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Reading Wednesday

    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

    Reading Wednesday

    June 23, 2021
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    My second time reading Fiona Davis. Several years ago I read The Dollhouse, like The Lions of Fifth Avenue a historical novel based in New York City. The Lions of Fifth Avenue also is similar in that it runs two parallel timelines; New York in 1913 and New York in 1993. Here is my book review The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis.

    Two protagonists share the spotlight in this novel. Laura Lyon, wife of the New York Public Library superintendent in 1913, and Sadie Donovan, her granddaughter. Sadie is a curator at the New York Public Library in 1993.

    Sadie knows little about her grandmother, only that later in her life she became a well-known writer whose works have recently come back into fashion. Much of Laura’s life has been hidden from Sadie and she doesn’t know that Laura was part of a radical, all female club in Greenwich Village – a place for women’s rights, suffrage, birth control and lesbians. A place where women felt comfortable to be themselves – and Laura found her purpose and love of her life.

    When rare books begin disappearing from the high-security research library, Sadie becomes a suspect and she has to work fast to clear her name. With the help of a local detective, Sadie will embark on a dangerous game of cat and mouse to save the library, her reputation and learn the long hidden truth and tragedy of her own family tree. I hope you enjoyed my book review The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis.

    ****Four stars for The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

    Read last week’s review of Hamnet

    My current read The Wife Upstairs

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

    Reading Wednesday

    June 16, 2021
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    This book. Lovely. One of my top reads of the year. Unexpectedly beautiful twist on an old story. Here is my book review Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell.

    So little is known about the real life of William Shakespeare. Many before have tried to piece it together. But here is a story, so honest and sincere, so loving and beautiful, you can’t help but want it to be the truth.

    Maggie O’Farrell’s talent brings us this fictional tale of England in the 1580’s, when plague envelopes the nation. And yet, a wild bewitching young girl, captures the heart of a Latin tutor who is tormented by his father – and true love blooms.

    Never once in this book is the Latin tutor referred to as Shakespeare, but throughout the book we know. We know when the Latin tutor becomes more than a glove makers son…more than a husband of a gifted healer and nature nymph…more than a father of three. He becomes a respected and wealthy playwright and actor, but at a cost to family and marriage.

    It’s well documented that Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet, died at a young age. And it is this telling of that tragedy that O’Farrell turns the misfortune around, explaining in such beautiful prose how the torment of a father leads to one of the greatest works of literature of all time – Hamlet.

    This book was lyrical…like reading poetry. I loved it from the very first page and did not want it to end. I highly recommend it. I hope you enjoyed my book review Hamnet by Maggie O’Farell.

    *****Five stars for Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

    Read last week’s review of The Elephant of Belfast

    My current read Where the Forest Meets the Sky

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The Elephant of Belfast by S. Kirk Walsh

    Reading Wednesday

    June 9, 2021
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    And another World War II book! BUT wait! This one has a very different twist. Yep, an elephant. Here is my book review The Elephant of Belfast by S. Kirk Walsh.

    In the fall of 1940 young zookeeper Hettie Quin’s dream comes true as she is put in charge of a recently orphaned elephant new to the Belfast zoo. But the winds of war are blowing and a world war rages in Europe while another war simmers at home. Tensions are escalating between British Loyalist and those fighting for a free Ireland as Germany begins a blitz on Belfast.

    Walsh uses a nearly forgotten real life event to create the story of Hettie and the Elephant known as Violet. War through the eyes of an animal and a young girl, both who have lost so much, will lose even more, and desperately need each other to survive.

    I really enjoyed this book, both for the indelible bond between Hettie and Violet and the look at a region devastated by Hitler that rarely gets notice in novels. But mostly this book is about how animals and humans can save each other, in so many ways.

    *****Five stars for The Elephant of Belfast by S. Kirk Walsh.

    Read last week’s review of The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

    My current read The Lions of Fifth Avenue.

    See this weeks top performing Book Review Pin The Beekeeper of Aleppo here.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

    June 2, 2021
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    This is the third novel by Kate Quinn that I have enjoyed. Last summer I read both The Alice Network and The Huntress. Quinn is known for her historical fiction, focusing on female heroines during World War II. The Rose Code follows that same pattern. Here is my Book Review The Rose Code by Kate Quinn.

    The code breakers of Bletchley Park played a critical role for the the allies during WWII. Hidden in plain site in the the unassuming area of Buckinghamshire about an hour outside of London, the code breakers, mostly women, took an oath of secrecy. Their important work would remain secret well into the 21st century.

    Quinn uses real characters who were code breakers to mold the fictional characters in The Rose Code. The main characters in this novel are three women, from three very different backgrounds who are thrown together in the war effort, each playing an important role in the successful outcome of the war. The three women; Mab, Osla and Beth form a deep bond, only to be challenged by secrecy, love, death, espionage, family ties and most of all the oath they swore to uphold for life.

