Synopsis: 18-year-old Grace is on her own, having left her native Trinidad for a new life in the US, but nannying for a wealthy family might not be the source of rescue she needs it to be. Review: Minding Ben‘s strength is in its depiction of the after-work lives of the Carribean women who take care of so many babies and toddlers in New York City. It’s weakness comes by hewing too closely to the Nanny Diaries dynamic of adorable kid with evil parents. I…
Synopsis: The anti-love story of an American marriage. Review: Freedom is a terribly generic name for a totally original novel. I’d prefer “Songs for Walter” or even “Mistakes Were Made.” I’m really not sure how that one slipped by. Anyway. Thoroughly engrossing read about people making each other miserable. It reminded me a lot of Revolutionary Road, a favorite of mine (despite the suckitatious movie). The psychological torture that the characters inflict on one another is exquisite and acute, but somehow hopelessly romantic, too. Franzen…
Synopsis: When her autistic son is accused of murder, a lawyer takes the law into her own hands, convinced of his innocence despite the rampant evidence against him. Review: I really don’t think that many parents of autistic children are going to be pleased with Saving Max, which preys on the common fear that autistic children are unmanageable and unable to love. Combine that with parental anxiety over watching your vulnerable little boy grow into a strong man, and you have the roots of the…
Synopsis: After her husband leaves her for another man, a model with three teenage boys moves back home to Texas where she runs across the champion bullrider she loved as a teen. Review: I’ve previously enjoyed Jane Porter’s books as being a cut above the usual chick lit/romance genre entrants, but She’s Gone Country didn’t rise to the occasion. While Porter gave Shey a juicy family situation–dead schizophrenic brother, depressed son, gay ex-husband–she never really came to life on the page for me. I think…
Synopsis: When the body of his first love is discovered 22 years after she failed to show up and elope to England, undercover detective Frank Mackey is sucked back into his dysfunctional and dangerous family. Review: Faithful Place is yet another perfect read from Tana French. As Frank navigates the crime scene, even after being ordered to stay away from the case, his grief, nostalgia, and brokenness threaten to consume him. Nobody does bittersweet regret like Tana French. My heart ached for all these poor…
Synopsis: The wearied mother to the heiress of Chalion attempts to flee her past insanity, only to find herself possessed by a god called The Bastard and sent on a perplexing mission of grave theological danger. Review: Paladin of Souls is the sequel to Lois McMaster Bujold’s Curse of Chalion, which I read a few years ago and greatly enjoyed. Ista is the dowager royina of Chalion, a title placing her in the top echelon of the land. She had a bad experience with one…
Synopsis: In the wake of tragedy, a middle-aged divorcée, her sister, and her two grown daughters retreat to the family home on remote, rustic Tuckernuck Island off the coast of Nantucket, where buried secrets and repressed longings burst to the surface. Review: The Island is a book about loss, grief, and longing, with 3 of the main characters haunted by the untimely death of a lover. The main character, Birdie, has survived a divorce after decades of marriage, and has just embarked on her first…
Synopsis: With Olav Audunsson facing the end of his lonely days, his children Eirik and Cecilia find themselves trapped in the repercussions of Olav’s as-yet unconfessed sins. Review: There was so much I loved in The Son Avenger, particularly Cecilia’s journey of wife- and motherhood with Eirik’s less-than-reputable childhood friend Jorund. She really came alive as a different kind of woman than the others I’ve seen in Undset’s work, with a rigidity that blossomed into self-awareness and even a kind of independence. She’s mirrored nicely…
Synopsis: Three Cambridge students working with the blind daughter of a famous novelist have their lives disrupted when one of them disappears. Review: In her other life, Emily Winslow is a well-respected crafter of puzzles, and that expertise shines through in the intricate plotting of The Whole World. Through the use of multiple points-of-view, Winslow creates a layered mystery where it’s nearly impossible to figure out what really happened–but when you learn the truth, it all makes perfect sense. I loved the Cambridge setting and…
Synopsis: The saga of a Welsh family haunted by submerged passions and unfulfilled desire. Review: I was hooked on The Wheel of Fortune from the first pages. It’s juicy, lush, psychologically complex, and keenly observed. The story opens with Robert, scion of the Godwin family, heir to Oxmoon, lusting after his second cousin Ginevra, on the night that she elopes with an Irish rake, Connor Kinsella. When, in pure tragic form, Robert is able to consummate his desire, a chain of events unfolds that scars…