Conclave - Review

Conclave  💖💖💖💖💕

by Robert Harris, narrated by Roy McMillan

Published September 22 2016 by Random House Audio

Finished June 15 2017

In my twenties I read every Andrew Greeley novel I could lay my hands on; and now listening to Conclave reminded me a lot of Greeley since he wrote so prolifically about Cardinals, Popes, celibacy, politics, etc.   Men of God, be they priests, Monsignors, Cardinals, or the Pope himself are, after all, men and by nature, not without sin.  In Conclave, as the name implies, 118 Cardinals have gathered to elect a new Pope.  One by one, their sins are disclosed  and the contender list shrinks.  Can anyone be found who is pure, worthy, capable, and qualified for the calling?  

The dear departed Pope sounded as if modeled after our current liberal-leaner, Frances, but probably more of a schemer--who knows.   It seemed as if this Conclave was taking place somewhere in the not too distant future.  Harris' view of the future might not be as we would imagine.  Or maybe so.  I figured out the new Pope's identity almost immediately, but that was about it.   The ending was just great--it made me whoop out loud.  I highly recommend this,  whether you're Catholic or not  (I'm  not and I still loved it).  

The Stars Are Fire - Review

The Stars Are Fire  🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟  4.75 stars

by Anita Shreve

Published April 18 2017 by Knows Publishing Group

Read June 13 2017

Man, I didn't realize how much I have missed Anita Shreve until I started this book one morning and finished it that night.  It is that good. I enjoyed Grace's story tremendously. 

Grace is a thoughtful young woman feeling confused and trapped in what I would call an odd marriage, when the Maine coast is set ablaze one particularly dry autumn.  Wildfires wreak devastation for miles.  Everyone she knows is affected by the fires, by the huge losses, and by the kindness of strangers.  This is how Grace survives and comes into her own.  Her husband is missing and it gives her time to consider a different kind of future for herself and her children.  

Wonderful female characters make up most  of the cast -- women you just want to cheer on or give them a hug.  I was just a little disappointed by the Epilogue, but I definitely do recommend. 

The Women in the Castle - Review

The Women in the Castle   🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
by Jessica Shattuck
Published March 28 2017 by William Morrow
Read June 11 2017

I have read so many excellent stories of World War II, and after a while they seem to blend into one another with just a few of them remaining especially memorable.  Also just a few have brought real tears to my eyes as I don't easily cry over books.   This was one, and I already know it is going to be a story I remember and think back on for a long time to come.  The writing is so gorgeous and wrought with emotion, and the characters are so very real and sympathetic.

Marianne is the niece-in-law of a German countess, living in a castle in the woods of Bavaria in 1938, when her husband and best friend from childhood, both men in the German Resistance, fail in an attempt to assassinate Hitler and are themselves killed.  Marianne keeps her promise to her friend to find his wife Benita and son afterwards and keep them safe once the war is over.  Not only does she find them, but another widow named Ania and her children also come to live in the castle.  Ania is quiet and secretive but turns out to be a good housemate, and the three women form a type of life taking care of each other.

Marianne is one with a good heart, and good intentions that will end up going wrong.  The story takes many turns, some quite sad, some just heartbreaking.  Once Ania's true past is revealed about three-fourths into the book, I became glued to the pages.   And from there it just got better and better.  Very powerful and impactful, it delves into how the people who remained in Germany after the war were affected.  Those who were displaced, left with nothing, and those who cared enough to help their fellow citizens.  I also hadn't read many books on the German Resistance, so found that fascinating and relevant.   

I won an ARC copy from LibraryThings that never arrived so then was grateful to obtain a finished copy direct from the publisher.  

If the Creek Don't Rise - Review

If the Creek Don't Rise  🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
by Leah Weiss
Expected publication August 8 2017 by Sourcebooks Landmark

Finished 6.3.2017

I just can't resist sharing some of my favorite passages, minus quotation marks since they are from a pre-publication copy I obtained from the publisher via NetGalley.  

I don't smile. No sir. Life's too shitty. For a old woman, it's more shit than I can shovel. I can't remember if I ever had a choice but to put one foot in front of the other and walk the line on a rocky road to nowhere.

The first thing that struck me about this debut, aside from writing that is an absolute delight, was that this Appalachian tale tells mostly of the resident women folk and the smattering of simply good  people who live in Baines Creek, a remote mountain community.  It seems most stories that are set in Appalachia have only mean, nasty, law-breaking men as the main characters.  Here Sadie stands out among the crowd of narrators, beaten beyond recognition and redemption; beaten down but stronger and wiser for it, as was her grandmother  before  her.  These women aren't perfect by any means, but the mood of the story is such that we forgive them and understand.  Even the three darkest characters have their backgrounds revealed so that we understand them too.  Don't like them, but understand them, to an extent.

