Beamis12

3.5 Quite a few good stories by this up and coming Irish writer. Stuck in a Irish town with boarded up windows for store fronts and little or no job opportunity besides hanging, playing pool etch these young men and women spend endless days trying to outwit boredom and the nullifying effects of sameness. Some hang on to long to past relationships and dreams, others kind of step in place, just going through motions, preserving, denying their bleak outlook. What saves these scenarios are some cunning witticisms, dark humor and despite the hopelessness, a sense of perseverance and a touch of hope.

This book is a full package presentation, exquisitely assembled with the utmost care. The cover resembles iridescent fish scales, shades of silver, pink and aqua. The title of the novel, "aquarium' written in silvery aqua print. Simply gorgeous. Inside the end papers are on brilliant aqua and the  pages are thickly cut. The aquarium is where a twelve year old girl  first encounters a man who turns out to be someone very important in her life'. The pictures of the fishes they seem real and expressive, brilliantly colored. Just a beautifully put together, one of the best I have seen lately, so much thought.

As for what I read, soul searing want and need, forgiveness and redemption fairly tremble off the pages. A young twelve year old wanting a family, wanting a complete mother emptied of hate and will, sacrifice all to get this. Can she literally drag forgiveness from people who have no wish to yield it? Such a  brilliant and yes, even creepy read about the need to start over, a second chance to grab what is lost and start again. Using fish as a metaphor this search for family is original, the need to make over, universal, but will it work with people whom have such an ugly past behind them?

Unique, original, powerful, can't, say I enjoyed but I do admire this author's talent, and will seek out more of his work.                                                  

3rd review,
Still in the ICU but
Waiting for a bed.

I finished this about a week ago and while there were many things I liked, there was some I didn't. In another thread a few friends and I were, discussing how we each need different things from a story, how we identify with characters or plots. Interesting conversations and now after my recent hospital experiences my review has been hijacked because I identified in a big way with Catherine. A young woman basically being poisoned with modernism, allergic to life's busy epicenters. See, this is what happened to me in a very basic way and I ended up here. Three separate incidents, things found and smelled in everyday settings. So my book focus changed and I could now identify.

A brilliantly descriptive writer, the mountains, the flowers, nature in all its glory left me spellbound with awe. And against the beauty, Catherine's environmental death penalty and a young man with PTSD and some serious scars from his past. Their coming together is violent, obsessive and in some way insidiously off putting. so, while this book has it's ups and downs, it is well written and brings together two injured souls just trying to survive.

Early 1920's, in a mining town in West Virginia. Company owned houses, general store, a place where the miners work terrifically hard to support their families. Getting ahead is really not an option, just surviving and able to put food on the table is considered lucky. Myrthen, her twin sister and mother are supported by their miner father, a fairly content family until a terrible accident will change them beyond expectation. Myrthen becomes an ardent Catholic, wanting to dedicate herself to a reflected convent for life. Life though has other plans for her and these plans will not only alter her life but other lives too, far into the future.

Such a gritty perspective of the lives lived in these small mining communities.
The power of the local church and its outreach into people's personal lives. What lengths a person will go to using self justification in order to achieve the only life she can envision. What a moral conundrum these characters find themselves in, conflicted and wanting what they can't have. A horrible tragedy, every miner's nightmare, and one character Alma, a favorite of mine, will loose virtually everything she holds dear, but will have to find a way to move forward.

A good solid, dark story with some very interesting characters. An inside look at those who made their living from these terrible mines. A young boy who fourteen years later will have knowledge of the terrible event without even being born yet. This will shake up the people once again.

ARC from publisher.
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Once again, or rather form the last time, we return to Holt, in another simply told narrative, featuring ordinary people that are doing something less than ordinary. This is always where Haruf's talents were so admirably displayed. He took the ordinary, the common and made poignant, readable stories.

Adele and Lewis, lived in the same town, the same neighborhood for most of their married lives. At the age of seventy both have now lost their spouses. But does, this mean they most join the ranks of the lonely, backward looking, no future to look forward to, or can they do something about it. Of course small towns are notorious for gossip, some who love to do nothing but criticize and make sure others, close to the couple know exactly what is going on.

Loved this story, so much hope, little joys and sorrows shared, just the fact that regardless of age there can be a future, one need not just give up and live only in the past. Such a powerful message, so tenderly and respectfully rendered. In the last quarter there is a little surprise, a bit of author's whimsy shall we say, but only those familiar with his other books will understand and grin.

Both sincere and wonderful this last book, shorter than his others , but still imparting every day's wisdom and challenges.

ARC from the publisher.

Sent to a monastery at the age of seven Oswald, the youngest son, never expected to inherit his family manor and holdings. Thanks to the plague which has devastated the land, taking the lives of Oswald's father and two elder brothers, leaving only his mother and sister Clemence  at home he now has new and big responsibilities form which he was never trained. With Brother Peter, whose care he had been under for over ten years at the monastery, he arrives to take his rightful, position of the new Lord of Somerhill.

