist, Lucy
Barton, from two previous novels, and
places her in a situation involving her first
husband, William, as she grieves the death
of her beloved second husband. William’s
recent losses have been sudden and
despite their separation, there is no one
else who understands Lucy and William as
well as they know each other, for better
and for worse. Readers roam in the inner
spaces of these characters as we observe
the way they present themselves to the
world and recognize the disconnections
that are familiar to all of us. Readers with
experience of marriage are those most
likely to savor all the wisdom and insight
in this finely written novel.
Compromised:
Counterintelligence
and the Threat of
Donald J. Trump
****
1/5/21
Perspective. After reading Peter Strzok’s
book titled, Compromised:
Counterintelligence and the Threat of
Donald J. Trump, I’m confident that he
wishes that his FBI work had been
completed professionally without his ever
becoming known by the general public. In
this book he tells his side of a story that
played out in recent years based on the
investigation of Russian meddling into the
2016 election and any complicity by the
Trump campaign in that foreign
interference. Depending on your political
affiliation and the news outlets you follow,
chances are you already know about Peter
Strzok and have reached a conclusion
about him and his work while at the FBI. I
encourage you to give him a hearing by
reading his version of what he did and be
open to amending your perspective. I
found his description of his role at the FBI
to be informative, and the ways he
described the nature of counterintelligence
work were of great interest.
Dial A for Aunties
****
8/26/21
Slapstick. Don’t let summer pass you by
without reading a funny book for which
you don’t need to engage many parts of
your brain. One to consider is Jesse Q.
Sutanto’s novel titled, Dial A for Aunties.
After protagonist Meddelin Chan gets
herself in a pickle, her mother gathers her
sisters to get Meddie out of her
predicament. The slapstick hijinks that
follow provide great humor, and by the
time Sutanto turns from comedy to
romance, most readers are prepared to
smile toward a happy ending for all. I read
this novel in one sultry afternoon
outdoors, and I felt the heat and humidity
drift away as I relaxed with the story.
Terminal Boredom
****
11/22/21
Surreal. Fans of speculative fiction are
those readers most likely to enjoy the
seven science fiction short stories in a
collection titled, Terminal Boredom, by the
late Izumi Suzuki. These stories have only
recently been translated into English, and
most readers may be surprised that they
were written four and five decades ago.
Suzuki marvels at how we respond to all
the weird things that happen. Within the
darkness of her stories there’s a resilience
or response that makes the dystopia
somewhat irrelevant, or perhaps normal.
Olympus, Texas
****
11/6/21
Infidelity. The Greek myths visit the
Lone Star State and the Briscoe family in
Stacey Swann’s debut novel titled,
Olympus, Texas. First, draw the rural
Texas town of your choice. Second,
introduce the town’s leading family and
imbue them with hubris and infidelity.
Third, multiply the characters and stir. The
result gives a contemporary take on
mythology and the glories of dysfunctional
families. Grab some popcorn, watch the
family fireworks, and try to predict the
next wrong turn in Briscoe family life.
Every Vow You
Break
****
5/27/21
Island. Prepare for creepy chills as you
read Peter Swanson’s novel titled, Every
Vow You Break. Protagonist Abigail Baskin
marries Peter Lamb, who seems to treat
her with every kindness. Wealthy Peter has
arranged their honeymoon as a surprise,
so Abigail finds herself at a luxury resort
on a small island. Queue the minor key
music as Abigail faces threats and becomes
terrorized. Things are not as they appear,
and what Peter has in mind for his bride
on this honeymoon will give readers chills.
Good Company
****
5/27/21
Bonds. The people closest to us have the
power to break our hearts. In her novel
titled, Good Company, Cynthia D’Aprix
Sweeney draws us into the bonds of
marriage and friendship. When bonds are
based on an expectation of loyalty,
infidelity provides the kryptonite to
weaken those bonds. When secrets are
finally disclosed after a long period of time,
the ability to restore bonds may be lost.
Brave book clubs who are open to
conversation about the fragility of our
bonds will likely find members drawn
closer together by a common
understanding of our vulnerability to each
other.
The Freezer Door
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Dark August
****
9/16/21
Inheritance. Katie Tallo’s thrilling debut
novel titled, Dark August, introduces
readers to a strong female protagonist,
Augusta “Gus” Monet, who we begin to
care deeply about from the beginning of
the novel. Her listless life becomes
enlivened when she learns that her last
living relative has died and she claims her
inheritance. What follows is a well-paced
pursuit of uncovering secrets and
searching for the truth. Tallo’s writing
offers realistic dialogue, supportive
narration, and complex and interesting
characters.
