The Nest topped the New York Times best seller list for 11 weeks after its publication in 2016. The plot sounded intriguing and when it was a Kindle deal of the day, I purchased it. Then in July 2018, I saw it at Barnes and Noble on sale for $3.99, forgetting that I had it on my Kindle, I purchased it again. (This prompted me to enter all my Kindle books into LibraryThing). When my turn came to hostess book club, this was the book I selected.
The premise of the novel is that the four Plumb siblings are to receive a sum of money, The Nest, that has been put in trust for them by their father. However, when Leo, the eldest, is involved in an horrendous car accident because he was high and drunk and is accompanied by a 19 year old waitress, the money is used by Francie, the mother, to pay off the legal and medical bills for the young woman. Needless to say this creates issues and conflicts for Jack, Melody, and Beatrice, the other siblings.
The novel is narrated by an omniscient third person. In this way, the reader is able to see events from different points of view, one of the strongest qualities of the book. Each of the protagonists has counted on The Nest for a purpose - Jack to pay off a summer home, Melody to finance her twin daughters' college fund and Beatrice to regain the relationship that she had with her brother. None of the characters are particularly endearing as they seem self-centered and unable to put their own needs aside for others. The novel weaves the story around those relationships and a number of sub-plots - the coming out of one of Melody's daughters, the recovery of a valuable copy of Rodin's The Kiss from the rubble of the World Trade Center, and the renewal of an affair between Leo and Stephanie, his sister, Bea's publisher.
The culmination of all the drama occurs the night of Melody's 40th birthday. This was the date by which Leo had promised to come up with a plan of distributing the remainder of The Nest to his siblings. The evening is marked by a storm of enormous proportions, meteorological, corporal, and psychological.
Although the reviews in the book club discussion ranged from I loved it to I found it disturbing because of the sex and language, I felt that it was an excellent read. The character development was superb, despite finding them likeable, and the writing style sophisticated. I await Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's next novel and also the casting for the movie that has been picked up by Amazon.
When three of my friends, two librarians and one lawyer, posted on Facebook that they had attended a book lecture by Louise Penny, I figured that I was missing something. And so, I borrowed the first of her Inspector Gamache novels and read away. Yes, I was definitely missing something, a page turner and absolutely delightful read.
The action takes place in Three Pines, what seems to be a quaint Quebec village. The town is shocked by the death of one of its most upstanding and lovely residents, Jane Neal. Her body was found in the woods with an arrow piercing her heart by Ben Hadley. For most of the residents, it appeared to be a hunting accident, but the team of investigators led by Armand Gamache doesn't buy into that theory. Jane has just had a painting accepted into the opening of the Arts Williamsburg. Fair Day is a depiction of the annual fair and includes portraits of the villagers. Clara Morrow, Jane's best friend, also reveals that the painted was finished just about the time of another villager, Timmer's death. Add another cause for Gamache's suspicion.
At this point, no one is about to be left out of the questioning and when Matthew Croft seems anxious during his interview, Gamache and his second in command, Jean Guy Beauvoir, decide to search the Croft home. In the basement they find an arrowhead with Jane's blood and a bow that was about to be burned in the furnace. The Croft's son, Phillip, becomes the leading suspect until his father confesses. But the story doesn't fit and Gamache refuses to arrest him, an action that has him removed from the case.
Enter Yolande, Jane's money hungry niece. Yolande feels that she is the rightful heir to the home and Jane's belongings and moves right in. There is something quite fishy about this and effort is expended on finding the will that would prove this. Unfortunately, for Yolande, Jane's will was changed and now the house becomes open to the investigating team. They find the reason that no one was ever able to pass from the kitchen into the living area of the house while Jane was alive. It is there that the clue to the real murderer is found.
This was a fascinating who dun it book and I believe that I have found an author who will help fill the void left by P.D.James in my quest for good mysteries. Penny is a cerebral writer and if her subsequent books are half as good as Still Life, I will be content. She is popular, placing a hold for the next in the series of 16 so far, yields an 8 week wait.
The fourth installment of the Clifton Chronicles, Be Careful What You Wish For, picks up right at the end of #3. It resolves the cliffhanger, which I had suspected all along. The continuing narrative takes the readers into the 1960s as the Cliftons and Barringers expand families and their shipping business.
Although wary of committing to the building of a luxury liner due to the increased efficiency and popularity of the airline business, the company does enter into contracts for the construction of one in Ireland. As one can imagine that process is fraught with delays and sabotage instigated by one Juan Pedro and Diego. Much of the novel deals with the machinations of stock trading that leads to the composition and recomposition of the Board of Directors.
