Yesteryear: A Novel
by Caro Claire Burke
A Strange Tale (5/18/2026)
When I read about this book, I thought it might present some profound social statements about the "trad wife" trend, influencers and women who don't appreciate the gains that women have won. I guess this anticipation contributed my disappointment over this book.
I don't object to time travel (I like Outlander) but this a pretty silly story and not believable. The "heroine" is a character you can't sympathize with at all, and the book really does not make any grand social statements except to emphasize that women were treated horribly in the 1800's, and narcissism leads to tragedy. OK, enjoy the ride if you can.
The Things We Never Say: A Novel
by Elizabeth Strout
A quietly powerful man (5/7/2026)
This book is a quietly powerful portrait of a complex man who touches many but feels unfulfilled. I cherish this story and it will stay with me for a long time. It’s so refreshing to read about a man who is so self- reflective and confronts a family secret with dignity.
33 Place Brugmann
by Alice Austen
A building of diverse people facing a common threat (1/7/2026)
In this book, an apartment building serves as the backdrop for the stories of its residents and how their lives intersect with the impending Nazi invasion of Belgium and then its occupation. The building has Jews and non-Jews . There are several story lines so at times this can get confusing because there are so many characters. The author rightly gives us a listing at the beginning of the book of all the buildings occupants, which I referred to often.
We see through the lens of a building's occupants how war brings out the good and bad in people.
Buckeye: A Novel
by Patrick Ryan
An American family drama (9/14/2025)
I read this book described as an "old-fashioned American novel" in a good way. It's an epic family drama beginning with the WWII period through Vietnam and beyond.
Two families become intertwined after an impulsive kiss sets off a series of events that will reverberate for years to come, when secrets are held close and then not. It's a tale of love, betrayal, and forgiveness. It's also about the times- the decades that roll by with social and political upheaval.
I was personally moved by the period of the Vietnam War and how a mother aches when her son is off to war. It brought back memories of my own brother volunteering for Vietnam.
If you liked books like Steinbeck's East of Eden, you will want to sit down with this one!
A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck
by Sophie Elmhirst
A couple adrift at sea, can this marriage survive? (7/19/2025)
How many survival stories have you read that are about men? Think The Wager, The Wide, Wide Sea, and so many others. So what a pleasure to read a book about a true survival at sea where the woman is an equal partner (if not more) to her male partner.
This book is more than a story of survival; it's an intimate look at a marriage and how it grows and changes as the many obstacles of life in a survival raft (a whale has capsized their boat) affects the marriage of the Baileys. They are a British couple in the 1970s who cast away from their former life and put all their assets into a vision to live on a boat and sail the world. (It's a true story and is well-researched by the author).
They are a match of opposites- Maurice is meticulous, antisocial, and a pessimist. But his wife Marilyn sees the glass as half full, and she never doubts that they will survive.
Will they survive? And even if they do, will the marriage survive? I was glued to this book over about 3 days and could not wait for each step of their journey.
Wild Dark Shore: A Novel
by Charlotte McConaghy
A (6/27/2025)
It's the dog days of summer and how about a page turner in a cold climate to cool you off? Amazon rated this book, "The best so far 2025". I'm not sure I agree with that, but it is a very haunting story that hooked me from he beginning. The book is about a family that settles on a remote island (close to Antarctica) as caretakers. The island is (and in real life) a storage point for seeds from all over the world to preserve them for future generations and protect species from global warming.
Global warming envelops this story with its threats- rising water, wildfires on he mainland, and declining species. It's an ecological warning- what will become of the human race as the waters rise and wildlife and humans are pushed to the brink? The family is also in crisis, with ghosts and secrets. When a woman is found floating near the shore and assumed dead, the family rescues her, and their world, again, is threatened.
I loved and was irritated by this book- on the one hand, it's a page-turner, and on the other hand, some of the key elements of the story are not realistic, and the ending disappoints. But worth the read.
