Coming Home

Colm Tóibín’s Long Island is a sequel to his acclaimed novel Brooklyn, reuniting readers with Eilis Lacey two decades after her initial journey from Ireland to America. Set in 1976, Eilis is now settled in Lindenhurst, Long Island, with her husband, Tony Fiorello, and their two teenage children. Her seemingly tranquil life is disrupted when a stranger arrives, revealing that his wife is pregnant with Tony’s child, a revelation that propels Eilis to return to her hometown of Enniscorthy, Ireland, for the first time in twenty years.

Eilis returns to Ireland to reassess the life she built in America. She falls back in with her old friends and her former lover, stirring up long-buried emotions and forcing her to confront not only her past but also the person she has become. Torn between the familiarity of her roots and the life she has carefully constructed across the ocean, Eilis’s journey becomes one of profound self-reflection and reckoning.

Our book club was torn on this book. Some absolutely fell in love with the language and the way the story rolled along, appreciating how Tóibín delicately portrays Eilis’s struggles and the complexities of life. The novel’s exploration of the choices that define us struck a chord with many of us, offering a poignant look at the intersections of identity, loyalty, and belonging.

Others in the group, however, found the pacing slower than expected and wished for more resolution in certain plotlines. The tension between Eilis’s old and new lives, while beautifully written, left some readers craving a clearer sense of closure.

Rating: 7

Threads of Hope

Barbara Davis’s The Keeper of Happy Endings is a beautifully woven tale of love, resilience, and second chances that spans decades. The novel intertwines the stories of Soline Roussel, a Parisian seamstress with a gift for crafting wedding gowns said to ensure happy marriages, and Rory Grant, a young woman in Boston grappling with her own heartbreak and loss.

Soline’s life is marked by tragedy, including the loss of her fiancé during World War II and the destruction of her Parisian shop. Years later, Rory stumbles upon Soline’s story while seeking her own path after a failed engagement and the disappearance of her mother. Their lives intersect in unexpected ways, revealing secrets, healing wounds, and celebrating the power of hope.

Our book club found the characters multidimensional with deeply felt struggles and triumphs. Davis moves through dual timelines very well blending historical and contemporary settings with emotional depth. Themes of grief, love, and destiny are explored with a touch of mysticism, adding a magical quality to the narrative.

The novel’s pace is gentle but engaging and the story is heartfelt and memorable. Our book club talked about how she rebuilt her life after such a tragic lost. We talked about the importance we place on some treasures that we hold on to for years. Some of us didn’t like the fact that Rory is drawn to the burned up building. They found it too convenient. But for me it added a bit of mysticism and what’s wrong with that.

Rating 7.5

Suburban Chic and Scandal: A Look at When Life Gives You Lululemons

Lauren Weisberger’s When Life Gives You Lululemons is a sparkling, witty sequel to The Devil Wears Prada, shifting the focus to the glamorous yet tumultuous life of Emily Charlton, Miranda Priestly’s sharp-tongued former assistant. Now a high-profile image consultant, Emily faces a career crisis when her A-list clientele begins to dwindle.

The story unfolds in the affluent suburbs of Greenwich, Connecticut, where Emily joins forces with her old friend Miriam, a former high-powered attorney turned stay-at-home mom, and their mutual friend Karolina, a supermodel navigating a messy public scandal. Together, they tackle Karolina’s personal and professional dilemmas, exposing the absurdities and pressures of suburban life.

Weisberger’s satirical take on wealth, privilege, and the cutthroat world of image-making is both biting and hilarious. The characters are vividly drawn, with Emily’s sardonic wit and no-nonsense attitude providing the perfect counterbalance to the novel’s more heartfelt moments. Themes of friendship, reinvention, and resilience shine throughout the narrative, making it as empowering as it is entertaining.

Our book club loved this book – it was so much fun. It was light, funny, and full of drama. We talked about how Emily and her friends navigated all the crazy society challenges with humor and grace. It certainly shows how friends can help you get through anything. Enjoy the fun.

Rating: 8.5

Love Unscripted

Alice Hoffman’s The Marriage of Opposites is an evocative novel inspired by the life of Rachel Pizzarro, the mother of the renowned Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro. Set on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas in the early 19th century, the book weaves themes of love, rebellion, and art into a tapestry of cultural and historical intrigue.

Rachel, a strong-willed and passionate woman, defies societal expectations through her forbidden romance with her late husband’s nephew, Frédérick. Their love story is both a source of scandal and a testament to resilience, mirroring the novel’s broader exploration of identity, family, and creativity. Hoffman’s prose is richly descriptive, bringing the island’s landscapes and the complexities of its diverse communities vividly to life.

Through Rachel’s story, Hoffman examines the sacrifices and freedoms of defying convention while tracing the roots of artistic inspiration. The novel is a compelling blend of history and magical realism, offering a portrait of a woman whose indomitable spirit paved the way for her son’s artistic legacy.

