In The Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White

My rating: 4.0

This book is the true story of 3 things:

1. Neil White and his unabashed self-examination of his attitude, flaws and crime of kiting checks

2. The prison and prisoners of Carville

3. The lepers in Carville (it doubled as a prison and leper colony)

White doesn't hide that he is an unlikable con-man and it took over half the book before he had the epiphany as to the error of his ways.  The prisoners of Carville were an eclectic group and, at times, downright funny.  The story of the lepers in Carville was fascinating.  All in all, an enjoyable read.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

My Rating: 4.8

About a self-centered, rich dysfunctional family.  The characters and prose and the fantasy descriptions were so well done.  People will either love or hate this book.  I am definitely in the ‘love it’ camp. Such a powerful and well crafted book.  The less you know about this book, the better. 

The Translator by Nina Schuyler

My rating:  4.7

This is a book for those who appreciate words and language…not for those who want action.  This is also not a happy or upbeat book but, very full of meaning and trying to understand people and life. This beautifully written book feels like the many languages of Hanne Schubert come together.  Hanne is a 53 year old translator and this novel opens with Hanne immersed in translating a well-known Japanese author’s work into English.  You realize the many potential interpretations of the words, sentences, paragraphs. 

When Hanne falls down a flight of stairs, her injury is an unusual but real condition--the loss of her native language. She is left speaking only Japanese, a language learned later in life. With her personal life at a crossroad, Hanne leaves for Japan. There, the Japanese novelist whose work she translated stunningly confronts her publicly for sabotaging his work…and she realizes how she has translated so many things in her life incorrectly. 

The language is stunningly beautiful and captures so much.  It gave me an appreciation for the art of translation and made me wonder how many things we have misinterpreted in our lives by seeing only our own perspective. 

Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead

My Rating: 4.2

I don’t care about ballet and yet I really enjoyed this book that completely immerses you into the world of professional ballet. This beautifully written novel follows the lives of a mediocre American ballerina who is good but not great and a world famous Russian dancer who defects to America.

Shipstead immerses you into the world of professional ballet and it is an enjoyable journey.  There was good but not great character development and the storyline definitely kept my attention.

Electric God by Catherine Ryan Hyde

My Rating: 4.8

50 year old Hayden lives in a remote cabin in Northern California and struggles with his past, his temper and so many events that haunt him.  At times, he seems to be mellowing in his old age until events unfold that, in an instant, have him reacting in his old ways.

I have read and loved quite a few of Hyde’s books (the author of Pay It Forward) and this one was no exception.  I felt for Hayden.  He became real to me and I felt his pain, his troubles and even empathized with his temper.  This novel is funny, wry, moving and has such believable characters.  I love how Hyde has a penchant for writing about flawed characters that have so many redeemable qualities you just can’t help but cheer for them.  I found this book thoroughly enjoyable and will definitely be reading more by Hyde.

The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad

My Rating: 4.4

This is an interesting and different novel with no continuous plot or character development, with the chapters being only loosely connected. Ahmad is a talented writer with a gift for poetry.

Each of these impactful stories are set in the Afghan/Pakistan area where the 80 year old author had a long civil service career.  He captures the harsh conditions with love and tenderness and the elegance of a nomadic lifestyle.

This is a series of short stories interlinked by Tor Baz (as the young boy becomes known).  The sparse writing and descriptions are sometimes reminiscent of Cormac MacCarthy. Beautifully told. 

The only things I didn't like was the short story/disjointed feel of each chapter as even though there was the constant of Tor Baz, you had to resituate yourself to each new situation/story.  The other complaint was that the book was so short as it was extremely well written.  If you like short stories, I would think you would find this book extremely enjoyable.

Sing in the Morning, Cry At Night

My Rating: 3.5

This is Barbara Taylor’s debut novel.  This historical novel revolves around a family in the 1900’s mining town of Scranton.  Owen and his wife Grace and their daughter Violet have suffered many tragedies and when yet another one befalls them, you are pulled into the sorrow of each family member.  Taylor combines this against the setting of the town’s anticipation of the evangelist preacher Billy Sunday coming to town.

