The Guest List by Lucy Foley

It is rare that I stay up reading past 1:00 a.m. to finish a book, but that was the case with The Guest List. In the spirit of an Agatha Christie mystery, I just had to find out the ending and resolution. 

Set on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, The Folly, a restored 15th century building is the site of the wedding of two prominent stars, Will, who has a Survival television show, and Jules, the publisher of a fashion magazine. The only access to the island is by boat. Their friends and relatives are gathering to celebrate the occasion and they provide the narrative. As in many Christie novels, it is a closed group of people who could possibly mastermind a murder. The island with its steep cliffs, haunting cemetery and cave is a character in itself. 

The novel begins the night of the wedding with the discovery of a blood-stained body. No clue is given as to who it is or who has committed the crime. The chapters are then flashbacks to the day before, the day of the wedding, and the wedding itself. Each player has his or her own perspective on the events and the background story. Jules finds a note, written anonymously,  that warns her not to marry Will because he is a cheat and liar. Olivia is the half sister,  Charlie is Jules' oldest friend, Hannah, Charlie's wife, is the Plus One, Johnno is Will's friend from boarding school and his best man and Aoife, the wedding planner. Each have his or her own secrets that all form part of the intriguing puzzle as to the victim and the murderer.

For the most part, this is the wedding from hell with copious amounts of alcohol and even some weed and cocaine. The groomsmen exhibit traits and actions that could really be characteristic of young boys despite them being in their thirties. There are tales of criminal acts at boarding school and horrible bullying at Will's stag party. It is also a story of addiction including self-harm, and alcoholism. Much of what motivates the characters is their familial relationships and the harm that has come to them.

Each player is developed by Foly and remains true to her depiction of them. The reader feels some degree of empathy, especially toward Hannah and Olivia,  but has a difficult time really liking many of the others. They seem to be self-serving, status-seeking, or even a bit vile. 

It was a suspenseful book that left the reader hurrying to get to the final chapters to have the criminal act revealed. Foley plants her clues with skill and after reflecting on all of them, the reader has clear understanding ast why and how the murder was committed, and wondering why no one had done it before. 

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Set on a fictional sub-Antarctica island, Wild Dark Shore is novel of many themes. It centers around the Salt family who are there to oversee the vast vault of seeds that are to be protected for the sustenance of life on earth. Each chapter of the book is narrated by one of the family members - Dominic the father, Fen, the 18 year old daughter, Raf, the 17 yearol old son and Orly, the youngest son who is 9 years old. The family moved to Shearwater Island shortly after Orly's birth and the death of Claire, wife and mother.

The wildlife on the island and stark character of the topography are secondary characters as McConaghy depicts the interaction with the family. One evening in the midst of an horrendous storm as boat is shipwrecked on the island and the only survivor is a woman, Rowan. Her husband, Hank, was one of the men assigned to the island to protect the seeds and do research. She hadn't heard from him and was there to try to ascertain his whereabouts. The seed vault was being closed and all the men who  had been assigned to it had been sent home and that is what the Salt family has indicated to Rowan. 

She becomes an integral part of the family as they took care of her tattered body and nursed her back to health. The reader knows that there will be more to the story, but McConaghy develops it slowly. Fen's behavior of wanting to be alone, Raf's study of the whales, and Orly's fascination with the seeds reflect times in each of their pasts. When Rowan discovers Hank's passport and papers, the plot thickens and she is determined to discover exactly what happened to him. 

The resolution of the plot comes quickly in the last few chapters. The revelation of the Hank's situation and his relationship to the Salt family is too say the least, disturbing.Wild Dark Shore combines so many themes in one novel - grief, resilience, love and trust, the impact of climate change and the appreciation of wild life. For the reader, the ending encapsulates both despair and hope. It is up to that reader to decide which it really is. 

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick

Set in 1963, The Book Club for Troublesome Women, is one of those books that almost requires you to have some knowledge of time, place, mores, and cultural recognition. The four main characters, who live in the affluent community of Concordia, Maryland, are brought together as they form a book group. 

Bitsy is a 23 year old married to an older man who considers himself to be a very superior veterinarian. Charlotte is from a wealthy family and married to Howard, whom her father has selected as his son-in-law when Charlotte gets pregnant out of wedlock. Viv is a nurse with six children, married to Tony, a Pentagon official. Near the beginning of the book she discovers that she is pregnant with her 7th child. Finally, Margaret (Maggie) Ryan is really the main character of the book. Her husband, Walt, appears at first to be the patriarchal husband of the 1960's, but eventually has an epiphany after his father's death. 

Maggie's first pick for the book club is The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan and the club becomes known as The Bettys. Their lives become interwoven and their support for their female friends is such a powerful part of the book. They see each other through life events like pregnancies, husband's affairs, addictive behavior, and problem children. All of this is set against the background of how women were viewed in the 1960's and their nascent struggle to assert themselves as equal partners in a marriage and in society. 