The Devil May
Dance
****
9/8/21
Sinatra. The second novel by Jake Tapper
to feature protagonists Charlie and
Margaret Marder it titled, The Devil May
Dance. Set in the early 1960s, we find the
Marders sent on a case by Attorney
General Robert Kennedy who is concerned
about risks to his brother, the President, as
well as to the security of the United States.
Tapper fills in the color of this time with a
prominent place for Frank Sinatra in the
story, and the vivid ways in which he
describes the lure of Hollywood. Tapper
builds tension in this story that will appeal
to readers who enjoy a good mystery and
thriller, especially those who enjoyed our
introduction to the Marders in The Hellfire
Club.
Filthy Animals
****
11/6/21
Desire. The connected stories in the book
titled, Filthy Animals, by Brandon Taylor
overflow with desire. As the pages turn, we
ache at the misalignment with societal
expectations and the longing for
connection. We are overheated in the
hothouse of student life. We watch
characters struggle to learn to love and feel
their deep desire. We read Taylor’s finely
crafted sentences that are unflinching in
examining the lives of the characters in
these stories. The pain and love become
palpable, and readers cannot look away.
Real Life
****
6/24/21
Wallace. As Brandon Taylor introduces
readers of his debut novel titled, Real Life,
to protagonist Wallace, we begin to feel a
constant throb of pain along with this
complex character as he navigates the
world. We observe his anxiety as he leaves
small town Alabama and secures a place in
a science lab at a Midwestern university.
We feel for all the ways in which he keeps
others at a distance, as a response to past
pain and to his struggle to fit in to his
current situation. His father’s death seems
to have the same impact on Wallace as the
dead worms from a spoiled lab
experiment. He desires intimacy and keeps
others at a distance. Fans of literary fiction
will appreciate Taylor’s finely written prose
and will reflect thoughtfully about Wallace
and his life.
Catherine House
****
1/5/21
Intensity. Within the first few pages of
Elisabeth Thomas’ debut novel titled,
Catherine House, many readers will
become uneasy. With every turned page,
that feeling remains and its intensity
increases. The setting is the closed campus
of an elite but secretive university at which
the students are confined to the grounds
and expected to adhere to all the strict
rules for three years of hard work after
which they can move on to a prominent
place in society. As we learn more about
the admissions process, the students and
teachers and the research underway, the
creepiness of the place sets in and even the
activities of regular campus life take on
sinister undertones. Readers open to new
authors and to an intense plot are those
most likely to enjoy this novel.
Pappyland: A Story
of Family, Fine
Bourbon, and the
Things That Last
****
8/19/21
Homesick. I’m sorry to report that I had
consumed the last two fingers of Pappy
Van Winkle Family Reserve in my only
bottle of this prized bourbon weeks before
I read Wright Thompson’s book titled,
Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine
Bourbon, and the Things That Last.
Thompson presents the story of Julian Van
Winkle III, the third-generation head of
the family’s bourbon business. Like Julian,
I found myself homesick for the taste I
tried hard to remember of this special
drink. What Julian did about it was to try
his very best to replicate the taste as he
remembered it from the produce distilled
during his grandfather’s time. You don’t
have to be a bourbon lover to enjoy this
book, because thanks to Thompson’s fine
writing, the incorporation of himself in the
story, and his relationship with Julian, this
book speaks to any reader about home and
family and that sweet taste that we want to
endure.
Pickard County
Atlas
****
5/14/21
Pam. The action in Chris Harding
Thornton’s debut novel titled, Pickard
County Atlas, takes places over the course
of six days in 1978 in Nebraska. We meet
an intriguing cast of characters, the most
compelling of which for me was Pam, who
struggles with the constraints of being a
spouse and a mother and wants to escape.
There’s intensity to the plot, specificity in
the setting, and complexity in the
characters. I was thoroughly entertained
by Thornton’s finely written prose.
The Last Great
Road Bum
****
7/17/21
Joe. Not your average Joe is the
protagonist of Héctor Tobar’s novel titled,
The Last Great Road Bum, While
structured as a novel, this story of based
on a real person, Joe Sanderson, who grew
up in Urbana, Illinois and spent his life
roaming the earth. Sanderson’s family
entrusted Tobar with Joe’s letters and
writings, and from that base, Tobar crafted
an engaging story about a fascinating
character who lived an extraordinary life.
