"A poem has served history well by remaining a blank sheet."
In 2014, a remarkable poem was read aloud but never heard again. Only one cop4.5 stars
"A poem has served history well by remaining a blank sheet."
In 2014, a remarkable poem was read aloud but never heard again. Only one copy existed. For generations, people speculated about its profound message, yet it has never been discovered.
In the year 2119, the lowlands of the United Kingdom have been submerged by rising seas — due to both climate change and as a result of a brief nuclear conflict. Some of those who survive are haunted by the richness of the world that has been lost beneath the waves.
"Sustained historical research is a dance with strangers I have come to love."
Tom Metcalfe, an academic at the University of the South Downs, a part of Britain’s remaining island archipelagos, delves into the archives of that distant era, captivated by the freedoms and possibilities of human life at its peak. Tom, like so many historians who've come before him, struggles to balance his vision of the past and reconciling how much he may be romanticizing it. His own focus of study are the years 1990 through 2030, and his fixation is on the missing poem, a corona — a sequence of sonnets, typically addressed to one person, and following a single theme or idea.
"I used to imagine that the past existed somewhere other than in people's heads. All that happiness and sorrow, those jokes, battles, holidays and people could not simply disappear. Surely, the past lingered in a hidden dimension by its place of origin."
His assumptions about the people he believed he knew intimately shatter only when he is delivered a clue that may lead to the lost poem.
McEwan is hit and miss for me — but this was definitely a hit.
The writing is dense — word-level dense, but in a way that’s interesting. Set in 2119 and beyond, does McEwan imagine our language coagulates into a thicker syntax? Because this is a creamy soup, rather than the watery broth base we’re used to nowadays, and I quite like this idea. Rather than language becoming truncated and torn up by social media and texting, in the devastated future it congeals and complicates itself beautifully.
The second part is the actual voice of the people from the past. Initially, I was almost irritated to be thrust into it. However, once it revealed its purpose of transforming everyone into a real person, rather than a romanticized vision of the past, the tension — wholly unexpected at that point — began to gradually increase.
McEwan's construction of the future and deconstruction of the past are only small components of this incredible novel — its density exists in a swirling eddy of ideas and examinations of how we look at the past, live in the present, and ignore the future.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review....more
"Her own searching returned to her now in surges, those hopeless, hopeful days, streets churning with water, the ocean everywhere. She'd never stop"Her own searching returned to her now in surges, those hopeless, hopeful days, streets churning with water, the ocean everywhere. She'd never stop, she wouldn't; a memory couldn't be drowned."
Set in approximately 2050 in a flooded San Francisco, Bo, a caregiver for the elderly, and Mia, a supercentenarian who's without family in the area, form an unexpectedly close friendship in their city surrounded by water.
Torn between her desire to stay in the city where she was raised, where she lost her mom in a large flood, and leaving at the urgency of her family, Bo has made a living out of caring for the elderly. In a city now of rooftops rather than streets, of boats and skywalks rather than cars and bridges, there are many elderly in the city, some refusing to go and some with no where to turn. But Bo's desire to stay, outweighs her desire to do as her own family says. For many years, Bo struggled as an artist, but with the changing city around her and the loss of her mother, she's drifted away from art and is focused instead on simply surviving.
Mia, about to celebrate her 130th birthday, is a little grumbly but more than a little lonely. Having Bo suddenly in her life has made her start to cautiously open up. And Bo listens with increasing dedication as Mia shares long stretches of her personal history. What springs up between them is the kind of closeness that could only have come at the end for Mia — whose life has been long but was often difficult.
Kwan has penned a stunningly beautiful and measured debut. She weaves Mia's memories into a tapestry of what Bo knows about the city and its rich history, and has Bo stitch in her own experiences alongside. Bo finds dawning inspiration in Mia's story and begins work on an art project to honor this remarkable woman and the extraordinary life she's lived, bringing her own self back into the light of life in the process.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review....more
Twins, Iris and Floyd, live a rather nomadic life — traveling around for work. When they hear of a large bounty set for a puma (named Dusk by the locaTwins, Iris and Floyd, live a rather nomadic life — traveling around for work. When they hear of a large bounty set for a puma (named Dusk by the locals) that is killing shepherds, they head towards the search area, reluctant and resigned to join the hunt.
