Elizabeth@Silver's Reviews
Heartwrenching, fabulous, tissues-needed book
It’s the 1960s.
What became of girls who found themselves pregnant and with no support?
We meet Lorraine Delford, an only child, a girl who was going to be valedictorian of her senior class, a girl who wanted to be an astronaut, a girl who did not want to be the typical mother, teacher, or secretary.
All her dreams were slashed when her boyfriend told her “if you want to keep it, you’re on your own.”
THE GIRLS WE SENT AWAY has a main character that you will love from the minute you meet her.
You will cheer for her and for her dreams, but your heart will break when she has to deal with her pregnancy and a mother that has always been critical and unsupportive especially when she needed her the most.
Lorraine gets sent to a home for wayward girls not really knowing her fate.
Ms. Church has written another heartwarming, but heartbreaking book that you won’t want to put down.
Ms. Church’s writing is pull you in and makes you feel the emotions of each character as well as the sentiments and feelings of this time in the 1960s.
Don’t miss this well-researched, poignant heartwrenching, fabulous, tissues-needed book. 5/5
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own
Cathryn Conroy
Powerful and Profound! An Ingeniously Plotted Novel That Creatively Combines Fiction and Theology
Wow! This is a profound and powerful novel that is an extraordinary hybrid between fiction and theology that left me stunned (in a good way).
Deftly written by Richard Beard, this is the story of the biblical Lazarus—before, during, and after his death. The raising of Lazarus from the dead only appears in the Gospel of John where it is the seventh of Jesus's miracles, the first of which is turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana.
As Beard tells this tale, Jesus and Lazarus were born weeks apart in Bethlehem, escaped to Egypt with their families, and grew up together in Nazareth as best friends—inseparable friends. Then something happens that tears them apart and each goes his own way, Lazarus to Jerusalem and Bethany while Jesus at first remains in Nazareth and eventually begins his itinerant ministry. Lazarus lives in Bethany with his unmarried sisters, Martha and Mary. One day, just after they hear that Jesus has turned water into wine at a wedding reception, Lazarus gets sick. He brushes it off as nothing much. As Jesus performs each subsequent miracle, including walking on water and feeding the 5,000, Lazarus becomes sicker…and sicker. He eventually develops many illnesses, including scabies, dysentery, malaria, and smallpox. He stinks. Oh, does he smell of sickness and impending death! As his body disintegrates, so does his life because he cannot work or do anything without severe pain. Martha and Mary despair that Jesus, who is only a few miles away, doesn't come and heal their brother.
You probably know what happens next. Lazarus dies. Jesus does come to Bethany, but only after Lazarus has been dead for four days. And then Jesus performs his greatest miracle of all: raising Lazarus from the dead, which occurs one week and a day before he himself rises from the dead on Easter morning. Lazarus is a foreshadowing of Jesus's Resurrection.
But the novel doesn't end here. That's the middle. Beard richly imagines Lazarus's life after he was given the ultimate of second chances. Roman officials, who are threatened by Jesus's ministry, want Lazarus dead—and soon. But Lazarus manages to escape their wily plots and goes on to become one of the greatest disciples of Jesus. Some scholars think he is the mysterious and unnamed "Beloved Disciple" in the Gospel of John.
What makes the novel so special is that this fictionalized account of what Lazarus and his sisters saw, heard, discussed, and felt is interspersed with theological, historical, and biblical accounts of what was happening then. These are not set off with italics or spaced breaks; they are interspersed with the fiction. At first this was a bit disconcerting, but I quickly caught on and think this is the secret sauce that makes this novel so profound and powerful.
This is a deeply researched book. Dozens of theologians are quoted or mentioned from ancient times to modern day, including the Jewish historian Josephus and Khalil Gibran, as well as references to Lazarus by some of the world's literary giants, including Czech writer Karel ?apek, Greek writer Nikos Kazantakis, British authors Robert Graves and Thomas Hardy, Irish poet W. B. Yeats, and Americans Norman Mailer and Eugene O'Neill, among many others.