Broken Country
by Clare Leslie Hall
A love story and a mystery (6/11/2025)
I don't always follow celebrity recommendations but in the case of Reece Witherspoon, she hooked me on this one! It's a love story that evolves into a mystery. Set in Ireland the story is about an Irish woman who fell in love early in life but the two were separated by family and distance. After a few decades both have moved onto their lives- but they cross paths when the former love interest comes back to the hometown. The chemistry is still there but again, obstacles! And then a tragic death- who did it and why?
This was one of my favorite books so far in 2025.
The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant
by Liza Tully
The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just OK Assistant (4/11/2025)
Take a murder mystery party but add two women detectives and you have the making of a murder mystery 2.0. The characters of the 2 women detectives pit an older, seasoned but cranky woman with a younger, aspiring detective-in-training. It's a clash of the generations bonded by a trial apprenticeship of the younger woman who finds it difficult to communicate with her renowned mentor.
I felt that the "murder mystery" was formulaic of many murder stories where there are a slew of potential perpetrators. The story works through all the family members who encircled the victim and a few outer circle friends. Is the ending a surprise? Not really, and it's a story I found tough to hang with initially but grew on me mostly due to the younger woman's voice and her perspective. What if you get the chance to work with the best in the field but find that person to be brilliant and insufferable?
Isola: A Novel
by Allegra Goodman
16th Century Epic Tale (3/6/2025)
This is a sweeping story that takes you back to the 16th century when a noble family dies off except for 1 young daughter and a designated "Guardian" (her cousin). The guardian is a rogue and loses much of the girl's estate.
Our heroine is then taken forcibly by the guardian on a ship that is exploring the new world for the King. Marguerite and the Guardian's Secretary fall in love and of course get caught. This enrages the guardian and he punishes them by having them dropped on an uninhabited island in the middle of the new world (probably what is now Canada). Only her Nurse is to stay with them.
The rest of the book is how the 3 castaways survive brutal winters, lack of food and other threats including disease and bears. Tragedy strikes with great loss. Will our heroine survive and take revenge on her guardian?
Enjoy a good book and try Isola (a Reece Witherspoon book of the month).
James: A Novel
by Percival Everett
Huckleberry Finn redux (3/6/2025)
I started and stopped reading this book several times. I finally decide to buckle down and read it- after all, it has received many accolades and awards!
I have not read Huckleberry Finn, but this book is a riff on that story- but from the perspective of James, the slave in the story. I liked the book- it was a good story (if you can get past all of the slave dialect that is incorporated)
I did not love the book, but if you want life perspective from a slave ( and it is frightening!) this is a good story. The character of James just grows on you- I was rooting for him all the way!
The Garden of Evening Mists
by Tan Twan Eng
A Chinese-Malaysian woman looks back on a life both brutal and beautiful (1/6/2025)
I am surprised that no one has reviewed this book yet. l have now read all three of the published books by this author; I highly recommend his newest book, the House of Doors. However, this book and his first book, The Gift of Rain, help to round out the years of Malaysia's history from pre- WWII through the Japanese occupation , to the post communist rebellion.
This is a long and reflective novel that jumps from various timelines in the life of a Chinese woman, native to Malaysia, who is imprisoned by the Japanese during WWII. We first meet her as she is retiring as a prominent judge in Malaysia but is suffering from Aphasia and she wants time to recall her memories, both brutal and beautiful, before she can no longer remember.
It is hard to describe this book; it is complex and deals with many issues, of beauty and art in one's life; carrying survivor guilt and anger; the role of memories in our life, and embracing the enemy in the character of a Japanese Gardner who is escaping his own traumas.
Learning about Malaysia and its turbulent history has really opened my eyes to the suffering of Asia during WWII- a topic much neglected.
Small Things Like These
by Claire Keegan
A small book with a big message (12/8/2024)
I was drawn to this Booker prize nominee because it takes place in Ireland. It is a spare book(about 150 pages) that will haunt you for a long . When and how do people stand up to evil in the face of a complicit culture?
Americans may not be so familiar with the tragedy in Ireland that was the "Magdalene laundries", so-called refuges for "wicked women"(unmarried and pregnant).
