Category: Fiction

Elizabeth Strout returns to form

  • unknownMy Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout(Random House, 2016)
  • In 40 words or less: Lucy, long estranged from her family, is visited by her mother during a lengthy hospital stay. Bit by bit they rebuild a relationship, revisiting Lucy’s childhood in Illinois and the silence and isolation that sent Lucy in search of herself.
  • Genre: Fiction
  • Locale: New York
  • Time: Primarily 1980s
  • Read this for an aching look at the mother-daughter relationship.

After Elizabeth Strout burst on the scene in 2008 with Olive Kitteridge, the bar was set very high for any future writings. When The Burgess Boys appeared in 2013 early critics were pleased, many readers not as much. Like The Burgess Boys, My Name is Lucy Barton is a novel, not short stories. But in Lucy Barton and her mother, we have imperfect and complex characters that have been carrying steamer trunk-sized baggage with them for decades.

Set in a New York hospital the 1980s, the rhythm of hospital and family life are very different from today. While Lucy has built a family and career of her own,  her children rarely visit the hospital, her husband is caught up in his parenting responsibilities and averse to hospitals.

Convalescence is slow. Days run one into another marked by visits from doctors, diagnostic testing, and nurses on their own schedules. After several weeks, her mother just appears to Lucy’s surprise. One in the bed, the other in the side chair, they revisit Lucy’s childhood and the small town where her family still lives, still outsiders in many ways.

Little happens in this book. While they speak of the others in their small town, their peculiarities and slights, the acts that crippled Lucy are never spoken aloud. Smart and a talented writer, Lucy’s family never understood her gifts. She was the poster child for low self-esteem.

After leaving the hospital, the understanding gained from her mother’s visit finally allows Lucy to see herself and those around her in a new light. And she continues to transform for the remainder of the book.

If you enjoyed Olive Kitteridge, My Name is Lucy Barton may be worth a look.

 

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When a novel hangs on a luminary striking a sour note

  • Unknown-4And After the Fire by Lauren Belfer (HarperCollins, 2016)
  • In 40 words or less: A secret J.S. Bach manuscript, hidden from inception due to inflammatory lyrics, passes from generation to generation, finally landing in a German home at WWII’s end. Grabbed then hidden by a Jewish GI, its uncovering after his death raises many questions.
  • Genre: Fiction with strong historical elements
  • Locale: Prussia, Germany, USA
  • Time: 1776 – 2010
  • Read this for a generation-crossing novel, interweaving music, faith and family secrets.

First, a caveat. If you are a classical music purist, J.S. Bach fan or musicologist, the literary device Belfer employs throughout the book may drive you crazy.

Susanna Kessler has had a very bad year. After the collapse of her marriage, she takes solace in her work for a family foundation and her new apartment on the grounds of a church. Her beloved Uncle Henry dies, leaving her to settle his estate. When doing so, she comes upon a folder with cursory notes, containing what appears to be a manuscript of a work by Johann Sebastian Bach, dated 1783. The lyrics accompanying the music are virulently anti-Semitic.

Belfer then takes the reader back to 1776 and the family of Daniel Itzig, important banker and advisor to the King of Prussia. Itzig’s family holds a unique position in Berlin society, particularly for Jews. Martin Luther’s beliefs are taking hold, creating new levels of acrimony towards Jews.

Sara Itzig was an accomplished pianist, under the tutelage of one of J.S. Bach’s sons. Upon her marriage, her teacher gives her his prized possession, an unpublished manuscript by his father. Grateful for the gift but appalled by the lyrics, she and her husband vow to keep it hidden. Sara continues her interest in music and culture, performing on piano and hosting salons. Never having children, she bestows her attention on her nieces and nephews.

To her chagrin, Sara’s sister and brother-in-law decide to convert to Christianity to better their position. One of Sara’s nieces marries the son of Moses Mendelssohn, the philosopher, and is the mother of Felix Mendelsohn, the composer. The manuscript is carefully hidden and then passed along for safe keeping within the family. The generations of the Itzig family, their connections and interests, seem to be consistent with history.

