What a marvel this book is! Where the Crawdads Sing (#797) is Delia Owens' first novel, although not her first book. No, indeed. She is an award-winning nature writer, and it certainly shows in this book, with her lyrical observations of marsh life in North Carolina. But that's not necessarily even the main attraction here. She has introduced a unique character in Kya Clark, abused and abandoned and left to grow up on her own in the wild marsh country, as well as a compelling murder mystery.
Kya has learned the ways of the creatures of her environment, even though she has only spent a single, horrible day in the local town's school, tormented by those around her. She is far more comfortable with the ways of nature than with her fellow humans. Since she avoids people, naturally gossip has led to legends surrounding the "Marsh Girl". She is not totally without friends, though.
When the former star of the high school football team is found dead under mysterious circumstances, Kya is a handy scapegoat; she has been seen with Chase Andrews in the marshes and rumors link them together.
In the end, what really happened is as surprising as the rest of this wonderful novel. Don't deprive yourself of the pleasures contained within the pages of Where the Crawdads Sing.
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Friday, December 28, 2018
The Three Secret Cities
Matthew Reilly continues his popular Jack West, Jr. thriller series with The Three Secret Cities (#796). A mixture of myth, legend and interesting historical and geographical factoids, it delivers non-stop action. Okay, so you do have to suspend belief for some of the developments, but hey, that's part of the fun! Since this is a countdown to the potential ultimate disaster for mankind if Jack West and his crew can't stop things from happening on a universal scale, there are at least two more adventures in this series before we learn if he is successful.
This particular adventure involves finding three immortal weapons, and locating three ancient fabled cities, overcoming the obstacles they find there, and empowering the weapons associated with that city to use in a ritual on the Altar of the Cosmos, location also unknown.
There's a high body count here, and some of the victims are quite unexpected. Or is the evidence before Jack West, Jr. an illusion? We can start breathing again as we await the next exciting installment.
This particular adventure involves finding three immortal weapons, and locating three ancient fabled cities, overcoming the obstacles they find there, and empowering the weapons associated with that city to use in a ritual on the Altar of the Cosmos, location also unknown.
There's a high body count here, and some of the victims are quite unexpected. Or is the evidence before Jack West, Jr. an illusion? We can start breathing again as we await the next exciting installment.
Monday, December 24, 2018
Beartown
I must admit, I didn't love Fredrik Backman's Beartown (#795) as much as A Man Called Ove or Brit Marie Was Here. Its subject is grim, and the purposely ambiguous narrative jumps from plot point to plot point in this overlong novel. I kept saying mentally, "Okay, I get it. Let's move along here!"
It does help if you know something about hockey, but you really don't have to in terms of what is happening in this book. At some point Backman will hit you over the head with the point he is trying to hammer home. (You know, I never understand what is going on in a movie when there's a poker game, and we're shown what the players are holding. I don't know the significance of the cards, so I don't get the message. You won't have that problem here.)
A depressed and dying Swedish town pins all its hopes of economic revival on the success of its town-sponsored hockey team. That's basically all there is for the folks in Beartown. If you're not male, you can't play, and the culture says you can't possibly understand or appreciate it.
When the town produces a potential superstar in seventeen year old Kevin, all he has to do is win the national Final game with his team. But he messes it up big time, committing a crime instead. The only problem is that the town has so much invested financially and emotionally in the team that they blame the victim of the crime instead. It gets even uglier.
The end of the narrative jumps forward ten years. Do things get better for the sprawling cast of characters? Maybe - for some. We don't really know in the end.
It does help if you know something about hockey, but you really don't have to in terms of what is happening in this book. At some point Backman will hit you over the head with the point he is trying to hammer home. (You know, I never understand what is going on in a movie when there's a poker game, and we're shown what the players are holding. I don't know the significance of the cards, so I don't get the message. You won't have that problem here.)
A depressed and dying Swedish town pins all its hopes of economic revival on the success of its town-sponsored hockey team. That's basically all there is for the folks in Beartown. If you're not male, you can't play, and the culture says you can't possibly understand or appreciate it.
