Our book this month was our own Novel Women. The support from the rest of our book club has been incredible. Women working and helping each other to be the best they can be. So inspiring!
September’s Book Club
Category: Fiction
Window Watchers
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
Looking out windows can be a deadly pastime. As we saw in Alfred Hitchcock’s renowned movie Rear Window. In his debut novel, A.J. Finn added another layer of intrigue by making the protagonist traumatized and suffering from PTSD, which prevents her from leaving her home and making her an agoraphobic.
The protagonist, Anna Fox, not only suffers from agoraphobia but is also heavily medicated washing down many different pills with bottles of Merlot. Can you trust anything she hears or sees?
The unreliable narrator is nothing new to fiction but seems to be popular among current writers. The reader knows within the first few pages that Anna cannot be trusted. But we like her. The author has created a likeable character that we emphasize with. Anna draws us into her crazy life. We want to know why? And slowly, the story unfolds.
By the time the reader finds out what traumatized Anna, we are even more conflicted. Did she see those things she phoned the police about? We so want her to be vindicated. Her pain is piercing. Enough is enough. Or is her mind shattered irrevocably not able to understand what is happening around her? (more…)
The Illusion of Certainty
Steven Stosny, Ph.D. wrote an article titled “Love, Marriage, and the Illusion of Certainty https://bit.ly/2wxgid9. “Strong feelings and sensations of any kind carry an illusion of certainty.” When love becomes marriage a certain comfort and belief are held by the couple that they will be together through all of life’s struggles, both good and bad. Even though we all know going into marriage what the divorce rate is.
In the throes of romantic love, we look at our significant other through rose colored glasses. That illusion starts to fade when we start arguing about who is going to clean the toilets and the million other tasks that couples do every day. Some marriages thrive others fall apart.
In Tayari Jones’s novel, “An American Marriage,” she takes on this illusion of certainty with an African American couple. After only 18 months of marriage, Roy is charged, tried and convicted of raping a woman and sentenced to 12 years in prison. His wife, Celestial, knows that he didn’t commit the crime because she was with him that night, but how does any marriage survive a separation that long. Hollywood actors and actresses are always divorcing, and the common cause is separation. However, they’re only separated for a few months at a time, but twelve years?
The author gives us a clear understanding of the two protagonists, Roy and Celestial by their interactions between themselves and with both families. A great deal of that insight comes from letters that Roy and Celestial write to each other during Roy’s term in prison.
Roy, as a middle-class, college-educated African American is not immune to the racism his poorer brethren encounter. The author skillfully weaved discrimination into the into the story and it was quite powerful in its subtly.
Our book club loved this book. We talked about marriage and the way Roy fell totally apart at the end. We talked about the couple and what they should and shouldn’t have done. We talked a little about racism both overt and covert. We talked about parenting and the protagonists’ parents. We talked about love and the illusion of certainty that marriage holds for us.
This is a good book for book clubs.
Rating: 8.0
Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash
Brutal Heat Wave Scorched More than the Land
Punishing heat and murder teamed up for this wonder down under. “The Dry,” by Jane Harper was our selection for our March’s book club. With three nor’easters under our belt in the last two weeks, blistering heat and parched land almost sounded inviting.
The novel opens at the funeral of the Handler family. The protagonist, Aaron Falk, has come back to the town he was forced to leave as a teenager during the funeral of his childhood friend and his family. What makes this tragedy even worse is the belief that Luke Handler apparently killed his young son and wife before taking his own life.
Falk was summoned back home to Kiewarra by a cryptic message from Luke’s father – You lied. Luke lied. Be at the funeral. Falk is haunted by this place and what happened to him and his almost girlfriend Ellie Deacon during his teenage years.
Luke’s father wants Falk to investigate the deaths of his son and his family. Falk is a federal agent in white collar crime in Melbourne, the closest big city to Kiewarra. He told him that his expertise is not in murder and he should get someone else. Luke’s father didn’t care and threatened Falk who finally agreed to stay on for 18 hours to help the local cop, Raco with the investigation.
The townspeople tend to roll along believing the worse in people without looking at their own shortcomings. The dry desolation of the land seems to have crept into them with few exceptions. I’m glad I don’t live there.
The author planted tidbits along the way that will turn out to be of importance so keep your antenna honed. The story traveled down a winding dusty road with twists and turns you’d expect in a good thriller.
We all liked this book a lot. The author did a great job keeping us guessing. We talked about how group mentality influenced the townspeople and charged them up on an emotional level without any rational basis. We also talked about Ellie Deacon. We don’t want to ruin the story, but some of us still think about her.