When Susanna discovers the manuscript, she realizes the importance of authentication and the publicity surrounding, and potential adverse reaction to,  its content. Susanna seeks out Dan, a history of music scholar at a Lutheran college, who is suffering a personal crisis. Intrigued by the possibility, he brings in a colleague from a private library to assist in the authentication. Both vie for Susanna’s attention, eventually protecting her from an intellectually predatory scholar.

In authenticating the work, Susanna travels to Germany to meet Dan at a conference. There she is confronted with lingering anti-Semitism. At Dan’s conference, a musicologist/theologian is arrested for war crimes. The threads of anti-Semitism are not left to the document alone.

Belfer pulls her story together like a complex multi-colored knitting project. Throughout, she adds complicating elements for each character’s story that are unnecessary to moving the plot forward.  A common thread among many of the characters is a crisis or betrayal of faith.

Despite Belfer’s periodic tangents, this is an engaging novel, more for the cultural history of Prussia and Germany than the specifics of J.S. Bach or his purported composition. When an author explicitly creates a fictitious device in an accurate historical context, it is important that the reader is able to suspend belief. For those who can do so, ‘And After the Fire’ is a fascinating story with much material for discussion.

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‘Bertrand Court’ reveals the extraordinary in everyday life

  • UnknownBertrand Court by Michelle Brafman (Prospect Park Books, September 2016)
  • In 40 words or less: Seventeen stories connected through a cul-de-sac in the Washington area show that familial ties can bind or chafe, lovers connections can linger, and everyone has fragile moments. Brafman has a wonderful grasp of the inner voices of her characters.
  • Genre: Fiction, short stories
  • Locale: Washington DC area
  • Time: 1970 – 2000s
  • Read this for well-crafted stories of the extraordinary elements of everyday life. Perfect to savor in small bites.

One of the most difficult things an author can do is make the commonplace events of daily life compelling.  In Michelle Brafman’s new collection, Bertrand Court, families and friends, colleagues and lovers reveal and conceal themselves in the Washington suburbs. Although some of the people in these stories have careers that are very Washington, the underlying circumstances and insecurities of their personal lives are much more universal.

Brafman tackles the long-simmering jealousies between aging sisters, and couples trying to hide their financial reversals from family and friends. There are those blessed with children and others not as fortunate. Some find a spiritual home in organized religion and one woman wishes for that to fill a hole that her family’s wealth could not satisfy. Husbands question their wives’ choices and vice versa and the children must be shielded, regardless.

While most of the stories need not be connected, it is the periodic convergence of friends and families in Bertrand Court that brings the collection together. Whether it is a birthday party or a (non) book group night, the connection is what counts. No matter how perfect anyone’s life may seem, the stories serve as a reminder that the human condition is fragile and that it’s not the errors or self-doubt that define someone but rather what happens next.

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Three summer short takes

I’ve been savoring my reading time this summer. With all my book groups on hiatus until September, it feels like an “all you can read buffet.” Since reading isn’t all I do, please accept this group of “In A Nutshell” assessments, with a few extra words thrown in. Some full-length reviews are coming soon!

