Tag: books

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout (Literary Fiction)

Writing: 5/5 Characters: 5/5 Plot: 4/5

I was instantly hooked by the epigraph: Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible. — Carl Jung

This was the beautifully written, deeply reflective story of Artie Dam — a high school history teacher who spends time considering free will, loneliness, and whether or not anybody can really know anybody else. He watches his own mind a lot — I like that concept. He has been married 34 years, has a grown son who has become more distant, and a deep love for his students who he fears, based on the last election, he is sending out into an unsafe world.

I love the way the author (who is one of my favorites) paints a scene from multiple points of views. We spend a lot of time in Artie’s head, but we also get snapshots of what each of the people in his life think about him simultaneously and why. The elucidation of how we perceive the people around us, how they perceive us, and how we manage to make a connection to them despite this variance is brilliant. I also loved the fluid way Artie reflects on his life — memories precipitated by small events and interactions and the larger social shifting in reaction to the big events — Covid, the 2024 election, and the (ever changing) perceptions of right and wrong.

Political angst is a big piece of the context for Artie and several other key characters. Semi-oblique references to orange hair, cancelled government contracts, ICE “Nazis”, and general loathing for certain personages (you know who they are!) are tossed out without too much discussion. I found this interesting not because I agree or disagree with the view, but because of how having these feelings — justified or not — deeply impacted the characters. I appreciated that the author did include other characters — presented as reasonable and good people — who held either opposing views (they voted for Trump!) or who were simply content to wait and see what actually happened, rather than get too intensely worked up about it. What I loved about this book was that in spite of the angst — both internally and externally induced — the novel was primarily about personal insight and the way that we can have a positive impact on others and work to achieve the contentment and connection that we want. I found this book ultimately uplifting.

Quotes:
“She was unaware — even after their thirty-four years of married life — of the deep pockets of sensitivity that Artie had. And why did she not know? Because she herself did not have those particular sensitivities — and like almost everyone else on this Earth her imagination could not take her fully to another place, even with her husband.”

“So blind we humans are — so blind. To each other and to ourselves, moving through life as though through shadows, putting out a hand in the dark and thinking we have touched someone. And maybe we have, as Artie did with Rhonda Lazarre that day. But mostly we travel through life unsighted, grasping only the smallest details of one another’s selves, including our own. Thinking all the while that we can see.”

“And then she leaned her head against his shoulder, and this is what stabbed Artie now, their innocence, and how badly he wanted — as that elderly woman had — to lean his head against a loving person, to be innocent and incorruptible.”

“And now he knew why. Because to say anything real was to say things that nobody wanted to know. Or if they wanted to know, they would not care in the right way. Or even understand. It was a private thing, to be alive. He understood this now.”

“As he walked slowly up to the bedroom, he thought that now, after all these years, he was finally becoming a grownup. What did he mean by that? That he was finally beginning to understand the multitudinous aspect of people. He was amazed by it, really, now that he thought about it. In his study of history, he had learned about the leaders, and the various groups involved, but he had some how missed this fact about every single person: that they held within themselves a vast, unknowable universe. And he understood that it could make a person lonely; people had to take and give to one another whatever they could. If it was not enough … Well, then it meant one just had to be a grownup.”

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on May 5th, 2026.

Crown City by Naomi Hirahara (Historical Mystery)

Writing: 5/5 Characters: 4/5 Plot: 3.5/5

It’s 1903 and 18-year old Ryunosuke Wada — a novice carpenter — has made his way from Yokohama, Japan to Pasadena, CA alone after the sudden death of his Master Carpenter father. While there, a number of mysteries come his way — a missing painting, a dead body, a possible attempted murder, some anti-Japanese threats — that he tackles with his older Japanese roommate, “Jack.” These are resolved successfully and in a satisfyingly complex way, but for me the novel is really the story of the very observant and continually reflective “Ryui” as he becomes both an adult and an “American.”

The author’s prose is precise, contemplative, and acutely descriptive, exploring cultural practices and clashes, historical settings, and routine practices of living and working at the time. The lovingly detailed rendering of the Master Carpenter’s process for hand crafting beautiful objects and buildings, spanning architectural thought to wood selection to the final transformations was beautifully done — drawing me in despite my initial lack of interest in the subject. The characters had depth and conflicts were clarified from multiple perspectives. I felt as though I gained some real understanding of the time and place in which the story occurred.