In another parallel story, Jessica, Emma and Harry's adopted daughter is accepted to the Slade School of Art. She meets and falls in love with Clive Bingham. The two announce their engagement and both families are exceedingly happy. However, enter Lady Virginia Fenwick, a friend of Clive's mother, who manages to poison the occasion. Her revelation of Jessica's parentage brings on dire and tragic consequences.
To reveal much more of the plot would lead to major spoilers. As is typical of Archer, the novel ends with another cliffhanger. The Barrington ocean liner, Buckingham, is about to begin her maiden voyage when the party is infiltrated by IRA terrorists. As the bomb explodes, the novel ends. Archer's next book in the series will illuminate what actually happened.
The Clifton Chronicles is an addictive series that keeps the reader engrossed. Is it sometimes predictable? Yes. Is the action sometimes unrealistic? Yes. But the enjoyment is still there and I anxiously await the time when I can get back to the series.
SPOILERS FOR THE SERIES BELOW
The next two books in the Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer were fairly quick reads because of Archer's writing and the fact that I couldn't make our book club for two months.
Harry Clifton has joined the British Navy and after his ship sinks, he assumes the identity of Tom Bradshaw. As a result, he is sent to prison to serve Bradshaw's term for desertion. Emma Barrington, believes that he is still alive, having read The Diary of a Convict that was published by another inmate in his name. She sets out to find Harry. In the mean time, Hugo Barrington, possibly Harry's real father, fathers another child by Olga. Hugo refuses to admit to it and Olga murders him and then commits suicide, leaving the daughter as an orphan. As a result of Hugh's death, Giles and Hugo were both contenders to inherit the Barrington estate and title. The novel ends with the judge pondering which of the men is the true heir.
Best Kept Secret opens with the judge's decision that Harry is not Hugo's son. Giles is the
rightful heir and that leaves Harry free to marry Emma. Emma is determined to track down the child of Olga and Hugo. Meanwhile, Lady Barrington changes her will to only recognize Emma and her sister, Grace. Giles is omitted from the will because of his marriage to Lady Virginia. This sets up one series of revenge moves.
Sebastian becomes involved with one of the most sinister figures in all of literature - Don Pedro, the father of his best friend at Cambridge. He is unknowingly enlisted to help smuggle counterfeit money into England from Argentina. The plot is foiled and Don Pedro seeks his revenge against the Cliftons and Barringtons. The novel ends with a tragic car accident in which Sebastian is killed, or is he?
I love books in series like this. Although sometimes predictable, it is definitely entertaining. There are three more installments and it will be interesting to see how far Archer takes the revenge theme.
This is my first experience with a Moshfegh novel and it was definitely that - an experience. It is hard to categorize this book as to whether it was funny, depressing, or puzzling. The premise is that the narrator opts to take a year off life and hibernate while filling her body with drugs and television, and old movies.
Set in 2000, the narrator has worked at a gallery but was fired because of sleeping on the job. She has two friends, Reva a classmate from Columbia and Trevor, a boyfriend from college who are a part of her solitary life. While at Columbia she is orphaned when her parents die within months of each other, causing anguish and despair. The most despicable character in the novel is Dr. Tuttle, her psychiatrist. At many points did I want to slap this woman for feeding the narrator a pharmacological diet of nothing but pills without any regard for interaction or what they would do to a person. But as a result of her parents' deaths, there is an unspecified amount of money and wealth to enable her to not work and have an apartment in NYC.
As the reader is privy to her year of hibernation, it triggers almost a feeling of pity for the young woman. Reva tries to reason with her, but as a person dealing with her own issues, bulimia, her credibility loses some validity. As the two drive to attend Reva's mother's funeral, their relationship seems to strengthen and the then crumble. At unexpected turns she shows up in the narrator's apartment. She appears one day, depressed, that she she had broken up with her boyfriend, who was also her boss and was consequently being transferred to a new department located in the World Trade Center. (Just a bit of foreshadowing. On another occasion raids the medicine chest to take all of the pills. Upon waking up from a blackout period, the narrator rushes to Reva's where she, indeed, finds the pills. This solidifies her plan of hibernation for four months.
There is no reason to reveal the ending. That is left for the reader to discover. Moshfegh is a master of language and developing the characters through their voices and the narrator's reaction to their conversations and descriptions. It will be an interesting lecture at the Ten Literary Evenings on 18 February when Moshfegh speaks about her books.
One of the great things about book clubs is that you read books that, maybe, you wouldn't have otherwise chosen to read. I wasn't quite sure how The Last Days of Night was going to be when I first looked at it. But, again, what a great read.
