Link to My Reading Journal 2017

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"Commonwealth" by Ann Patchett

• Audiobook
• US author
• Originally published in 2016
• REview:  Very disapppointing.

"A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara *****

• Summer Read with Beth
• US author
• Review:  Four friends, one with a stark, horrifying secret past, and beyond that I am somewhat at a loss for words.  This is a phenomenal novel about love, the enduring, unconditional kind of love.   It is about love that survives anger, betrayal, and completely unsolvable sorrow.  The characters are followed over their adult lives in a realistic trajectory over time. I could not put this book down, despite some horrifying scenes which were anything but gratuitous. The author needed the reader to come as close to despair as possible, in order for the reader to most fully understand the psychological dynamic in the group and in each character.  Brava!

"The Arsonist" by Sue Miller ****

•  Audiobook
•  US author
•  Originally published in 2007
•  Review:  I had mixed feelings about this novel, until about the last third.  The scales tipped when I realized that for once, the endings (multiple plot lines) were not going to be trite at all.  There is a compassion in the writing of this book that sees people with the sense of the multi-dimensionality of human beings.  I applaud the author for her endings!  Also, having been "summer people" in a rural area all of my life, kudos for the keen grasp of the issues which arise in a lake resort area.

"Dance To The Music of Time: 1st Movement, Spring" by Anthony Powell ****

• Summer Read with Beth
• English author
• Originally published in 1951
• Review:  Imagine if you will.......you.....settled into a cozy chair, inside the mind of the protagonist of a novel, with nothing better to do than be a silent observer of his every thought and feeling.  Weird?  Boring?  Fascinating?  All of these feelings were part of my experience reading this first volume of "A Dance To The Music of Time:First Movement".  I am thoroughly impressed with Powell's ability to communicate the impressions, feelings and thoughts of a character to the degree he has done so in this novel.  Set in the early 1900s in London, the story moves through the development of a prep school coy as he matures and moves out into London society, dipping his toes in several different social groups.  As the volume ends, he may or may not have found love, and the reader is left heaving a sigh of relief at finishing this somewhat strenuous read, and also looking forward to the second volume.  Reading this novel is not for the reader who requires action.  It is more for the lover of the psychological.  It would be a five star read if not for the occasional long tedious stretches.

"Lean Mean Thirteen" by Janet Evanovich ****

•  Audiobook
•  US author
•  #13 in Stephanie Plum series
•  Mystery/Suspense
•  Review:  This 13th installment of the Stephanie Plum series is a winner!  Along with an engaging plot, the mounting competition between Stephanie's men for her affections makes the book entertaining, as usual.

"Mountain Time" by Ivan Doig ****

•  Audiobook
•  US author
•  Originally published in 2000
•  Review:  Another gruff, yet lyrical Doig novel!  Excellent narrator,  by the way!  This story winds its way through the mountains of Montana, the trails worn deep by relationships, and the tough trek that is the struggle to resolve a parent/child relationship,  a love relationship, and a sibling relationship.   When Ivan Doig weaves a tale, it sweeps you along into its very heart and soul!