Shelf Control #51: The Post-Birthday World

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to the newest weekly feature here at Bookshelf Fantasies… Shelf Control!

Shelf Control is all about the books we want to read — and already own! Consider this a variation of a Wishing & Waiting post… but looking at books already available, and in most cases, sitting right there on our shelves and e-readers.

Want to join in? See the guidelines and linky at the bottom of the post, and jump on board! Let’s take control of our shelves!

My Shelf Control pick this week is:

Title: The Post-Birthday World
Author: Lionel Shriver
Published: 2007
Length: 528 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

In this eagerly awaited new novel, Lionel Shriver, the Orange Prize-winning author of the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin, delivers an imaginative and entertaining look at the implications, large and small, of whom we choose to love. Using a playful parallel-universe structure, The Post-Birthday World follows one woman’s future as it unfolds under the influence of two drastically different men.

Children’s book illustrator Irina McGovern enjoys a quiet and settled life in London with her partner, fellow American expatriate Lawrence Trainer, a smart, loyal, disciplined intellectual at a prestigious think tank. To their small circle of friends, their relationship is rock solid. Until the night Irina unaccountably finds herself dying to kiss another man: their old friend from South London, the stylish, extravagant, passionate top-ranking snooker player Ramsey Acton. The decision to give in to temptation will have consequences for her career, her relationships with family and friends, and perhaps most importantly the texture of her daily life.

Hinging on a single kiss, this enchanting work of fiction depicts Irina’s alternating futures with two men temperamentally worlds apart yet equally honorable. With which true love Irina is better off is neither obvious nor easy to determine, but Shriver’s exploration of the two destinies is memorable and gripping. Poignant and deeply honest, written with the subtlety and wit that are the hallmarks of Shriver’s work, The Post-Birthday World appeals to the what-if in us all.

How I got it:

I bought it.

When I got it:

Way back in 2007, when the book was first released.

Why I want to read it:

This big, huge hardcover has been sitting on my shelf for far too many years by now! It may be time to finally either read it or say good-bye. I was drawn to this book by the “sliding doors” nature of the story — two possible outcomes, two possible futures, hinging on one small moment. I tend to love this sort of thing, but that’s part of the problem. By now, there are lots and lots of novels with similar set-ups, and I’ve read a bunch, and I’m not sure I need to read more. Plus, let’s face it, this is a big doorstopper of a book, and every time I reach up to take it off the shelf, something about it makes me turn away and say, “Nah. Maybe some other time.”

So if I never actually feel like reading it, why am I holding onto it? If you’ve read The Post-Birthday World, please let me know your opinion! I think I need a little nudge, one way or the other, and then I’ll finally take action.

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Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link below!
And if you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
Check out other posts, and have fun!

For more on why I’ve started Shelf Control, check out my introductory post here, or read all about my out-of-control book inventory, here.

And if you’d like to post a Shelf Control button on your own blog, here’s an image to download (with my gratitude, of course!):

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2Sep2016

Book Review: Leave Me by Gayle Forman

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

For every woman who has ever fantasized about driving past her exit on the highway instead of going home to make dinner, for every woman who has ever dreamed of boarding a train to a place where no one needs constant attention–meet Maribeth Klein. A harried working mother who’s so busy taking care of her husband and twins, she doesn’t even realize she’s had a heart attack.

Afterward, surprised to discover that her recuperation seems to be an imposition on those who rely on her, Maribeth does the unthinkable: She packs a bag and leaves. But, as is so often the case, once we get to where we’re going, we see our lives from a different perspective. Far from the demands of family and career and with the help of liberating new friendships, Maribeth is finally able to own up to secrets she has been keeping from those she loves and from herself.

With big-hearted characters who stumble and trip, grow and forgive, Leave Me is about facing our fears. Gayle Forman, a dazzling observer of human nature, has written an irresistible novel that confronts the ambivalence of modern motherhood head-on.

This is going to be a tough one to review. On the one hand, I love Gayle Forman’s writing. You should see my Kindle — section after section of highlighting all my favorite little paragraphs and fabulous wording. On the other hand… I pretty much didn’t buy the premise for a second.

Maribeth is in her early forties, raising twins, a busy New York career woman. Her best friend Elizabeth is also her boss, and lately Maribeth feels like their friendship has been lost to their working relationship. Life is busy, busy, busy — and even as she’s in the hospital getting checked out after her initial chest pains, it’s still on Maribeth’s shoulders to plan dinner and arrange the family’s social obligations.