    Curiously for me, one of the main characters in this book is Prince Phillip, the late husband of Queen Elizabeth. Coincidentally I started this book on the day Prince Phillip died in April. I learned through this book that Phillip was seriously involved in real life with a women named Osla, prior to his engagement to Princess Elizabeth. Quinn uses this storyline in her book and it makes for an interesting history piece.

    I enjoyed this book and Quinn’s talent for story telling, combining fact and fiction. She is a genius at historical fiction and opens our eyes once again to the important role women played in taking Hitler down.

    *****Five Stars for The Rose Code by Kate Quinn.

    Read last week’s review of West with Giraffes

    My current read The Wife Upstairs

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

    Reading Wednesday

    May 26, 2021
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    I write a lot of book reviews, and tend to not write reviews for books I don’t like. This book I liked…inspirational at a time when I needed some feel good reading. Here is my book review West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge.

    Rutledge, an award winning freelance journalist, was inspired by newspaper articles from the 1930’s about two giraffes that caught the nations attention as they were transported across the USA. From this real life event, Rutledge built this fictional story.

    West with Giraffes finds young Woodrow Wilson Nickle lying in a gutter after a hurricane hits New Jersey. His unlikely survival continues a string of unlikely survival episodes in his young life…a story that will unfold as the plot develops. Woody maneuvers himself into being a driver to help “the old man” transport two giraffes as far as Memphis.

    The giraffes, affectionately known as the “darlings” may be the focus of this story, but the deeper story here is one of depression era survival, accepting ones past and finding ones future, life, death, love and coming of age. Isn’t this what all good books are made of?

    Moving two giraffes from New Jersey to San Diego by road in the 1930’s is no small undertaking, and during the 12 day odyssey Woody, the “old man” and Red, a female photographer who falls in with them, will encounter several adventures. Including several life and death situations. Thus Rutledge provides the reader with a heartfelt page turner.

    I enjoyed this book very much. I hope you enjoyed by book review West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge.

    ****Four stars for West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

    Read last week’s review of Klara and the Sun

    My current read The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

    Reading Wednesday

    May 19, 2021
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    Once again the brilliance of Ishiguro unfolds in the pages of this strange but emotionally gripping book. Here is my book review Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro.

    Fans of Ishiguro will likely love his latest work, his first since winning the Nobel Prize for literature in 2017 for The Remains of the Day. However, Klara and the Sun feels more like his work Never Let Me Go, a near future look at our society and the sad and disturbing direction things may go. Fans of Handmaids Tale will enjoy Klara and the Sun.

    Ishiguro’s strength lies in his ability to create stories about the banality of everyday life, all while generating such strong emotional pull, sometimes horrific sadness and grief and often deep human connection. I really loved this book, but the reviews are mixed…

    It takes some time in reading this novel about Artificial Friends (robots) of the future to really understand what exactly is happening. We meet Klara, an Artificial Friend (AF) waiting in the AF store to be purchased. Klara is an unusual AF with a high level of intelligence and what almost appears to be empathy. Klara’s intense observational powers provide her a greater insight into her surroundings than the other AFs.

    Josie is the lucky girl who brings Klara home, and in the years ahead we learn about the present day society and the difference between “lifted” children and those who are not “lifted”. We learn about how artificial intelligence has taken over in many parts of society. And we meet a wealth of characters who surround both Josie and Klara and bring both sadness and hope to the story.

    I found the ending very moving…with Klara looking off into the distance and the sun shining on her.

    This book may not be for everyone, but once I got the rhythm of what was going on I really enjoyed it.

    *****Five stars for Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro.

    Read last week’s review of Red at the Bone

    My current read West with Giraffes

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

    Reading Wednesday

    May 12, 2021
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    This was a beautiful story. A surprising little book that I read in one sitting. About three hours start to finish. Here is my book review Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson.

    Woodson manages to create the most incredibly compelling story in less than two hundred pages; covering topics relevant to our time from class struggle, racism, ambition, prejudice, faith, honesty, selfishness, sexual desire and family. All tied up in a novel full of the most engaging, emotionally deep and eloquently developed characters.

    Red at the Bone tells a story of two families from different social classes, thrown together by an unexpected pregnancy. Woodson explores the broken dreams, shattered faiths and family expectations that are altered by the birth of a little girl. Red at the Bone probes the societal conjecture of family, motherhood, fatherhood and what it means when we don’t live up to those presuppositions.

    Woodson is not unknown to me, but this is the first book of hers I have read and I enjoyed it immensely. I high recommend Red at the Bone.

    I hope you enjoyed my book review Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson.

    *****Five stars for Red at the Bone.

    Read last week’s review of The Beekepper of Allepo

    My current read Dark Tides by Philippa Gregory

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