A Fatal Lie
****
4/22/21
Complexity. Crime novels often exclude
many of the real-life dead ends that non-
fiction detectives pursue in their cases. In
the 23
rd
installment of the mystery series
featuring Inspector Ian Rutledge by the
mother-son team writing as Charles Todd,
Rutledge meanders down lots of dead
ends. Even longtime fans of the series may
become frustrating that in this novel titled,
A Fatal Lie, Rutledge seems to be more
puzzled by the half-way point than he was
at the beginning. I found the complexity to
be just what I needed in spending more
time with this intriguing and troubled
protagonist. I found that my own “brain
fog” from covid-19 fatigue was akin to
Rutledge’s loss of sleep as he drove around
a northern Welsh county in circles for this
1921 case. As the Todds piled on more
characters and led others to reappear, I felt
Rutledge’s fatigue and found myself trying
extra hard to figure out the puzzle, which I
found to turn the fatigue into excitement.
Fans of crime fiction and this series may
be challenged by this installment, but I
found the detective and the case to be top
notch and satisfying by the end.
A Hanging at Dawn
****
2/4/21
Simon. Fans of the Bess Crawford series
by Charles Todd are those readers most
likely to enjoy the backstory contained in a
novella titled, A Hanging at Dawn. Set
mostly in India when Bess was a child, we
find out about how the Crawford family
first met recurring character Simon
Brandon. The events of this story are the
pivotal ones that bound Simon to the
family and knowing that context now
explains much about what we already
know happened after the events in India.
An Irish Hostage
****
8/5/21
Wedding. The twelfth Bess Crawford
mystery by the mother and son writing
team called Charles Todd is a novel titled,
An Irish Hostage. The First World War has
ended, and Bess faces an uncertain future.
She has agreed to attend the wedding of
fellow nurse Eileen Flynn that’s taking
place in the small Irish village where
Eileen grew up. There’s peril in Ireland in
this time after the Easter Rising in 1916 for
the English, and for all who fought with
the English in the war. The complex plot
and ongoing suspense will delight all fans
of this series, as well as any reader who
enjoys mystery novels. It’s no spoiler to
report that Bess is no closer to making
decisions about her future at the end of
this novel than she was at the beginning.
Will there be big changes for Bess in the
next installment?
What Comes After
****
8/5/21
Healing. All the wounded characters in
JoAnne Tompkins debut novel titled, What
Comes After, learn that what must come
after wounding is healing. Easier said than
done when the wounds to parents involved
the death of teenage sons. Some turning to
life follows the loss of a loved one, so when
a young pregnant girl arrives in the lives of
the neighbors who both lost their sons,
healing and connection begins. As each
parent turns inside to confront the loss
and to understand with clear eyes the boys
who are dead, they are connected to help
this pregnant stranger through her
struggle. Readers get a glimpse of Quaker
spirituality in this novel, and a delightful
dog named Rufus who helps with all the
healing as every good dog is prone to do.
The Lincoln
Highway
*****
11/16/21
Journey. I was so ready to read a hero’s
journey, and Amor Towles met all my
expectations in his novel titled, The
Lincoln Highway. Eighteen-year-old
protagonist Emmett Watson has been
released from a Nebraska prison where he
was serving time for involuntary
manslaughter in 1954. His plan to abandon
the family farm and head to California with
his younger brother to find their estranged
mother was amended when two escaped
prisoners convince him to join them in
New York on his journey to California. The
novel captures about ten days with this
fascinating cast of characters and allows
Emmett to set the course of his life.
Deep Into the Dark
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Survivor Song
****
3/25/21
Scary. Until I received a covid-19
vaccination, I wasn’t keen to read a scary
book about a different virus, so I set aside
Paul Tremblay’s novel titled, Survivor
Song. Feeling lighter in spirit following
arrival at my place in queue for the shot, I
reached for this novel and immersed in
terror as appealing characters face a rabies
virus that spreads quickly and leads to
rapid loss of both mind and life. A
pregnant woman has become infected and
with her physician friend she’s in a race for
treatment and rapid delivery of her child
before the worst happens. Fans of scary
novels with fast plot pacing are those most
likely to enjoy this novel, unless you’ve had
enough virus in your life for now.