Bostwick has researched the time period and has included so many popular books, foods, music, and current events. For a married woman not to be able to get birth control pills without the signature of her husband, for a high school girl spurned because she wants to play the trombone, and for a woman who knows as much about horses as her husband to be dismissed are examples of the culture of the early 60s. It is hard to think about how it was, but also frightening to realize that woman could be relegated to that place in society again. 

The reaction at our book group was mixed. Some liked it, some were ok with it and a couple didn't like it at all. That is the beauty of book clubs. I was on the liked it side and would consider it a good read, if only for reminiscing about the time. 
 

Emily Alone by Stewart O'Nan

 Taking place seven years after Wish You Were Here, O'Nan continues the story of Emily Maxwell. It is such a pleasure to read his narratives that are so character driven. Throughout Emily Alone, vignettes of her life come together to give the reader more insight into this woman, her world, her moods, and all that motivates her in life. 

 Back in Pittsburgh, she and her sister-in-law, Arlene, meet at Eat 'n Park every Tuesday. As the novel begins, Arlene suffers an "incident" and is take to hospital. Emily jumps right in to tend to her needs there and at home, feeding her fish and taking care of her car. The reader glimpses all that goes on in her mind as she goes about picking up the slack. 

When she prepares for her children's visit, she decides to hire a cleaning lady. But before she come she need to ready the house. How many of us do the same thing? Her relationship with her children, Kenneth and Maggie are a central part of the book. She is frustrated by the condescension of Kenneth and the life decisions that Maggie makes. The grandchildren have grown up and have developed individual personalities. 

When Emily's car is totaled by an unfortunate accident, she, reluctantly, shops for a new car. When she buys a blue Subaru, she worries that it might be too flashy! Trips to the Philpps m the Aviary and Mt. Washington are some of her favorite adventures. Some of the most poignant pages in the novel are those describing her cleaning out the basement. She reflects on all the memories that the items she is donating to the church auction bring back. Many are related to Henry, her late husband. Anyone who has ever had to clean out spaces, understands how hard it is to give up those special items. It is noble of her to start this process so that her children won't be burdened with it. 

She confronts her own mortality by learning of the death of close friends and attending their funerals. How true those thoughts are for those in their 70s like Emily. The novel is just the right amount of introspection and humor. O'Nan knows the balance. His style makes the books unforgettable and "unputdownable." On now to Evensong.

 
 

Wish You Were Here by Stewart O'Nan

Evensong by O'Nan has gotten a lot of press and sounded like a good book for a Yinzer to read. But it was the fourth an a series and so I began at the beginning of the series. O'Nan is originally from Pittsburgh and his roots shine through this work at almost every turn from the references to the city, its restaurants, and arts and culture. 

The novel covers the week that the Maxwell family spends at Lake Chautauqua  and the surrounding area. It is a favorite summer destination for those from the Pittsburgh and where people have a summer home. The family consists of Emily, who owns their cottage and is recently widowed, her sister-in-law Arlene and Emily's children Meg and Ken, Ken's wife Lisa and their children Sam and Ella, and Meg's children Justin and Sarah. They are all gathering for one final vacation because Emily is selling the summer home. 

Because of O'Nan's incredible mastery of description and insight, the reader understands the personality of each of the characters. In reality, it is very much like a psychoanalytic experience. The interaction between the family members is suggestive of how many families would act and react during a week where they all lived under one roof in small quarters. O'Nan uses the weather, rainy and dreary, to force more dialogue and communication among them. The reader is privy to teenage angst, budding sexuality, sibling rivalry, and marital strife. 

At the heart of the novel is Emily's desire to have her children take items that are especially meaningful to them as remembrances of their many years of vacationing on the lake as well as of their late father. It is something that inevitably every family experiences and the manner in which they go about it will hit home with many. They try to relive past adventures, restaurants, and familiar activities. With his mastery of description, O'Nan allows the reader to be privy to all the thoughts and vulnerabilities of the Maxwell family. 

The book is one of the most skilled examples of character study that I have read. It is definitely a treasure, especially for those who do not mind a long and detailed tome. I really did not want the book to end, but I will meet up with the family in his later books.

 

The Christmas Pearl by Dorthea Benton Frank

It is customary for our book club to read a light Christmas themed book for our December meeting. It is usually one on which we can have a short discussion, have lunch, and then decide our books for the coming year. 

The Christmas Pearl, was a unique novel in that it required the suspension of all belief as the reader was transported into a fairy tale world that was a cross between Cinderella and Mary Poppins. Theodora is a nonagenarian matriarch of a seemingly dysfunctional family who have all come to Charleston, South Carolina to celebrate Christmas. As she bemuses the fact that Christmas doesn't seem like what it was in her younger days, she doesn't have the wherewithal to undertake all those tasks of decorating, shopping, cooking. She remembers her mother's housekeeper who seemed to pull it all together for the family. With that in Fairy Godmother fashion Pearl, who was the Gullah housekeeper,  appears at Theodora's house. Pearl has come back from the dead to make Christmas seem like the old days. She cooks, decorated the house with the ease of having a magic wand. 

