I Want You to Know We're Still Here: A Post-Holocaust Memoir
by Esther Safran Foer
A Poignant Memoir (11/19/2019)
I thoroughly enjoyed this very heartfelt, readable story-even though it is a tough one. Esther Safran Foer compellingly describes her search for the story of her father's first wife and child and how he survived the Holocaust. The book will appeal to anyone who has grown up in a home with secrets, anyone who has survived tragedy, or anyone who is interested in this period of history. It is extremely well-written and poignant and will appeal to readers of all ages. I can imagine some intense book club discussions.
Mighty Justice: My Life in Civil Rights
by Dovey Johnson Roundtree , Katie McCabe
A trailblazing life (9/16/2019)
Dovey Roundtree's account of her life is an excellent read. Writing in her nineties, she shows profound reflection on how her childhood formed her and led her to take on racism and sexism throughout her working life-and thereafter. This would be a good book club assignment, especially for those interested in history and law. Dovey's life is an inspiration and the tone of her story makes we wish I'd known her.
Yale Needs Women: How the First Group of Girls Rewrote the Rules of an Ivy League Giant
by Anne Gardiner Perkins
Higher Education and the Second Wave Women's Movement (7/15/2019)
Anne Gardner Perkins has carefully documented an important time in the modern women's movement and made it come alive by zeroing in on the experiences of the first women admitted to Yale and the efforts made by them and other allies to increase the number of women to a level equal to that of the male students. This book may have been of particular interest to me because I entered a public university in Texas the same year the first women arrived at Yale. It was fascinating to read of their experiences on that Ivy League campus and to see how they contrasted or paralleled my own. Gardiner Perkins did an excellent job describing the women and what happened over about a four-year timeline. This is definitely a worthwhile read.
Beirut Hellfire Society
by Rawi Hage
Dramatically Displays the Horror of War (5/8/2019)
This is a hard book to describe, but I found it profound, touching, visceral, honest and full of dark humor. Hage writes beautifully, lyrically, angrily and starkly about living in a city consumed by war and death. The main character, a young man who is the son of an undertaker, and all the strange and haunting people with whom he interacts, all paint a vivid picture. I think this book would be a good one for a book group. There are many metaphors, references to classical literature, and some mysticism that could be explored. Hage has written a fine book that kept me engrossed.
D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II
by Sarah Rose
Courageous Women of WWII (3/14/2019)
Sarah Rose has written a compelling, exciting account of female spies who were vital to the success of the D-Day Invasion and ultimate defeat of the Nazis. Rose personalizes the women (and a number of their male counterparts) and details their exploits in a way that makes for an "edge of your seat" read. This book would be of general interest, and I can imagine young people would find it engaging as well. Book groups would find much to discuss. I'm really grateful to the author for making these women and this time in history come alive.
The Affairs of the Falcóns
by Melissa Rivero
Realistic Story of an Undocumented Family (12/10/2018)
Rivero writes compellingly about the experience of a family living in the United States without documentation. Her prose conveys the constant stress and instability that comes from living in the shadows and she creates sympathetic characters. I found the story engaging and realistic, the plight of the Falcons similar to other undocumented families I've known. This book would be a good selection for a book group, leading to some spirited conversations.
The Last Year of the War
by Susan Meissner
A Beautifully Written War Story (11/3/2018)
I was completely absorbed by this historically accurate novel about a young German American girl's experience during World War II and after. It explores issues of injustice, the hardships of war, and feelings about "place" with an engaging story and well-developed characters. History lovers will enjoy this book and I think it would be a great book club read.
Red, White, Blue
by Lea Carpenter
Beautiful writing, opaque content (7/29/2018)
I enjoyed the writer's flowing style of writing, but I found the tale a bit hard to follow and unnecessarily dense. Yes, I know it is a story about spies, but it seemed so roundabout that it distracted from my enjoyment.
