Into the Water

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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!

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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”

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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…)

Oh, What a Night!

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All those questions you have when you finish a book, imagine being able to ask the author, especially with a psychological thriller like “The Memory Box.”  Alleluia!  We started talking about the novel before the author arrived.  We compared our notes as to all the twists and turns and together we came up with a collective understanding of the story. 

By the time Eva arrived, we were ready, wine glasses in hand, for a lively conversation.  As it turned out, Eva, herself, is a fascinating person. Her background in public relations at Estee Lauder could have been a novel, in and of itself.  Then, her amazing adventure in the publishing world – all her highs and lows.  Again, this is definitely material for a book.  There aren’t a lot of success stories of self-published authors.  The odds of breaking through all the white noise to be heard is quite low, but she did it.  “The Memory Box,” is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling book, even bumping “The Girl on the Train,” from the top spot on the list. We were mesmerized by her story of publication and asked her a million questions about it. 

We eventually started talking about the book.  Everyone always wants to know where the author came up with the idea.  Eva said, “Reading a New York Times article about people Googling themselves gave me the idea….”  One article she read was about a young boy who had discovered he was abducted.  “This idea of Googling yourself and discovering something so personal, that was previously unknown, was a thrilling concept to me.”

The protagonist in the book, Caroline, is at first relatable to women, especially mothers, before the reader understands that she is not a reliable narrator of the story.  “I love the idea of facades in literature.  How people or places can be facades and that’s what I believe the town of Farhaven represents for us.  Also, I do love the idea of memory and what it is we remember about our past, and what we ‘choose’ to forget.”

We talked about Caroline’s therapy sessions. The client/therapist relationship between Caroline and Dr. Sullivan was the part of the novel that Eva researched to have a better understanding of what a therapist can and cannot disclose.   “I wanted to be sure I represented the obligation of Dr. Sullivan and what he chooses to disclose or not disclose,” Eva said.  

Finally, we asked Eva what was the hardest part of writing the book.  “The hardest part for me, and maybe for most thriller or mystery writers, was how much detail to reveal without being condescending.  I don’t want to connect the dots for the reader. It’s so much fun to do that on one’s own when reading suspense.  But the risk will always be if enough has been disclosed for the majority of readers to get to the reveal.”

Well, we got it!

Eva is represented by CAA and is working on her next novel.  She is also a self-publishing consultant.  See her website at https://evanatiello.com/.  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvaNateillo/ and Twitter: https://twitter,com/EvaNatiello

Authors interested in meeting with book clubs usually address it on their websites.  Some authors will travel locally, some Skype, some will phone conference.  There is a site called Book the Writer at bookthewriter.com that represents over 100 writers who will, for a fee, come to your book club, usually within New York City limits.  

For us, hosting an author completes the experience of reading.  Try it. You will definitely like it.

 

The Secret Wife

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The great mystery of one of the Romanov heirs surviving the brutal execution at the hands of the Bolsheviks on July 16, 1918 has captivated many over the years.  Even Disney made a movie in 1997 with its own twist on the story. Several women claiming to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia have all been proven to be imposters since the advent of DNA analysis, even Anna Anderson.

Anderson was institutionalized in 1920 after a suicide attempt, and didn’t speak for a few years.  When she did start talking, she told people she was Anastasia.  Supporters helped her financially and a cousin or two of the Romanovs believed her.  However, Olga Alexandrovna, Nicholas II’s sister, didn’t believe Anderson was Anastasia said, “My telling the truth does not help in the least, because the public simply wants to believe in the mystery.”  She was right, no matter what the truth.

Gill Paul has taken this piece of history and devised an alternative story with a dual narrative plot, one taking place in 1914 and the other in 2016.

In 1914, Dmitri Malama, a Russian soldier, met Grand Duchess Tatiana, while he was convalescing from an injury at Tsarskoe Selo. The two fell in love.

In 2016, Kitty Fisher finds out her husband was having an affair and leaves England for a cabin left to her by her great-grandfather. 

What could these two-story lines have in common?  Plenty.

Historical fictions novels have that rare quality of giving the reader a glimpse into a different time, but with today’s understandings and nuances.  I love reading them. 

In the beginning of the novel, the tension of the 1914 narrative was tempered by the future story.  We hoped beyond hope that the ever-increasing danger that the Romanov family face will be different than we know it to be.  As the inevitable happens, the tension in the future story starts to increase. 

Paul stayed close to the facts regarding the deaths of the Romanov family and their burials, with the one obvious exception, as well as many other aspects.

We enjoyed reading this book in book club.  The members that love history talked about the Romanovs and the Anastasia imposters as well as the revolution.  We also talked about the narrative being split between 1914 and 2016.  The novel “Sarah’s Key,” also had a dual narrative and we absolutely loved that book. (See review to the right.)

