What are you reading the week of November 20, 2021?

Still suffering serious Connie Willis withdrawal. :-)

I found a copy of A. I. Oparin's The Origin of Life in a stack of books discarded by a retiring coworker. I've been wanting to read that for years, so I rescued it from being tossed in the dumpster. Its an interesting read, but very dated.

The line-up for this week is Architects of Memory, Schneider Trophy Seaplanes and Flying Boats, and The Cavalry of the Army of the Cumberland. The first I've been meaning to read all year, but something always newer and shiner came along. The second has been sitting on the TBR pile for awhile. The last I've actually been reading in chapter-length increments for a week or so.

I'm still enjoying The Butterfly's Daughter by Mary Alice Monroe. I hope to wrap it up this weekend.

Still reading Thin Air, At First Light, and A History of What Comes Next.

I am down to just 55 pages left in Swann's Way! I started it over a month ago, so I am having a bit of trouble remember LBS (life before Swann). Well it is long and slow (at least for me), but I am more or less glad to be reading it.

Next up (I am keeping the faith that Swann will actually have an ending, that another 70 pages won't magically be appended to the end when I reach the supposedly final page), I'll be reading Stuart Neville's recent thriller, The House of Ashes. My wife has already read it and liked it a lot. We both loved Neville's earlier work, The Ghosts of Belfast (a.k.a. The Twelve).

I’m reading Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell.

My current reads: A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin, The Autobiography of Mr. Spock by Una Mccormack, and a collection of short stories My Favorites: An Anthology by Ben Bova

I'm reading Gap Creek. I got it in some donated books and it looked interesting.

I finished the collection of essays, Sidewalks The musings and thoughts provoked by travels and locations were thought provoking and delightful, more morose than joyous but always honest.

Sometimes You Have to Lie: The Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh, Renegade Author of Harriet the Spy
Leslie Brody
3.5/5 stars
This is an in-depth look at the life and times of Louise Fitzhugh, author of Harriet The Spy. I remember reading her famous book as a child and enjoying it, never knowing any of her background until I read this book. Very interesting!

Finished At First Light by Barbara Nickless. OK read. Added Prince Across the Water by Jane Yolen to my rotation.

Just finished Sleeping at the Starlite Motel, a collection of essays from Bailey White. White's gentle and often whimsical takes on the characters who inhabit her world are always enjoyable.

Next up is Tony Hillerman's Skeleton Man.

I finished Christmas by the Book by Anne Marie Ryan. After kind of a slow start, it turned into a very sweet and very bookish Christmas tale. I had almost abandoned it but I’m glad I didn’t.

I’ve started a story collection, Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King. It’s very good so far.

Concrete Rose – Angie Thomas
Audiobook performed by Dion Graham
4****

In this prequel to The Hate U Give, Thomas gives us the young Maverick Carter, a 17-year-old gang member struggling to find his path to manhood.

I really liked her debut novel, but I have a problem with “prequels / sequels.” That’s my issue and I recognize it may be unfair, but Thomas’s sophomore effort had that hill to climb for me. And she did it marvelously well!

I can really see how this young man, hardly out of childhood, is being influenced – by his peers, by his parents, by other adults in his neighborhood and school, and by the expectations of society. The pressure on him to “be a man” is intense, and the conflicting ways in which this is evidenced or proved to others is at the core of Maverick’s difficulties.

On the one hand he honors the respect shown his father (who is incarcerated for crimes committed) by other gang members and the reputation Maverick feels he needs to live up to as “little Don.” On the other hand, are the messages he’s getting from his mother and neighbor Mr Wyatt about being responsible, and thinking for himself rather than following the crowd. On the one hand is the sense of belonging and camaraderie he feels with his fellow gang members, on the other is the love he feels for his girlfriend Lisa, and the obvious disdain shown him by her brother and parents because of his gang affiliation. I particularly liked the conversations he had with Mr Wyatt, owner of the local grocery, who gives Maverick a part-time job and some sound advice on setting goals and working to achieve them.

Maverick’s only seventeen, and for all his bravado and pronouncements about “being a man” he is not yet an adult. Teenagers make mistakes – sometimes serious mistakes – often based on the emotion of an instant rather than a coherent plan. Some poor decisions threaten to completely derail this young man’s path to adulthood. Having read the debut novel, I know he’ll survive, and yet some of the scenes had me so afraid for Maverick, my heart was in my throat and tears flowed freely.

Thomas writes about a realistic urban environment for many families, with brutal honesty and empathy. She does not shy away from the serious social issues facing these families, nor does she offer platitudes or pat answers on how to address these issues.

Dion Graham does a marvelous job performing the audiobook. He really brings these characters to life and his changes in vocal style, and inflection make it easy to understand who is speaking.

The Weight of Heaven – Thirty Umrigar
5*****

Frank and Ellie Benton have lost their only son to a sudden illness. Reeling from grief they accept an opportunity to relocate to Girbaug, India where Frank will run his company’s factory. Their hope is that distancing themselves from the memories that surround them in Michigan will help them heal and forge a new life. But Frank becomes attached to the son of the caretakers of their company-provided cottage.