Vox
by Christina Dalcher
This Could Really Happen! (4/30/2018)
I found Vox to be a riveting, tension-filled read about the United States after a presidential election has put fundamentalist religious ideologues in power. Women's rights are eliminated and they are relegated to the sole roles of wives, mothers, housekeepers. How to resist when cameras are everywhere and all females must wear a counter on their wrists that gives electric shocks if one utters more than 100 words a day? Dalcher is an efficient writer and tells a story of those who fight back that is very suspenseful. It's also a lesson for those who are apathetic about politics and governance-voting matters. This was an excellent book. My only observation is that it ended perhaps a little too abruptly--but maybe I just wasn't ready for it to end.
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
by Elizabeth Weil, Clemantine Wamariya
A Riveting Account of the Aftermath of War (2/25/2018)
Clemantine Wamariya is an important writer who painfully, yet masterfully, exposes the atrocities of the Rwanda genocide and the effect on her and her family. She gives the reader glimpses, vignettes, of her life before the war, of her and her sister's ordeal for seven years as refugees, and her attempts to find her life story in the bits and pieces of her memory. She hardens herself to survive, but years after she has lived in the United States, it is clear she is willing to make herself vulnerable to gain some peace and understanding of who she is and how she can meld her conflicting emotions, fears and hopes into a whole, connected person. She is a gifted writer and I'm grateful for the difficult story she has shared.
The Chalk Man
by C. J. Tudor
An Engaging Story (11/26/2017)
C.J. Tudor grabbed my attention in the first pages and didn't let go until the last page. She creates vivid, fully developed characters and masterfully transports the reader to their town. The chapters alternate between the events of 1986 and 2016, and the author writes so well that the relationship between the past and the present flow easily. It is both a harsh story and yet poignant with friendship, love and misunderstandings. The mysteries unfold a little at a time and by the end I am glad about the time I spent in this quaint English town with all these flawed, wonderful characters. I look forward to reading more by C.J. Tudor.
The People We Hate at the Wedding
by Grant Ginder
A Complicated Family (4/10/2017)
For the most part I appreciated the stories and perspectives of the characters and how circumstances, family dynamics and personalities led each of them to where they found themselves. The wedding event brings everything to a head. After some drama there is a bit of redemption as they achieve some understanding and healing. This is a good effort and worth the read.
The Barrowfields
by Phillip Lewis
An Engaging Novel (3/8/2017)
I thoroughly enjoyed this beautifully written and engaging story and I was drawn into the world Phillip Lewis creates. A stunning debut novel that explores a families' bonds and a man's devotion to literature. I had a hard time putting it down and wanted more when it ended.
Edgar and Lucy
by Victor Lodato
Dark, Strange, Haunting, but Beautiful and Uplifting Too (12/15/2016)
Lodato is a lyrical writer, handling dense subject matter with the deftness of an expert. This is a long epic, but it engaged me, probably because each of the characters was so richly developed and treated with a gentleness and kindness by the author. I thought I had a bird's eye view of everyone's inner life.
Rise: How a House Built a Family
by Cara Brookins
A Rewarding Read (10/5/2016)
An excellent writer has penned an intimate, compelling story of her and her children overcoming traumatic domestic abuse by, incredibly, building a house from the ground up. Who knew that details of construction could be so riveting? Brookins makes them fascinating as she sets out the family's "rising from the ashes" story and the redemption that follows. This is a wonderful book and I truly appreciate the author and her wonderful family. It is very inspiring!
Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved, and Died Under Nazi Occupation
by Anne Sebba
Interesting topic, Disjointed writing (8/12/2016)
I was excited to read this book when it arrived, and although it contains very interesting historical information, it is written in a very disjointed manner. Seriously, it needs some serious editing. It turned into a slog of a reading project although this topic should have made for a fascinating read.
The Dark Lady's Mask
by Mary Sharratt
An Engaging Story about Shakespeare (2/14/2016)
This was a very readable and engaging novel. The author vividly creates the time period, presents lively characters, and weaves a plausible story about Shakespeare's collaborator.
The Widow
by Fiona Barton
Intriguing style, engaging psychological study (12/7/2015)
Ms. Barton has written a very readable, credible story that captures the reader from the first page. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the same set of facts and circumstances from the viewpoints of multiple characters so that I had some understanding for each person's motivations and personalities. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