As the family members arrive they add a bit of chaos to the scene, bickering, complaining, and just plain acting rude. The reader has a tough time liking any of them. But the scenes between Theodora and Pearl are the calming portions of the book as they settle in to having a bit of Christmas "cheer." The continual fracas and griping of the family sets Pearl to step in and try to save Merry Christmas. A spot of eggnog helps.

It was a quick read, not literary, but perfect for the reader who does not care about reality and and can appreciate the imaginary. 
 

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

After reading so many excellent reviews and with a bit of time for some free reading, and seeing a great price in the Kindle store, I picked this book up. It is an epistolary novel that reveals the life of the protagonist, septuagenarian Sybil Van Antwerp. She has spent her life writing letters to friends, family members, and even her favorite authors. She has also transitioned to email when it becomes necessary. 

Letter writing is almost a lost art, but Evans manages to capture the importance of it in The Correspondent. Through her letters, Van Antwerp manages to engage the reader in a life well-lived, but with regrets, sadness, guilt and surprise. Sybil lives outside of Annapolis next door to a very attentive neighbor, Theodore. She is going blind and is mostly accepting of that, but still wants to be in control of her life. There are hints to her past life, e.g the death of her son, Gilbert, her divorce from Daan, and her job as a lawyer. It is through correspondence with her children Fiona and Felix, best friend, Rosalie that over the course of the book those fragments become a vivid picture of her life. 

She is ousted from her garden club, maintains an email chain with a man who is a representative from a genetic testing company, harbors a teenager, the son of a colleague, who has been bullied, and tries to understand a strained relationship with her daughter. Interspersed with the actual posted and emailed correspondence are fragments of a letter that is labeled "unsent." This is the most revealing of the correspondence in that it is an admission of the regrets and actions of her life that have contributed the ongoing guilt she has felt. To the reader it was heart-wrenching.

The reader meets two men who vie for the attention of Sybil. It becomes apparent that both would like a long-term relationship with her, but she denies that prospect. The reader, on the sideline, routes for her to become involved with one of them to provide companionship and love. 

One of the most interesting aspect of the novels is the inclusion at the end of most chapters what books she and her friends are reading. It was an eclectic series of titles and worthy of exploring to read. The Correspondent was a gem of book and one that is a most pleasurable read. I am glad not to have missed it.
 

So Far Gone by Jess Walter

This book has gotten a lot of very good reviews and I was pleased that Walter was one of the authors for the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures series. So Far Gone's protagonist is Rhys Kinnick, a retired journalist, who takes to the woods and leads a very reclusive life after a major familial blowup in 2016 between him and his son-in-law. His life changed immensely when his grandchildren, Leah (13) and Asher (9) appear on the porch of his cabin in 2024. 

Rhys' daughter, Bethany, has seemingly abandoned her children and taken off. Even her husband, Shane, appears not to know where she has gone and Bethany was somewhat at odds with him because of his embracing the beliefs and practices of a right wing, religious extremist group, the Army of the Lord, a wing of the Church of the Blessed Fire. Shane had advocated moving the family to the compound known as The Rampart and had even tried to betroth Leah to the pastor's son who was nineteen. 

The children bring Rhys up-to-date with all that happened to the family in the eight years of his self-imposed exile, including the death of his ex-wife, Celia Asher was a good chess player and that evening Rhys got into his beat-up car and took him to his chess tournament in Spokane. However, they find out that the tournament is not that evening and when arriving at the abbey where the tournament was supposed to take place the children are kidnapped by Brother Dean Burris, one of the Army of the Lord members. He also breaks Rhys' jaw in the process. 

Through flashbacks and action in the present, the novel then focuses on the recovery of the children. It brings into view and motion a number of people from Rhys' past, including an old flame, Lucy Park, his retired police officer, Chuck Littlefield, and Brian and Joanie a Native American couple with whom Rhys reconciles as he asks for help in navigating some of the Native American lands around the area in an effort to find Bethany from a clue that Leah had given them. 

As the novel begins to come to a resolution, the reader is hit in the face with a WHAM bit of action. The characters are well developed in a style that is a bit unique with chapter titles What Happened to....? Rhys earns the readers' sympathy as he tries to reconnect with a world that seems to have left him behind, but Walter also adds a bit of wit and levity to the story. The themes of Christian Nationalism, the sorry state of journalism created by today's reliance on social media for news, and the abandonment of environmental protection initiatives resonate through the novel. Perhaps, Rhys foreshadows the novel in his preface in quoting Thoreau, "Not till we are lost… ‘till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves.”
 