I listened to the audio book and thought the narrator did an excellent job of imbuing the story with a relatable voice. This is a new author for me and she is going right onto my list. Crown City is “book 3” of the “Japantown Mysteries.” I have no idea how this volume fits into the first two, but if they are written with the same level of character and cultural insight, I’ll be happy to find out!

Grace and Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman (Literary Fiction)

Grace and Henry have been “mommed” — brought together by their well-meaning mothers over a ridiculously fabricated wifi problem to see if they could help each other out. Grace’s husband died after a long battle with cancer; Henry’s wife died in a private plane crash that also took out most of the senior leadership of the company for which they both worked. Neither is anywhere close to being ready to “move on,” but thanks to the intervention, they do find some comfort in having a friend who understands what they are going through.
This book is about grief and holding it together against all odds and yet … I found myself laughing out loud on every page. It takes real authorial talent to focus on the depth and complexity of trauma induced emotion while simultaneously seeing the wry humor available to the reflective soul during nearly any aspect of life. I loved the characters — Henry and Grace, but also Grace’s son — the sensitive, artistic, emotionally intuitive boy-child Ian; their family dog Harry Styles, purchased on the way home from her husband’s funeral, Grace’s emotional support ghost (aka her dead husband), and the various friends and family who surround them with infusions of the kind of quirky love that only the collection of misfits we call ours can provid

I loved the writing — the wry humor, the stellar dialog, the poignant shifting of perspective between a future focus and the firm grip maintained on rapidly elusive memories. It made me think about how we consider our priorities — how often do we seek excitement over contentment or adrenaline rushes over dwelling in beauty? How often do we discount the importance of human connection over career advancement or external recognition?

I’ve read all of Matthew Norman’s books and don’t know how I missed this one which just came out last November. He writes families and individuals with humor and depth — one of the few male writers I’m aware of who can write about these topics in a way that resonates with me.

Some great quotes:
Parenting in times of crisis, I’m learning, is a delicate balance between fiction, nonfiction, and pure fantasy, like when Bella asked if we could call her dad in heaven, and I told her they don’t have cell towers there.

Watching this guy drink a beer is like watching someone test something for poison. He sips, looks with trepidation into his glass, awaits death.

Unfortunately, the rest of my apartment looks like it’s set in a dystopian future where humans no longer care about home décor because we’ve been enslaved by robots.

Plus, she probably isn’t even awake. It’s 7:47 p.m., and she said she’s been tired for eleven years.

… And I’ve combined them with my favorite lounging sweater. Last time I wore it home, my mom said she didn’t know Goodwill had a section specifically for shut-ins.

The People’s Library by Veronica G. Henry (speculative Fiction)

Writing: 3.5/5 Plot: 4/5 Characters: 4.5/5

An ambitious, somewhat dystopic, but certainly thought-provoking piece of speculative fiction, The People’s Library follows Echo London, a dedicated librarian whose job, like many others, has been replaced with AI. She’s lucky, though — she has been given a position in a virtual library where people check out virtual replicas of great minds to converse with, rather than books to read. Once that would have been anathema to London, but she finds herself drawn to the “virtus” as they are called, and becomes far more involved with them than with the flesh and blood people in her community. The action becomes intense with anti-tech rebels attacking the library, invisible puppet masters trying to bring about the next evolutionary step for humanity, and virtual AI beings that appear to have the capacity to suffer. This brings up many ethical dilemmas, and I admit that it wasn’t always obvious to me what the right answers should be, or even what the author thought the right answers should be.

The book explores some of my favorite science fiction questions: the nature of consciousness, the possibility of human-AI pairing, the evolution of the human species. While I’ve read quite a few stories that dabble in these areas, I did think this one captured more of a modern sensibility. The author is known for her African American fantasy, and I liked the African and African American slant the book took in its characters, designs, and references to Black history (e.g. one of the virtual beings was Jesse Cooper, one of the first Black enlisted men who were admitted to Naval officer training in 1944). Also some great Black literary references such as Helen Oyemi’s Icarus girl. I didn’t particularly enjoy some of the plot devices used — I never like plots that depend on one super-powerful and manipulative “bad guy,” and I didn’t really grok the mechanism that allowed the good guys to get out of a bad situation, but I did think the teaser at the end was a good way to leave us thinking about the book rather than simply feeling good about closure. Trying not to give away any of the plot and still let you know what you’re in for!