When the town produces a potential superstar in seventeen year old Kevin, all he has to do is win the national Final game with his team. But he messes it up big time, committing a crime instead. The only problem is that the town has so much invested financially and emotionally in the team that they blame the victim of the crime instead. It gets even uglier.
The end of the narrative jumps forward ten years. Do things get better for the sprawling cast of characters? Maybe - for some. We don't really know in the end.
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
On Desperate Ground
The subtitle of Hampton Sides' latest non-fiction book On Desperate Ground (#794) tells it all: The Marines at the Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle. I had read a book some time ago about the engagement at the Choisin Reservoir in what is now North Korea and was left wondering how any Americans managed to come out alive.
This book provides more background on the events leading up to America's involvement in Korea after World War II as well as the battle itself, but what makes this account so powerful is the human face Mr. Sides has put on it. Not only are the particulars of the campaign outlined here, but we know some of the men (and women) who were there as well, and their experiences in the brutal combat. In other words, Hampton Sides gives us a reason to care about the outcome here, and what happened to those soldiers afterwards.
I never knew until reading On Desperate Ground how close the United States came to World War III when the Chinese under Mao flooded North Korea with troops in the early fifties. You know if you read the news today how unsettled the matter still is in North Korea. This book provides insight into why the "Forgotten War" was so vital to American interests, and the price many Americans (and Koreans and Chinese) paid. It's a riveting read.
This book provides more background on the events leading up to America's involvement in Korea after World War II as well as the battle itself, but what makes this account so powerful is the human face Mr. Sides has put on it. Not only are the particulars of the campaign outlined here, but we know some of the men (and women) who were there as well, and their experiences in the brutal combat. In other words, Hampton Sides gives us a reason to care about the outcome here, and what happened to those soldiers afterwards.
I never knew until reading On Desperate Ground how close the United States came to World War III when the Chinese under Mao flooded North Korea with troops in the early fifties. You know if you read the news today how unsettled the matter still is in North Korea. This book provides insight into why the "Forgotten War" was so vital to American interests, and the price many Americans (and Koreans and Chinese) paid. It's a riveting read.
Monday, December 10, 2018
The Travelling Cat Chronicles
The Travelling Cat Chronicles (#793) by Hiro Arikawa has been an international best seller, but in its translation by Philip Gabriel, it has only just recently become available in the US. If it gets into the right hands, it's bound to be a best seller here, too.
It's the story of Nana, a stray cat adopted by Satoru, a single young Japanese man, and their travels around Japan as Satoru tries to find a new home for his beloved pet. He has three old friends in mind and the duo sets out in his silver van to visit them all. It's told from Nana's point of view, and is in turn wary, sarcastic, charming, funny, and if you've ever known a cat, true to the feline's personality.
But before you dismiss this as "Just another cat book...", it's really so much more. The true center of this tale is the strength of the bonds of love and affection, both between humans and their animal companions. It is so real, and so touching I think I will remember this book for a long time.
If you know someone who's an animal lover, The Travelling Cat Chronicles might be a perfect holiday gift for them. Just be sure to include a box of tissues with it!
It's the story of Nana, a stray cat adopted by Satoru, a single young Japanese man, and their travels around Japan as Satoru tries to find a new home for his beloved pet. He has three old friends in mind and the duo sets out in his silver van to visit them all. It's told from Nana's point of view, and is in turn wary, sarcastic, charming, funny, and if you've ever known a cat, true to the feline's personality.
But before you dismiss this as "Just another cat book...", it's really so much more. The true center of this tale is the strength of the bonds of love and affection, both between humans and their animal companions. It is so real, and so touching I think I will remember this book for a long time.
If you know someone who's an animal lover, The Travelling Cat Chronicles might be a perfect holiday gift for them. Just be sure to include a box of tissues with it!