  • Unknown-8The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood (W. W. Norton & Co, August 2016) (Advance copy)
  • In 40+ words or less: After the end of her marriage, Ava is encouraged to join a book group of disparate members. Monthly, one member leads the discussion on his/her most meaningful book. As Ava tries to restart her life, her daughter Maggie is in Paris engaging in destructive behavior, deceiving her family in the process.  Hood’s novel focuses on the importance of family, friendship, and love in creating a meaningful life.
  • Genre: Fiction
  • Locale: Providence and Paris
  • Time: Now
  • Read this for a novel about the resilience of the parent/child relationship, even when all seems lost.  The book club and the choice of discussion titles are key to Ava’s re-emergence and provide a vital plot twist.
  • Unknown-1A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan (Simon & Schuster, 2015)
  • In 40+ words or less: When her husband must make a career change, Alice steps up moving to an edgy book-related start-up. Exhilarating at first, Alice discovers it’s not as advertised and far from family-friendly. Everyone – her husband, children, and parents – need her so something’s got to give.
  • Genre: Fiction
  • Locale: New York metro area
  • Time: Now
  • Pick this up for a modern family story with some great bookish quirks.
  • Unknown-2Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (Penguin, 2013)
  • In 40+ words or less: A young woman, desperate for a job, becomes the personal companion for a high-flying young businessman profoundly injured in an accident. Opposites in temperament, interests, and world views, they transform each others’ lives.
  • Genre: Fiction
  • Locale: Great Britain
  • Time: Now
  • There’s a reason so many people have read it. May not stand the test of time but well worth an evening or two. A better choice than the movie. Jojo Moyes tells a good story.
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‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ is another summer thriller

IN A NUTSHELLUnknown - Version 2

  • Unknown-4The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (Scout Press 2016)
  • In 40 words or less: A journalist lands the assignment to report on an ultra-luxury cruise ship. A break-in at her home before departure makes her wary and vulnerable. When she sees evidence of a crime on the ship her veracity is questioned and her safety endangered.
  • Genre: Thriller
  • Locale: London, North Sea, Norway
  • Time: Now
  • Read this if you are a fan of The Girl on the Train or Gone Girl.

There’s something about summertime. It seems wherever you turn there is another psychological thriller vying for your attention. Granted, they are often the perfect length for a long flight or some time at the pool, preferably with a dip or a nap or two thrown in.

British women writers have taken the US by storm with female protagonists who may not be completely believable.  The latest entry, The Woman in Cabin 10, starts with a heart-stopping scene. Lo Blacklock, the narrator, awakens in the middle of the night to find a masked intruder in her apartment. In confronting him she is wounded and to save herself ends up locked in a room without any way to exit and with no way to communicate. After smashing her way out, she is physically and emotionally battered. Even while trying to work with the police, secure her apartment and replace her stolen phone and credit cards, she and her boyfriend have an argument. And then there’s a magazine assignment on an ultra-luxury cruise just one day away.

Ruth Ware sets up a classic locked room mystery on the North Sea.  The 10 cabin, ultra-luxury ship is on its maiden cruise to drum up publicity and major investors. The ship is a project of a British businessman and his ailing heiress wife and, aside from Lo, the other passengers are major photographers, writers or venture capital advisors. On the first night out, Lo returns to her cabin having had little sleep since her attack and too much to drink. She wakes up to some commotion in the adjacent cabin and thinks she sees a body go overboard and blood on a glass panel. The cabin was allegedly empty and no one seems to be missing from the passengers or crew.

Lo is desperate to uncover the truth. Ruth Ware has done a masterful job of balancing Lo’s occasional self-doubt with her resolve. The novel has numerous twists and turns, all in the very confined quarters of a small ship at sea. Lo is uncertain of the trustworthiness of her fellow passengers, including a photographer, Ben, she had a relationship with several years earlier.

Interspersed in the on-ship narrative are occasional web articles, forum strings, and emails questioning Lo’s possible disappearance since her family, boyfriend, and co-workers have heard nothing from her despite the ship’s high-tech capabilities. These serve to emphasize how alone Lo is on this cruise.

The Woman in Cabin 10 is a fast-paced grabber of a book. Despite the early attack,  Lo fights off a victim mentality and pushes back at every attempt to minimize her contentions. Earlier in her life, Lo suffered panic attacks. When Ben suggests to others that an interaction of her medications and alcohol may have caused her to imagine the body, Lo loses trust in the one person she thought was on her side. The challenge of dealing with anxiety is part of Lo’s story. In its telling, it enhances the acceleration of the plot.

If you enjoyed The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl or Widow, Ruth Ware’s latest might be just the book to take away with you.

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