March 2.0

In the Shadow of 10,000 Hills by Jennifer Haupt
It's hard to know where to start with this profoundly gorgeous book. Evocative, lyrical, powerful...this book grabs the reader by the throat and forces one to look at the survivors of the Rwandan genocide, and it doesn't let go easily as I found myself continuously thinking of this story well after turning the final page. First, the characters - oh my, the deeply complex, beautifully flushed out people who inhabit these pages: Lillian, a young girl involved in the beginnings of the civil rights movement in America, who eventually moves to Rwanda and starts an orphanage; Henry, the white man Lillian loves during a time it wasn't allowed, a photographer, a father, a wanderer, a lost man; Tucker, a young medical student who comes to Rwanda seeking meaning in his life; Rachel, Henry's daughter and grieving mother, who seeks answers about her father to fill the empty spaces in her heart; Chloe and Nadine, survivors of the genocide, living victims whose life will never be the same; and most importantly, the country of Rwanda, the land of 10,000 hills, whose land is rich with both tradition and hate, the land that needs to heal and regrow. Author Jennifer Haupt, a journalist who gathered the stories of the Rwandan survivors and wove it into a breathtakingly beautiful book, shows great talent in her debut novel. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
Oh my, what an utterly delightful and unique book from an author I should have discovered long ago. Set in 1921, Bombay, Perveen Mistry is a young woman who works in her father's law firm as the first female solicitor in Bombay, awaiting entrance to the bar. Intensely curious as well as intelligent, Perveen's unique ability to enter purdah (the strictly secluded women's quarters of Muslim women) allows her access to a fascinating world. The three widows who live in a bungalow on Malabar Hill need help with the will of their recently deceased husband; as Perveen gets to know these intriguing women, secrecy and even murder invade the legal machinations. Woven throughout the novel is Perveen's own past history, one that involves a deeply held love, abuse, and her own experience in an orthodox Muslim household which gives her a depth of understanding far beyond the ordinary Farsi attorneys. This is a beautifully written book that showcases a strong woman, an fascinating culture, and a time period of long ago that has echoes of today. It is also a beautiful book to listen to as the narrator is quite gifted - I highly recommend it for your next long car ride:)

Janesville: An American Story by Amy Goldstein
Janesville is the quintessential Rust Belt town: majority white, suburban/rural, dependent upon manufacturing, strong traditions, can-do spirit, and yes, the home of House Speaker Paul Ryan. Yet in the Great Recession of 2007-2008, Janesville has the rug ripped from under thousands of feet as the major employers in town (General Motors, Parker Pens, Lear Corp who made the car upholstery) all shut down. The fallout is what Washington Post journalist Amy Goldstein explores, and it is a strangely gripping read. Strange because at times I felt I was invading peoples' lives, as Goldstein follows a variety of people for years as they struggle through these hard times. Yet she also shows the other 'side' of Janesville as the bank president and other leaders of the community experience and see the destruction of jobs in a completely different light. I came to better understand the frustration with both political parties as Janesville was promised, lied to, and deceived as the people tried to recapture their jobs of yesteryear, a time of high salaries, good health insurance, and dependable pensions, a time that was never to come again. This was a fantastic listen with a great narrator and an inside look at how the recession almost destroyed a community.

White is the Coldest Colour by John Nicholl
The premise of this book is unfortunately quite topical: a respected doctor in a Welsh community preys on young boys, yet the police, child protective services, and parents have a hard time believing such an upstanding citizen could be a monster. The author uses a variety of story strands to tell the story: police detectives investigating a pedophile ring in the area; a family in crisis with a young son who needs counseling; a social worker that knows what is going on yet cannot inform a friend to remove his son from the doctor's care; and the creepy, insane, evil doctor. The problem I had with this book is what I would call "unrealistic predictability.' Instead of focusing on how deft and insidious many pedophiles are at grooming their young victims, the main focus is more on the unraveling of this doctor, as we watch the wheels go spinning off in remarkable fashion as the police close in. The psychiatrist does insanely ridiculous things, yet it seems almost how it goes in this book. The family story is the most compelling, as the parents try to get past an affair and mend their family. The creepy doctor is such a flat character, who shows only his evil side in the telling of this book, that it is impossible to believe anyone in this town would have liked and respected him. And as far as the doctor's own family...so damaged that the ending is completely unrealistic. Potential here, but a miss for me.