 Rating: 8

 

 

 

The Sweetheart Deal

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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…)

Recap of a Lecture given by Erik Larson at Monmouth University

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Last year I wrote an article for a local paper about a lecture given by Larson at Monmouth University.  I’m sharing this with you in case your book club is looking for a good book.

“If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree. ” ― Michael Crichton

Well, Erik Larson knows history.  He is a mastermind at finding those historical exploits that people don’t know or have forgotten, then researches the hell out of them and turns them into New York Times bestselling novels. That sounds a lot easier than it is.

On Monday night, March 28, Larson spoke to a packed house at the Pollak Theatre at Monmouth University. The event was part of the Department of History and Anthropology’s Charles Mayes lecture series on World War I.

Larson’s latest book “Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania,” deals with the torpedoing of the ship by the Germans two years before the United States entered World War I.  

Just as he did in his previous books, Larson’s characters are presented in a narrative arch in a natural way. “…by finding the right bits and pieces to the story we can experience the event through their eyes when they don’t know the ending.” Larson told the assembly.

The lawsuits that were brought after the sinking created a lot of archival material.  Larson found that most writers had written about the diplomatic pressures of entering World War I after the sinking of the ship, but not about the people involved or the ship’s fateful voyage. (more…)

The Husband’s Secret

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And that’s just the beginning of the story…

I discovered this book when I attended the Writer’s Digest Conference in New York City in August 2014.  I am writing a book with a few friends and thought that the conference would enlighten me on the proper way to find an agent and a publisher.  And to some extent it did.  During the conference there were a few guest speakers.  One was an agent who talked about the importance of titles.  He used “The Husband’s Secret,” by Lianne Moriarty as an example.  He simply said it was a great title.  Who doesn’t want to know what the husband’s secret is.

After the conference, I held off suggesting it for our book club because a few of our members where going through a divorce.  Not knowing what the secret was,  I decided to wait a while.  Two years later it was our February selection.

A third of the way into the novel you find out the husband’s secret.  We all talked at book club about when we figure out what the husband’s secret was. Finding out the secret isn’t the climax of the story. It’s not a psychological thriller with a don’t-see-it-coming ending. Rather it’s about consequences, penalties and penance.

Cecilia Fitzpatrick, the OCD Tupperware saleswoman is married to John-Paul.  He is successful, handsome and a good father.  Sounds like a catch to me – right?  Then we meet Tess who is married to Will and they have a son together.  They spend their time almost exclusively with Tess’s cousin Felicity.  Hmmm…  Lastly, we met Rachel who is equal parts sad and angry. Her teenage daughter was murdered years earlier.  (more…)

A death in the family

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Families. Spouse, mother, father, children, siblings – a tough road. When the family is especially dysfunctional, it can be unbearable. Pat Conroy, through his ability to make words bleed, has brought us with him on his journey with his abusive father – The Great Santini and now, The Death of Santini.

There were so many situations with his father that we could only discuss a few of them at our monthly meeting. We literally ran late into the night. We tend to read fiction not memoirs or autobiographies.  But they give us more to talk about because it’s a real story. 

Without talking about specific situations, our book club discussed how each of Pat’s siblings and his mother absorbed the abuse and how they reacted to it afterwards. All of them unique in their own pain and the way they handled it. His poor brother was broken by it. They all were.

It seemed to us that Pat Conroy never lost hope that someday his father would change. In the end, the demon wasn’t purged only tempered.

Our book club members have enjoyed every Pat Conroy novel.  The Prince of Tides and Beach Music were our favorites. We read The Prince of Tides before I started writing small reviews on the website. We even enjoyed the movies.  Pat gives book clubs plenty to discuss.

Enjoy!

Rating: 8.5

Photo by Mike Scheid on Unsplash

Born in the USA

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This is why I love book cub, because you end up reading a book that you would not have picked. And bam – you just love it.  One of our members suggested “Born to Run,” by Bruce Springsteen. Although I like memoirs, I haven’t read one in quite a while, and certainly not about a rock and roll superstar.  But I like Bruce Springsteen and I ended up loving his memoir.

According to the summary on Amazon, Springsteen took seven years to write his story. The book is interesting, thoughtful, and soul-searching.  Honest. Like having a drink with the man at the bar before one of his gigs.

Springsteen accounts of his childhood are vivid.  I’m not sure how he remembers so many details.  I loved the fact that his mother had him take dance lessons so she had someone to dance with at weddings and other functions. Mom sure knew best and gave her son a step up with the girls in high school. He didn’t stand on the sidelines during school dances.  He felt confident enough to ask girls to dance.

His aha moment came early in his life when he saw Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show.   He became unrelenting in quest to become a musician.  Springsteen worked all sorts of odd jobs to get a guitar, eventually also lessons. He had found his passion and desire. (more…)