Normal People by Sally Rooney

Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020--San Antonio

Normal People by Sally Rooney was a book that I read in only two days.  Normally, I put a book down and come back to it several times before I finish.  But this story interested me.  Set in a small town in western Ireland, it is about class differences, popularity differences, intelligence differences, sexual activity differences, etc.  More specifically, it is about a popular young male student who is poor and raised by his unwed mother in a loving home and an unpopular young female student who is raised in a wealthy family whole members lack love for each other.  It follows these two people as they have a secretive sex life while in high school and then both leave for Dublin and college at the most prestigious university in the county.  It continues to follow them as their lives dance around each other's without their realizing they cannot be happy with anyone else.  It is a spare book (about 250 pages) that held my interest.  I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli

Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020--San Antonio

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli is a book that took a long time to pull me into the story.  I almost gave up on it in the first half.  It became more interesting from there, and the last quarter was riveting.  It''s the story of a marriage involving two children falling apart as the two children (really step-children) form a bond with their own special adventure that will keep them connected as brother and sister for the rest of their lives.  Besides seeming to have fallen out of love, the married couple face the age-old problem of their careers making it impossible to stay together without one having to give up his or hers.  The father dwells on the history of the Apache Indians--how brave and fierce they were and how they were so mistreated by the US government.  The mother dwells on the children who are coming alone as immigrants from Central America and Mexico--how difficult it is for them to make the trip alone at their age and how mistreated they are by the US government when they cross the border.  I gave the first half of the book a rating of 3 stars, but it became a 4-star book within the last quarter of it.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

 Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020--San Antonio

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante is the first in a series of 4 books which are in the process of being adapted into an HBO series which has broadcast the first two seasons.  All four books do not have to be read; this  one is easily a stand-alone novel.  Written initially in Italian, I read the English translation.  Another interesting fact is that Elena Ferrante is a pseudonym, and no one knows who she really is (somewhat like the British street artist Banksy) although her novels have been printed and acclaimed throughout the world.  This Book One of the series follows two girls living in a poor suburb of Naples.  They hardly interact until they reach school and realize that they are the two smartest children in their class.  The story is told by the one who feels she always comes in second to the other.  There are jealousies, occasional hurt feelings, etc., but the one always coming in second over time realizes that the competition makes her a better student than she would be otherwise, and even when she progresses further in her education, she realizes that her friend who drops out due to not being able to afford to continue in school still continues to be smarter.  The book starts out seeming to be a simple story, but as it progresses there are layers upon layers of complexities that develop and the reader learns about the dynamics of not just the lives of these two girls but also those among most of the families living within the neighborhood.  It is very well written and becomes better the further you get into the story.  I gave it 4 1/2 stars out of 5.