Another fun literary device is the chapter numbers. The chapters begin at No. 7 and countdown to zero when Lazarus dies. We are now in the middle of the book. Then the chapter numbers begin with zero when he is raised from the dead and continue escalating to No. 7 when the book ends.
This is an ingeniously plotted novel that tells the biblical story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead in a unique, creative, and compelling way.
Katherine Pond
Bonobos United
Having thought the caste system has been outlawed in India, it was surprising to find this tale set in current time. Still, the system is so very confusing, not the basis necessarily, but the strange differences in economic situations that can exist in the various levels--a Brahmin, the highest caste can grow up with no money, starving, dependent upon others, while a Dalit, an untouchable can be quite affluent.
Besides the caste system there are differences in the culture of Muslim Indians and Hindu Indians that are very significant. A Hindu widow for example cannot remarry, is excluded from all celebrations etc while a Muslim woman has great freedom as a widow.
Both of these conditions are significant in the story but of greater importance is the position of women in society. Although they are eligible for loans that men are not, their husbands can steal those funds or the monies the women earn from any small business they might set up with the loans.
The men are not to be punished for women and their funds are the possessions of the husbands. Wives can be sexually molested or beaten--if by their husbands there is no punishment and not a great deal of punishment of men not their husbands. Needless to say many women are not content living this way. And sometimes these women take matters into their own hands..
One such woman is Geeta, whose husband disappeared five years before the book begins. His body has never been found but the villagers assume Geeta killed him. In general, she is a loner and is friendless. She does have some leadership qualities and so she has been allowed into one of the loan groups which meets once a month to pay the loan man. It is this group of women who are the focus of the story. As with any group, especially of women, there is jealousy, gossip, cliquish behavior, and in time murder and blackmail.
At times, convoluted and dangerous, at others hilariously inept, these women struggle to have a voice and self-determination that the culture and traditions of thousands of years has denied them. In the end, old resentments and past degradations and cruelty are sorted. The village is changed in most cases for the better and the women become a wonderful group of bonobos!
Anthony Conty
I Really Wanted to Love It, But...
“Let Us Descend” by Jezmyn Ward requires a strong stomach, like most novels about slavery. The reader wants realism, then reads about rape and technical incest and wishes for less. The protagonist, Annis, takes us on a journey inspired by Dante’s Inferno when her Sire (father) cruelly sends her mother away.
“Magical Realism,” one of the suspicious genres assigned to this intense book by Goodreads, is my kryptonite. I get lost if I struggle to transition from the real to the fantastical. When Annis meets spirits, however, she thoroughly introduces us to them. Having a caring spiritual being with whom you could consult while going through the humiliating process of a slave market provides promise in an otherwise hopeless situation.
I watched a Jezmyn Ward interview on the Seth Meyers show in which he described this as an “easy read.” I needed several double-takes to comprehend everything. I simultaneously thought the action was a horrifying representation of slavery and that I did not know what was going on. I had a professor to help with “Inferno,” thankfully.
Still, you will enjoy Annis as she struggles to find creative ways to have freedom. Annis finds solutions despite her struggles, some of which are too late in the book to mention here. The author based this story on the journey process instead of a sequential plot or specific destination. Dante’s classic “Inferno” qualifies as the same quirky classification.
I read for the same reason I teach: I like “A-Ha” moments. This book had them, but you had to go a long time between them. It was a grueling experience. I wanted to like it more than I did, but my comprehension started to slip, which had a detrimental effect on my interest in the characters and the storyline.
Janine S
Captivating read
I was given this book in order to participate in a March 2024 on-line book discussion. And, I am so honored to have received it because this is a beautiful, captivating and well written book that deals with themes of love, purpose, and self-discovery set during the period of political upheaval in Iran as well as tackling the subject of nuclear proliferation. This is pretty heavy stuff, but the author handles it beautifully and, in the process, we are treated to an extraordinary story of one woman's coming of age in these turbulent times.
