What Have I Read Recently??????????????????????

                                      The last book I wrote about on here was "Yes, Daddy," by Jonathan Parks-Ramage, which still earns my vote as Worst Book Of The Year.  Since my David works from home, I don't have as much time to write, meaning  I cannot write the kind of in-depth book reviews I have, in  the past.

                                                     So, what I have to decided to try out--and we will have to see how it goes, is examining what I have read since "Yes, Daddy"--a lot, actually, since my numbered list is already in the sixties, and the year is not quite halfway done.  So I  will post the book, and  say a bit about each.

                                                       Here goes--

                                                       

                                       "The Paris Wife," by Paula McLain--There was a time, years back, when  it seems  I saw everyone on the subway--women, especially--reading this. It was high time I  got to it, and while it was a satisfying experience,  I have to be honest, the road was rocky.  It  took  me some  time  to get into the author's rhythm of language, to figure out if  she was on her own, or trying to duplicate Hemingway, whom, I must confess I despise, as a writer!  Eventually I caught on, and her evocation of the glam life in Paris  of  this period,  the characters--like Gertrude and Alice--encountered were fascinating and detailed.  Rewarding?  Yes, but be prepared, the reader has to get a bit into  the book,  before fully appreciating it.

                                                                                

                               

                                            "Light Perpetual," by Francis Spufford--I absolutely loved his previous novel, "Golden Hill," so when  my book  supplier, Miriam, told  me  this was coming out, I was ready and waiting.  I was also delightfully surprised; second novels often experience Sophomore Slump, but this one  did not.  While some compared it to Kate Atkinson's "Life After Life," and I could see that, I found myself  recalling more David Mitchell's "Utopia Avenue."  Actually, if Spufford's name had not  been on the jacket,  I might have assumed Mitchell wrote it.  The premise made me apprehensive--in 1944 London, a group of children standing by a Woolworth's  store that gets bombed, are transported into other time  periods, and  their experiences are recounted.  Now, before stopping here, let me say the mystical is not emphasized; character and narration  take precedence here,  and  Spufford delivers a beautifully cohesive and meaningful read; one of the best I have had recently!  Could it be a contender?  We  shall see, at year's end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                             "Antiquities," by Cynthia Ozick--The trouble with Cynthia Ozick is that, because of her last name, I confuse her with Joyce Carol Oates, whose work I admire, but, let's face it, darlings, the woman has never met a word  she didn't like,  or never  used.  Ozick is sparse and structural, and this works to her advantage here, in what otherwise could have been a 500-700 page epic novel.  Yet, despite its scope, "Antiquities" manages to cover the memoir of Lloyd Wilkinson Petrie, a remaining trustee of the now shut down Temple Academy For Boys.  Having a famous archaeologist cousin, a Jewish friend name Ben-Zion Elefantin, gives  a chance for the novel to shed light on issues like anti-Semitism, and homosexuality.  There is almost a tender,  poetic texture to Ozick's prose, which makes even the heavier parts  less heavy going.  Some might call  this  a novella; she simply calls it "A Story."  Whatever, I recommend  it  to all, and, yes,  this could be another contender!

                                "Of Women And Salt," by Gabriela Garcia--A novel panoramic in scope, rather than length,  detailing an addict Jeanette, and her mother, Carmen, both Cuban immigrants, and a depiction of 19th Century Cuba, when cigar factories ruled, as did the patriarchy, and how the movement  of  immigration and  detention  camps  evolved, and continue today.  Sad, insightful, but with Jeanette and Carmon as strong female characters, it makes a convincing  plea for immigration status, and is well worth reading.

                                            

                                                  "Milk,  Blood,  Heat," by Dantiel W. Moniz--I confess,  I am not big on short story collections--never have been-but when one comes along that blows me  away, I let folks  know.  And this is one.   It may even be a  contender.  But be prepared; the material is dark  and disturbing; the title story shocked me as no other has since the  first time I read Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," back in high school.  Every story in here will haunt the reader in some way.  While I highly recommend it, be advised it is not for the faint of heart,  or one who is not in a good place,  emotionally.

                                       "City Of Gates," by Rebecca Sacks--A  debut novel that I hesitated on, due to its subject.  Not another novel about the  Israeli-Palestinian conflict!  But Sacks covers both sides with unflinching objectivity, never breathing a hint  of whom  she may or not advocate.  The reader inhabits each character's views and actions,  both tragic and horrible, and the full impact of warring factions is brought home.  I found this a compelling read, one I heard little about, but, as one who  enjoys reading novels about other cultures,  found this a welcome surprise.  I would keep an eye on Rebecca  Sacks, from now  on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          "When The Stars Go Dark," by Paula McLain--Back we are, with Paula, again.  Having some ambivalence about "The Paris Wife," I wondered, could she really handle the suspense genre?  Well, hons, I have to tell you, it surpasses her previous work,  and  I hope she writes more, along these lines.  Her  heroine, Anna Hart, a  one-time detective,  returns to her home  town of Mendocino, CA to investigate the mysteries of two missing girls--Cameron Curtis, in  the present, and Jenny Ford, a girl  who  went  missing while Hart was growing up there, having known the family.  She  also gets into  the real  life  case of Polly Klaas, a California  girl, abducted and murdered, back in 1993, and whose killer aided in the search party.  Creepy, but laced with an authenticity the book might not otherwise  have had.  The killer stumped me,  though it made sense, when revealed, and some  readers found the revelation too easy.  Not me.  I  could not stop reading this book, until  I reached the end.  When I did,  I wanted more.  I hope McLain gives it.  The procedural and  poetic aspects make for an entertaining  blend.  This may not be THE Summer read, but I insist it  is ONE of them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                 Let's start with this--FORGET IT!  If this turns out to be a contender or even a Most Notable book, I will rip up the paper, like Patti as Mama Rose, at the conclusion of Act  One of "GYPSY," when she sings "Everything's Coming Up Roses," which I will do, too.  The funny thing is, I cannot recall what compelled me to read this.  I thought it was a 'Times' review, but after  finishing this tome, I read Dwight Garner's review,  and one thing he said was that it was "long and draggy," which it is.  When a reader has to keep looking at the page number, to determine  how much farther to go, there is trouble.  This should have been  written  as two novels.  It goes back in time,  and between characters, a slacker  from Jersey, named Tiller, who lives in a  town called Dunbar,  which, as a raised Jerseyan,  I wondered if it  stood in  for Dunellen, a real  nowhere place.  In between recounting his titular year with  Pong, a middle-aged business man, Tiller gets  mixed up with a  woman, Vera, and her son Victor,  Jr., from a previous marriage.  Are you with me, so far?  Vera betrayed her father's business dealings, to the point where she and her son had to  go into  the Witness Protection Program, and I guess Tiller, as well.  Not to mention Victor,  Jr, becoming a cooking prodigy, Pong turning out to be impersonating some one else, a la  "Persona," and all  in  477 pages, which seems twice that.  Rae Lee is obviously trying to  become  the  new Murakami, but doesn't stand a chance, because he is starting on the  level of that author's worst, rather than best.  I have heard praise for Rae  Lee's novel, "Native Speaker," and while it could be wonderful, after this,  I cannot bring myself to read it.  Skip this one, darlings, at all cost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   So,  that  is  what I have been reading, recently, girls!   I promise the next post  will not be  as long; I will try!   Hope this helps, and Happy Reading everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      May all your reading experiences be enjoyable!  So many books,  so  little time!