Our book club was mixed on this novel. Some thought it was an enchanting tale with a dynamic female character and others didn’t care for Rachel. We discussed how societal expectations weigh heavy on people who live their life their way and damn with the consequences.

Rating: 7.0

Love Heals

Shelby Van Pelt’s novel Remarkably Bright Creatures is a story about healing and finding love again. 

After her husband dies, Tova Sullivan works keeping her home in tip-top shape and takes a job at Puget Sound’s Sowell Bay Aquarium cleaning and talking with the creatures of the sea. Her favorite is an octopus named Marcellus.  Staying busy helps quiet the 70-year-old’s mind from wondering about her son, Erik, who died at eighteen from suicide. Tova never believed the coroner’s ruling.

Her friends don’t understand why she mops floors at the aquarium when she has plenty of money. Tova has a steely determination to live her life her way and on her own. She even refuses all offers of help when she decides to downsize from her childhood home.

The novel keys in on another character, Cameron. A thirty something, down-on-his-luck young man looking to find his father and get money for all the child support payments never made to his mother.  His mother suffered from mental illness and left Cameron with her sister to raise. Abandoned, Cameron can’t get his act together. Without a stable family, his ability to form secure attachments always falters and his relationships fall apart. Frustrated about his life, he leaves his hometown to find his father from a picture he found in his mother’s belongings. Cameron arrives in Tova’s town – coincidental?

Love – it’s what we all crave. It doesn’t always come in the Prince Charming package. And slowly, Tova Sullivan, let the pain of her incredible losses subside and allowed moments of affection, caring and love back into your life. 

And let’s not forget about Marcellus – the octopus.   If you happened to listen to the book, the narrator was amazing. Everyone at my book club loved this character.

We genuinely enjoyed this book. It’s a feel-good-happy book and it’s always nice to have a smile on your face when you finish a novel.  We discussed the general theme of the book – healing.  Everyone has people they loved who have passed away and the difficulty of grieving.  The deeper the love you have for someone – the longer the time you will mourn them according to a grief counselor I spoke with.  We also discussed love of family and friends and the great comfort they can bring.

It a lovely end-of-summer read. 

Enjoy!    

Rating: 8.0

Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

Summer Breeze

Jennifer Weiner is a favorite storyteller of some of our book club members.  We enjoyed Mrs. Everything last year and so for our August book club we read Big Summer.  

The novel begins with Daphne Berg, who is a plus-size woman trying to capitalize on her writing and creative abilities by showcasing her zaftig figure in a positive way drawing online support and creating her own community.  What could possibly go wrong?

The influencer idea came from a particularly cruel “mean girl” type of event instigated by her then best friend, Drue Cavanaugh.  Years later, Drue comes back into Daphne’s life and begs her to be her maid of honor at her upcoming wedding.  Huh?

Drue, the extremely rich, beautiful socialite didn’t have any real friends. At least, that’s what she told Daphne.  And she really needed her to be in the wedding.  Drue didn’t trust anyone else.  Daphne would be able to post all the events surrounding the wedding and even had an upcoming designer had agreed to dress her for the part. As we read the book, we were all screaming – don’t do it, but w’ere older and allegedly wiser.

After Daphne agrees to do this favor for Drue, all sorts of crazy things start happening.  The story line even has a murder in it. 

Weiner beautifully captures Cape Cod and the complications of female friendships especially younger women.  We would have loved more of that and less of the murder.  Weiner has a lovely, young, bubbly way of creating these moments that are so believable and accessible.  We want more of that!

Our book club talked about the social media circus and how fortunate we are not to be so engaged in it. We post on Facebook and some a little on Instagram, but cautiously.  We do choose to live out loud but not so much online. An easy, breezy read.

Rating: 7

Photo by Alexandra Lowenthal on Unsplash

Spain, Franco and Silence

World War II has been a popular genre for books written in the last few years.  Characters going through war are always a fascinating read.  Ruta Sepetys picked Spain and dictator Francisco Franco. Unlike Hitler, Franco was in power for 36 years and fear and repression became a way of life for the Spaniards.

The author told this rich story through the eyes of different social classes. The beautiful Ana, poor and a maid at a luxury hotel. Daniel Matheson, son of an American oil tycoon. What could possibly go wrong? Think Nazis but without all the noise.

The undercurrents throughout the story are scary. But it is clear that you don’t want to complain. Just keep quiet and ignore what is going on around you. One of the worst atrocities was the ordeal of the parents who had been told their children died during childbirth. These children didn’t die but were put up for adoption – basically sold to rich, socially desirable people. Similar story line to Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. Yikes.

Our book club enjoyed this poignant book and had good discussions about it. We knew little about Spain under Franco and we learned a lot about this period and about the Spanish people.  We even enjoyed the love story.

Rating: 8.0

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