The Women by Kristin Hannah

It was surprising to me that I was able to get both a hardbound and Kindle copy of The Women so easily. They hype around this book for months was so omnipresent that it seemed unlikely that a copy would be available to read. Among my friends, who have read the novel, there were very diverse reactions. Some loved it and others couldn't finish it. I am probably right in the middle of those reactions. 

The main character, Frances Gracie McGrath, aka Frankie, decides to enlist in the armed forces as a nurse to join her brother, Fin, who was a graduate of the Naval Academy and was sent to Viet Nam. She lived with her parents on Coronado Island, CA where they enjoyed a very comfortable, if not lavish, lifestyle. Her father, a staunch male chauvinist, was quite supportive of his son's service. However, with the mantra, "Women can be heroes, too" stuck in her mind, he vehemently opposed his daughter going off to war. The depiction of what the nurses and all the men serving in-country was heart-wrenching, considering what the reaction back in the States was during their service and upon their home-coming. Frankie is thought of as an excellent nurse who becomes a major part of the surgical teams. The trauma that rockets, napalm, and close calls gives the reader pause as to what conditions were like in the jungle. 

As a major component of the novel, Frankie's romantic life is a roller coaster for sure. She has very strong feelings for Jaimie Callahan, a surgeon, who is severely wounded in an enemy attack. Then she falls head over heels in love with Rye Walsh, a friend of her brother's who was also serving. When Jamie and Rye are reported KIA, she is heartbroken and devastated. She is becomes engaged to Dr. Henry Avevedo, a psychiatrist who is working to help those Vets with PTSD, The relationships are filled with pain, trauma, and betrayal. 

When Frankie returns after her two years of active duty, she must deal with the realization that her service was not respected by those who spat at her in the airport or her parents who firmly believed that she should not have enlisted. Her life spirals into one of PTSD, addiction, and depression. The reader shoulders most of that tragedy with her as Hannah describes it in detail. 

Throughout the novel, there is one constant and that is the strong bond between two other nurses, Barbara and Ethel, who are there for Frankie in every crisis. This friendship was so deep and really the theme that impressed this reader the most. Women friends are the most faithful, dependable, devoted. They picked her up, tried  to give advice, but were nonjudgmental. They were in stark contrast to her parents who were so about show and acceptance with their country club friends.

With all the depicted horrors of war and personal crises, The Women really is not what one would call an enjoyable read, but it was enlightening, as far as the "behind the scenes" in Viet Nam. I empathized with Frankie in her PTSD, but not so much in her romantic choices. In some ways, there was the feeling that Hannah was checking off all the boxes to see how many crises a woman could endure. Unfortunately, Frankie McGrath, suffered them all.  

The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly

Books that span generations are intriguing to me.  The Last Garden in England was just that type of book. The central character in the novel was the garden in Highbury, England. Although fictitious in the story, Highbury is an actual location out side of London that seems to be the inspiration for the mansion that is depicted within the pages.   

The three sections of the book are the stories of those women who are connected to the garden - Venetia Smith in 1907 whose creativity designed the garden,  Diana Symonds, who inherits the home and is living there during World War II, and Emma Lovell who was hired to restore the gardens in 2021. There were a multitude of characters that became associated with those women. This somewhat was puzzling to the reader because Kelly would use a woman's maiden name at times and it wasn't until about a third of the way into the novel that you could put this together. 

As a characteristic of those generational novels, it becomes part of the mystery to determine how the main players become connected. Kelly does a magnificent job in creating the mystery and then solving it in the end. There is a part of the gardens, The Winter Garden, that is locked with an iron gate. The only way Emma and her crew can work on it is to scale the walls. They do not want to break the lock thereby seemingly breach the work of a previous generation. The mystery of the lost key becomes a central part. Yet another mystery is the name Celeste that is found on one of the original Smith drawings of the garden plans. 

The women in this novel are strong-willed and for the most part trying to discover who they really are and what their place in the world is. When Venetia embarks upon a love affair with the brother of the owner of the garden, Mrs. Melancourt, she finds herself in a position where she must make some very difficult decisions about her life. She becomes a person who socially is well ahead of her generation. 

Diana Symond is the mistress of Highbury house at a time when it has been overtaken as a hospital for wounded soldiers during the war. Her husband, a prominent doctor, was killed in the fighting and she is left to run the manor, much to the dismay of her sister-in-law, Cynthia who is put in charge of the hospital. She has a little son, Robin, who develops a strong bond with the nephew of Stella Adderton, a cook in the service of Symonds. Also a strong character in the time of Symonds, s Beth Pedley. The three strive to find themselves as the war progresses and tragedy befalls them.

 Emma wishes to be a self-sufficient woman of the 21st century, asserting herself as a different person that what her mother thinks she should be. She has founded her own company and it is through that move that she begins work on restoring the garden for Andrew and Sydney Wilcox. Sydney is the heir to the property and is set on restoring it to its glory. As Emma decides that the garden work is more dear than a glitzy office job, she opens herself up to that permanent lifestyle.

