All in Fiction
Despite it being a potentially difficult moment to read it, The Women in the Castle is an absolutely phenomenal book. From start to finish I was gripped by the plot and the characters. Shattuck tells a moving story with many twists and surprises. Although I would not describe her writing as poetic or elevated, it never got in the way of my enjoyment either.
I was fascinated by the idea that Hillary Clinton had paired up with Louise Penny, a famous detective story writer, to co-write State of Terror, her first fictional book. Turns out the two women had formed a real friendship years ago, so when a friend suggested they team up and that friend had worked with Bill Clinton and James Patterson on two thrillers they co-wrote, Hillary agreed. State of Terror is the gripping political thriller resulting from that partnership.
With full disclosure, I admit that because Elizabeth Strout and I shared the same college, major and year of graduation, I will forever be favorably disposed towards her books. Having shared that, I believe she has created another masterpiece in Oh William!
How could an author with a name like this be anything but wonderful? All kidding aside, King has written some fabulous novels: Writers & Lovers, Euphoria and The English Teacher are among her best. Five Tuesdays in Winter is her debut collection of short stories. As I’ve shared before, short story collections are not usually my first choice of what to read. But I am so glad that I pushed myself to read this collection.
When I saw that Ruth Ozeki had a new book out, I immediately requested it from the library and put it straight on the top of my ‘to read’ pile. Her earlier novel A Tale For The Time Being (Reviewed here) remains one of my favorite contemporary novels ever. Ozeki is a master storyteller and has outdone herself in The Book of Form and Emptiness.
In many ways, The Year of the Runaways is difficult to read. But despite its length, it is one of those books that sucks you in so completely that it is hard to re-emerge. Sahota has created such an intriguing plot with such vivid, true-to-life characters, that it feels more like watching a movie than reading.
I first heard about Jodi Picoult’s new book Wish You Were Here when I heard Picoult in an interview on NPR. She said she’d written the novel as a way to deal with the strangeness and solitude she felt during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. She didn’t expect it to be published, but viewed it as more of a personal coping exercise. When friends read the manuscript, however, they encouraged her to go public. And I, for one, am glad she did.
Had I been familiar with Honoree Fannone Jeffers and known that she is a celebrated poet, I might have anticipated what a gorgeous book I was about to read when I opened The Love Songs of W. E. B. du Bois. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect—because of its title. Was it a collection of love songs by W. E. B. du Bois? It is not. Love Songs is an epic, multi-generational novel in which du Bois’ influence looms large.
To borrow a phrase from my favorite chef/influencer Serena Wolf, this is the perfect “medium-trashy” read for those looking to get sucked into some small-town drama.
A perfect historical fiction escape following a young dancer destined to be a movie star and her small-town chaperone who is searching for details of her past in 1920’s New York City.
Anthony Doerr writes beautiful prose, and in Cloud Cuckoo Land he has perfected his craft. In the novel’s intricate structure Doerr develops three stories simultaneously, those of: Anna in 1439 Constantinople; Seymour and Zeno in 2020 Lakeport, Idaho; and Konstance on a spaceship sometime in the future.
Aptly titled, The Knockout Queen is indeed a knockout and an absolute must-read. In her two main characters, Bunny and Michael, Thorpe has created a relationship as unlikely and unusual as it is beautiful and compelling. Thorpe writes brilliantly, and I was so immersed in these two characters’ lives, I absolutely could not stop reading until I had finished the book.
I read Anxious People before the holidays and named it my favorite book of 2021 that I hadn’t yet reviewed. The only reason for that was timing, and I am thrilled to be reviewing and recommending it to you now.
I believe I picked up The Guest List after Reece Witherspoon chose it for her book club, which was a while ago. And although I’m not usually one for murder mysteries, Lucy Foley and Reece do not disappoint. Engaging and suspenseful as all top-notch mysteries are, Foley also writes well and develops characters I genuinely cared about.
When I picked up Into The Water, I was looking for fluff—something that would keep me engaged and turning pages without challenging me to think about much except what might happen next. Based on having read and loved Hawkins’ previous smash hit, The Girl On The Train, I figured this would probably fit the bill.
Paula Hawkins’ latest psychological thriller A Slow Fire Burning rises to the amazing, disturbing, yet wonderful heights of her breakthrough novel, The Girl on the Train. In A Slow Fire Burning, Hawkins has developed three memorable main characters, all women who are deeply troubled by the tragedies they’ve experienced in their lives.
For someone who alleges not to enjoy mysteries, I find myself recommending two more this month! Apples Never Fall is Liane Moriarty’s latest novel and perhaps her best. Moriarty tells the story of the Delaney family: Stan and Joy, a seemingly perfect couple who have been happily married for 50 years and their four adult children, all successfully launched into their own lives. Life is good for the Delaneys until Joy disappears one day, leaving no note. After two weeks, foul play is suspected and all signs point to Stan as the guilty party.
Sally Rooney faced a huge challenge in writing her next book after Normal People, the bestseller published in 2018 that won the British Book Award for Book of the Year and was made into a mini-series on Hulu in 2020. I think Beautiful World, Where Are You is even better than Normal People.
Mother Daughter Widow Wife is another of this year’s Pen/Faulkner finalists for the fiction award. The novel is a tightly crafted story about a young woman, Lizzie Epstein, who wins a prestigious fellowship to the Meadowlark Institute, a multi-disciplinary lab working on memory research. In short order, Lizzie finds herself the favorite fellow of Dr. Benjamin Strauss, the Institute’s director.
Emergency Contact is one of the first books I’ve read that successfully integrates texting into the narrative in a way that actually furthers the story and is believable, not gimmicky. I remember watching the first season of House of Cardsand feeling that finally someone had figured out how to integrate texting on tv. I felt a similar relief and excitement with this book.
