What I Read Wednesday

How is it Wednesday already? Alternately… how is it ONLY Wednesday?

An Untamed State
Mireille, her husband and son are visiting her family's home in Port au Prince, Haiti. Of the haves and have nots of Haiti, her family is the haves. While heading to the beach, Mireille is kidnapped and held in captivity for over two weeks while her father negotiates (or doesn't) her release. The brutality she goes through is horrific, but it is not the crux of the story. The story mainly focuses on her rebuilding, on learning to live without overwhelming fear and to accept her still beautiful but changed body and mind. This one struck me. I thought of Mireille long after I ended the book. It is not an easy read, but it is a powerful one.

Crooked River: A Novel
This was a good read to follow Untamed State because I could just sink into it and not think too much. Sam and Ollie, following the death of their mother, go to live with their somewhat wild father who lives in a teepee in a meadow surrounded by his beehives. Shortly after they arrive, a woman is found dead in the river and their father becomes the number one suspect. Sam knows he couldn't have done it and sets out to prove it. Ollie knows her father is innocent but for different reasons. Struck mute after the death of her mother, Ollie is followed by spirits who she calls the shimmering ones. The shimmering of the dead woman is trying to send her a message about her killer, but Ollie can't--or won't--speak to tell her sister what she knows. Although the ending was fairly clear at one point, it was more than just the ending. It was a story of growth and recovery following a loss, for so many characters within this book.

The Nightingale
I've been on the wait list for this book forever, so I was super excited when it finally came in. This story focuses on Vianne and her sister Isabelle in 1939 France. Vianne and Isabelle had an uncommon childhood, given away by their father following the death of their mother. Isabelle is young and rebellious, Vianne is trying to keep her head above water with a young child and a husband who is fighting to defend France. After the Nazis invade their town, Vianne is forced to share a roof with a Nazi soldier, while Isabelle is forced to decide just how far she will go and what she will risk to stand up for her ideals. I loved this story. Loved it. It was a period piece done very well, and I was so engaged in the lives of both Isabelle and Vianne, the choices they made and the chances they took. I did not want this to end.

What are you reading?

What I Read Wednesday

I am basically failing at reading lately for a myriad of reasons and that's sad.

The Word Exchange
This book was tough. I almost put it down several times, but I liked the premise and wasn't sure if my lack of attention was hurting my involvement with the book. In a future society, books are all but meaningless. People read on devices called a Meme, which not only functions as a messaging device but is so much more. The meme also offers something called a word exchange, which will help you think of the meaning of a word or the name of something if you're coming up short. When the word exchange first rolled out, people were using it mostly for multi-syllabic obscure words. After a few years of usage, people were using it to look up words like "rotten," so far removed from complex thought. This book is told from two perspectives: Anana, the daughter of Doug, a staunch supporter of the written word, and Bart, Doug's mentee and editor of the dictionary. As the story evolves, Doug disappears and Anana is unwavering in finding her father. Meanwhile, the world is becoming gripped with word flu--a virus that causes people to replace common words with meaningless words. This virus has severe consequences, deadly for some, rendering others mute. Although I felt this book could've had a better flow, it definitely made me think about humanity and our reliance on technology. When is it too much?

Cold Cold Heart
After Word Exchange, I needed a book where I did not have to think. Dana Nolan, a beautiful TV reporter, is nearly the ninth victim of a serial killer, named Doc Holiday by the media. Through her own strength, Dana survives the ordeal, killing Doc Holiday. Although she survives, her injuries are quite severe. Not only is she disfigured, but she also has a traumatic brain injury. Brought home to heal, Dana is thrust into the world she left behind after high school, a world which involves trying to solve a cold case--the disappearance of her best friend shortly after the two graduated from high school. Paranoid and not sure who to trust, Dana struggles to make sense of what happened to her best friend and why, all the while dealing with memory loss and struggling to cope with her new self. This was a quick, easy read. Some plot holes and things that I found hard to believe, but I breezed through it, which was exactly what I needed.

What are you reading?

What I Read Wednesday

I didn't read much this week because I haven't felt well. My patience to concentrate on a book has decreased, while my concentration on Friends reruns has greatly increased. Go figure.

Legend of a Suicide: Stories
I am hesitant to recommend this book because it's one of those books that people will either really love or find really stupid. Kind of like a Tim O'Brien book. At any rate, I really loved it. This book is told through a novella and five short stories, all taking a semi-autobiographical stance. The novella takes up a large chunk of the book and involves Roy and his father, a dentist divorced from Roy's mom, in a remote cabin in Alaska. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Roy's father is unprepared for such a trip and also, on the verge of an emotional breakdown. This was a tense, gripping story, one that actually made my jaw drop at a point. Is it a light, easy read? No, but it is one worth reading.

A Spool of Blue Thread: A novel
I always know that Anne Tyler stories are going to make me feel equal parts happy and sad. This one was no exception. A multi-generational story, this book begins with the story of Abby telling how she fell in love with Red. The Whitshanks are like any other family--there is nothing remarkable about them, yet they all have their own familial idiosyncrasies at which they find remarkable. From Abby, the story moves on to her parents-in-law and aspects that were previously unrevealed, then ends with Abby's own children. The time jumps were fairly seamless and made sense. I liked this story. It seemed real, genuine and relatable.

What are you reading?

What I Read Wednesday

The Humans: A Novel
Becky recommended this book, and I loved it. An alien visits Earth and takes over the body of Professor Andrew Martin, a math professor who had just solved a thought to be unsolvable math theory. The alien is originally disgusted by humans. By the way they eat, talk, wear clothes and have pets. But as time goes on, he starts to love wine, peanut butter sandwiches, dogs and, well, being a human. He makes connections with friends and family, much to the dismay of his otherworldly hosts who can't fathom that he'd trade immortality for humanity.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz
Vera has one friend, Charlie. Or had, because Vera is reeling after Charlie's tragic death. She knows more about his death than anyone, but after he betrayed her shortly before his death, she is reluctant to share. This story has a brilliant, engaging voice, told mainly from Vera but occasionally from Charlie and Vera's dad, as well. Vera sets out to explore her own life in the process of coming to terms with Charlie's death, and it is both touching and humorous.

What are you reading?