While I'm still enamored with Arnott's The Rain Heron, Dusk was a steady and compelling story. Excavating Iris's and Floyd's characters, both as a sibling set and as individuals, proved to be the highlight of the book. Iris's point of view dominates the tale, alongside what is essentially a road trip, with the watchful but unseen eye of the puma hovering over the whole proceedings.
Arnott's ghostly setting, made of a cloud of stirred-up dust emulating a classic Western motif, makes for the perfect palette for scratching out the twins' back story directly onto the red earth. Timeless, meditative, and at times dreamlike, Dusk becomes a tale of redemption and sacrifice, beauty and ugliness, and life and death.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review....more
In the summer of 1975, Vincent Taylor's two siblings, older brother Danny and younger sister Poppy, were brutally murdered, and despite the lack of evIn the summer of 1975, Vincent Taylor's two siblings, older brother Danny and younger sister Poppy, were brutally murdered, and despite the lack of evidence suggesting so, the entire town remains convinced Vincent was the guilty party.
In the present day, ghostwriter Olivia Dumont (née Taylor) has spent her entire adult life hiding from family secrets and her own identity. When horror author Vincent Taylor, Olivia's estranged father, pegs her to help him with his memoir, Olivia must figure out how to confront her own past, as well as her father's — as they work their way through reconstructing his worst days.
And these may be his final days. Her father is suffering from Lewy body dementia, unable to write his own memoir. Olivia, who had never heard of this debilitating brain disorder before now, very quickly transforms into a sort of Luke Skywalker scoffing at Han — "You don't believe in the Force, do you?" — when Luke literally just found out about it himself. It was almost amusing, though I don't think it was meant to be a funny bit of characterization for Olivia.
Clark has written a propulsive thriller packed with all the right ingredients for a compelling story. From the beginning, though, I struggled with this one because of the use of present tense throughout — not only is it in the present-day timeline but it's in the 1975 timeline. And, to top off my frustrations with the style, by Clark simply interspersing timely flashbacks, the tension in the story felt manipulated rather than organic to the work Olivia was putting into finding out what really happened the night her aunt and uncle were killed. You could almost predict the 1975 peek that was coming next.
Style and verb tense choice aside, there were several points where, despite the novel's easy readability, I was well aware of the author's role here — namely with teasing out points a little too long. But I think my main issue was the lack of any viable red herring, alongside the overwrought lack-of-communication trope, upon which the story heavily relied. Olivia was estranged from her father for a long time, but also her mother, who left when she was very young. I find it really hard to believe that as a 40-something woman and a writer herself, this unsolved murder which revolves solely around her father never piqued her interest. She was, before stepping in as his ghostwriter, completely separated from her identity as his daughter, with no one the wiser. She never questioned the idea that she may have been raised by a murderer? She was fine returning to write this memoir — so I struggle to even fathom that she actually thought it possible. Leaving the reveal (which had some disappointing elements in there too) feeling inevitable in its way.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review....more
Mason, who lives in NYC in 2023, is struggling with his dad's decision to move to Atlanta, his mom's drinking, and this guy at school who will not stoMason, who lives in NYC in 2023, is struggling with his dad's decision to move to Atlanta, his mom's drinking, and this guy at school who will not stop picking on him. His mom decides he would benefit from seeing a therapist, who gives him an assignment of writing a letter to anyone he'd like — but no one has to read it. He chooses Albert Einstein and prints off the letter before tossing it in his closet. Later, when he goes back to retrieve the letter, he discovers another in its place ... written from a girl calling herself Talia and saying she's living in Pennsylvania in 1987.
Despite an understandably rocky start, Mason and Talia soon become pen pals, with a few time-related rules in place. Once Talia and Mason start to open up to each other Mason learns Talia is having her own problems with a bully at school who makes hurtful jokes about Talia being Jewish, on top of wanting desperately to try out for her school's baseball team (despite being a girl), and a recent estrangement from her former best friend.
As the two pen pals grow closer, they help each other in lovely ways — supportive, understanding, and caring...exactly what the two needed. Right Back at You is a charming little pen pal time-play story perfect for middle grade and adult readers alike.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review....more
The Moody twins have been raised in the house attached to Joy Moody's laundromat, Joyful Suds. It's pink and bright and has a steady clientel4.5 stars
The Moody twins have been raised in the house attached to Joy Moody's laundromat, Joyful Suds. It's pink and bright and has a steady clientele with companionable neighbors in the stores around them. All very regular and unassuming. Cassie and Andie however are special — or so they've been raised to believe. What began as a playful tale about their origins as her adopted daughters, went on much longer than Joy initially intended. Right? Unless it's true.
