We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How far back can you remember? Can you trust your earliest recollections, or have they been colored by time, maturity, perspective, subsequent events, or listening to others telling stories? Maybe your memories aren’t yours at all; maybe they’re conjectures you’ve invented to allow yourself to function.

Rosemary tells her life story: father a Psychology professor at Indiana University, mother a housewife, older brother Lowell and twin sister Fern, who was somehow subtracted from her life at an early age. If you’re a reader who reads the backs of books, you’ll figure out quite quickly that Fern was a chimpanzee, and she was raised as Rosemary’s and Lowell’s sister as part of a psychological study sponsored by the University. Don’t let the chimpanzee aspect steer you away from this book—it’s well-written, and Rosemary’s narration is so compelling, you’ll find yourself reading as fast as you can while hoping the story doesn’t end too soon.


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Still Life With Bread Crumbs

Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Of course this is a 5-star book; does Anna Quindlen write any other kind?

This is the story of the self-reinvention of famed photographer Rebecca Winter. Divorced, alone, broke and dispirited, Rebecca sublets her beloved Manhattan apartment to make ends meet. She moves to a small town a couple of hours from the city and rents an old cottage. While there, she meets some locals, travels back to the city to visit her failing parents, has her son over for a visit, and does what she always does: takes photos of what she sees.

Quindlen's characters  are always personable and realistic, and Rebecca teaches us that it's okay to continually become who you are, whomever that might be at a given time.


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Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good by Kathleen Flinn

Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family by Kathleen Flinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What's not to love here? Family, fishing, foibles and food are all part of this fabulous Michigan memoir that includes the recipes mentioned in the story. Kathleen Flinn, author of bookshelf-worthy reads The Sharper Your Knife The Less Your Cry and The Kitchen Counter Cooking School, delivers yet another engrossing true story, and this one is set in Michigan (also my home state)!

I don't want to give too much away, but I can tell you I laughed at the chicken coop tale and the streaking story, and I cried at one point...maybe two. Kathleen included family photos as well, captioned with quotes and other wise words from her parents and ancestors. This book is a celebration of family and an inspiring invitation to cook a grand yet simple meal to share with your loved ones.


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The Biology of Luck

The Biology of Luck by Jacob M. Appel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Part guided tour of America's greatest city, part love story, part character study, The Biology of Luck makes me want to return to NYC just to soak in the atmosphere. This is the story of Larry Bloom, certified NYC tour guide, dreamer, writer. Larry is looking forward to his date with Starshine Hart, and he has written a novel in which Starshine is the main character. You get a novel within a novel, some fabulously realistic characters, and enough vivid details to make you feel like you're walking through Gotham on a beautiful June day.

The author (a real NYC tour guide and psychiatrist) gave me a free copy of this book and asked for a review; I would purchase this book myself, and I'll watch for more works by this writer.  I'll also pass it around my book club to garner more feedback. Well done!


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Home Front

Home Front: A Novel by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the story of an incredibly strong woman learning to live with some weakness, some vulnerability, and some reliance on others.  Jolene is a black hawk pilot in the National Guard, and she's deployed, along with her best friend Tami, to Iraq.  The deployment occurs right after her husband tells her he no longer loves her and while her preteen daughter is treating her with typical disdain and disrespect.  She also has a four-year-old daughter and her husband, who will be a single parent during the year she'll be gone, is a criminal defense attorney who works 60-plus hours at his own law firm. There's a lot to the set-up, the history and the current situations of all of the characters, but I'll let each reader discover these elements for herself.

There are some twists and turns in the story, and there were several times I had to close the book and get a grip on my emotions before continuing.  Note, I am NOT usually emotionally affected like this!

This story is the best Kristin Hannah book I've read.  I have a new, more intense respect for, and a better understanding of, our service people.  Well done! 


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The Goldfinch

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the best book I've read in a long time, from the first page to the last.  I listened to the Audible version, which was so well done, I didn't read a word in the paper version (although I have it, sitting right here).

The story starts with Theodore Decker, a thirteen-year-old boy, and his mother, on their way to a meeting with the principal to discuss Theo's latest transgression.  On the way there, they stop in the museum.  There's an explosion, and Theo's mother dies.  Theo remembers seeing a pretty girl seconds before the explosion, and he spends a dying old man's last moments with him, lying in the rubble. From there to the end, Theo's life is one grand adventure full of grief, friendship, massive amounts of drugs, good and bad decisions, and fortuitous circumstances that end up leading him full circle.

Theo lives and learns, and imparts his lessons to the reader. It's a fabulous, all-consuming, dive-in-able story, and if I didn't have a stack of 10 books to read on my shelf right now, I'd read it again.  Immediately.

I hope Donna Tartt is busy writing another novel...


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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When Harold Fry receives a card from former co-worker Queenie Hennesey telling him she's dying of cancer, he sets off on a 600-mile walk to see her.  He does this without a plan, a map, or a cell phone, in yachting shoes.  Harold is recently retired and exists with his wife in their home, in separate bedrooms for the past twenty years.

As he walks, Harold ruminates on his past and examines some of his regrets and choices, inspects his memories and stares into the cracks.  He encounters people, he learns how to eat roots and mushrooms, he learns how to tell which direction he's heading from the sun and the bark patterns on the trees. He evolves.

The writing is fantastic, and Harold's journey is inspiring.  He saves himself.  I won't ruin it for you by telling you whether or not he makes it to Queenie and what else happens along the way, but I will say this: the ending is not sad.


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