This was just a wonderful read watching the characters develop and change and allowing the reader to immerse oneself in the beauty of the English landscape.  

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Having read Gone Girl by Flynn, one should expect more than the run of the mill murder mystery. Sharp Objects is a triple murder mystery that is also a psychological thriller with so many other themes thrown in. It is disturbing, exciting, thought provoking, and a page-turner.

Camille Preaker is a journalist for a small Chicago newspaper who is assigned to report on a double murder in her hometown of Wind Gap. Her editor, Frank Curry, thought she would have some insight into what was happening in that village and would give her an opportunity to go back home for a bit. Two young girls were brutally murdered within a couple of weeks of each other and there were only a few leads as to who the perpetrator was. Curry was unaware of the cold relationship Camille had with her mother and her step-father, Alan. Her family life was dysfunctional to say the least. She had been born to her young mother, Adora, and never knew her father. Her sister Marian had died at a young age and then another sister, Amma, born when she was a teenager and 13 when the story commences. 

Adora inherited her family's hog farm and was independently wealthy. She suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy for the way she needed to be in control and garner attention from the townspeople. Her sheer indifference to Camille made it difficult for her to return home. Likewise, how so many people and the town itself hadn't changed hearkened a time from which Camille had escaped. She meets Richard Willis who is in town to help with the murder investigation and the tow become close as they work to solve the murders. Upon discovering that Camille was a cutter and had scars over her body, he removed himself from her company, but not after helping to solve the mystery. 

Amma is a central character to the case and transforms from the perfect daughter playing with her dollhouse and dolls, when Adora is around, to a vile drug-dealing, and promiscuous teenager when away from home. Camille tries to reconcile their relationship, but it is difficult. 

As the facts about the murders become clearer, so does Camille's internal struggles and the horrible truth that emerges. The character development is one of Flynn's hallmark written qualities. From beginning to end the novel will keep you on the edge of your seat as you deal with the psychological struggles, the reactions and personalities of the townspeople, and the familial relationships. 
 

I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger

It is difficult to really put a label on this book. Yes, it is a dystopian novel set sometime in the future, but it is also a story of compassion, fortitude, love and hope. In the beginning the reader is introduced to Rainy and his wife, Lark, who live near the shore of Lake Superior. Rainy plays the bass guitar in a small band and Rainy is the owner of a bookstore. They often rent out a small part of their home to travelers or those who are trying to flee from the wealthy who are increasingly making life more difficult for the laborers. The latest boarder is a young man, Kellan. Kellan warns Rainy that a many named Werryck is evil and that he should run when he arrives. It is a bit mysterious warning, but one that sets the tone for the novel

As the plot moves forward, after her birthday party, Lark is murdered, their house ransacked and Rainy is beside himself with grief. He realizes that among the crowd, Werryck was the old man who was asking him questions. He flees the town on his small boat, Flower, just in the nick of time. He believes that he can track down Lark and so he sets off on Lake Superior with its rough seas and dangers to find her. It is and Orpeheus and Eurydice like adventure for sure. 

 Along the way as he docks in various towns, he meets strangers willing to help him and some who are down-right mean spirited. He finds Sol, a girl trying to escape her nasty uncle, King Richard, hiding in the boat as he leaves the dock. He protects her and they sail together trying to make it to Canada. After a storm they find their small boat shipwrecked next to Werryck's large cruiser - a medicine ship. Rainy spends many nights in a cell with little to eat or drink, but remains hopeful that he will persevere. 

I Cheerfully Refuse touches on so many of the issues of the world in which we live: climate change, the rule by the wealthy who pay no attention to civil liberty, medical inequalities where the poor are not treated,  It was a bleak time and many of the citizens turned to Willow, a drug that induced a peaceful suicide as they tried to get to a "better" place. The writing is eloquent and descriptive. Rainy is a strong narrator and the reader witnesses his desperation and hope as he seeks to find Lark and a community for himself. 

Enger was a soft-spoken speaker who gave pertinent background to the novel as he related its development during the pandemic and the life experiences that contributed to the plot of the novel.

Leif Enger - 7 April 2025

Leif Enger - 7 April 2025

Leif Enger - 7 April 2025

 

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

The Secret Book of Flora Lea was just the kind of book I needed to take to Physical Therapy. It was engaging and a not too difficult read. In addition, it took place in London and was set at the time of World War II, time and place among my favorites. The novel has two timelines, one in the 1940s and the other in the 1960s.

Hazel and Flora Linden live in the Bloomsbury area of London with their mother. Their father has gone off to fight in the war and was killed in faulty engine fire while in training for the RAF. As the war rages, orders are given to evacuate the children from central London. The two sisters are sent to Binsy, Oxfordshire to be billeted with Bridie Aberdeen, a loving and caring woman who is also a single mother to her son Harry. In order to comfort her sister, Hazel creates stories centered around a fictional place, called Whisperwood. It is their secret and no one else is privy to it. Tragically, one day when Hazel, Flora and Henry are near the river in Oxford, Flora disappears. She was left alone sleeping and when Hazel and Henry come back to the river bank, she is gone. A massive search is conducted and she is presumed to have drowned.