The Reckoning:
Our Nation's
Trauma and
Finding a Way to
Heal
**
8/26/21
Ranting. I learned some things about the
Trump family last year when I read Mary
Trump’s book titled, Too Much and Never
Enough: How My Family Created the
World’s Most Dangerous Man. Mary
Trump is back with a book titled, The
Reckoning: Our Nation's Trauma and
Finding a Way to Heal, and I finished
reading it and felt I hadn’t really learned
anything, and that I spent too long
listening to someone’s rant. While she
brought an insider’s perspective to the first
book, in the current one her voice has as
much expertise as one can hear from any
stool in the neighborhood bar. She
diagnoses the state of America as being in
trauma, and that may be true, but I
couldn’t see what evidence she provides to
support that diagnosis. I think of trauma
as an individual thing, not societal, so I
was curious to hear what she had to say.
I’ve heard. Next.
Murder by Milk
Bottle
****
3/9/21
Spree. The third installment of Lynne
Truss’ series featuring Constable Twitten is
titled, Murder by Milk Bottle. Dead bodies
are piling up in Brighton and Twitten and
police station charwoman Mrs. Groynes
are right in the middle of the madness of
the summer of 1957. Truss keeps her wit
sharp throughout this novel as we follow
the quirky cast of characters through an
engaging plot. Not quite a spoiler, but I
almost choked while laughing at the
transfer among characters of a complete
list that identified each murder victim of a
killing spree. Let’s tie all the pieces
together, shall we?
Heathcliff Redux:
And Other Stories
****
10/8/21
Insight. The stories in Lily Tuck’s
collection titled, Heathcliff Redux: And
Other Stories, reveal this fine writer’s
insight into human nature and behavior.
Tuck finds ways to jar us with these
stories, often using just a few sentences to
break open her characters for our
examination. We find a cleareyed way of
looking at ourselves in these stories, and
not blinking at what we read. What we
begin to feel might be a digression
becomes the path to understanding. Fans
of finely written literary fiction are those
readers most likely to appreciate this
collection.
The Triumph of
Nancy Reagan
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Devil and the
Dark Water
****
2/13/21
Pipps. Fans of historical crime fiction are
those readers most likely to enjoy Stuart
Turton’s novel titled, The Devil and the
Dark Water. The action takes place in
1634, mostly on a ship where we can
observe the skills of “the world’s greatest
detective,” Sammy Pipps, who still deduces
with skill while imprisoned onboard.
Strange symbols appear that spook the
superstitious crew, and the stories about a
devil named Old Tom cause many to
believe that the devil is at work on this
perilous journey from Batavia to
Amsterdam with secretive cargo in the
hold. Turton prompts us to consider lots of
suspects for the crimes in the story, and by
the time all the pieces come together, most
readers will feel satisfaction that the
journey is finally over.
Demagogue: The
Life and Long
Shadow of Senator
Joe McCarthy
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Hummingbird
Salamander
****
6/19/21
Clues. Jane Smith, protagonist of Jeff
VanderMeer’s novel titled, Hummingbird
Salamander, finds herself and her family in
peril after she’s enticed by clues left for her
by a dead ecoterrorist. This is not a spoiler,
but the fact that the novel ends with a
question was the perfect conclusion to a
story in which Jane and us become
absorbed in all the large and small
questions about ourselves, each other, and
our world. With this book, VanderMeer
verges into writing a mystery novel, while
not relenting in the ways in which he
explores big questions with a unique voice.
We Run the Tides
****
3/18/21
Neighborhood. In some ways, the
neighborhood of Sea Cliff, a San Francisco
neighborhood, is a character in Vendela
Vida’s novel titled, We Run the Tides. We
meet teens Eulabee and Maria Fabiola and
see their friendship and school life at an
all-girls private school. There’s silliness
and drama. We find deception, cruelty,
honesty and betrayal side by side while
truth is elusive in their world of the 1980s.
As with the changes that come with
adolescence, what was familiar about Sea
Cliff also changes. With great writing and
efficiency, Vida presents all the confusion
of growing up and being at the center of
the only world that matters.
The Night Always
Comes
*****
7/10/21
Intensity. There’s concentrated intensity
in every scene of Willy Vlautin’s novel
titled, The Night Always Comes. Set in
Portland over the course of a few days, we
encounter all the things a person will do to
make their dreams come true. Protagonist
Lynette works multiple jobs trying to
scrape together a way to buy the home
where she, her mother and her brother
have been renting. Vlautin forces readers
to not blink as we observe the lives of
people trying their best to stay above
water. We feel Lynette’s hunger and anger
and cannot look away as we watch mother
and daughter come to terms with each
other and with the next phase of their
lives. The story is riveting, the characters
complex, and the intensity captures the
struggle of those on the margins to achieve
the American dream.
