Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly

Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024--San Antonio

Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly is set in New Zealand but has been recommended by various U.S. national publications.  Its two main characters are young adults (older brother and younger sister) whose extended families are a multicultural mix of immigrants from various former U.S.S.R. member republics and Spain plus the native Maori community.  All the main characters have somewhat quirky senses of humor providing unique and humorous reactions the experiences they are having in life.  It took me a while to realize all of this was the case.  Because of that and the large number of characters I considered whether to continue reading the book.  By the time I was 50% of the way through, I had started seeing the patterns of humor and laughing aloud at times (but still had trouble remembering who was who at times).  Anyway, I started reading though the rest of the book at a faster pace wanting to see what was going to occur.  Many of the characters are also sexually fluid or gay, so it is common for one character to have been with the opposite sex and now be with the same sex in relationships or to have had affairs with a character sexually different from the one who is their partner.  There are also relationships involving age differences.  In other words, it is a novel about characters who represent society as it really exists--characters that are difficult for many people to accept because of historical definitions of what makes a family and what a family should be.  This is not a book for a cisgender person who believes that sex should be between a "man" and a "woman" unless that person is open to considering that they have been too rigid in their understandings and beliefs and are ready to accept that others are leading happy lives (and have a right to do so) in ways that they have not felt were appropriate.  I eventually found the characters to be delightful and the story to be fascinating.  I gave the book 4 stars out of 5.

The Ministry of Time by Keliane Bradley

Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024--San Antonio

The Ministry of Time by Keliane Bradley is one of the most entertaining stories I have read in some time.  I found myself not just laughing, but guffawing over and over as I was reading and then again while thinking about what I had just read.  It's a story of several time travelers brought to the present from the various times in the past.  It was the central traveler Graham from the mid-1800s who had a "unique" way of expressing himself which made the story so funny.  A special ministry has been established in London to deal with time travel and those who have been brought to the present from the past.  There is a research project to see what effects the travel has on the people--psychologically and physically.  Each of the travelers has been assigned a handler to help them adapt to their new situation and to observe and report on all aspects of their lives during the first year that they are here.  All the characters and their reactions are interesting.  But problems develop.  I was deeply involved in the story until the very end when the explanations for what was happening were so complex I found myself re-reading sections to try to understand them.  I gave the book 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

The History of Sound by David Shattuck

Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024--San Antonio

The History of Sound by David Shattuck is a collection of short stories set in New England.  Reading them gave me my most pleasurable reading experience of this year.  I found myself "inside the stories"--experiencing them vicariously because they were so well written and so interesting.  The title story is a very beautiful one which is presently being made into a film starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor.  And there are connections between various stories--little nuggets of information that can tie a stand-alone story to a previous one even though there may be years or centuries between them.  The stories range time settings from the late 1600s to the present and there are a variety of subjects--researching and recording folk music in the back wooded areas of Maine, living on Nantucket island when it was isolated with few people and horrible winters, belonging to a religious cult led to believe that that the righteous would climb a beam of light to heaven at the change of the century from the 1600s to 1700, etc.  I gave the book 4 1/2 stars out of 5 and the title story 5 stars out of 5.

Sandwich by Catherine Newman

Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024--San Antonio

Sandwich by Catherine Newman was on a list of the top books of 2024 (so far) by the New York Times and was recommended elsewhere as a good summer read.  It is a short, humorous novel with a 54-year-old woman being the central character telling the story.  She is with 3 generations of her family (with her "sandwiched" in the middle) on their traditional summer vacation on Cape Cod in the same vacation cottage they have rented for 20 or so years.  There is her husband, their adult son and his girlfriend of several years, their gay daughter who is a university student, her elderly parents (who, as they have traditionally done, only come for 2 nights), and the elderly family cat.  The woman has been going through menopause which not only is affecting her physically but is also causing her to recall other frustrations from different periods of her life.  She misses her children being at home and tries to make up for it with this week of their presence.  She and her husband have a comfortable and happy marriage, but there are things about the other that irritate each.  There are things that have never been said.  There are worries about the passing of time--the cat and the elderly parents probably near the end of their lives, the children becoming more and more distant as they become independent adults leading their own lives, etc.  And there is an effort to try to do everything that is traditional from past vacations while they are here because the changes that may be coming in their lives might mean that this could be the last chance.  I liked the fact that everything seemed so realistic--the worries, the experiences, the interactions, etc.  And the humor was refreshing and continuous throughout the book.  I gave it 4 stars out of 5.

Daddy by Emma Cline

Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024--San Antonio

Daddy by Emma Cline is a book of short stories.  Each is about a troubling situation in life for one or more of the characters who arefacing a situation that is not what they wished.  In a way, it made me realize how lucky I am.  But at the same time, the situations seem so realistic that it concerned me that so many people face hopeless situations because of bad decisions they have made.  Since they are short stories, I didn't have to wallow in the misery of any one situation; that was a relief.  I gave the book 4 stars out of 5 because the stories are well written and it is left to the reader to realize/recognize what is going wrong.

Family Meal by Bryan Washington

Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024--San Antonio

Family Meal by Bryan Washington is the third book I have read by this author.  All of his stories are interesting.  And because they are set in Houston, I often know the neighborhoods being mentioned.  This story is centered around the continuing lives of two young men who were best friends when boys.  When the parents of one died, the family of the other took in the orphaned friend and raised him within their family until he left for university.  It turns out that both boys are gay.  But after high school, they go their separate ways while still feeling tied to each other as "family."  There is an added factor of two of the main characters in the book (one in the family that took in the orphaned friend and one who becomes the partner of the the orphaned friend) are of mixed African American/Asian American race which means that unexpected reactions and problems are encountered beyond the problems that normally relate to being just Black boys in America.  Mental health, forgiveness, acceptance of others, making life decisions, etc., are also a part of the story.  I enjoyed the book.  I gave it 4 stars out of 5.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

Friday, Aug. 2, 2024--San Antonio

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore is a mystery novel set at a compound in the Adirondack Mountains. Owned by a very wealthy banking family with a home that was taken apart piece by piece in Switzerland and moved to the compound.  But the compound also has a summer camp that serves mostly the children of other wealthy New York friends of the family.  There are two disappearances about 14 years apart of children from the third generation of the banking family with both disappearances taking place on weekends when the family hosts an annual long weekend of guests--business friends and celebrities (to add some spice to the gathering).  Could these two disappearances be tied to each other?  Could a known child molester from the area who recently escaped from prison and might be returning home be a factor?  Why was a body never found during the first disappearance and why weren't people more concerned?  What affairs are taking place among various family members and friends?  How much of their lives are built around protecting their wealth and reputation interests?  Was the man accused of having been responsible for the first disappearance guilty, or was he used as a scapegoat for some strange reason?  Are local people being used and accused of crimes to cover-up for things done by those with money?  It's a good page-turner and very entertaining.  I gave it 4 1/2 stars out of 5.