This is the third book by Umrigar that I have read, and the third time I’ve rated her work 5-stars. It is an intense and heartbreakingly real story. The grief and recriminations are so palpable they almost make my stomach hurt. Frank is clearly the more fragile of the two. He cannot let go of the anger and grief he feels and seems unaware of how obsessed he is becoming over the boy Ramesh. Ellie’s training as a psychologist is little help to them. She is too close to the issue and has her own grief, regret, and anger to process.

The cultural differences, far from distracting them from their grief, only compound their distress. They do not understand the culture and Frank, in particular, seems incapable of seeing anything in a different light. Ramesh is certainly a bright and inquisitive child, but his parents cannot possibly provide him with the advantages that Frank dangles before him. This added tension between Prakash and Frank over the affections of Ramesh spills into each of their marriages. Edna, Ramesh’s mother, is eager for the opportunities Frank provides, and gets angrier and angrier with Prakash over his “jealousy.” Ellie is more and more concerned about Frank’s obsession with the boy but voicing her concerns only strengthens Frank’s resolve and makes him more secretive about his plans.

The tragedy of this couple’s story is inevitable though none the less shocking.

finished three Christmas audios ~
Christmas in Winter Hill and Christmas by the Sea by Carlson
and
Christmas Promise by Perry

started this audio ~
When He Was Wicked by Quinn

Finished Thin Air by Richard K. Morgan. Meh. Added Brothers of the Wind by Tad Williams to my rotation.

Well, hurray for me! After almost a month’s reading (in fairness, my wife and I have been on a busy road trip and vacation over that time), I have finally completed Swann’s Way! I enjoyed parts of it, and other parts were tough sledding for me. If anyone’s interested, a somewhat longer review is now posted on my 50-Book Challenge thread.

I’ve now started The House of Ashes by North Ireland crime writer Stuart Neville. I loved his The Ghosts of Belfast. This book is very well written, as well, but so far very unpleasant in terms of subject matter.

I have just finished reading the novel A MONSTER CALLS by author PATRICK NESS

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Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood
Trevor Noah
4/5 stars
Trevor Noah talks about his life with his mother and family living in South
Africa as a child and the tribulation that living as a child of mixed parentage caused because it was crime at that time. I could not put this book down. Noah does a great job writing about his life.

>19 Erick_Tubil: This was made into a film which was quite good! I got this book on my reading list.

Just finished Skeleton Man by Tony Hillerman. I must remember to check *where* in the Leaphorn & Chee series the novels are before I buy or swap for them, as I much prefer the early ones where Joe Leaphorn is prominent and the Navajo culture is an important component and not just a background issue. This one failed on both counts. It was an entertaining enough read, but the Good Old Stuff was riveting.

Just started The Tattoo Artist, which is shaping up to be something very different indeed.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and remember that the best way to digest all that turkey & pumpkin pie is to curl up somewhere with a good book!

I finished Northern Irish noir writer Stuart Neville's latest novel, The House of Ashes. This book is not really what most of us think of when we see the phrase "crime fiction." It's about the horrifying abuse of women by cruel and manipulative men, in dual stories taking place 60 years apart. As such, it's a gripping book and very well written, but just be sure to have a look at a synopsis or two before deciding to read it.

I've now started The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Iranian writer Shokoofeh Azar. This novel was shortlisted for the 2020 International Book Prize.

City of Secrets – Stewart O’Nan
Book on CD narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
3***

From the book jacket: In 1945, Jewish refugees by the thousands set out for Palestine. Those who made it relied on the underground to shelter them; taking false names, they blended with the population, joining the wildly different factions fighting for independence. This book follows one survivor, Brand, as he tries to regain himself after losing everyone he’s ever loved. Now driving a taxi provided – like his new identity – by the underground, he navigates the twisting streets of Jerusalem as well as the overlapping, sometimes deadly loyalties of the resistance.

My reactions:
I really like O’Nan’s writing. I like the way he gets inside the character’s psychological makeup, how he reveals his characters strengths and flaws, hopes and fears through the action of the story. This book is a very contemplative one. Brand – or Jossi Jorgenen as he is known in Jerusalem – is forced to think through the various possibilities each time he’s given a task. Is this simply a taxi fare? Or is there a coded message in the destination or time of pick up? Can he trust his landlady? What about Eva, the woman he loves and who professes to love him? Are the leaders of the resistance confident in his loyalty to them? Or will he be taken into the desert and shot, his body left for the carrion eaters to dispose of?

This is a slim volume but full of information about the time and location. I found myself searching google for more details and for pictures of the city to better understand what was happening and where the action was taking place.

All that being said, it was perhaps too intense for me, at least at this time. Yes, there is plenty of action, but I was left feeling tense and ill at ease. I’ve got enough of that in real life these days.

Edoardo Ballerini is a marvelous voice artist and narrator. I think I would listen to him read anything, even a receipt for dry cleaning.

I finished Three Men In a Boat. This book was written in the 1800's was as a travel guide but is now presented as humor. I found the humor rather like some British TV Comedy (for example 'Faulty Towers') somewhat predictable and over the top. I grew tired of it before it was done.

Added Third Girl by Agatha Christie to my reading rotation.

The new thread is up over here.