The Appointment
****
4/22/21
Identity. Katharina Volckmer structures
her debut novel titled, The Appointment,
as a monologue by a female narrator
during a medical appointment with Dr.
Seligman. We are entertained and shocked
as we listen to her struggle to become
herself. I found myself laughing, then
becoming a bit unmoored. I felt hopeful
then stunningly pessimistic. As the
monologue progressed, I felt the narrator’s
unburdening, and also felt that I was
picking up some of that burden and taking
it on myself. While Dr. Seligman was
toiling away, I wondered whether only
readers were left listening. Readers looking
for a quirky and inventive short novel
should consider reading this one.
How to Make a
Slave
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
The Coldest Case
****
9/23/21
Change. Life in the Périgord can seem
settled in keeping things the same until
everything changes at once. In the
sixteenth installment of the Bruno Chief of
Police series by Martin Walker, a novel
titled, The Coldest Case, Bruno’s life
overflows with all that needs be done.
When he sees how technology has evolved
in reconstructing facial features from
ancient skulls, he wonders if it could be
used on a skull from a three decades-old
unsolved case. Meanwhile, his dog has
sired puppies for the first time, and a
scientist doesn’t eat meat, so Bruno
prepares a vegan feast for her and his
friends. Climate change impacts the
region, and after the fire threat becomes
dire, Bruno and others have to use all their
wits to protect the community and its
treasures. As always, the writing in this
series is finely done, the stories and
characters are engaging, and the eating
and drinking will give readers an appetite
for a special meal of one’s own.
The Dearly Beloved
*****
1/5/21
Quartet. The debut novel by Cara Wall
titled, The Dearly Beloved, sings in
celebration of friendship, marriage, faith
and understanding. Four finely drawn
complementary characters unite at a
Presbyterian Church in New York City
where Charles and James have been
selected to serve in a joint ministry to heal
the community following a poor choice in
appointing the previous pastor. Faith led
Charles to reject a privileged academic
future at Harvard, and love led him to
marry Lily, an atheist and free spirit.
James grew up poor in Chicago, promotes
church activism, and married Nan, the
daughter of a southern minister. The
harmony of this quartet in New York City
amid setbacks and challenges and
downright pain and suffering rings true for
any reader who has lived. These are great
and memorable characters and the novel’s
prose will fall easily on the ears of all
readers, but especially fans of finely
written literary fiction.
The Cold Millions
****
3/18/21
Union. I didn’t know a thing about the
free speech riots in Spokane, Washington
in 1909 until I read Jess Walter’s novel
titled, The Cold Millions. The Industrial
Workers of the World are trying to get
local miners to form a union, and they are
met with violence as they agitate for
change. Brothers Gregory (Gig) and Ryan
Dolan are caught up in the conflict. Real
historical characters Spokane Police Chief
John Sullivan plays a part, as does labor
organize Helen Gurley Flynn. Walter’s
prose is finely written, all the characters
complex and interesting, and the parallels
to our contemporary time are unavoidable.
The cold millions of people struggling for a
living wage and safe working conditions in
Spokane in the last century appear in an
updated form in our own cities and towns.
Imposter
Syndrome
****
9/16/21
Agent. What’s not to like about a spy
novel set in Silicon Valley? I was
thoroughly entertained by Kathy Wang’s
novel titled, Imposter Syndrome, in which
protagonist Julia Lerner is a Russian agent
who has become the COO of a major
company. As her Russian handlers
increase pressure on providing the
information Moscow wants, Julia becomes
conflicted. When a low-level employee
detects Julia’s activity, the plot thickens.
Fans of espionage novels are those readers
most likely to enjoy this contemporary
story.
Memorial
****
3/18/21
Discovery. Love offers each of us the
opportunity to learn about ourselves and
to connect to others in ways that
strengthen one another. In his novel titled,
Memorial, Bryan Washington pulls readers
into the love between Benson and Mike
who live together in Houston. Just after
Mike’s mother, Mitsuko, lands in Texas for
a visit, Mike departs to spend time in
Osaka with his estranged father who is
dying. Neither Benson nor Mitsuko
anticipated living with each other, and
Washington shows how some relationships
can be built with strength quickly. The
changes faced by these characters
transform them profoundly and rapidly,
and thanks to Washington’s fine writing,
we see ourselves in their faces that may
seem at first quite unlike us.
Come Again
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Winter Counts
****
3/9/21
Identity. David Heska Wanbli Weiden’s
debut crime novel is titled, Winter Counts.