Friday, December 7, 2018
Insurrecto
I heard author Gina Apostol interviewed on NPR recently about her new book, Insurrecto (#792). It's about an unsung Filipino heroine of the Philippine-American war at the beginning of the nineteenth century, so I was excited to find it at my local library.
I couldn't make enough sense out of a jumbled beginning to want to continue reading after ten pages, but I forced myself to read twenty, hoping it would get better. It didn't. I found it unreadable. Hope you have better luck with it than I did!
I couldn't make enough sense out of a jumbled beginning to want to continue reading after ten pages, but I forced myself to read twenty, hoping it would get better. It didn't. I found it unreadable. Hope you have better luck with it than I did!
Thursday, December 6, 2018
Christmas Revelation
I just finished one of my holiday pleasures - reading Anne Perry's annual Christmas novel. This year it's Christmas Revelation (#791).
If you read Ms. Perry's other Victorian mystery series, you'll be familiar with one of the main characters in this year's offering - Squeaky, a wizard with numbers, compelled by Sir Oliver Rathbone to give up his brothels and convert them to a clinic for former streetwalkers. The clinic staff has taken in Worm, a nine year old orphan who has settled into his first real home.
Shortly before Christmas, Worm sees a beautiful woman grabbed by a couple of rough-looking men and forced to accompany them. He follows, but he knows there's nothing he can do on his own. Squeaky knows there is something up with Worm when he returns to the clinic, and as one of the few adults Worm can trust, finds himself caught up in Worm's desire to rescue the damsel in distress.
The truth behind the abduction turns out to be ugly, so how is Squeaky to protect Worm from the evils of the world without betraying his trust at this special time of the year? It's a Christmas Revelation with as, usual, a message of redemption.
If you read Ms. Perry's other Victorian mystery series, you'll be familiar with one of the main characters in this year's offering - Squeaky, a wizard with numbers, compelled by Sir Oliver Rathbone to give up his brothels and convert them to a clinic for former streetwalkers. The clinic staff has taken in Worm, a nine year old orphan who has settled into his first real home.
Shortly before Christmas, Worm sees a beautiful woman grabbed by a couple of rough-looking men and forced to accompany them. He follows, but he knows there's nothing he can do on his own. Squeaky knows there is something up with Worm when he returns to the clinic, and as one of the few adults Worm can trust, finds himself caught up in Worm's desire to rescue the damsel in distress.
The truth behind the abduction turns out to be ugly, so how is Squeaky to protect Worm from the evils of the world without betraying his trust at this special time of the year? It's a Christmas Revelation with as, usual, a message of redemption.
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
Vox
Everyone was all atwitter the other day when Margaret Atwood announced she was writing a sequel to The Handmaid's Tale (See my post of 7/14/17.) As you can tell, I did not care for that book. I think Christina Dalcher's dystopian novel Vox (#790) is far superior.
In an America in the not-too-distant future, a theocratic government has taken control and effectively silenced women by limiting them to one hundred words a day. Beyond that threshold, the wrist counter that all females (even infant girls) must wear will administer a painful shock which will grow in intensity with each added word.
In this male-dominated society, women's place is in the home without access to reading materials, cell phones or even snail mail without their husband's express permission. Dr. Jean McClellan, one of the world's foremost authorities on neurolinguistics has been sidelined at home for the past year since government edicts denying women jobs went into effect. That is, until the day the president's older brother and chief advisor, suffers a brain injury in a skiing accident. Her ground-breaking work in aphasia is suddenly in demand by the White House. Yet despite being freed from the onerous counter on her wrist, nothing about the lab or the team recruited with her to do the work seems quite right...
Vox morphs seamlessly from dystopian female manifesto to high-tech chilling thriller. Jean's work is pivotal to a ruthless and devastating power grab. Can Jean, who never even bothered to find the time to vote, seize the slim chance to avert catastrophic events? Can she find the courage to kill if necessary?
The reason I liked this book so much is that I felt it was plausible, in a way that The Handmaid's Tale with its mythological memes was not. It was frightening enough to keep me awake at night, thinking how easily it could happen here.