After emergency open-heart surgery, Maribeth is back home with her family — but it’s still all too much. She’s the planner, the organizer, the worrier, the arranger. She’s the key breadwinner. Her husband is pretty laid back, and does his work out of passion, not in pursuit of a dollar. Even in convalescence, the pressure on Maribeth never ends, and it seems like everyone is just waiting for her to snap back into her normal role.

And so, three week after surgery, Maribeth leaves a note and disappears, resurfacing in Pittsburgh one train ride later, with wads of cash in her pocket and a brand new clean slate. She rents an apartment — in cash — under an altered version of her name, finds a new cardiologist — who accepts cash — and sets about living a simple, unencumbered, no responsibilities kind of life.

There’s a darker, more secret reason for Maribeth’s flight as well. She’s adopted, but has never known anything about her birth mother. Now, as she deals with her health issues and worries about what sort of mother she is, she’s consumed by the need to find out more about her own origins. She knows that she was born in Pittsburgh, so this is where she’ll start her search.

That’s the basic idea. Along the way, Maribeth befriends the young roommates who live in her building, as well as an older women who helps people find their birth parents and even her new cardiologist, a man with his own secret and painful past. For the first time in a long time, Maribeth makes friends who have no strings attached — no PTA or twins groups or work colleagues — just people she enjoys spending time with. She relaxes. She starts to exercise and eat better. She is unplugged — just a burner cell phone, no email, no laptop, no internet. It’s great — and yet, she misses her family, and starts a collection of unsent letters to her children.

So, what did I enjoy about this book? Well, Gayle Forman can write, that’s for sure. The characters are well-defined and quirky, clearly individuals rather than standard cookie cutter types. While there’s emotion and sorrow in Leave Me, there are also plenty of light, funny moments. Maribeth’s stress and fears are instantly relateable, and it’s no surprise that her crazy, high-pressure life leaves her in such dire straits, health-wise.

I tore through Leave Me in about two days. It’s eminently readable, super fast and engaging, and held my interest even when my body was telling me to put down my Kindle and just go to sleep.

But as I said, it’s not all a positive for me. As entertained as I was by much of the story, I just couldn’t buy it. Why would Maribeth see leaving her children as her best and only option? How could she leave and never even call? And how on earth was her husband so understanding and supportive when they finally did start emailing and speaking a month later? I’m sorry, but I think 99.9% of spouses left in that kind of situation would be absolutely furious, not conciliatory and reminiscing about the early days when they fell in love.

I mean, for goddess’s sake (just kidding, I’m not religious or pagan or anything other than a geek), she completely dropped out of communication less than a month after having open-heart surgery! For all her family knew, she could be dead in a ditch somewhere.

I just kept thinking — not cool, lady. Not cool. At least let someone know you’re alive.

A smaller quibble is just how easily her life worked in Pittsburgh. She came armed with loads of cash (ah, privilege!), but basically showed up empty-handed in a strange town — and found neighbors who took to her immediately and wanted to help her, a doctor who wanted to treat her when no one else would look past her unwillingness to share any information about her identity (or even health insurance), and a new friend who’s able to unlock all of the secrets about her birth mother (and teach her to swim). She didn’t encounter hostility, or mean people, or really, even indifference. It’s a nice little fairy tale, I suppose, to think that you can show up in a new city like that and find a life, but real? No.

On top of which, by the time she goes home months later, nothing has actually changed in terms of their stressful life. I mean yes, supposedly her husband and friend/boss are ready to be more supportive and are full of warm fuzzies, but she’s still going back to a super stressful Manhattan life that they can’t really afford, where she may or may not still have a job, and where they’re constantly under pressure. So even though she’s come to some big realizations about herself, what will actually be different when she gets back?

So yeah, despite loving the writing and feeling very amused and engaged by the book, some little part of my brain was sitting to the side judging and doubting, and that kept me just distant enough to feel like the plot doesn’t really hold up to scrutiny.

Should you read the book? Well, if you enjoy contemporary adult fiction, modern urban characters, and don’t mind pieces that could (or should) never happen in real life, then yes! You won’t be bored.