Set on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in
South Dakota, the novel overflows with
interesting and complex characters facing
contemporary challenges. Drug cartels are
making inroads in the area to the peril of
the community. Protagonist Virgil
Wounded Horse has struggled with life
and his identity, often called half-breed.
He is guardian for his nephew, a high
school student facing similar challenges of
identity. Weiden writes with great skill and
insight into the life of this community
while presenting all the key elements of a
thrilling crime plot.
Project Hail Mary
*****
9/16/21
Sacrifice. You don’t have to be a science
or space nerd to love Andy Weir’s novel
titled, Project Hail Mary, because the
thrilling plot and interesting characters
make for an enjoyable story. Nerds will be
delighted by the whole premise of a junior
high science teacher from one planet
teaming up with an engineering maven
from another planet to save life on both
their planets. Protagonist Ryland Grace
has been selected for a sacrificial mission
to travel to space to solve a problem that
has begun to cause calamity on Earth.
Weir makes it easy for all readers to enjoy
the science, appreciate the peril at hand,
and leads us to care about what will
happen. This is a story of sacrifice by one
person to serve the common good, a great
lesson for our time and any time, and one
hell of a good story.
Where Law Ends:
Inside the Mueller
Investigation
****
1/5/21
Choices. The world is unlikely to see an
inside story from Bob Mueller about his
time served as special counsel of the
investigation into Russian interference
into the 2016 presidential election in the
United States so to find out more about
this subject we have to look to someone
else. Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann
performed a key role in that investigation,
and has written a detailed book titled,
Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller
Investigation, about his perspective on
what happened. Weissmann describes the
choices and decisions made by Mueller
and others throughout the investigation
and the consequences of those choices. He
also proposes ways to reform the approach
used for future special investigations by
amending the current process to ensure
greater independence and transparency.
Readers interested in public policy are
those most likely to enjoy this informative
book.
Tomorrow, the
World: The Birth of
U.S. Global
Supremacy
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Harlem Shuffle
*****
10/8/21
Heist. Some fiction writers return to
places, characters, or time periods they’ve
presented in earlier works. Colson
Whitehead starts fresh with time, place,
and character as if there is no connection
to his earlier novels. The backdrop for his
novel titled, Harlem Shuffle, is Harlem in
the 1960s. The protagonist, Ray Carney,
sells furniture, which Whitehead describes
with glee, and he fences stolen goods on
the side. The plot involves a heist, and we
learn about power in the community, and
tension in families as the line between
right and wrong meanders. Whitehead’s
prose soars in this novel, and his love for
Harlem infuses every page. I thoroughly
enjoyed this novel and can’t wait to see
when and where Whitehead takes readers
next.
The Liar’s
Dictionary
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Harrow
****
12/18/21
Guide. A cataclysm has happened before
the start of Joy Williams novel titled,
Harrow, and our guide to what comes next
is a teenaged protagonist named Khristen.
It’s been two decades since readers have
seen a novel from Williams, and there’s
experimentation and freshness in this
work that will reward her patient fans.
Khristen arrives at a lakeside resort and
finds the lake has turned black and the
area populated with a cast of strange
people who had been eco-warriors. I
delighted at every word I had to look up as
I read this novel, and found my eyes
opened to the natural world and decay in
new ways. Williams drags us to notice
dying and demands us to pay attention and
do something.
The Watergate
Girl: My Fight for
Truth and Justice
Against a Criminal
President
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
Broken
****
11/6/21
Range. Don Winslow displays the
virtuosity of his writing range in his book
titled, Broken, six short novels written as a
homage. In a story dedicated to Raymond
Chandler, we feel the style of that master
in Winslow’s dialogue and prose. It’s easy
to visualize Steve McQueen in the story
dedicated to him. I closed my eyes and felt
it was really Elmore Leonard writing the
story dedicated to that genius. Fans of
crime fiction will enjoy each of the stories
in this collection for Winslow’s skill and as
homage to those to whom the stories are
dedicated.
Landslide: The
Final Days of the
Trump Presidency
****
8/19/21
Repetition. I was hesitant to read
Michael Wolff’s third book about the
Trump presidency titled, Landslide: The
Final Days of the Trump Presidency. The
two earlier books just seemed to dish dirt,
and I didn’t want to waste time spent in
the muck. In a weak moment, I picked up
this third offering, and I’m glad I did.