Worth reading.

A Thousand Painted Hours by Barbara O’Neal (Historical Fiction)

Excellent historical fiction alternating between London in late 1940, during the Blitz, and the early 1900s in India and England. Elsie has been raised in India, her father in the British civil service. While there she forms a deep friendship with a Sikh prince with strong tendencies towards independence. When her father is called back to England, Elsie is reluctantly sent back as well.

This is a love story that stretches across time, space, class, and political trends, including the recognition of the treatment and consideration of women. It’s quite emotional and there are plenty of scenes I can only describe as “torrid” which is usually not my thing, but the writing was excellent, the situations were quite believable, and I never felt emotionally manipulated. Additionally, the various characters and depiction of life in those times and places were really good — colonial India, war torn England, Cairo after WWI, etc.) . Elsie is an artist struggling to make her way in a world where her responsibilities and the expectations of others don’t always allow her much autonomy. The descriptions of her artistic efforts were very engaging (that’s two books in a row about artistic types that have appealed to me, the unartistic type) and the detailed descriptions of the (completely appropriate to the ages) discussions and interests of the various characters (her Prince, his sister, her own mother, a Bohemian group she connects with, etc) is a marvel. I love the way that the letter exchanges between her and her Sikh Prince always contained “one small beauty” regardless of the deeply disturbing events they were going through.

It was a quick read — a little repetitive (for me) on the love story, but fully compelling from start to finish.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on August 11th, 2026.

Lidie by Jane Smiley (Historical Fiction)

I love Jane Smiley’s books — they always immerse you in a place and time and unfold at a tempo that mimics the pace of life, rather than that of a novel. In this book, the titular Lidie is a young woman living in rural Illinois in the 1850s. Think Lincoln – Douglas debates, intense polarization around slavery, and rapid westward expansion in the US. She is (already) a widow, her husband having been shot in KT (Kansas Territory) for being an abolitionist. She is very tall and rather plain, and it is the general consensus that her chances of attracting another man onto which the family might offload her are bleak. However, this is the story of her life from her own viewpoint, and she is not terribly bothered by the opinions of others. Her life veers off in unexpected ways (she makes it to Liverpool!) and we go along for the thoroughly detailed ride. This is historical fiction at its best — accurate in physical, cultural, familial, and emotional description.

What interested me was her ongoing thorough observations and reflections. She is not driven towards any particular goal, nor does she worry excessively about the expectations of others, but she is extremely observant and intelligent. She is not well educated in any kind of modern sense, but she reads, sees, converses, and appears to think in a way I found quite absorbing. Through a variety of happenstances, she sees and grabs on to opportunities that lead her to veer off the typical track of a woman of her age and era. I never saw those opportunities coming, but they fit into an older, less propelled style of life. At first I found the pace of the narrative a bit slow, but when I calmed down and stopped expecting non stop action, I was able to thoroughly live a completely (to me) alien life vicariously. This book felt so real! It’s not often that a modern person can put me so thoroughly in the mind of someone from a completely different age.

Great writing, intriguing characters, and a world brought fully to life. And — I absolutely loved the (completely unexpected) ending. I will say no more about that!!

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on April 21st, 2026.

My Grandfather, the Master Detective by Masateru Konishi (Literary Mystery)

<Translated from Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai>

I loved this book — It was gentle, dispassionate, intellectually engaging, and full of human insight depicted through understated, yet beautiful prose.

Kaede is a young, somewhat reserved, woman who shares a love of mysteries and puzzles with her aging grandfather. While the grandfather is suffering from Lewy Body Dementia, he manages to maintain aspects of his intellect and personality amid the confusions and hallucinations of the disease. In fact, one of the things I enjoyed the most about the book was the way he could train his still sharp wits and experimental approach on his own internal thinking apparatus to discern reality from hallucination.

Kaede is slow to connect with others, but she begins to bond with a colleague and his friend over stories, particularly in the Mystery genre. There are four “puzzles” her companions discuss, and these she takes to her grandfather who happily solves them quickly and with a crisp elucidation of his analytic steps. And then there is the biggest — and most impactful — puzzle of all. One that affects Kaede directly.