Meanwhile, I’ll just add that I’ve read four young adult books by Gayle Forman, and thought they were all great. (I especially loved Just One Day and Just One Year). So I was really excited to hear that the author would be releasing her first book for adults, Leave Me. And even though I don’t consider Leave Me a complete success, I did enjoy reading it and hope that she continues writing for adults. I’d love to see what she comes up with next!

I’ll leave you with a selection of some of my favorite passages from Leave Me:

She looked at the label on her yogurt. Was it full-fat yogurt? Had she been eating full-fat yogurt all this time? She scanned the package for the words, full fat, or whole milk, some kind of ominous cigarette-label warning that the contents might cause death. But she found nothing like that. The label only said it was French.

Her birth mother had always been a shadowy, abstract figure. Maybe she was out there, maybe she wasn’t, but there was no way of knowing so why bother obsessing about it. It was not unlike how Maribeth felt about God. She supposed this made her birth-mother agnostic.

Sometimes she really did think her heart no longer functioned. Sure, the muscle beat fine, but the feeling part of it was completely damaged.

But it was the swimming pool in the basement that called to her. She wasn’t sure why but it felt like this, more than an elliptical machine or a vinyasa class, would ease the itchiness that was growing inside of her. Swimming felt new. Or maybe it was because she was sinking and wanted to see whether, if forced to, she might swim.

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The details:

Title: Leave Me
Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Publication date: September 6, 2016
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Adult contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley

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31Aug2016

Thursday Quotables: Leave Me

Posted in Thursday Quotables by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome back to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines of the week will be, and you’re invited to join in!

NEW! Thursday Quotables is now using a Linky tool! Be sure to add your link if you have a Thursday Quotables post to share.

Leave Me by Gayle Forman
(to be released September 6, 2016)

I just read Gayle Forman’s upcoming new release this week — her first book for adults! My review will be along shortly. Meanwhile, here’s a little exchange that made me smile for all the right reasons — an exchange between a pair of roommates who just love to bicker:

“Todd’s all pissy because I went out with Fritz.”

“On a date,” Todd added, as if that sealed the indictment.

“Yes, fine.” Sunita threw up her hands. “On a date.”

“That you didn’t tell me about.”

“That I didn’t tell you about.”

“When it was our night to watch Outlander.”

“We can DVR it. I don’t see see what the big deal is.”

They had me at Outlander.

What lines made you laugh, cry, or gasp this week? Do tell!

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Quotables, it’s really simple:

Write a Thursday Quotables post on your blog. Try to pick something from whatever you’re reading now. And please be sure to include a link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your post (http://www.bookshelffantasies.com), if you’d be so kind!
Click on the linky button (look for the cute froggie face) below to add your link.
After you link up, I’d love it if you’d leave a comment about my quote for this week.
Be sure to visit other linked blogs to view their Thursday Quotables, and have fun!

28Jun2016

Shelf Control #42: Alison Wonderland

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to the newest weekly feature here at Bookshelf Fantasies… Shelf Control!

Want to join in? See the guidelines and linky at the bottom of the post, and jump on board! Let’s take control of our shelves!

My Shelf Control pick this week is:

Title: Alison Wonderland
Author: Helen Smith
Published: 2012
Length: 189 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

After Alison Temple discovers that her husband is cheating on her, she does what any jilted woman would do — she spray-paints a nasty message for him on her wedding dress and takes a job with the detective firm that found him out. Being a researcher at the all-female Fitzgerald’s Bureau of Investigation in London is certainly a change of pace from her previous life, especially considering the characters Alison meets in the line of duty. There is her boss, the estimable Mrs. Fitzgerald; Taron, Alison’s eccentric best friend, who claims her mother is a witch; Jeff, her love-struck, poetry-writing neighbor; and last but not least, her psychic postman.

Clever, quirky, and infused with just a hint of magic, Alison Wonderland is a literary novel about a memorable heroine coping with the every-day complexities of modern life.

How I got it:

I bought it — a total impulse buy. I was waiting to pick my son up from a party and happened across a charity bookshop where all paperbacks were $1! How could I resist?

When I got it:

Two years ago.

Why I want to read it:

I’d never heard of this book before, but I thought the title was adorable, and the description (and size) make it seem like a fun and fast read.

__________________________________

Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link below!
And if you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
Check out other posts, and have fun!

For more on why I’ve started Shelf Control, check out my introductory post here, or read all about my out-of-control book inventory, here.