He finds everything has changed, and he finds one of his tenants has been murdered

 . He will set out to find the killer but before he does many other things, will need his attention. The writing in this novel is buoyant, kind of airy and it sets itself up admirably against the darkness of the Middle Ages. A corrupt priest who plays on the superstition of the people, using the power and fear of the church to try to direct things his way. There are many revelations, some good people that are considered bad morally but prove a sharp contrast to those who are in a position that demands morality but are corrupt in many ways. Secrets are eventually revealed that will change the course of the story again and again.

Though most is solved by book's end there is one tiny plot line that may just contain a cliffhanger that may indicate another book, possibly a series. I hope so, I really enjoyed this book, the characters and the time period.

You know those silly questionnaires that ask, if you could meet anyone alive or dead who would you choose? I think I would choose Doc Holiday, he was such a complicated person, the many different sides to his personality, his diverse talents. I find him fascinating and loved Russell's novel, Doc. This book was much more extensive, and Doc only plays a small part, yet the parts that contained him and Josie, who would eventually become Wyatt Earps wife were among my favorites.

The atmosphere in this story was spot on, while reading I felt like I was in Tombstone. The dirt in the streets, the wooden houses, the gun fights, the gambling, prostitution, drinking and stage coach robberies. All the Warps and their women are prominently featured. The political maneuvering, even way back then there was criminal activity and differences between the Republicans and Democrats. Go figure.

A lawless time, as Tombstone tries to grow and become a safe town. The relationship and loyalty between Doc and the Earps. Of course it ends in the gun fight at the OK Corral, and the rest as they say is history.
Yet it doesn't end there, not in this novel as the author goes on to show how Josie fights for a heroic vision of her husband, the sanitized version that will go down in history.

A book, so incredibly well written, that will appeal to history readers as well as those who love Westerns.

Dana, can't remember much of the last afternoon she spent with her friend. Much can be blamed on the drinking they both did, but to make it even more difficult, Dana is bi-polar, off her meds and slightly manic. Yet, her friend is dead and she remembers only bits and pieces. Could she possibly have killed her?

Can't say this was the most suspenseful read but it was different and I sympathized with Dana's struggles. Not only is her husband cheating on her, but as she tries to stay ahead of her mania to find out what actually happened to her friend, she finds herself in a defensive position with the police. Now that was my favorite character, Jack the detective assigned to this case. He has personal problems of his own but he is dogged and sympathetic, regretting past mistakes and trying to do the right thing.

The ending, not too sure of, don't think it could have played that way, someone in that particular line of work wouldn't be that naïve. Can't say more because I don't want to spoil it for future readers. A good read, less mystery than character study, but an interesting one.

ARC from publisher.

A Jewish teenager, Elijah, reveres the older man who is his Uncle Poxl. This man has time for him, takes him to museums, discusses art and literature with him and tells him stories of his life during the war. This is the bare bones of the story but this is a story within a story and telling more would ruin this book for future readers.

There is something so tender in the way this is written, the characters so likable. The art of storytelling, the interpretation of memory, experiences and regrets, the importance of relationships and the detriment of fame, are what I kept thinking about after finishing this book. It is difficult for me to explain why I liked this book as much as I did. It is a quiet book, a book full of regret and some deceit and yet it made me realize how fragile relationships are, how we need to take better care of and appreciate them. Poxl's war experiences are his own, but memories and relationships are universal, this book made me think and that is a good thing and enough of a thing for one book to do. Good and poignant read.

ARC from NetGalley.

Larson writes wonderful narrative non fiction, and in this book he has surpassed his own self. The amount of research that went into this book is staggering. It doesn't just cover the bombing of the Lusitania, it covers everything going once at the time and more.

What it is like inside a submarine, the roles of the crew members, how it feels and even how it smells. president Wilson's grief at the death of his wife and his courting of his second wife. The career of the Captain of the Lusitania and the quirks in his personality. What the ship looked like, inside and out, the decorations, the food, the labor involved. The passengers, the famous and those not. The politics of the day, what secrets were known when and how. It is extraordinarily detailed but I was never bored, found it all fascinating. So much history set down for me to enjoy.

There is only one Larson book I was not crazy about, that one remains half finished, but this is an author whose books I buy to reread and savor. By the end of the book, I had a clear and concise picture of so many things I had never knew before. Also had gotten to know some of the people on the ship and was devastated that some of them were the ones who died. A horrible tragedy bought to life, to be remembered and learned from, if only. Amazing.

This is one book where I found Tess's personal life as fascinating as the case she is working on. Juggling work with her three year old daughter, often has Tess wondering if she is a good enough mother. A common thought which many working women and stay at homes moms can relate. Carla Scout, her and Crows daughter is a hoot. She is a formidable little person already and provided many comedic lines.

The common theme in this one is mothers and daughters. The case Tess and Sandy are working on is that of a mom who many years previous had sat under a tree and let her young daughter bake in the car. Ruled not guilty by reason of insanity, Melisandra comes back to try to reclaim the two daughters in custody of their father. Her appearance sets off a firestorm, threats and secrets galore. Another very good and solid story by Lippman. She is one author that seems to only get better and better.