Flash forward to 1960s in London to find Hazel working at a rare book store. For most of her life she has pursued what had actually happened to Flora. It haunts her day and night.  She is taken aback the last day on the job at the book store before she moves on to another job at Sotheby's. In the books for her to process to add to the store's collection, she opens one by an American author entitled Whisperwood and the River of Stars. How could someone know about the secret kingdom. Surely Flora is still alive and somehow the author has heard the story from her. 

She takes the book home with her and shares the story with her boyfriend, Barnaby. Inadvertently a couple of the illustrations get ruined, and her guilt about stealing the book gets the better of her. She decides to return the book, knowing that she could be arrested for stealing it and losing her job. 

The novel then morphs into a mystery about the missing Flora and how Hazel plays detective to find her. It becomes a page-turner, for sure as Hazel revisits all those who may have come in contact with Flora - Bridie, Harry, Kelty, and four nurses who often babysat the girls. She contacts the author of the book, Peggy Andrews, who travels from Cape Cod to London to become part of the adventure.

It is a captivating tribute to the power of storytelling and its magic. Throughout the book Bridie tells stories as does the journalist, Dorothy Bellamy,  who is writing about the children of Operation Pied Piper. those who were evacuated. It is also a novel following your heart and listening to what it sees for your future, especially when it comes to love.

 

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

 

Ann Patchett has been one of my favorite authors since I read Bel Canto. Tom Lake has been on my TBR list since it was published. I was glad when we selected it as a Book Club choice. I wasn't disappointed. 

Told in the first person by Lara Nelson during the pandemic, the novel toggles back and forth between the present and Lara's past. She and Joe's daughters have come home to the family farm in Michigan to spend the pandemic lock down with their parents. Emily is the oldest and has a degree in horticulture with an eye on taking over the farm. Maisie is in vet school and Nell was about to move to NYC to pursue an acting career before COVID-19 hit. Each has a distinctive personality that comes through in their reaction to their mother's story. 

When Lara (originally Laura, but she removed the u after reading Dr. Zhivago), was a teenager, she was volunteering at a community theater's auditions for a production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town. After seeing so many trying out for Emily who were less than stellar, she tries out and is selected. This starts her on her acting career and she becomes hooked. During the course of her life, she takes on that role numerous times. During one of these times, she meets a Ripley, a talent scout who encourages her to go to Los Angeles to audition for a movie role. Lara recounts her meeting Peter Duke, a famous actor and their summer stock experience at Tom Lake, her return to New Hampshire that leads her to NYC where she rekindles her friendship and eventually her marriage to Joe Nelson. 

The cherry orchard provides the backdrop for this novel and the memories that Lara shares. It is also a cathartic journey for her as she puts her life in perspective for her daughters. It is especially telling as she remembers her time with Peter Duke, during which Emily is convinced that she was conceived. By recounting the time at Tom Lake, she realizes that love at 24 years old is so totally different that the love she feels for Joe. It is then that she is at peace with her life. 

 Thoroughly enjoyed this book with its style and the emotions that it elicited. Another great Ann Patchett experience.

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

The selection for our February book group was the debut novel by Charmaine Wilkerson. It was hard to tell to what the title referred, but at first glance, we anticipated a more culinary offering than what was the actual focus of the novel. 

It is really a story of relationships, self-identity, coincidences, and a bit of mystery. Benny and Byron, sister and brother have been estranged for a number of years. They are brought back together by the death of their mother, Eleanor,  who leaves them a tape that she recorded that shed light on her life and a black cake. It was also a means to illuminate the trouble that begins the book when she was a small girl, Covey grew up on a Caribbean island in the 1950s. Her mother had left her and her father, driven away by his drinking and gambling. Covey and her best friend, Bunny were swimmers and enjoyed the waters together. In order to settle debts, Covey's father, Lin, arranges a marriage between Covey and "Little Man" Henry. From the wedding day on, the book details how Covey escaped and found a new life in London, where she went to meet the real love of her life, Gibbs Grant.  

The first part of the book was rough going for me as I tried to sort out the characters and their relationships to each other. When the tape recording revealed the true identities of the characters, it became much more enjoyable and ended up being a real page-turner. Wilkerson masterfully weaves the characters and their relationships together for the reader. As she does that she also amalgamates the themes of feminism, resilience, racism, homophobia, friendship and family ties. The chapters were short and both time-shifted as well as locality-shifted. Once the characters' true identities were revealed, it was not difficult to follow. The solution to the mystery was revealed slowly, but resolved in the last chapter, as was disposition of the black cake

A good and interesting read. 