And if you’d like to post a Shelf Control button on your own blog, here’s an image to download (with my gratitude, of course!):

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17Apr2016

Book Review: A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Synopsis:

(via Goodreads)

A freshly observed, joyful and wrenching, funny and true new novel from Anne Tyler

“It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon.” This is how Abby Whitshank always begins the story of how she fell in love with Red that day in July 1959. The Whitshanks are one of those families that radiate togetherness: an indefinable, enviable kind of specialness. But they are also like all families, in that the stories they tell themselves reveal only part of the picture. Abby and Red and their four grown children have accumulated not only tender moments, laughter, and celebrations, but also jealousies, disappointments, and carefully guarded secrets. from Red’s father and mother, newly-arrived in Baltimore in the 1920s, to Abby and Red’s grandchildren carrying the family legacy boisterously into the twenty-first century, here are four generations of Whitshanks, their lives unfolding in and around the sprawling, lovingly worn Baltimore house that has always been their anchor.

Brimming with all the insight, humour, and generosity of spirit that are the hallmarks of Anne Tyler’s work, A Spool of Blue Thread tells a poignant yet unsentimental story in praise of family in all its emotional complexity. It is a novel to cherish.

My thoughts:

It’s been years since I’ve last read an Anne Tyler novel — and picking up A Spool of Blue Thread is like cozying up with a comfy old blanket and curling up in a favorite chair. It’s homey and warm and familiar, but the familiarity doesn’t take away at all from the sheer pleasure of spending time with it.

In A Spool of Blue Thread, we meet the Whitshanks, a big, sprawling family whose lives seem centered around their beautiful family home with the big front porch, the home that’s been in the family for three generations and was in fact built by the first of the Whitshanks to live in it. The first characters introduced are Abby and Red, a married couple in their seventies who’ve raised four children, have a good, well-worn marriage, and seem to enjoy their lives.

Their children and grandchildren are a source of non-stop discussion and worry, particularly Denny, the black sheep of the family who can always be depended upon to be undependable. Denny disappears for months or years at a time, only to show up or call with an odd or worrying or unexpected announcement that throws the family into a tizzy.

As Abby and Red age, their children become increasingly worried about their ability to live on their own in their big house, and so various children and their children move in to provide care, manage things, and try to sort out the little rivalries and resentments that have built up over the years.

As the story unfolds, early hints about family history are unpacked for the reader. The family may never know much about Junior and Linnie Mae, the original Whitshanks to live in the family home, but late in the book, we finally get their story, and it’s not what it seemed. Likewise, when we finally hear Abby’s version of how she and Red met, it’s surprising and touching all at once.

A Spool of Blue Thread is a quintessential character-driven book. There’s not much plot to speak of — no big drama or mystery or climax. Instead, it’s a study of family and individuals, their desires and frustrations and misunderstandings and dynamics. It’s lovely to see a family unfold to reveal its heart and soul. The Whitshanks have had their share of disappointments and tensions, but they’re still there, together, figuring things out. Beyond a profile of a family, it’s also a moving depiction of the worries of aging parents, from both the parents’ viewpoint as well as the adult children who have to balance their own lives with the complications required by figuring out how to help parents who may or may not be able to function on their own any longer.

As I mentioned, it’s been quite a while since I’ve read anything by this author, although there was a time when I read all of her new books as soon as they came out. I think I’d reached my saturation point somewhere along the line, and I might not have picked up A Spool of Blue Thread if it hadn’t been my book club’s pick for April.

So, yet another reason to proclaim that I love my book club! A Spool of Blue Thread is a perfect domestic novel that’s touching, funny, and beautifully written. I’m so glad to have read it — and it makes me want to go figure out what other Anne Tyler books I’ve missed over the years.

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The details:

Title: A Spool of Blue Thread
Author: Anne Tyler
Publisher: Bond Street Books
Publication date: February 20, 2015
Length: 358 pages
Genre: Adult fiction
Source: Library

31Jan2016

Book Review: The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

(Goodreads): Sage Singer befriends an old man who’s particularly beloved in her community. Josef Weber is everyone’s favorite retired teacher and Little League coach. They strike up a friendship at the bakery where Sage works. One day he asks Sage for a favor: to kill him. Shocked, Sage refuses… and then he confesses his darkest secret—he deserves to die, because he was a Nazi SS guard. Complicating the matter? Sage’s grandmother is a Holocaust survivor.

