The Funeral Cryer is an interesting study of uneducated people living in villages in rural China where the old ways remain amid modern technology such as mobile phones.
I am appreciative of BookBrowse and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this story about people who lead lives of quiet desperation and lack of many basic needs in a patriarchy where ‘the husband’ reigns supreme, even if lazy, rude and dismissive.
When I lived in Taipei I learned about hired mourners for funerals. The wealthier the decedent, the greater the number of paid mourners during the funeral procession, crying and playing music. Until I read The Funeral Cryer, however, I was not aware the job was considered bad luck or that the job could be so profitable.
I rated the book ‘average’ because the cadence is extremely slow and I found myself skimming pages, even though the story is interesting.

The Adversary by Michael Crummy is not an easy read. The grim, dark, brutal story takes place in perhaps early 19th Century Mockbeggar, with the primary business being salted cod fisheries, on the coast of Newfoundland. The book follows the hatred and competition for control of the fisheries and related mercantile businesses between two siblings: Abe Strapp and the Widow. The author employs the unique language of the settlers and populates Mockbeggar and nearby Nonsuch with the Beadle, Matterface, Old Soot, the Duke of Limbs, Heater, and the Jerseyman. Despite the presence of the Church of England and a society of Quakers, the people are corrupt, soulless, conniving and mean-spirited. Because I love historical fiction and an author that uses words artfully in telling a tale, I am giving this book four stars. But, there is little positivity in The Adversary. Plague, amputations, scourging, retribution, piracy, graft, death, death and more death. Certainly not an uplifting book for the holiday season.

Daughters of Shandong is a must read for fans of Wild Swans, Peach Blossom Spring, and books by Lisa See and Amy Tan. This story celebrates the strength & resiliency of women who were 'less than' because of having been born female. Even today, sons are preferred in China & Taiwan.

Having been privileged to live in Taiwan & Hong Kong and spoken to survivors of WWII and the Civil War between the communists and Nationalists, these stories are critical to our understanding of the past as well as the current political challenges facing ROC from PRC. I moved to Taipei in 1988, just after Chiang Ching Kuo died and martial law was lifted. Filial piety was still expected. Since that time women in Taiwan have triumphed in society and government. Loved this book!

This book about retiring women assassins being stalked is delightful. It is refreshing to read about dynamic women of a certain age that remain clever, agile, funny, cunning, strategic, and collaborative. Huzzah! To the moral assassins ridding the world of evil doers. Love the premise of the story and the well written execution (pun intended)

The atmospheric descriptions of places and people provided a beautiful setting for The Witches at the End of the World set in rural Norway. I've been entranced by witches since I first met The Mayfair Witches By Anne Rice decades ago. So, my expectations were high. The two sisters at the center of the book, Minna and Kaija, didn't cause me to want to know them better. There also could have been more insight into why the villagers believed witchcraft was the cause of their tragedy, their suspicions of strangers -particularly when one of the critical moments felt so contrived. The dots didn't always connect for me. I did love Tante Tilde.

The September House started out strong with Margaret & Hal finding their dream house, a stately Victorian that had been on the market for ages. Margaret loves the house despite the strange happenings that tend to peak during the month of September. Of course the perfect house is haunted with a collection of ghosts. And the basement is a mysterious place that is kept off limits.

As the story develops it is evident that what is first presented as an idyllic marriage is anything but.
It is when Katherine, the couple's estranged daughter come to visit, that the story becomes predictable.
Nonetheless, the family saga rings true. Perhaps my own life experience explains why I found the final third of the book predictable.
Ultimately, September House is a horror story that many families experience everyday behind closed doors.

I read The Long Ago in one day. I waffled between rating the book 'good' or 'very good' and decided that while the story has some predictability and a few slow parts, overall, I loved the themes of loyalty, ties that bind, that family isn't necessarily biology, and the role of fate.

Perhaps The Long Ago resonated with me so much because the story takes place during the earliest days of the war ( AKA 'conflict') in Vietnam, when I was a child. It fueled memories of war correspondents on the Six O'clock news. Ray Lansdale joined the Army to escape from his dysfunctional childhood in rural Montana. His sister Barbara ran away as well. During a leave from the Army, Ray embarks on a search for his sister the old fashioned way….paper trails, interviews with people, missing persons posters, police assistance, like gum shoes before cellphones and the Internet.

The Long Ago is a mixture of intrigue, family dynamics, romance, and just a little bit of Mickey Mouse. Now, I want to read some of Michael McGarrity's earlier works.

The Last Russian Doll is one of the most compelling books of historical fiction that I've read in years. The themes feel nearly as sweeping as the best of Russian literature encompassing forbidden love, romance, world war, civil war, treachery, mystery, political upheaval, hope, despair, beauty, bleakness, loss, miscommunication, custom created porcelain dolls, Gulags, torture, redemption, fairy tales, survival, and the search for meaning in life. Mix War & Peace with Crime & Punishment and toss in a bit of Anna Karenina with a dash of Pushkin, Stalin, Chekhov and a pinch of Solzhenitsyn. I could not stop reading. It is one of those stories I did not want to end. The story alternates among perspectives/ voices as well as three different time periods: 1917/1918; 1945/1946; 1991.

From the first lines I was mesmerized. I love historical fiction, Savannah, the early 19th Century, tales of shipwrecks and miracles of survival, the alternating time frames, triumph over tragedy and loss. This story has it all. And Ms. Callahan tells it beautifully.

To discover that the Pulaski was a real steamship that sank and that some of the characters are loosely based on real people made it all the more intriguing. Now, I’m starting to research the real story based upon first person accounts. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time.