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

 The Berry Pickers was an interesting novel in that the reader knew from the second chapter on what the solution to the central problem was. Narrated by the two main characters, Joe and Norma, it is the story of a family torn apart by the disappearance of the young Ruthie as her family is picking blueberries. 

The family would leave their home in Nova Scotia and travel to Maine to pick blueberries. In 1962, 4 year old Ruthie disappeared as she and brother Joe were eating a sandwich on a rock. Joe had taken his eyes off her as he fed scraps of bread to birds. The family was devastated and they spent the rest of the summer looking for her as they continued to work the fields. Joe felt the guilt the most for being the last person to see her. Ruthie's disappearance affects his entire life. 

In the alternate chapters, Norma recounts her life. She lives with her parents, Frank and Lenore who have adopted her with very little documentation as to where they found her. Norma senses that their is something not quite right in her ancestry since she has much darker skin than her parents. She also cannot come to terms about why she dreams about a Ruthie.  

Both stories inform their lives fro the next 50 years. Central to the theme of the novel is how families deal with tragedy, loss, and  reconciliation. Reading the prologue to the novel gives the reader insight into the narrative that follows. The suspense that the reader enjoys is how Peters will come to the likely conclusion. The strength of the book is in the character development of Joe, Norma/Ruthie and her Aunt June, Mae (Joe and Ruthie's sister, and Norma's parents. 

A very good read that sparked a lot of discussion at the Gables Book Club.

A Christmas Memory by Richad Paul Evans

Our Book Club always tries to pick a lighter Christmas book for December and this year it was A Christmas Memory. The book begins with the narrator, Richard a young boy in 1967 losing his older brother Mark in the Viet Nam War. This event leads to the stress and turmoil in family relationships that results in the separation of his parents. 

Richard's father blames himself for his son's death and has a hard time meeting the demands of his job and the support of his family. This forces them to move from southern California back to the home of his mother in Salt Lake City. They are fortunate to be able to move into his grandmother's house, rat infested that it was. Concurrent with that move, his father gets his own place and his mother becomes the only parent in charge. However, she is distraught with guilt and spends most of her time in her room, coming out only to sporadically prepare food for Richard. 

Living next door to Richard is Mr. Foster, an elderly man who is virtually a recluse. At the first snowfall, Richard shovels his driveway, but does not see the beneficiary of his actions. It is only when Mr. Foster sees a number of Richard's classmates bullying him verbally and physically does he make an appearance to scare them off. Their friendship has been solidified, helped also by Mr. Foster's dog, Beau that Richard walks. It is a precious relationship with each benefiting from it in just the way they need to. 

Right before Christmas there is another startling revelation when Richard's teacher announces to the class that there is no Santa Claus. Ms. Covey is a horrible teacher who does not seem to like children and has made school a real chore for Richard. When another family crisis happens, Richard loses hope until he and Mr. Foster have some heart-to-heart talks. 

There is much wisdom imparted by this book and some very poignant scenes. In the end there is hope and life to live. As we discussed this at our Christmas luncheon, most admitted we shed a tear, but were buoyed by the end. A fast, heartwarming book. 
 

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

The Violin Conspiracy was an interesting read about a young black man, RqyQuain McMillian, who rises from an amateur student violinist to one of the most accomplished virtuosos in the world of symphonic music who finds himself in the midst of a horrible mystery and crime. From the time as a young boy he has played a rental violin.

The novel begins in media res with Ray and his girlfriend Nicole in New York City where he is performing and with his violin being stolen from his hotel room. The time shifts back to Ray as a youth and recounts the months and years leading up to the crime. 

Ray lives with an overpowering mother and twin siblings. His mother thinks it is a waste of time for him to be playing the instrument when he could be working at Popeye's Chicken or a grocery store. She wants the teenager to contribute to the household expenses. The most supportive person in his life is his grandmother who encourages his playing. Then one Christmas she gives him an old violin that was his great grandfather's who was an enslaved man. It was old, covered in resin and in an old alligator case. When Ray has it cleaned, it is discovered that it is a Stradivarius, worth close to 10 million dollars. The flashback that occupies most of the novel details the struggles that Ray has had to endure a a black instrumentalist, even being arrested by a racist policeman in Baton Rouge. When he meets Nicole, a violist, he finds a support person who is encouraging and loving. 

The investigation into the theft of the Strad points to a number of people who would benefit from its sale: his family who believe that it should have been sold and they split the profits, the descendants, the Marks family, of the slave owner, who believe it is rightly theirs, and even a competitor at the world renowned Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.  Both his family and the Marks sue him. The mystery of the theft provides the main plot of the novel.

One of the most interesting parts of the book was the detail of Ray's repertoire.  I got side-tracked numerous times looking up some of the pieces and listening to them. to hear Itzhak Perlman play Serenade Melancolique is as moving as it was described as he played it in Moscow. Slocumb, an accomplished musician in his own right brings much insight into the classical music world. The mystery of the theft of Ray's violin is not without its red herrings plays out in a surprising solution.. A good, solid, and quick read.