Thanks to his many sources, Wolff helps us
understand what happened during the
time from the presidential election on
November 3, 2020, and the peaceful
transition of power on January 20, 2021.
Thanks to this book, I finally understood
the core of the Trump schtick: repeat
something continuously and sooner or
later a lot of people will believe that it is
true. While there’s still plenty of dirt
dishing in this book, there’s also insight
into how close we came to a crisis because
of the unrelenting repetition of lies and the
pressure to do what Trump wanted done.
Peril
****
10/15/21
Transcripts. The rocky transition of
power from President Trump to President
Biden could have proceeded in ways even
worse than what happened. That’s one
conclusion I drew after reading the book
titled, Peril, by Washington Post reporters
Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. The
authors recorded interviews with more
than two hundred people, received
documents, and produced over six
thousand pages of transcripts for
distillation to readers without attribution
of who said what. We know that neither
Trump nor Biden were interviewed for this
book. Readers can safely assume that the
reason many individuals wanted to talk to
Woodward and Costa was to put
themselves in the best light possible. With
that context, any reader interested in the
recent turmoil in United States politics can
find even more cause for alarm about
recent history after reading this book.
Personally, I’d love to read the transcripts,
especially after a subject has relaxed with
food and drink at the homes of the
authors. Instead, we rely on the reporters
to tell us an abbreviated and compelling
story.
The Man Who
Lived
Underground
****
8/26/21
Mirror. Readers have the chance to
appreciate a previously unpublished novel
by the late Richard Wright titled, The Man
Who Lived Underground. Written in the
1940s, and rejected for publication, this
novel offers a mirror of that time with our
own. A Black man has been forced
violently to confess to a crime he didn’t
commit. He flees from custody into the
sewers where he finds and gathers
treasures. We feel the confusion of this
protagonist and his struggle with life and
injustice. Wright draws us into his plight
and relates the story with such clarity that
our anger builds as the story progresses.
Then there’s residual anger about the
forces that restricted publication of this
novel when it was written. Finally, there
are all the feelings about what has and has
not changed in the United States from the
1940s to the present. Read this reminder
of Wright’s prodigious talent for his own
time and ours.
Processed Cheese
****
1/16/21
Excess. Stephen Wright excoriates the
self-absorbed vulgarity of modern life in
his satiric novel titled, Processed Cheese.
An odd and narcissistic cast of characters
with zany names looks for satisfaction in
consumerism, violence, sex and an excess
of personal degradations. Parody and
satire can be entertaining or overbearing,
and readers can find both in this novel.
The pace of the plot can be exhausting,
especially following the rapid opening
sequence that sets up the premise of the
novel: when a bag of money falls out of the
sky when what you need is cash, what
would you do? The excesses of this novel
tired me out, but I appreciated how
perfectly Wright captures our cultural
obsessions. These characters do not
provide the models for human behavior,
but they are exactly who we are more often
that we would care to admit.
God of
Nothingness
****
4/22/21
Impressions. During the first half of
Poetry Month, I read two or three of Mark
Wunderlich’s thirty-two poems in a
collection named after one of them, God of
Nothingness. So much of reading poetry
can be absorbing impressions. I found
myself observing the reality of loss. I came
to feel resilience and hope. I found humor.
I followed connections from past to
present to whatever is ahead. I watched the
ways in which resilience forms, often
following despair. At one line, I felt
solitude, and at another line, I celebrated
survival. Fans of poetry will find a lot to
enjoy in this collection.
The Bass Rock
Unread
Shelf of Ennui 2021.
A Matter of Death
and Life
****
6/24/21
Legacy. Few couples, upon hearing that
one of them has terminal illness, will
spend their final months writing a book
together. Psychiatrist and author Irvin
Yalom and feminist author Marilyn Yalom
chose that unusual path for their book
titled, A Matter of Death and Life, and all
readers are beneficiaries of this legacy.
Marilyn explores and shares how she tries
to pursue what she considers a good death
for her, and Irvin explores and shares how
he focuses on what it will take to live on
without his spouse and companion of
many decades. On one level this is a love
story, on another level it is a way for
readers to see models for living out
meaningful lives. We will each face death,
for ourselves and for our loved ones. At
such times, we need consolation,
something this book can help us find.
The Secret Talker
****
7/17/21
Communication. Should we remain
silent, or should we speak out? In her
novel titled, The Secret Talker, Geling Yan
explores the choices we have in
communication. Chinese-born protagonist
Hongmei and her American husband,
Glen, live in California, and their
relationship has become disjointed, falling
to the level of leaving Post-It notes for each
other instead of talking directly. After
Hongmei receives an email from an
unknown sender, she chooses to reply. The
consequences of the reply provide much of
the tension throughout this finely written
novel.
