Synopsis: After the sudden death of her husband, a young widow begins to hear his voice at the same time she experiences a sort of amnesia about their last months. Review: Boy, I was really not expecting Talking to the Dead to be such a page-turner! I thought it was going to be an Anne Tyler-esque meditation on grief, loss, and moving on, and since I feared it might be a little dull, it languished on my TBR stack. The book actually has a solid…
Synopsis: When David learns that he has a daughter from an affair, and that she needs a bone marrow transplant from his son, he confesses all to his wife and tries to put his marriage back together. Review: I really did not care for A Morning Like This. I felt like David expected cheap grace just because the child from his affair had cancer, and didn’t think he needed to do any real work of repentance. He was just awful to Abby, not allowing her…
Synopsis: A tight-knit group of 4 couples must deal with the sudden and suspicious deaths of two of their own. Review: The Castaways put me off at first because it reminded me of The Big Chill, a movie I’ve never liked. I’ve never really been able to put my finger on why, except I know it has something to do with Glenn Close’s smug smile throughout. Perhaps it was because although they were ostensibly reuniting because of a death, they were so solipsistic in their…
Synopsis: Dancing hairdresser Susan loves disco and dreams of opening a Disco Hall of Fame, but secrets from her Studio 54 past may ruin everything. Review: I’m totally the wrong demographic for “boomer lit,” and I never really connected with the characters in You Make Me Feel Like Dancing. I felt like the Christian aspect didn’t go very deep, with much of the God-talk feeling like Oprah-theology, not orthodox Christianity. It just was not for me.
Synopsis: On the eve of her wedding, Beverly calls things off, in turmoil over the marriage troubles her sisters have been going through. Review: Sisters and Husbands is a good soapy read, with lots of drama and romance, though not so much that it goes over the top. Connie Briscoe’s characters are dealing with very real issues, and she doesn’t shy away from painting them in an unflattering light. I tend to like my chick lit either more satirical or way further out there (a…
Synopsis: Upon waking up married after a whirlwind night in Vegas, Peggy discovers that her uptight WASP “husband” might be the answer to her prayers–if only they can put up with each other for just one year. Review: The setup of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP couldn’t be more contrived. You’ve got a fake marriage, an aging dowager with capricious will-rewriting tendencies, and an odd couple that are so wrong for each other that they’re meant to be. The story unfolds along a…
Synopsis: Jane Austen manners + Bronte sisters gothica + magic = too much pastiche and not enough depth. Review: I loved the concept of The Magicians and Mrs. Quent, but I just could not remain interested in this book. The writing was lazy, oscillating between high-minded prose awkwardly imitating Austen or George Eliot, and sloppy grammar and anachronisms that brought the whole thing crashing down. Story-wise, I couldn’t focus on tracking the development of the mythology and presentation of the core story elements for the…
Synopsis: A married couple starts sending love emails to a popular public radio personality, leading to tragicomic results. Review: In Laura Rider’s Masterpiece, Oprah-blessed Jane Hamilton’s latest protagonist is a woman who dreams of being Jane Hamilton. Laura Rider is the owner of a midwestern garden center who’s been nurturing the fantasy of becoming a writer for ages. A chance meeting with new neighbor Jenna Faroli, the host of a “Fresh Air”-type show on public radio, gives Laura the impetus to take her dreams more…
Synopsis: After the suicide of his troubled daughter, a British journalist heads out to recuperate in Mexico and flee the ghosts that still linger even after he was acquitted of the murder of his wife. Review: Everything You Know is a much better book than its title would indicate. Author Zoe Heller is well-known for Notes on a Scandal, which became a great movie with Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. Everything You Know lacks that book’s tawdrily catchy premise, but goes much deeper into its…
Synopsis: A collection of short stories featuring Indian American protagonists. Review: Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel The Namesake was one of my favorite books I read the year I was pregnant with Superfast Toddler, and I was so happy to get Unaccustomed Earth for Christmas this year. What I love about Lahiri’s stories is that I never feel shortchanged by them. No matter how good a short story is, for the most part I always wish I were reading a novel instead. Short stories are too brief,…