 

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

A sweeping novel of 3 generations of an Indian family, The Covenant of Water,  is one of the best books that have been written in the last years. At 765 pages, it is definitely not a fast read, but a read that will provide the reader one of the most pleasurable hours that can be spent with a book. Verghese is a masterful storyteller and possesses the gift of understanding how to craft words into a literary masterpiece. 

The novel opens a young 12 year-old girl, who will be known as Big Ammachi marries a man over 20 years her senior. She leaves her home and travels with him to Kerala and his estate, Parambil. He had been married before and has a son, JoJo. After about 7 years she delivers a baby girl, Baby Mol, who is developmentally challenged. Her husband's family has been afflicted with The Condition, a predisposition to a fear of water that is borne out by the drowning of a member of the family in each generation. Through the birth of her son, Philipose, and then, the granddaughter, Mariamma, the Big Ammachi establishes herself as the patriarch of the family. Through her eyes, the reader feels her joys and pains and is privileged to her wisdom as she guides the family.  

Part Two of The Covenant of Water introduces Digby Kilpour from Glasgow, Scotland. He has been raised by his mother, Gwendolyn, after his father disappeared when he was very young. She suffers from depression, which causes her to take her own life. Digby decides to leave Scotland and join the Indian Medical Service, where he studies to be a gifted surgeon. His story is told parallel to that of Big Ammachi's and the reader knows that their families' lives will cross paths at some point in the novel. 

To detail the intricate story lines would take about as many pages as the book itself. No character is exempt from grief and loss, one of the major themes of the novel. It is the way each character deals with tragedy that gives insight into all aspects of the human condition. In many books, the reader feels disconnect from the people about whom the story is centered. This is not the case in Verghese's book. There is joy as new babies are born and good deeds are accomplished and tears are shed as death invades the families. But Verghese also gives glimmers of hope as the characters evolve and grow.  

Added to this theme is the glimpse into the world of India from 1907 through 1977 and how it has grown from moved from primitive to modern with the advances made in home amenities, sanitation, and medical breakthroughs. It is fascinating and compelling. Not only is the reader engrossed, but s/he is also educated and enlightened. The Covenant of Water should be on everyone's To Read List. 

On 13 November 2023 we were so lucky to hear Abraham Verghese speak on his book. Without a note and in front of the podium. What a treat!

The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis

The Magnolia Palace falls into that genre that is historical fiction based on some semblance of fact. These novels are enjoyable to read as long as one can discern fact from fiction. For me as a reader, I tend to fact check as I read, which leads me deep into rabbit warrens!

Davis has centered her book around the Frick family, especially Miss Helen Clay Frick, whose story is well known in Pittsburgh because of their home here, Clayton,  that is here and open to the public as a museum. Henry Clay Frick was a steel magnate whose relationship with Andrew Carnegie has been well-documented. The family moved from Pittsburgh to New York where he opened the Frick Collection to display his love and penchant for collecting masterpieces. 

The novel is another that blends two stories from two different time periods into a conclusion that merges the characters together. In 1919, a young model, Miss Lilly,  is hired by Helen Frick to be her personal assistant/secretary. She lives and works at the Frick home that is tied to the Frick Collection. Her past is a bit sordid, but she manages to keep that knowledge from the family by dodging their questions, all the while knowing that at some time her gig may be up. Fast forward to 1966 when Veronica, another model from England travels to New York City for a photo shoot that is being held at the Frick Collection. 

Miss Lilly's story evolves as she is promised a sum of money by Henry Clay Frick if she can arrange a marriage for Miss Helen. Richard Danforth is proclaimed a suitable beau and Lilly sets the stage. Along the way her plans are derailed and she finds herself in a sticky situation that involves Richard. Upon the death of Henry, Helen places in his casket a cameo broach with a hidden compartment that houses a magnolia colored diamond. The cameo is a silhouette of Martha, the youngest Frick child who died at age 5.  Before his funeral, it is discovered missing.

Veronica arrives at The Frick Collection ready for the Vogue photo shoot only to discover the sexist attitude of those involved.  She is about ready to flee when the electricity goes off and she finds herself locked in the mansion due to a horrific snow storm. She is discovered by Joshua Lawrence, an intern there. The two of them embark on following clues that Helen had made up for a scavenger hunt for Richard. 

As the two stories converge the reader becomes a witness to the greed, animosity, and wealth that aristocratic Americans held as well as the mystery of the cameo. Davis reveals the tragedy of the death of Martha and the impudence of Childs Frick.  The novel conveys the devotion of Helen, not only to her father, but to philanthropy. She established the Frick Art Reference Library that provides public access to materials and programs focused on the study of fine and decorative arts, the fine arts department at the University of Pittsburgh, and the Frick Art Museum on the grounds of Clayton.

Definitely an enjoyable read with much background on an American family of note.