White Ivy
****
4/22/21
Character. The ingredients of Susie
Yang’s debut novel titled, White Ivy,
combine to offer readers a tasty reading
experience. We find a mix of class, race,
culture, expectations, thievery, and desire.
Protagonist Ivy is trained as a thief by her
Chinese grandmother, fails to meet her
immigrant parents’ expectations, and finds
herself in a relationship with “that” boy,
Gideon, desired by many in the
mainstream culture. We find love,
deception, yearning, privilege, and insights
into family. We keep trying to figure out
Ivy and see what she really wants out of
life. We gawk at Ivy’s obsession and
struggle to watch her separate shallowness
from depth and to see the difference
between wanting and having. This
character study finally clicks when we
realize it is always all about Ivy.
One Billion
Americans: The
Case for Thinking
Bigger
****
1/16/21
Provocative. Go big or go home. In his
book titled, One Billion Americans: The
Case for Thinking Bigger, Matthew
Yglesias offers a provocative proposal. He
believes the best future for the United
States will be to increase our population to
a billion people. If you think we’re “full”
now, Yglesias has other ideas for you to
consider. He tackles a variety of objections
and provides an array of policy proposals
that would lead to a thriving society in
which a billion Americans would live.
Whether you’re skeptical or curious, I
recommend giving his ideas some thought.
Nightbitch
*****
9/8/21
Motherhood. Rachel Yoder’s debut novel
titled, Nightbitch, will appeal in a special
way to any parent whose role led to some
temporary or permanent loss of one’s
mind. A nameless protagonist places her
career as an artist on hold to stay at home
with her newborn son, a practical
arrangement since her husband’s income
exceeds hers. While the husband travels
for work every week, the mother compares
herself unfavorably to those other moms
who seem to have it all together. With a
sharp satire at modern parenting, Yoder
lets the mother become more animal than
human and that’s just what was needed to
break out of languish. By the time we are
accustomed to what seems like a fantasy
life, Yoder arranges performance art which
restores the mother to her self-identity as
an artist. Laugh and howl with this novel
and the transformations it offers for our
insight and entertainment.
The Inugami Curse
****
6/24/21
Classic. Fans of murder mysteries are
those readers most likely to enjoy a classic
closed room mystery by Seishi Yokomiso
titled, The Inugami Curse. Detective
Kosuke Kindaichi unravels the mystery
with great skill as he reveals secrets of the
Inugami family and uncovers hidden
identities. If you love red herrings and
blind alleys, there are plenty in this finely
written novel. The setting of the novel is
the 1940s, and Yokomiso’s work has finally
been translated into English so that more
mystery fans can appreciate the talent of a
master of this genre.
Run Me to Earth
****
9/16/21
Survival. Paul Yoon’s finely written novel
titled, Run Me to Earth, takes us to Laos in
the 1960s when everyday life involved
survival from a barrage of bombs that
became routine. Through orphans Alisak,
Prany and Noi, we learn what it takes to
live in this horrible situation. We find hope
on these pages as the characters
experience cruelty and beauty. The
contrast of the best and worst of human
nature keeps our intense focus as we join
the journey of these characters.
When Brains
Dream: Exploring
the Science and
Mystery of Sleep
****
6/8/21
Answers. General readers looking for a
comprehensive examination about sleep
and dreaming will find out what science
knows today about this topic by reading a
book by Antonio Zadra and Robert
Stickgold titled, When Brains Dream:
Exploring the Science and Mystery of
Sleep. Whatever questions you’re likely to
have about what goes on while we sleep,
you’re likely to find answers in this
interesting book. I didn’t snooze once
while I was reading it, but I think while I
slept overnight, my brain processed what I
read.
Crying in H Mart
****
8/19/21
Tribute. Musician Michelle Zauner’s
memoir titled, Crying in H Mart, offers
tribute to her late mother as she explores
their relationship and relates the journey
through her mother’s fatal illness. Readers
dealing with grief of any sort will find this
book analogous to one’s own story.
Readers who have ever been told they are
not enough of something will recognize
Zauner’s struggle of being perceived as not
Korean enough. All readers will find a
heartfelt story that speaks to the special
relationship between a mother and a
daughter.
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Key to Ratings:
*****
I love it
****
I like it
***
It’s OK
**
I don’t like it
*
I hate it