Knowing they have to be kept somewhat secret and safe from The People, Cassie and Andie believe they are vital to the future and must wait until their 21st birthday when they will be pulled forward through time to their real era in the year 2050. There they will take their place with the daughters of the future revolution. But the plan — or is it a lie? — starts to take a strange turn, and suddenly Joy is found dead in the laundromat, and Cassie and Andie find themselves completely unprepared for the real world without their mother.
The layers into which Mayne spins her tale are nuanced and yet playful. She's got a grasp on her story with the same strength I found surprising in Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder, and so the turns she chooses are often unexpected and a little bit out there, but also heavily grounded in reality. The unique balance of quirky and dark, cozy and slightly twisted, seems to be what we can expect from her — and I couldn't be more delighted. I will absolutely be reading whatever she offers up next.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review....more
The Names set out to explore the impact of a mother's name choice for her son, and how those choices ripple out over the following thirty-five years. The Names set out to explore the impact of a mother's name choice for her son, and how those choices ripple out over the following thirty-five years. In three different timelines to accommodate the three different name choices, Knapp highlights domestic abuse, family, and healing.
While some rare authors’ writing can effortlessly handle the weight and insistence of present tense, The Names fell short of this feat. Instead of effectively conveying the story, the novel is plagued by dull, repetitive, and unengaging passages.
Also, and maybe most importantly to me, it failed to deliver on the promises made by its marketing, offering very little by way of examining the impact of different first names. Instead, the narrative centers around an abuser whose presence permeates every page, whether through literal references or the lingering effects he has left behind. If I had known this beforehand, I probably wouldn't have picked up this book. I struggled to find anything fresh in this novel of threes, where in some parts the answers to the novel's overarching "what-ifs" seemed obvious and in others the directions and choices made felt unearned.
Putting aside the marketing issues and the present tense, while it didn't live up to my expectations (however misdirected), this did have an often touching display of a family, splayed out in three different directions — each with interesting possibilities.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review....more
Living in a divided mystical world proved for an interesting premise, but that’s where it blurred into foggy world-building, heavy with dream2.5 stars
Living in a divided mystical world proved for an interesting premise, but that’s where it blurred into foggy world-building, heavy with dreamy flashbacks interrupting the story. The two main characters were bland, lacking distinct personalities, and I could barely keep them straight. The first-person present tense made for a monotonous narrative.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review....more
Being a huge Jane Austen fan, and, at times, having the inclination to read the books she mentions — specifically those in Northanger Abbey —3.5 stars
Being a huge Jane Austen fan, and, at times, having the inclination to read the books she mentions — specifically those in Northanger Abbey — I thought this would be a wonderful dive into the women authors who influenced and shaped Austen's own work. And it does do that. But honestly, and this is mostly on me, I wanted more biography and less book collecting. I understand and often love when the author of a nonfiction book like this includes a good deal of their intertwining personal journey, but somehow this one seemed to drag too often for too long a time. I could barely get settled into each author's life and work without Romney's interruptions. The balance was a little too tilting towards this book's author rather than the titular authors themselves.
That being said — I not only love that this book exists, and sheds a good deal of light on Austen as a reader and inspired author, but also allows present day readers and Janeites to get the opportunity to construct a Jane Austen's Bookshelf TBR.
Also, if you're at all interested in book collecting as a hobby (or future side hustle), this might be the very book to inspire you to begin.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review....more
The Garden was weird and interesting until it wasn't.
In an unnamed near future, Evelyn and Lily, two elderly sisters, live in a walled garden and sleeThe Garden was weird and interesting until it wasn't.
In an unnamed near future, Evelyn and Lily, two elderly sisters, live in a walled garden and sleep in the kitchen — just about the only part of the main house that isn't closed off. Isolated from the outside world, their lives head off in a new trajectory, forcing truths and untruths to the surface for examination and contemplation, when a boy is found trespassing on their property.
What started out with a delightfully slip-sliding familiarity (at first it felt part We Have Always Lived in the Castle and part Grey Gardens), slowly descended into only actually playing around with weirdness — teasing with flashbacks that proved unnecessary, never fully serving or bolstering the main story's progress. Either this endeavor should've been shorter or more (not longer, per se), because this felt either overcooked or under-seasoned.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This affected neither my opinion of the book nor the content of my review....more
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