There was so much that I loved about reading this book — the portrayal of everyday culture in Japan with the small practices of cooking, commuting, fashion, and politeinteraction; the interactions with a beloved but in many ways failing elderly relative; and the broad range of “classic” mystery stories ranging from the well-known (e.g. Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen) to those I hadn’t heard of (e.g. John Dickson Carr, Takeshi Setogawa) to more contemporary series I hadn’t thought of in ages (e.g. Harry Kemmelman). The reader becomes, along with the characters themselves, a connoisseur of the genre in the most delightful and absorbing way.

The book is an ode to storytelling, friendship, and self understanding — the writing (and translation) is detailed, deep, but never loud. I’m always so impressed with an author that can make me feel deeply without hitting me over the head with overly dramatic, world-ending crises. Most of life is filled with the personal — deeply felt, deeply meaningful, but not necessarily attention grabbing calamities.

Thank you to G. P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on March 17th, 2026.

James by Perceval Everett

Writing: 5/5 Characters: 5/5 Plot: 4/5

A beautifully written reimagining of Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, told from the perspective of “Big Jim,” the slave with whom Huckleberry Finn escapes down the river. While Finn is escaping an abusive father, Jim is running from the rumor that he will be sold away from his family. This aligns with the original work. However, in this version of the story, Jim is presented as an intelligent, educated, and feeling man with a rich interior life and a strong sense of responsibility. He is the narrator of the tale and we hear the story from his perspective — drastically different than that of the Twain’s narrator Huckleberry Finn.
The key mechanism of the storytelling (for me) is the code-switching that all the slaves use when in the presence of white people — adopting an unsophisticated patois along with ignorant and superstitious behaviors. Among themselves they speak with good grammar and have a rational (if somewhat resigned) outlook. It’s fascinating what (often inaccurate) signals we receive simply by the way someone talks and behaves.

I enjoyed the writing, the deep characterization, and the (somewhat uplifting) end, although I didn’t particularly enjoy the “adventures.” Starting with the same plot lines as Huck Finn, the book expanded to include plot elements that supported Jim’s drive to free himself and his family. The story was full of realistically depicted attitudes and behaviors towards slaves. While I had read many fictionalized accounts of slavery, I thought this was one of the best for highlighting the varying attitudes of whites, as well as adding depth to the experiences of the slave himself. White characters ranged from cruel men who took pleasure in their cruelty, to those who didn’t believe in slavery but didn’t take any steps to stop it, to those who were actually kind and yet still considered Black people to be subhuman. Everett managed to convey the intense tension present in every moment for a person who is enslaved — the constant worry and lack of any kind of control, the constant tamping down of anger, the constant need for vigilance lest anyone notice anything about you that doesn’t jive with the “dumb animal” they expect. But the real stroke of mastery in the writing is how everything shifts for the reader simply by making it clear that the characters are fully recognizable as human being simply by speaking in a way that we recognize as intelligent.

While I don’t think this was the primary point of the book, it also got me thinking about when violence is justified. Without giving too much away, Jim intentionally kills two other (white) characters even though his own life was not at risk at the time. I was completely happy with his actions which left me feeling vicariously satisfied at the death of two absolutely horrible people. And yet, those people had done nothing that was illegal — instead they were cruel, violent, and behaved immorally according to my own ethical standards. Most of us today are horrified by the idea of slavery and the specific cruelty of many of those who practiced it; however, there are people today who are celebrating the murders committed by Luigi Mangione (United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson), Tyler Robinson (Charlie Kirk), and the Hamas attack on Israel (1200 murders, rapes and 250 people kidnapped — all non combatants). In their minds, the victims were “guilty” and merited murder. The line between these situations feels clear to me, but is it?

When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman (Literary Fiction)

Writing: 5+/5 Plot: 4/5 Characters: 5/5

Charming, deep, and full of insight. A coming of age and beyond novel with clear flows from life experiences to the development of a personality, a worldview, and a moral core.

Eleanor Maud is a bit of a loner, with an adored older brother, a best friend from the “other” side of the tracks, an odd collection of adults who provide her with myriad perspectives and experiences, and a pet rabbit she has named God. Introverted and introspective from an early age, we see her develop a sense of self and a unique brand of faith by continually modifying her worldview and her self-understanding in reaction to events both personal and societal (e.g. a suicide, a scary lump, lost memory; 9/11, the massacre at Dunblane, John Lennon getting shot).