Spanning the years between 1977-2009, the book follows Amineh, a young Iranian woman who has come to Tehran to pursue a literature degree with the end goal of writing a book about her parents, meeting Farzah, an older man involved in the Iranian government's nuclear energy department and who leads a group of international men and women seeking to stop nuclear weapons production and expansion. Amineh and Farzah's journey as a couple is portrayed realistically. Their friends and family (Jalalod-Din (he was a wonderful character), Ava, Dariush, Patrik and Ariav) give the story great depth and enrich the story of these two characters. As the story is woven, I was drawn into the lives of these people, experiencing their "real" joys, pains, uneasy choices they had to make but believing in the hope of a better future.
I also especially loved the description of the food Amineh made - you could almost smell the aromas that must have wafted off the delicious food. Then there are the descriptions of the garden in Amineh's home, the forest around Patrik's home in Sweden, which for me at least were some additional enjoyable moments. But even the times when there were intense discussions about nuclear proliferation were captivating. You become engrossed in this story to the point you cannot put the book down. In the author's Postscript, she shares that when she worked in Washington D.C. during the Bush (43) administration, she could find no literature on Iran that painted a positive view of this country or its culture, writing "A single story cements our perception of the others." Hence this book can be seen as an attempt to create a different perception - which I believe she admirably achieved. This is a stellar book about love, hope, forgiveness, and healing. Highly recommend.
Anthony Conty
Best of the Year So Far
"Tom Lake" by Ann Patchett tells the story of a family that hears a long story about an actor's connection to the mother and creates nostalgia for the recent pandemic. We know what happened, but we go back and forth from the present day to the mother's acting debut, and we still have so many questions to consider.
Novels about someone telling a long story can be tricky because you must allow for details, show the listeners' impatience, and keep moving. Luckily, we have three siblings whose lives are changing rapidly. It would be best if you learned their quirks. The claustrophobia of early 2020 makes secrets come out and see the women's complicated relationship. You will keep reading because of this.
The daughters run together for the first half of the novel, so I thank the author for naming them in alphabetical order. Each has a separate set of farm goals. When one announces she does not want to have kids despite her impending marriage, conversations about the world's fate arise. It brings them all together as one.
Once the twists start coming, Patchett hooks you. All literary characters have a back story, and Nelson's Cherry Farm has them in spades. The book has a different goal than you anticipated. The segues from the past to 2020 happen seamlessly as the author writes in italics to indicate setting changes.
Someone asked me why I wrote these. I do it for the same reason I play fantasy football. I wanted to be a writer and became a teacher instead. A book like this makes you feel like you accomplished something. Learning about normal family relationships with a deeper meaning is good for the soul and brain. “Tom Lake” is that kind of novel. Please pick it up and enjoy it.
JoS
Broken stories bring to life a families generation
I had to think about this one for an entire day before I could sort my feelings out about it. It’s a complicated story and reading it felt a bit disconnected like it was two separate stories that were forced together without much transition. But I think I have decided that was Orange’s point, to bring together an indigenous families past and present in all its disjointed and harsh trauma, and to witness the loss of their history, cultural significance, their person.
Wandering Stars is the continuation of the characters in Oranges first book There, There. It is the story of the Star and Red Feather families of Oakland California and their family’s Cheyenne ancestors generational trauma starting with the Sandcreek massacre and Carlisle Indian industrial school leading up to the situational trauma and aftermath of the Oakland PowWow shooting in There, There. Orange’s brilliant writing makes you feel the depth of discomfort that this family is experiencing in their situational and generational trauma. His writing expertly showcases how past and present trauma can destroy and disconnect indigenous Americans from their History, Language and Culture. If you would like an in depth conversation about how colonialism has affected Indigenous Americans then pick this book for your 2024 bookclub selections. There are endless topics to ponder and discuss but It won’t be published until the end of February so please put this on your TBR list asap!
She Treads Softly
outstandinbreathtaking and heartbreaking depiction of a family
After Annie by Anna Quindlen is an outstanding breathtaking and heartbreaking depiction of a family dealing with the untimely death of a wife and mother over the span of a year. It is a very highly recommended, exceptional literary family drama and not to be missed. One of the best. I loved this book.