Now an Oprah recommendation and a movie release have brought this book into the limelight it deserves.
The Goddess of Warsaw: A Novel
by Lisa Barr
A woman warrior in Warsaw (10/9/2024)
This book follows the life of "Bina" an aspiring actress turned assassin and resistance fighter in Poland during the Nazi occupation. Fast forward and Bina takes on a new identify in the US as a successful movie star, only to discover that Nazism has spread to America. A riveting story!
Go as a River: A Novel
by Shelley Read
Beautiful story with a true backdrop (7/29/2024)
The flow of rivers is a metaphor in this story of love, grief, racism and inner strength. Young Victoria is a motherless girl with a grieving father and abusive brother. She finds love with a mixed race young man-Wil-who has native american blood. Tori's brother finds the coupling abhorrent and sets out to destroy their love.
After Wil mysteriously disappears, Tori finds herself pregnant and cannot face her family so she, too, leaves their orchard and escapes in the forest with a newborn. How will she survive in the woods with no resources? What happened to Wil and will she ever find "home" again? Tori faces a major decision so that she and her son can survive; her choices will haunt her for the next 20 years.
The book builds to a dramatic conclusion as Tori rebuilds a life for herself but at great cost. As the government threatens her home town with a new dam construction, Tori must uproot her life, her peach trees and the only home she has ever known.
The true story of this book is that the town she writes about- Iola- was indeed flooded by a new dam in CO during the 60s.This story, while fiction, provides a backdrop for the rivers that flow and those that are destroyed by the hand of man.
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel
by David Wroblewski
A story for the ages (7/4/2024)
I read other reviews before I posted this (it's an older book) and was surprised by all the controversy about the ending. If you take the Hamlet construct, well, it's brilliant and that story has withstood the test of time! Of course it made me sad but that's was great books do- they bring out our emotions.
I am now looking forward to his newest book: "Familiaris" which will take us back to the grandparents who started the "Sawtelle" dog business. I can't wait!
The Signature of All Things
by Elizabeth Gilbert
An Epic Novel (6/20/2024)
This novel is an epic story about the Philadelphia Whitaker family spanning the 19th century. Starting with the father's childhood we live through his ascent to success in botanicals and his daughter's thirst for knowledge. While an expert botanist, Alma lives in a century where scientists are not women so she is not recognized ( except by those close to her) for her serious botanical studies and her theories that predate Charles Darwin's.
This is a story of a quest for finding the bases for life past and future, whether plant or human. Like the plants she studies, Alma must adapt to the many changes in her life and reinvent herself to survive.
This story draws you in and takes you to faraway places like Tahiti and Europe where Alma takes her never-ending quest for knowledge.
Leaving: A Novel
by Roxana Robinson
It's never too late...but (5/10/2024)
This novel attracted me because it involves "late in life lovers". One might assume that a late in life affair would be with fewer obstacles- most mature people have grownup children and fewer responsibilities; their careers may be behind them.. But when Warren and Sarah renew a relationship after decades apart, they find an obstacle like no other- Warren's grown daughter- an unforgiving opponent to Warren's decision to divorce her mother and live with Sarah.
This is a beautifully written love story but also a story about the push and pull of your family at any age. Warren's daughter wants to control him; she threatens him. The ending is shocking and heartbreaking. A great book for book clubs!
A Disappearance in Fiji
by Nilima Rao
An Indian policeman uncovers secrets on Fiji (12/29/2023)
This novel gives us a mystery but in a historical setting- the Island of Fiji, part of the British Empire at the turn of the century.
Akal, an Indian native who joined the British-Indian Police services is abruptly transferred from a great assignment in Hong Kong, after he's caught up in an embarrassing police scandal. His only option is a transfer to Fiji and he reluctantly goes.
Once on the island, Akal faces much prejudice and learns about the system of "indentured service" on Fiji. But he has a missing persons case to follow and his boss just wants the case to disappear. But Akal is tenacious and seeks the truth.
The ending of the book was not totally satisfying but I read this author will do a follow-up novel. I can't wait!