Rating: 8.5
Credit Photo by Parsing Eye on Unsplash
A Mystery that Moves Backwards
Photo by Kieran White on Unsplash
With so many novels coming out with unreliable narrators, and other tricks and ploys to keep the savviest reader guessing, it was only a matter of time before someone thought to tell the story backwards. “All the Missing Girls,” by Megan Miranda was our pick for our January 2018 book club. The novel tells the last two weeks before the climax of the story in reverse.
I need to talk to you. That girl. I saw that girl was scribbled on a note sent to Nicolette from her father. The note coupled with a call from her brother, Dan who informed her their dad wasn’t doing well, and the family home needed to be sold to keep up with his expenses, pushed Nicolette to grudgingly go back to Cooley Ridge.
She dreaded returning and had mostly stayed away since high school, making a life for herself in Philadelphia where she looked forward to her marriage. A sense of foreboding creeps into the story during her nine-hour drive home.
Upon her return, all sorts of subtle clues get woven into the scenes. Some, of course, are deceptive. As Nicolette and Dan clear out their childhood home, another girl goes missing. (more…)
Mayhem in Surburbia
Wedded Bliss. Growing up in the 1960’s I viewed marriage as something easy and gentle, like what I saw on The Donna Reed Show or Father Knows Best. Although my parents certainly didn’t have that vibe going on. As a young child I kept trying to get them to watch the TV show and learn from it. Silly me.
Fast forward forty years. Marriage is neither easy nor gentle and a great place to find all the tension any author could ever need to keep readers reading. Lianne Moriarty gives her readers these telescopic views into her characters’ lives fleshing out all their quirks and traits. Some of them you instantly relate to, some of them hit you between the eyes shocking you, and some are elusive and you can’t quite pin them down. All of her characters have a solid realism to them, like you’ve met these people before.
Truly, Madly Guilty involves three married couples: Clementine and Sam, Erica and Oliver, and Tiffany and Vid. The story revolves around Clementine and Erica who have been friends since Clementine’s mother insisted she befriend Erica in grammar school. The relationship is lopsided at best, with Clementine grudgingly going along with her mother’s request. Even into adulthood their relationship is marred by that request and never blooms, remaining stagnant.
Moriarty loves her mayhem in suburbia and teases her reader about an incident at a barbecue through the first half of the book. She unwinds the story slowly, but with an eye on character development. By the time the incident reveals itself, the characters are well formed. Will the characters behave the way you think? Or act differently?
Tiffany and Vid are neighbors of Erica and Oliver and host the barbecue. Vid invited his neighbors over and asked them to 
bring that fun couple they’re friends with. While the fun people Tiffany, Vid, Sam and Clementine are having a great time together, Erica and Oliver feel left out. As the four fun people are enjoying each other, Tiffany looks at the younger couple thinking:
“Tiffany watched Sam and Clementine look at each other, their faces flushed, their pupils dilated. It would be a kindness. A public service. She could see exactly where their sex life was at. They were tired parents of young kids. They thought it was all over, and it wasn’t, they were still attracted to each other, they just needed a little electric shock to the system, a little stimulus, maybe some sex toys, some good-quality soft porn. She could be their good-quality soft porn.”
Well, that should have you thinking.
After the incident at the barbecue, Sam and Clementine look deeply at their lives and Erica and Oliver make some important decisions. The chaos that spins out of the barbecue will become live-altering for the two couples.
We really enjoyed this book at our meeting. We all loved Oliver. He’s the best husband out of all of them. We talked about marriage, life-trials, hoarding and other mental illnesses, and about the outcome. We were all happy for Erica in the end. Book clubs will enjoy the discussions guaranteed to come out of this book.
Rating: 8.5
Into the Water
It’s September and time to get back to reading! We picked “Into the Water,” by Paula Hawkins. Most of us love a good mystery. This book took some getting into, so don’t expect the simplicity of her previous novel, “The Girl on the Train.” But we love a challenge. Hell, I’ve read all the Game of Thrones novels, so a few extra characters and voices doesn’t scare me.
Hoping for the same kind of intrigue and plot twisting, we greedily picked this story for our book club. The novel is set in Beckford, England. There are cliffs, a river and a bend in the river the locals call the “drowning pool,” where women seem to die. Some are murdered, some commit suicide.
The story opens with a bang – a young woman is convicted of witchcraft and drowned in the pool for her crimes. Fast forward a few centuries or so and Nel Abbott is found dead in the pool. The drowning pool has claimed another victim.
The tale can be a bit confusing in the beginning, but stay with it. It will all make sense.