It begins in 1888, the time that electricity was first becoming commercialized. It chronicles the fight between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse as they struggled to gain the upper hand in the production and selling of the commodity and the accoutrements that went with it. This story is told through the eyes of the young lawyer, Paul Cravath, who is hired by Westinghouse to fight for his patents. The 312 lawsuits were filed because Edison invented a light bulb and received a patent for it. Westinghouse followed with a better bulb, and filed for a patent. However, Edison contended that Westinghouse's bulb violated the patents that he had filed. Edison demanded one billion dollars in damages and Cravath needed to prove that Westinghouse's bulb was better and different and didn't infringe on the patents that Edison held.
Enter Nikola Tesla, a genius, who was determined to make his own statement with AC electricity and its superiority for wide range use in electrifying the country. What results is a novel of intrigue, high powered machinations, criminal activity, and a bit of romance. The characters are real but fictionalized in the daily comings and goings. Moore includes at the conclusion of the book a detailed listing of what is real and what isn't.
Cravath meets and becomes infatuated with the Metropolitan Opera singer, Agnes Huntington. He co-opts her to aid him in protecting Tesla whose life, he fears, may be in danger. Another historical figure who is prominently featured in the novel is J.P. Morgan who shows what the power of money can do.
The novel is beautifully written and fascinating with all the geniuses springing to life within the fabric of the individual personalities. Moore describes Tesla as the visionary, interested in dreaming up inventions; Edison as the showman, interested in the performance; Westinghouse, the produce who wanted inventions crafted and produced to be the best. As Moore delves into the personality of the men, the reader is enlightened to see how they lived and worked. The inventiveness and creativity of the mind brings it home that we need to foster intellectual curiosity.
There are some books that will stand the test of time as being a true classic. An
American Marriage might just be one of those books. It has gained critical acclaim from all reviewers and was one of President Obama's summer reads of 2018.
Told from the perspective of the protagonists, it is the story of Roy and Celestial, a black couple in Atlanta, who are well-educated and and financially in good standing. On a trip to visit his mother the couple opt to stay in a motel rather than at his mother's home. The decision has dire consequences for he is accused of raping another guest at the hotel. He is arrested and sent to jail despite being innocent. Much of the novel is recounted in the form of letters between Celestial and Roy while he is in prison. Through those very personal missives the reader is given insight into the early days of the relationship and then to how each deals with his imprisonment. During that time period Celestial's Uncle Banks, a lawyer, works endlessly to prove Roy's innocence.
In addition the narration by Celestial and Roy, there are chapters devoted to Andre Tucker, a childhood friend of Celestial's. He does not hide the fact that he has always been in love with her since their prom date. She never shared those feelings and he has respected her for that. As a stalwart companion during the time Roy is in jail, the two rekindle a friendship and more. Other strong characters in the book are Roy's parents, Roy Senior and Olive, and Celestial's parents. Franklin and Delano Davenport. Each weighs in on the tragic situation as well as how they first viewed the couple.
Without giving away most of the plot, suffice it to say that a tangled web is woven among the three. This was a wonderful read, tho so disturbing to think of how race plays such a part in the judgment that members of a jury can put forth. In some respects it reminded me of the trial of Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird, that was written 60 years before. Has all that much really changed in America? With themes as racism and class, the influence of fathers in our lives, and the strengths and weaknesses of a marital state there is much to be digested in the reading of An American Marriage.
Probably one of the best lectures I have ever heard was given by Tayari Jones on 19 November 2018 as a part of the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures series. She was candid, articulate and made the voices and narration of her novel come alive. The book was wonderful and so was she.
The hostess for the December book club meeting usually picks a lighter book because we are all caught up in the holiday preparations. The Rosie Project was definitely a light read with servings of hilarity, hubris, insights into the world of autism.
Don Tillman is a professor of genetics in Melbourne, Australia, who has decided that he would like to be married. Hence, he and his best friend Gene devise the Wife Project, composing a questionnaire to filter out or in good candidates. With all his idiosyncrasies, due in part to being on the autism spectrum, it is virtually impossible. He goes to a speed dating event where he meets a few women, but none to measure up to his requirements of a non-smoker, non-drinker, acceptable BMI, and good looking. But then he meets Rosie Jarman, whom he believes was sent to him by Gene. But actually, she was a doctoral student who was doing a study on the relationship of testicle size and monogamy. He makes reservations at a very upscale restaurant, but then gets into a wrestling match with the owner when he doesn't comply with the dress code of wearing a jacket. The incident leads to a dinner at Don's house and the reader senses a connection that will develop.
