Very Belated Book Reviews

Some of my friends are reading more than ever since the pandemic started, but I'm finding that I have much less interest in reading these days. I'm not sure why, but I assume it has to do with the overall anxiety and inability to focus brought on by all this. However, I haven't done any book reviews here in a very long time, so here goes. I read some of these books many months ago but never got around to telling you about them, so I will really be scraping cobwebs off the ol' hippocampus to try to remember much about them. (There are no spoilers here—anything I "reveal" below is easily learned from the book jacket description or blurbs.)

Olive, Again (Elizabeth Strout): This is, of course, a sequel to Olive Kitteridge, and it was such a treat to get to spend more time with Olive! And Strout threw in lots of "Easter eggs" for her loyal readers, in the form of appearances by characters from many of her earlier books, not just Olive Kitteridge. There was one at the end that truly had me gasping, just as I would in real life—"Wait, I know you!"As with Olive Kitteridge, there were stories here that I absolutely adored (mostly the ones featuring Olive herself, front and center) and others that didn't hold me as much. But Strout's writing is just lovely; even a so-so Strout story makes for better reading than many other authors' "best" work. If you are a fan, you've probably already read this—but if it somehow passed you by, I highly recommend it. This also reminds me that I never got around to watching the Olive Kitteridge miniseries, starring one of my favorite actresses, Frances McDormand, so I'll have to get on that.

Born a Crime (Trevor Noah): This was my book group pick last month, and I was unable to get a copy of the book anywhere. So, for the first time ever, I decided to try the audiobook version. On the one hand, this experience confirmed that I am most definitely not an audiobook person. I don't do any kind of activity where I can really listen while doing it (e.g., some people listen while walking on a treadmill), and I found that if I turned it on while I was cooking, I couldn't really concentrate well on either thing. So I mostly just sat down in my reading chair and turned it on to listen. This wasn't ideal because I can't wear earbuds (strange-shaped ear canals?), so I just played it from my iPad. But, on the other hand, I can't imagine reading this book instead of hearing Noah's voice telling his story. Not surprisingly, he is a great speaker/reader and has terrific comic timing. But it also added so much to the story to hear him do all the voices of his family members and to speak in all the many different languages in the book. It's his memoir of growing up in South Africa under apartheid, which meant he was labeled "colored" since he had a black mother and a white father. It's funny and warm and heartbreaking and eye-opening—but I do highly recommend you listen to Noah tell his own story, even if, like me, you're not a fan of audiobooks.

The Dutch House (Ann Patchett): I love Patchett, so I couldn't wait to read this. It was very good but nowhere near my favorite of her books—but, as with Strout, a lesser Patchett book is still preferable to much of the dreck out there. It's the story of Maeve and Danny, whose mother runs off when they are young, and whose father then remarries disastrously (for them). The siblings are so close that it's unhealthy at times, but they've only had each other for so long that it's understandable. Everyone in our book group is a mother, so we spent much of our discussion time (this was pre-covid, so we were all gathered in a living room with snacks and wine like human beings! sigh) talking about the mother leaving her young children. She loved her children but was totally miserable (though not being abused in any way). She especially hated the eponymous huge, ornate house that her husband bought to surprise her, and she just couldn't figure out how to live that way. Does being miserable make it OK for a mom to just vanish one day without warning and never return? Most of us agreed that it most definitely does not. You stick it out for a few years, finding satisfaction elsewhere if you can, and then once your kids are launched, you do what you have to do. Anyhow, Patchett's writing is always fantastic, so this is certainly a worthwhile read even if it's no Bel Canto or Commonwealth.

Fleishman Is in Trouble (Taffy Brodesser-Akner): This is the first novel by journalist Brodesser-Akner, who is a terrific writer (her NYT profile of Tom Hanks is just beautiful). Once again, we have a mom who decides to drop off the face of the earth rather than figure out how to live with her husband and two kids—or not live with them, but at least explain why she's leaving. The book is told almost entirely from the husband's point of view. A large part of the book concerns his introduction to and delight with hook-up apps and all the many "dates" he goes on. He is like a kid in a candy shop, and while it's quite raunchy, some of the writing is laugh-out-loud funny. But then there's a weird shift, and the last part of the book is told from the point of view of the wife. One person in our book group loved this part and was even brought to tears by it, but I found it tedious. To me it read like what another member of the group described as a "lecture in an Intro to Feminism course." I also found that I didn't believe what we were suddenly being led to understand was closer to the truth about the two main characters. There were too many parts of the plot from early on that didn't fit in. So what started off as a fun, smart romp turned into one of those "close the book and wonder what just happened" situations. I don't know whether to recommend this or not.

Circe (Madeline Miller): Oh, did I love this book! Remember Circe from the Odyssey? She's the goddess/witch who lives on an island, and Odysseus ends up staying with her for several years. This book imagines an entire backstory for Circe—and takes it forward, all the way past Odysseus's departure. If you are a fan of Greek mythology, you'll love this, but even if you're not, it's a great story and the writing is luscious. After reading it, I immediately bought Miller's earlier book, The Song of Achilles, but haven't read it yet.

Evvie Drake Starts Over (Linda Holmes): I read this last summer while in Maine and watching baseball ... which couldn't have been more ideal since it takes place in Maine and is about a young widow who starts dating a former baseball player. It is a really enjoyable read—Holmes is a very engaging writer, and the characters felt very real to me. I suppose it's a "beach book" in that it's not about All the Problems of the World, but it was not just fluff, either. I definitely recommend this one if you're in the mood for something lighter.

This month our book group is going to discuss Such a Fun Age (Kiley Reid), and on my own I'm planning to read Sea Wife (Amity Gaige).

What about you—read anything good lately? Or do you have an opinion about any of these?

Comments

[Kelly]

The writing in Circe was beautiful - your term "luscious" perfectly describes it. Loved the story too. Also enjoyed Evvie Drake. I have Sea Wife on the hold list from the library.

You might want to try This Tender Land. It is a tale of four kids on the run from the Lincoln School, an boarding school for Indian children in Minnesota.

[mike]

Beach books are fine, because hey, it's summer :)

[Margaret]

Circe was one of my favorite reads from 2019. Oh, how I miss 2019. It was fascinating and gorgeously written. As you noted, the latest Patchett wasn't her best, but anything by her is better than most of the drivel that passes for best sellers. We keep talking about reading Born a Crime in Book Club; by now too many of the other members have read it. I don't do audio books either since my mind tends to wander. Our last read for BC was The Water Dancer. It was an excellent discussion book.

[Beth F]

I still haven't gotten to Circe! I'll try to bump it up. After reading all day for work, I'm grateful for audiobooks. I can't just sit and listen, though. I walk, garden, cook, do dishes, knit, make lace, etc. when listening. Now, I agree, if the recipe is complicated, I pause the book to read the next recipe direction, then turn it back it on when I getting to sauteing or stirring. My print reading has gone down but my audiobook listening has been blooming. I'm going to write about my June reads on Monday!

[Karen]

It's very likely the case that I'm just not used to listening to audiobooks and would get better at it over time... But the earbuds thing is a problem! I've tried every brand, and they just don't fit! I do have one kind (made by Panasonic) that I can use if I really have to, but they're not comfortable for a long period.