In an America in the not-too-distant future, a theocratic government has taken control and effectively silenced women by limiting them to one hundred words a day. Beyond that threshold, the wrist counter that all females (even infant girls) must wear will administer a painful shock which will grow in intensity with each added word.
In this male-dominated society, women's place is in the home without access to reading materials, cell phones or even snail mail without their husband's express permission. Dr. Jean McClellan, one of the world's foremost authorities on neurolinguistics has been sidelined at home for the past year since government edicts denying women jobs went into effect. That is, until the day the president's older brother and chief advisor, suffers a brain injury in a skiing accident. Her ground-breaking work in aphasia is suddenly in demand by the White House. Yet despite being freed from the onerous counter on her wrist, nothing about the lab or the team recruited with her to do the work seems quite right...
Vox morphs seamlessly from dystopian female manifesto to high-tech chilling thriller. Jean's work is pivotal to a ruthless and devastating power grab. Can Jean, who never even bothered to find the time to vote, seize the slim chance to avert catastrophic events? Can she find the courage to kill if necessary?
The reason I liked this book so much is that I felt it was plausible, in a way that The Handmaid's Tale with its mythological memes was not. It was frightening enough to keep me awake at night, thinking how easily it could happen here.
The Christmas Train
Finally, a Christmas novel even my husband is enjoying! It took David Baldacci's novel The Christmas Train (#789) which has been around for awhile to do it. It's my book club's December selection, when we try to find something upbeat and uplifting to read (which isn't easy these days!). Since it still took me weeks of waiting to get my hands on this sixteen year old novel, my husband was intrigued.
The action in the book takes place aboard two AMTRAK trains, The Capitol Limited from Washington, D.C. to Chicago, and on the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles. Tom Langdon is a former Middle East correspondent, who for reasons explained in the book, must travel on from Europe to Los Angeles by train in time for Christmas. Naturally, he's impatient to get where he's going, but along the way, the people he meets and the events on the train convince him that the journey itself will make a good subject for a story, and help him complete his dying father's wish. He might as well do that, since he doesn't have anything else to tie him down. As he watches the other passengers, he can't help but feel some regrets for what might have been in a season so important for family and friends.
But the trip is interrupted by a crime spree aboard, and Mother Nature has a way of throwing a spanner in the works of the best laid plans. It all makes for a very entertaining and suspenseful holiday read. It you are a fan of holiday fare (which I most definitely am!) and haven't read The Christmas Train yet, put it on your Christmas list!
By the way, since by the time I finished reading this book, I had a real yen to take this trip myself by rail, I checked. AMTRAK does still run both The Capitol Limited and The Southwest Chief, so you can follow in Tom Langdon's footsteps, if you're so inclined. I might suggest you not try it in winter!
The action in the book takes place aboard two AMTRAK trains, The Capitol Limited from Washington, D.C. to Chicago, and on the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles. Tom Langdon is a former Middle East correspondent, who for reasons explained in the book, must travel on from Europe to Los Angeles by train in time for Christmas. Naturally, he's impatient to get where he's going, but along the way, the people he meets and the events on the train convince him that the journey itself will make a good subject for a story, and help him complete his dying father's wish. He might as well do that, since he doesn't have anything else to tie him down. As he watches the other passengers, he can't help but feel some regrets for what might have been in a season so important for family and friends.
But the trip is interrupted by a crime spree aboard, and Mother Nature has a way of throwing a spanner in the works of the best laid plans. It all makes for a very entertaining and suspenseful holiday read. It you are a fan of holiday fare (which I most definitely am!) and haven't read The Christmas Train yet, put it on your Christmas list!
By the way, since by the time I finished reading this book, I had a real yen to take this trip myself by rail, I checked. AMTRAK does still run both The Capitol Limited and The Southwest Chief, so you can follow in Tom Langdon's footsteps, if you're so inclined. I might suggest you not try it in winter!
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