Peace Blossom Spring is a beautifully written story about family ties, the effects of world, civil war when it is impossible to know who can be trusted, a mother's strength and determination, the value of stories that resonate throughout a lifetime, resilience, memories, happiness in small things, and the immigrant experience in America.

So much of this saga feels personal. I had the good fortune to spend two years in Taiwan followed by three years in Hong Kong and had conversations with people who lived through much of what Renshu and Meilin experienced in Peach Blossom Spring. The fears of government retaliation against family if one says the wrong thing. The identity crisis of what it means to be Chinese, how foreign students visiting China were treated as foreign dogs, how the Taiwan people never truly rest while PRC continues the threat of reunification…a nightmare of more than 70 years.

I love the stories from the precious scroll that Meilin tells Renshu through their journey.

And this quote makes my heart sing:
"Within every misfortune there is a blessing and within every blessing, the seeds of misfortune. And so it goes, until the end of time."
I usually pass along books to share with others. But this one I will keep.

Housebreaking is the story of Adela 'Del' who has inherited the dilapidated family home after the death of her father. She returns to her hometown and makes a deal with her uncle, which requires her to dismantle the house. To me this is the story of fractured families, loneliness, determination and ultimately the triumph of the human spirit. The book also illustrates why so many young people leave the small towns today because there are no jobs, little opportunity, the need to please family and too often 'settling' rather than taking a chance in the unknown.

Once I started reading The Personal Librarian, I couldn't put it down and finished it the same day. What a truly remarkable story about Belle Da Costa Greene who became the personal librarian and curator of J. P. Morgan's unequaled collection of illustrated medieval manuscripts, incunabula ( books printed before 1500) and rare paintings.

Belle's father, a trailblazer himself, introduced Belle to at an early age. At one time she was one of the most successful business women in America, an outsider in numerous ways invited to and attending engagements with the New York elite of the gilded age. Yet, I'd never heard of her until reading this novel. This is a woman I would have loved to know.

This beautiful novel provides some insights into the Franco regime post WWII, about which I had very little awareness. My familiarity with Franco was essentially limited to the fact he was a dictator and that SNL repeatedly reported that ‘Francisco Franco is still dead’. This book used the repression of the Spanish people as the backdrop to a sweet teen love story. Beautifully written and engaging.

Armand & Reine-Marie find murder, intrigue, heartache and betrayal while in Paris awaiting the birth of Annie’s & Jean -Guy’s second child. While I missed the eclectic residents of Three Pines, this book did not disappoint. The reader is gifted with insights into the Chief Inspector’ past, including the fraught relationship with his son Daniel. There are convoluted plot developments that seem forced or improbable. However, these are easily overlooked when compared to the coziness and familiarity of spending a few delicious hours with my favorite Québécois.

Piranesi is a fascinating story in an alternative universe setting that was at times challenging for me to plow through. This genre is quite different from my usual preferences. I was intrigued enough to keep reading while questioning why I continued. I was caught up in the labyrinth. Piranesi is a difficult book to describe. I wanted answers. But, the journey was not easy. The book is thought provoking. It caused me to consider the lengths some academics would go to prove a hypothesis. It caused me to consider the effects of environment on mental health. I had to consider whether I was reading someone's fantasy, delusion, dream or incomprehensible reality with uncertain time, place, historical context, or alternate universe. I'm still unsure.

I really enjoyed this book. It had some fascinating twists & turns. This is an interesting story of the lengths a woman will go to in order to escape from an abusive relationship.

Ruthie Fear is a survivor, which makes her a heroine of sorts in the beautifully written, albeit depressing novel of a young girl growing to womanhood in the poverty stricken, desperate environment of the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana. The writing style is luscious. I wanted to envelope Ruthie in my arms & rescue her. But, at times I struggled with the depths of depression the story caused me to feel. And I just couldn't embrace the 'headless creature' specter.

The Stone Girl intrigued me from the first page. It is the story of abuse, misogyny, the cruelties of humans, the wide spread influence of the 1 behind closed doors amid exclusive clubs, schools & financial institutions. It is also a tale of survival, fortitude, friendship, family, resilience, generosity, determination and the fact that decisions often fall within those gray areas where there is no true delineation of black & white or right & wrong. This story truly resonated with me.

From the first paragraphs I was drawn into this beautiful tribute to the brave, dedicated, inspiring aviatrix that remained unsung heroines for decades, denied the recognition, military status and pensions they had earned because of their sex. The WASP, a select group of 1102 women who earned their silver wings having to achieve far more than male pilots, flew more than 60 Million miles, in 77 different types of aircraft, served as test pilots, trainers, ferried planes, and performed every task other than combat missions that men performed. I was nearly brought to tears on several occasions reading how Congress, the Army, the commercial airlines and the American public marginalized them because they were women. The WASP was summarily disbanded when male pilots began returning stateside. It wasn't until Senator Barry Goldwater promised to advocate for the WASP did they finally achieve military status ....the end of 1977...more than 30 years after they were sent home to return to lives as wives and mothers. It wasn't until the 1970s that an American airline would hire a woman pilot!
These amazing women helped lay the cornerstones of a movement that enabled women of today to enjoy near parity with men in the workplace. Just WOW!

The book begins with a dead, decaying, odiferous whale and a fiancé potentially lost at sea and segues into Evie's relationships with her alcoholic drug dealing father and mother that deserted her. Perhaps because I've previously lived with alcoholics and know the associated dysfunction firsthand, I found this story disheartening. I struggled to finish it. I liked Ms. Van Meyer's writing style, but this felt to me like an Al Anon meeting with Evie telling 'her story'. I read to escape real life.