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, being immersed in another’s quirky and slanted, but also rational and considering, mind. Ellie was an easy character for me to “travel with” in this way. I loved the cast of supporting characters who were each unconventional in his or her own way, always through eccentricities well-supported by their outlook and exploits. This is a reprint of the book — it was originally published in 2011 and was the author’s debut. She has since written three additional books.

Some beautiful quotes:

“He had skirted the periphery of my early life like an orbiting moon, held between the alternate pull of curiosity and indifference, and probably would have remained that way, had Destiny not collided with a Tyrolean coach that tragic, pivotal afternoon.”

“He presented a colorful alternative to our mapped-out lives. And every day as I awaited his return from school, my longing became taut, became physical. I never felt complete without him. In truth I never would.”

My father had never met a lesbian before, and it was unfortunate that K. H. should be his first, because his liberal cloak was pulled away to reveal an armory of caricatured prejudice. He could never understand what Nancy saw in her, and all she ever said was that K. H. had amazing inner beauty, which my father said must be extremely hidden, since an archeological dig working round the clock would probably have found it hard to discover.

“I just want my friend back,” I said, tears burning behind my eyes. ‘I’ve become forgettable”

Do I believe in a mystery, the unexplained phenomenon that is life itself? The greater something that illuminates inconsequence in our lives; that gives us something to strive for as well as the humility to brush ourselves down and start all over again? Then yes, I do. It is the source of art, of beauty, of love, and proffers the ultimate goodness to mankind. That to me is God. That to me is life. That is what I believe in.

And she had left nature alone, opting instead to banish vanity like the meddlesome, suffocating weed it was.

His strange presence had uncovered a loneliness of such devouring longing, one that reached cruelly back into the past, and I knew I could no longer be around him.”

And he uncovered in us a curious need: that we each secretly wanted him to remember us the most. It was strange, both vital and flawed, until I realized that maybe the need to be remembered is stronger than the need to remember.

Thank you to G. P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on February 24th, 2026.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte (Literary Classic)

This is one of two novels written by Anne Bronte (sister to the somewhat better known Emily and Charlotte) before her death at 29. It is known as one of the first feminist novels as it features a woman — Helen — fleeing an abusive husband and aiming to support herself and her son. This in an era when women had few, if any, rights and children literally belonged to the husband

While I can’t say that I enjoyed reading the book — it was long, somewhat repetitive, and a depressingly perfect depiction of an evolving and utterly miserable life — I did learn quite a bit from it, and I am glad to have read it.

While certainly a book of its time, the messages and situations are easily translated to modernity. Helen is a young woman with neither the experience nor the training to know how to judge a man. The point is made that society at the time kept young women “innocent” in this way, leaving them ill-prepared for making decisions about marriage. They become easy marks for men with smooth manners, handsome faces, and a decent income. Societal expectations (and their religious backings) emphasize support and happiness for husbands, while the wives are expected to be virtuous, good, and obedient. This was both a feminist novel and a morality play — all the dissolute characters end badly, and the men that behave well, or are compelled through the actions of a virtuous women to reform, end well.

There were some interesting surprises for me. For example, the importance Helen put on not allowing her son to be influenced by the dissolute father. She goes so far as to introduce him to alcohol chased by an emetic such that the very smell of alcohol makes him ill. I also enjoyed the slow realization — on the parts of men and women — as to what really is important is selecting a spouse — and it wasn’t solely the physical attraction or purse of either.

The style of the book was a bit difficult to me. The central — and longest — portion of the book is the diary Helen kept throughout her marriage. It is this diary that she gives to Gilbert, a young man in the village she has escaped to who has become besotted with her and doesn’t understand her reluctance to engage (given her stated widowhood and pseudonym). The surrounding chapters are literally one or more extremely long letters that Gilbert is writing to Halford, his brother-in-law. The timeline of this letter is unclear, as is the position of “Halford” in his life. This makes things a bit confusing — I found a character list on wikipedia to be quite helpful in providing enough context to have the book make sense.

Overall worth reading. There is nothing like a classic to really immerse you in a time and place, completely devoid of modern interpretation.