Rosie shares with Don her desire to know who her biological father is. The Wife Project then becomes the Father project and the two embark on a quest to match her DNA with numbers of paternal candidates. This leads to a number of comical adventures and even a trip from Melbourne to New York. In the identity of her father is revealed and Don and Rosie come to an agreement about their on and off relationship.
Despite the humorous under and overtones of the novel, there are some serious themes that permeate the fabric of the book. Both Don and Rosie have had to overcome adversity in their lives. He has had to try to overcome the traits that Asberger's has dealt and she life without her mother who was killed in a car accident when she was young. Overriding all the action is the search for love and the sacrifice to achieve a fulfilling life. When Don agrees to put aside some of his obsessive traits like the Standardized Meal System and his beloved T-shirts, one knows that he is serious about changing his way of life to be attractive to Rosie.
It was a delightful read, seemingly light, but with some serious issues and topics that become apparent to the reader as the book ends.
Mary Higgins Clark is one of the most prolific authors who are publishing today. Without fail she releases a book every April. I've Got You Under My Skin was published 3 years ago and was the newest one I had purchased. Her books, quick reads with short chapters, seem to have become quite formulaic.
With the publication of this book, Clark was beginning a new series, Under Suspicion, that would be based on cold cases. There are 2 levels of mysteries in this novel. Laurie Moran is a TV producer whose husband was murdered in a park by a gunman who told their 3 year old son, Timmy, that his mother would be next and then he. Fast forward 5 years and Moran is producing a documentary about a cold case that involved the murder of a socialite who was hosting a "gala night" for her daughter and friends on graduation night.
The killer has yet to surface again, but the threat still weighs on Laurie's mind and Timmy's who sees the killer's blue eyes in his nightmares. The friends who are reunited for the filming of the documentary provide the novel's suspense as Moran interviews all those who were in the house the night that Betsy Powell was suffocated. Coming from different parts of the U.S. and from different stages in their lives back to the Powell home, the women all seem to be hiding something - possibly the knowledge of who the murderer actually is. As the reader can imagine, the two plots intersect with Bruno, the murderer of Laurie's husband, works as a gardener on the Powell estate.
For an astute reader, it won't be too far into the novel when one unpuzzles the puzzle! Maybe because I have read so many great English mysteries, I have become more perceptive in the deciphering of the mystery. However, it is more likely that I have just read too many of Clark's books and I can detect where she is going with her plots. I've Got You Under My Skin is a really quick read and fun picturing the 4 graduates as they squirm to not indict themselves for murder.
When Outlander chosen as our Gables Book Club read for September, I was quite surprised because I thought everyone on the earth had read this except me. I had downloaded it a few years ago when it was on sale for the Kindle. It was also surprising since the length of the book was much longer than our usual reads.
The entire series has been a major player in the world of fiction literature, with each entry skyrocketing to the top of the Best Seller list. The novel opens in 1945 after WWII when Claire and Frank Randall are enjoying being together after spending the war years apart. Frank has some real interest in genealogy has found that the Vicar in the village has knowledge of some of Frank's ancestors, especially Captain Jack Randall. Claire's passion is flowers and she meets a Mr. Cook who shares her interest and who has knowledge of the greenery of the area. He takes her on an exploratory journey of the Highlands and imparts oodles of information about the local flora. On this excursion, Claire comes upon a small henge to which she take Frank back. There they come upon a group of women who seem much like witches. She returns the next day to try to identify a plant and it is on that journey that she passes through the stones and is transported back to 1743.
Attacked by Captain Jonathan Randall, an ancestor of Frank's, she is eventually rescued by Jaimie Fraser. From that point in time the novel evolves around the fact that Jaime is on the run trying to keep from being apprehended for a crime he did not commit. In order to protect herself and Jaimie, Claire reluctantly agrees to marry him. She feels guilty about abandoning Frank, but soon comes to love her life married to Jaimie.
Numerous incidents ensue where Claire and Jaimie must use cunning and power to escape consume the rest of the novel. Some of these drag on through the novel and by shortening them the novel could have been shortened. Diana Gabaldon does not mince words either when she is describing battles and fights or when detailing the actions in sex scenes.
For the most part, I enjoyed the book, but feel that in some places it dragged on and on. It seemed that the plot took a back seat to all the different episodic encounters that ended most chapters with cliff hangers. I am not sure when I will continue to the 2nd book in the series. I am not as taken with Outlander as many of my friends are, but will likely give the series another chance.