I was so torn with how I felt about this novel.  I felt the characters were very well developed and it was wonderful writing. I loved the story of each of the family members as well as the character ‘Grief’.  The excellently written story line had me enthralled in the first portion of the book.  As Taylor involved more and more of the towns people, the book felt trite and that the characters were all one dimensional (almost all gossipy, nasty people with no redeeming traits) so she started to lose me.  When she finished the story with such a nice neat pretty bow, I really felt disenchanted. What had started off so promising seemed to really fizzle.

Taylor is a gifted writer and this is a wonderful debut but, I hope her future novels avoid some of the flaws and she doesn’t feel the need for such a pat ending.  All in all, an enjoyable read as long as you don’t expect too much from it.

Girls Like Us by Gail Giles

My Rating: 4.9

Quincy and Biddy are two "Special Eds" or “Speddies” who have graduated from high school and aged out of the system. Their case worker places them together in the home of a woman who needs help with her physical maladies.

 

This is the story of two girls discovering that they are "real" people. They are valuable and lovable just as they are. 

This heartwarming story was light and a quick read but, one that will stay with me for a while.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

My Rating: 4.2

This is a charming story of widower/bookstore owner A.J. Fikry

In the beginning of this book, I was thoroughly enamored but then found it got fluffy.  Still, this was such a unique little gem that I think you at least need to do your research as you may be like others who fall in love with this quirky book.

Books with Almost Identical Covers

I thought that this was an interesting article in the Huffington Post on books that have almost identical covers:

The Heretic's Daughter by Katherine Kent

My rating:  4.7

This novel of the Salem Witch Trial's is told by Sarah Carrier the daughter of Martha Carrier, who was one of the first women to be tried and hung for witchcraft in 1692.  The first half of the book is the day-to-day life of Sarah .  You slowly feel things building towards the last half of the book when Martha is arrested and the gloom and fanatical fevered pitch of fear shows itself.  Very haunting and even uncomfortable and well told.

Katherine Kent is a direct descendant of Martha Carrier and spent five years researching and writing this novel.  

The Snow Hunters by Paul Yoon

My rating:  4.6

The Snow Hunters is about Yohan, a North Korean War Refugee who is arriving to live in Brazil.  The story goes back and forth in time as the memories ebb and flow.  This is a quiet haunting Hemingway type of book.  

 

The author captures the mood and the memories in this elegant novel.  This book definitely will not be for everyone but I thoroughly enjoyed this sparse novel even if the ending didn't live up to the rest of the book.

The Son by Philip Meyer

My Rating: 4.7

This epic novel covers three generations of a Texas family; from the Comanche's in the 1800's to the oil boom in the 20th century

1. It starts in 1840 with 13 year old Eli McCullough being kidnapped by Comanches after they brutally rape and murder his mother and sister
   
2. Peter McCullough is Eli's son and considered a disappointment.
   
3. Eli's great granddaughter is Jeanne/JA McCullough and she struggles to succeed in a man's world .  

For anyone who enjoyed Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove, you will love this book.

Chasing Windmills by Catherine Ryan Hyde

My rating:  4.7

Sebastian and Maria both ride the subway to escape their lives of abuse and control.   This is a modern day version of West Side Story. I love Hyde's writing style.  It flows so easy in the conversational style.  There are no plot twists and yet I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of love and finding one's identify.  This is my second book by Hyde and this won't be my last.

Mystery Book Recommendations

In my recent YouTube post about my beloved Bookmarks magazine, a lot of you wanted mystery book recommendations.  I contacted my mystery book friends and here is what they came up with for you.

• The Shadow Woman by Ake Edwardson
• Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indridason
• Broken by Karin Fossum
• Broken Harbor by Tana French
• All of the Steig Larsson books
• Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
• Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz
• Devil In White City by Erik Larson
• Every Last one

Please comment below with any good mystery books you would recommend so others can benefit.  Thanks!