It is 1970 on the mountain, and the entire gamut of emotions is felt both there and in your heart as you read about this small town.  

Sometimes I feel this old mountain breathing weary. The high thin air gets sucked deep into her lungs, all the way back to the start of time.  I know her secrets and sins. This high place is hard on folks who give in or give up.  For those who stay, Baines Creek is enough.

It really was enough for me these past few days to take a short trip there and spend time getting to know everyone.  A real treat.

Watch Me Disappear - Review

Watch Me Disappear   🌟🌟🌟🌟
by Janelle Brown
Publication date July 11 2017 by Spiegel & Grau

Finished 5/25/2017

I fell in love with this book during the Prologue when the family of three visits a preserve for monarch butterflies during the start of the monarch migration to the eucalyptus  trees of Northern California.  I knew the family was one that would grab my interest and hold it. This was a lovely family moment, but one of their last because the mother is soon missing and presumed dead after a solo hiking trip from which she never returned. 

Then it is a year later and the father Jonathan and daughter Olive are still in a tailspin over the death, and barely coping.  When Olive thinks she is having visions of her mother, Billie, Olive thinks her mom is trying to tell her that she is not really dead and in fact is in need of rescue.  Jonathan, a writer working on a memoir of grief over the loss of Billie, discovers some incongruities of his own and begins to wonder the same thing.  Only he really needs Billie's  life insurance policy to pay out  so, what to do?  He decides to do what's  best for Olive, but there are many twists in the story to come, many secrets that Billie held close.

This is one of those books where you won't want to read ahead because there are so many surprises.  The last sentence -- well, just wait!

I was happy to have been an ebook copy from the publisher through NetGalley, and an ARC from LibraryThings.  

All the Rivers - Review

All the Rivers   🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Dorit  Rabinyan
Published April 25 2017 by Random House

Finished 8 May 2017

An Israeli woman and a man from Palestine meet at a cafe in New York, and a relationship is born.  There are constant reminders and stories regaled about "home" to instill the picture that, had these two met in their homeland, their reactions to each other would have been very different.  Here in New York, the commonalities with which they can identify come out -- they are in NYC, post 9/11, on temporary visas, treated as foreigners, and both are dark olive skinned and looked at with suspicion.  They have no family nearby to warn them off or to pass judgment.  There is no language barrier since both speak English.  Their differences are minimalized.  A very intriguing way to start out.

But from there, even as their love grows, their differences become obvious, mainly whenever in the presence of their family members or those who know the families.  The language differences, and certainly the politics of their homelands. The viewpoint is from the perspective of Liati, the Israeli; so it is she that we get to know best, it is her joys, opinions, and worries that are expressed.  Perhaps Hilmi was sympathetic because I saw him through her eyes -- quick witted, even tempered, talented, and very  likeable. 

Perhaps also the author is conflicted over a proper resolution to Israel's  problems; I know I only get more deflated whenever I  read about it. There is one intense argument in particular played out between Liati and Hilmi's brother over the fate of a divided Israel that ends in a stalemate.  It's so revealing.  So is the fact that this book has been banned from Israeli schools.

 

I think because some reviews compared this story to Romeo & Juliet, I felt a nervous tension throughout the story, wondering about the ending.  I grew very worried for their fates. I cared!  Truly a remarkable story.

I am grateful that the publisher asked me to read and review this very special book, which most likely otherwise would have escaped my notice.

The Perfect Stranger - Review

The Perfect Stranger  🌟🌟🌟🌟
by Megan Miranda
Publish 16 May 2017 by Simon Schuster

Finished 2 May 2017

The author has given us something even better than her debut, more thrills and mysteries, and NOT written in reverse, thank you very much.  The lead characters of Leah and Emma, both hiding  secrets from their pasts, are broken young women still learning how to make it in a world that can be cruel and suspicious.  They run off from Boston to small-town Pennsylvania to try to start over -- Leah, a former journalist now turned school teacher, and Emma... well, we don't know much about Emma and neither does Leah, just what Emma wants her to believe.  Around the time that a young woman gets attacked in this new locale, Emma and her boyfriend both disappear; and Leah and the police try to piece things together with very little to go on.  So little, in fact, that one wonders if Emma is real or just a creation of Leah's troubled psyche.  

With stalkers lurking in the woods, a dead body, noises beneath the house, and the intelligent musing about it all by Leah, I was easily pulled into this story.  I did feel always one step ahead of the action towards the end, but maybe that was intentional as Leah and I together figured out just how things were.   It usually bothers me when I can halfway solve the mysteries, but here, not at all. 

An entertaining read for which I thank NetGalley and Simon Schuster.