August Reads

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

I was filled with trepidation as I opened this book; I had heard it was trauma overload, so I went in prepared. What I was not prepared for was the inability to put this book down. The writing is gorgeous, pulling me directly in to the story of generations of a family who summer in the back woods of Cape Cod, in a small cabin known as the Paper Palace. It is a family full of sorrow, ugliness, and long-held secrets with the ability to destroy itself. Each character owns various morally questionable choices, making them hard at times to like, but always compelling to watch. Some of them are strong, with an uncanny ability to survive the ugliness of life. Some allow their desires to rule them, others their anger or hatred. Yet throughout this family drama, I consistently found the story provocative, the writing stunning, and the entire book completely unforgettable. This one will be a top book of 2021 for me. Fair warning: Difficult scenes of sexual abuse will be disturbing. 

American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West by Nate Blakeslee

Every wolf in every story is the villain. Think about it - fairy tales, common sayings, fantasy stories, you name it. Always the bad guy. Have we been lured into thinking wolves are the devil? After listening to this engrossing tale, I have come to think so. Nate Blakeslee spent hours teaching me about wolves and their re-introduction into the American West, after being decimated for the previous hundred years. I got to know the wolves and their families, their heroic tales (if you don't admire the female alpha 06, you have no heart!), the volunteer wolf hunters, and the Yellowstone ranger whose life revolved around these wolves. Blakeslee tries his best to stay subjective, looking at both the hunting community, the fish and wildlife government agencies, and the environmentalists; it is an even-handed tale. Yet ultimately, it is impossible not to see the wolves as vital part of our eco-system. Want to be utterly fascinated? Then listen to this book - trust me:)

Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley

Having read Rowley's previous books, The Editor (liked) and The Guncle (loved), it was time to pick up his first book. Let's just say I was...underwhelmed. The premise was right down my alley, as a fellow dog lover -Ted lives with his dachshund Lily, who at the ripe age of thirteen has developed a tumor on her head. Ted calls it an octopus and spends the rest of the book trying to capture, kill, convince the octopus to leave Lily alone. At first, this metaphorical tact is cute; eventually, I found it a bit wearing, confusing, and kinda annoying. "Just tell the love story of dog and owner," is what kept running through my head as I skimmed the final chapters. It had some good stuff to say about the purity of a dog's love, but ultimately it did not even come close to living up to The Art of Racing in the Rain, the pinnacle of dog lover book heaven.

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

The Booker Prize winner of 2019, yet it took me two years to pick up. Wow, the wait was soooooo worth it. A collection of stories about women - gay women, educated women, abused women, women of color, women of both poverty and riches, shy women, angry women - you name it, Evaristo examines them all. Threads of connection run throughout the story, often of friendship and of maternal bonds. I literally picked this book up figuring I would read a story, then move onto another novel, coming back and reading a story at a time. Not a chance - I could not put this one down. The writing is unique - no capital letters, no ending punctuation, no quotation marks. It doesn't matter - my brain filled it all in, or it just did not care. What I did care about was each woman's life, her choices, her connections to others, her work, her dreams, her sorrow, her triumphs. Many of them were very different from my own life choices so my brain expanded and breathed bigger. Oh, how I loved this book.

The Husbands by Chandler Baker

Let me preface this with…I thoroughly enjoyed 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, which used the perfect tone of snark and humor, mixed with social commentary, in order to deal with the serious issue of sexual harassment. In her latest book, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, Baker takes on the idea of equal partnerships when both spouses are working. Hot topic, right?! Yet, imo, she misses the mark. The snark is not tinged with enough humor; instead, it is reeking of a bit too much meanness for me. So many questions…A main character who verges on whininess and was often inexplicable to figure out,  a husband that just wasn’t that horrible? A lawyer friend whose presence was confusing? A best friend who’s used for what purpose? Look it, there have definitely been times I wanted to shake my husband awake, to look at all the unpaid work I did for our family so I see the potential plot line here concerning the topic of equality in the home and family life but potential was ultimately squandered a bit for me.

The Killing Kind by Jane Casey

This is a stand-alone from one of my favorite mystery writers; I have read the entire Maeve Kerrigan series and loved them all). This was a 486 page book, that could have been shorter, read remarkably fast, and ultimately left me a tad underwhelmed. This legal mystery starts out strong, with a barrister, Ingrid Lewis, whose life has been turned upside by a sociopathic stalker. Over the years, he has pretty much destroyed most everything in her life, except her work as a criminal defender. And just when Ingrid thinks her stalker has disappeared, he rears his ugly head again as more murders and weirdness enter her life. I turned pages quickly, found some implausibilities in the final 100 pages, and just wished for a tighter, more logical finish. Still... a solid, entertaining mystery.

The Perfect Family by Robyn Harding

I was intrigued by this thriller as it is set in Portland, one of my favorite PNW cities. Yet, I was thoroughly not entertained by this one. A family who is FAR from perfect, is victimized with random vandalism which escalates into some weird, creepy stuff. The story is told through the four members viewpoints, with none of the family members like-able in the least bit. Halfway through the book I found myself rooting for the vandals. And don't expect a well-wrapped, tight conclusion - didn't happen.