When Annie Brown, 37, dies suddenly, she leaves behind her husband Bill, who is a plumber, and four children Ali (Alexandra)13, Ant (Anthony) 11, Benjy (Benjamin) 8, and James 6. She also leaves behind her best friend since childhood, Annemarie. No one knows how they can move forward without Annie. Bill is overwhelmed and forfeits much of his parental responsibility to Ali, who tries to step up and care for everyone as best she can. Ali carries the weight and tries to keep her family going. Ant is angry and acting out, Benjy begins wetting the bed, and James thinks his mom will still be coming home. Annemarie, a recovering addict due to Annie's help, is struggling with staying clean and sober.
Quindlen is an extraordinary writer who can deftly handle the subject matter accurately and with compassion. Anyone who has had an untimely death in their family will understand the emotional struggles this family is going through while trying to keep living their day to day lives. It is a deeply moving, emotionally charged story. Even when it seems not a lot of action is going on in the plot, those who have experienced this will know moving on after a death is like climbing a mountain every day. It is exhausting and overwhelming.
The narrative is broken up into seasons, winter, spring, summer, and autumn, and explores the inner life and practicalities of how each character is handling the loss of a person who held them all together. The characters are portrayed as fully-realized, complex, and realistic individuals who are trying to continue living. Annie is present in their thoughts and her backstory is told through them. The story is primarily told through Bill, Annmarie, and Ali. They are all faced with imagining life without Annie when she was a central part of their lives.
Be prepared to cry as the characters learn to live life without someone they loved. Yes, it is very sad, but there is hope in their memories as well as their struggles. This is a very emotionally satisfying story. It is okay and good to grieve those you love. Thanks to Random House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
Russ in the Territory
Engaging and exquisitely written
This novel is a work of literary fiction about a time, not so long ago, when most women trapped in loveless, impossible marriages had essentially no rights, no agency, and no resources to enable escape. They remained, in essence, the property of a man. Nevada provided what was then the least onerous route to obtain a divorce, and much of the book covers the six-week period of residency required to file there.
During this time, Lois begins to sort out not only the details of the process, but also – and more importantly – what comes afterward. Who will she be when she is no longer a wife, what will she do with her new freedoms, how will she survive? She has never had a profession, has never been responsible for herself, has not ever been allowed to make decisions for herself.
She, and the other divorcees at the ranch, have much to learn, with little guidance. When Lois finally encounters a woman who, unlike herself, appears to actually know what she’s doing, appears to have agency, it transforms her. But this event also highlights some of the dangers of a world that has literally been beyond her ability to imagine. In this sense, the book is a kind of modern Bildungsroman, which also reminds us just how recently basic human rights were extended to women, and how fragile they remain. I loved this book, both because it matters, and because the exquisite prose is such a joy to read.
Anthony Conty
Good Old-Fashioned Western
"Chenneville" by Paulette Jiles defies gender stereotypes. It has the emotional sensibilities of your best female authors and the lonely Western adventures you expect from the top male writers. Our protagonist, Jean-Louis Chenneville, suffers a massive head wound and returns home to find his sister and family murdered. It reads like a deliberate Western after the costly Civil War.
Imagine an episode of "Law and Order" set up in 1866 with a vigilante interviewing people for information instead of a police officer. Then you have angry, determined John Chenneville. He talks to any helpful soul who has a chance of knowing anything about suspected serial murderer John Dodd. His military experience with Morse Code helped him a great deal.
A novel like this requires an intriguing character since we spent so much time with John. His service and subsequent head wound provides enough engaging stories to tell the reluctant helpers. Since the mission focuses on a singular event, the author needs various techniques to keep the reader interested. You feel isolated as John in the wilderness and long, lonely roads.
Once the outcome becomes more apparent, the tension mounts. How can you assess guilt without knowing the motive or the suspects' whereabouts? Police work was challenging then. The lawlessness leads to some surprising relationships on the road that make the setting more essential to the plot. It took the nation a long time to figure out who it was postwar.
A tall man in a Western-type story with a mystique around him? Could Hollywood do this? Liam Neeson? Vince Vaughn? Joe Manganiello? I am already anxious to see the screen adaptation. Paulette Jiles writes with a distinct patience and deliberate style that I hope Hollywood will respect. If normal award-winners are too much for you, here is some true action.