Nel’s estranged sister, Jules, returns to their childhood home. Nel and her daughter, Lena, had lived there for the last few years while Nel wrote a story about the drowning pool. Lena wants nothing to do with her aunt and the feeling seems to mutual in the beginning.
We then meet Patrick and Sean Townsend, father and son. Patrick is a retired policeman and Sean followed in his father’s footsteps. Sean is separated from his wife, Helen, who spends an inordinate amount of time with his father.
One of the characters, Louise Whitaker, angrily accuses everyone of having some part in the death of her daughter, Katie, from an apparent suicide in the drowning pool. Louise can’t understand why her perfect and beautiful daughter would even think of suicide, much less act on it.
Other characters, Mark Henderson, Erin Morgan and Nickie Sage, round out the stage. The story unwinds intricately through the different characters’ voices. By the end, we know most of the answers. However, don’t skip the last paragraph of the story!
There was a lot of negative criticism about the book, but I can’t imagine trying to follow up “Girl on a Train.” Our book club enjoyed it. Is it the best thriller ever written? No. But this thriller has some things that book clubs can discuss. We talked a lot about Louise Whitaker’s character and how as parents we really don’t know everything about our children. We also talked about how your upbringing influences you throughout your life.
Rating: 7.5
Ending the Summer with Some Island Escapades!
The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews
One of our members read a favorable review of Mary Kay Andrews latest novel, “The Weekenders.” So, we picked it for our August meeting. A good time for a fun read.
The protagonist, Riley Nolan Griggs, is expecting her husband to meet her and their daughter on the ferry to their Belle Isle, North Carolina vacation home. He never shows up. Furious, Riley calls and texts him throughout the ferry ride. No answer. Then, to make matters worst, she bumps into Nate, the guy who so unceremoniously dumped her years ago.
When they get to Belle Island, Riley’s husband isn’t there. This was the weekend they were supposed to tell their 12-year-old daughter, Maggy, that they were getting a divorce. Riley doesn’t want to tell their daughter by herself and face her wrath. Maggy is such a daddy’s girl, Riley knows she will blame her for everything.
When Riley and Maggy arrive at their island home a notice of foreclosure has been posted on the door and the locks are changed. So, begins the downward spiral of misfortunes that befall Riley and her family.
There’s a whodunit component to the novel and, of course, romance. Most of us enjoyed the book. If you’re looking for the depth of a Pat Conroy novel, this isn’t for you. But it’s a perfect book to take on vacation, or if you want something lighter to read.
It’s a little light on book club discussion, but we talked about finances and each spouse’s responsibility to know what’s in their joint bank accounts, plus a few other domestic issues.
Rating: 6.5
A Juicy Summer Read – “Camino Island”
I watched John Grisham on CBS This Morning during his latest book launch for “Camino Island.” He said after years of being accused of writing beach reads, he decided to write one. “Camino Island” is his version of a beach read. No court room drama here. Just the theft of the priceless original handwritten manuscripts of F. Scott Fitzgerald, kept in the vaults at Princeton University.
In the warm July temperatures, what could be better than a beach read for my book club.
But what exactly is a beach read? This term is thrown around so often, that I decided to find out. According to an article in the Washington Post, beach reads are “marketed exclusively to women… not worth a man’s time.” Beach reads are private affairs for private consumption, escapes from care, easy and disposable.
With all the time and effort it takes to conceive and write a novel, as an author to hear the word “disposable,” would be heartbreaking. “Camino Island,” is certainly not a disposable read, and I’m sure my husband will like it as much as I did. Beach read my ass! (more…)
The Sweetheart Deal
For our April book club we chose a romance novel by Polly Dugan. She is a childhood friend of one of our members and we like to support local authors.
A sweetheart deal in the business world is an abnormally favorable contractual arrangement and that definition fits with this story perfectly. It’s revolves around Leo McGeary, his wife, Audrey, and his best friend, Garrett.
During an evening of hard drinking, Leo forces Garrett to sign a scrap of paper that states that Garrett will marry Audrey in the event of Leo’s death. Garrett doesn’t want to sign it, but Leo persists. Leo is a firefighter and knows the odds of something happening to him are higher than the average person, and with three sons to raise, Leo wants to make sure his family is taken care of.
The inevitable happens and Garrett quits his job at a college in Boston and moves in with Audrey and her sons in Portland to finish the addition that Leo had started in their home. Garrett and Audrey’s friendship grows and complications set in with Audrey’s sons and with Garrett’s unease about the scrap of paper Leo had him sign, which he brought with him from Boston. (more…)