ARC by publisher.

From the beginning I was fascinated with the character of Rosaleen, this family matriarch of four, living in an unnamed village in County Clare. When her eldest son Doug tells the family he is going to be a priest, she takes to her bed for days. Two boys, two girls and we follow this family throughout three decades. As with all siblings they take many different paths,live in different countries, and we hear from each of them.

As for Rosaleen she waits, using passive aggressive techniques to make them feel guilty and to blame for her loneliness and unhappiness. Reminded me so much of my Irish mother-in-law, which is why I found her character and her parenting techniques so interesting. But then towards the end, when we hear her story, I began to feel sad for her.

We follow Dan to New York during the days of the aids crisis, Emmett to South Africa, Hannah as she has a child and a drinking problem and Constance, the child who stays the closest in distance to her mother.
This is on all ways a novel about the complications of being part of a family. The grudges, the memories good and bad, the misunderstandings and the misunderstandings we carry through to adulthood. What the idea of family and the family home means to different members.

A very well written, thought provoking read. One I think most readers will find something inside in which they can relate.

ARC from publisher.

The whole time I was reading this I kept thinking of two lines in the poem, "Marmion" by Sir Walter Scott, taken completely out of context of course, "Oh! What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." This book was deception after deception, deceptions to cover other deceptions. Even when it looked like one thing was going to happen, something else did.

Definitely kept one reading, such a grouping of characters with little or no conscience. Well written, suspenseful and rapidly paced, I found this to be a very entertaining read. Loved the ending too, totally unexpected, but I thought perfect.

ARC from Publisher.

If someone had told me when I first started reading this novel that I would end of giving it five stars, I would have thought they were crazy. I had a hard time in the beginning but then I realized that this was a book that once you got into the rhythm of the prose you just needed to keep reading, just this book, it wanted all my attention sort of like Virginia herself wanted or needed.. I unfortunately never read just one book at a time but I really wanted to read this book, so I started over and just read it through. It was brilliant.

Adeline was her real first name and in this book Adeline is her alter ego. When Virginia is having one of her so called spells, it is Adenine to whom she talks. Such an amazing look at the inner workings of Virginia's mind, some of her past that she can't let go of, her thought process as she wrote her novels, her fears and her marriage.

It includes conversations with Yeats, Thomas Elliott and his wife, Vivian, and others that were important to her social circle. Hers was a mind that was not only brilliant but always pondering, musing about many different things. Leonard always worried about her mental state, trying to keep her steady. We know how the story ends and I finished this book feeling so sympathetic to what she had fought through all her life. It also made me want to read many of her other novels, those that were mentioned in this book particularly.

Vincent gives the reader an inside look at Virginia Woolf, her daily struggles, insecurities and triumphs. The prose is wonderful and though the end of her life is a sad one, she accomplished so much and lived with so much, until she couldn't. This book helps us see why.

A must read for all fans of this amazing author.

ARC from publisher.      

I'm not going to rehash the plot because the description on the book page is a very good one. I'm just going to write what I thought of the book. When I first started this it seemed a bit wordy, though I was interested to see where this was going and of course to find out who really killed Lucien, her five year old grandson. It soon became apparent that this is a character study of Ruth mainly but of others too, how they reacted to the circumstances. How the fact that rain only fell in one place, at the Well, while the rest of the continent seems to be in a drought. Sure brought out the worse in people as Chanter so ably describes.

I soon became immersed in this story, although it was centered in one place there was much happening. Neighbors turn against them, crazies come from all over and finally the Sisters of the Rose, who view Ruth as the chosen one. I found fascinating how Ruth herself, was induced into believing this, soon putting everything on the line. A good view of how people become seduced into a cult, acting against their own best interests.

I ended up really liking this book, it is very well written and the psychological aspects were intriguing. How people act and why, how they behave under untold stress. Did I feel sorry for Ruth? Yes and no, some I think she brought on herself but the penalty was one she didn't expect to pay. Although I did guess the who on the who done it, the ending was still a surprise because there is more than just the unmasking of the killer. All in all, I liked this book, it was different and in the end I felt satisfied with all I read.

ARC from Publisher.

If this book did nothing else it made me so incredibly grateful for the mother I has. Not that my family was perfect by any means but the mother in this book is a piece of work. Seriously she makes Joan Crawford look the a nominee for mother of the year.

grace is the eldest, the quiet sister, the good one. Nica, one year younger is popular, considered by many to be wild. Despite these differences the sisters were close, so when Nica doesn't return home one night and is found dead the next morning it sends Grace into a tailspin.

This is much more than a murder mystery, it is about detrimental secrets that come back to haunt, about a woman who is selfish beyond measure, young love and a young woman finding answers, finding peace, a resolution and finally coming into her own.

A first novel that is very well done. There are many twists and turns, revelations and red herrings, and I just kept turning the pages. Not sure why this book resonated so with me but I really liked and understood the character of Grace, and felt sorry for the young Nica. Interesting and suspenseful, a very good debut mystery.

ARC from publisher.