What do you do when evil lives next door? Can someone who’s committed a truly heinous act ever atone for it with subsequent good behavior? Should you offer forgiveness to someone if you aren’t the party who was wronged? And most of all—if Sage even considers his request—is it murder, or justice?

How do I even begin to describe a book as powerful and devastating as The Storyteller? While I knew the basic premise, I had no idea what I was in for when I first started reading it.

At the outset, we meet Sage, a reclusive young woman bearing scars of a tragic accident that cost her her parents. Sage lives alone in a small town in New Hampshire, where she works nights — again, alone — baking a miraculous, marvelous assortment of breads for the small bakery that employs her. Baking is both Sage’s passion and an escape, providing her with distraction and a focus, as well as a good excuse to avoid almost everyone.

It’s silly to anthropomorphize bread, but I love the fact that it needs to sit quietly, to retreat from touch and noise and drama, in order to evolve.

I have to admit, I often feel that way myself.

Sage is forced out of her comfort zone only when she attends a grief support group, where she meets and befriends a newer member, Josef, a sweet old man in his 90s who seems to be just as lonely as Sage. Gradually, the two connect and begin to share bits and pieces of their lives, but Sage’s pleasure in the friendship grinds to a crashing halt when Josef confesses his Nazi past to Sage and asks her to help him die.

Sage is aware that her beloved grandmother Minka is a Holocaust survivor, and remembers catching a brief glimpse of the tattoo on her arm. But Minka has never said a word about her experiences and refuses to answer questions. Sage doesn’t know where to turn. Josef is a well-respected member of the community, a man known as an excellent teacher, kind to all, a man who always did his best to help the town. How can he be a Nazi? In desperation and disgust, Sage tries to connect with law enforcement, and is finally directed to the Federal agency which investigates alleged war criminals, where an agent named Leo Stein takes Sage’s call. Leo encourages Sage to get more information. It’s not enough to know that Josef has claimed to be a former SS agent. In order to take any action, they’ll need to be able to tie him to the historical records through facts, witness reports, or other details that can’t be fabricated.

Why is this book called The Storyteller? Within the novel, we get story upon story. The book opens with a scene that seems like something out of a different world — a tale with a folkloric flavor set in a small Polish village, in which the main character is the baker’s daughter, who feels a growing attraction to a strange young man who’s just arrived in the town, which is also beset by strange animal attacks. It’s not obvious, at first, how this tale, which weaves in between chapters of the contemporary story, actually fits into the main narrative, but it does, and is worth paying attention to.

After the initial section of the book sets up the story of Sage and Josef, we move into the heart of the book, which consists of two more sets of stories. First, we hear from Josef, who tells Sage that he is not Josef Weber after all, but Reiner Hartmann, an SS officer whom Leo is able to find in the historical record. Josef relates the story of his life to Sage, from his childhood in a typical German family to his growing success in Hitler Youth, to enrolling in the SS and becoming a part of the death machine that rolled through Poland. His story includes unflinching looks at the horrors in which he participated, slaughtering men, women, and children in village after village, and finally becoming a lead officer at Auschwitz, overseeing all female prisoners.

Josef’s confession to Sage isn’t enough, though. In order for Leo to take legal action and start the long process that could lead to extradition, deportation, and facing trial for his crimes, they need to be able to tie Josef’s story to something contained in the secret files on Reiner Hartmann, something that couldn’t have been gleaned from the public record. And at this point, Sage takes Leo to meet Minka — and Minka breaks her decades of silence by relating the terrible story of her girlhood, the fate of her family, and her own experiences in Auschwitz.

Minka’s story is the true center of the book, and Minka herself most aptly fits the role of the title, The Storyteller. Minka’s tale is lengthy, detailed, heartbreaking, and horrific. This is the longest section of the book, and is simply devastating to read. I won’t go into detail here; on the one hand, anyone who’s read the stories of Holocaust survivors will recognize some of the common elements here, yet on the other hand, Minka’s narrative is so personal and closely-observed that each loss and each degree of suffering feels like it happened to people we know. Within Minka’s narrative of what she lived through are more bits and pieces of the village tale that’s sprinkled throughout The Storyteller, and we finally discover the link between the book’s characters and the events of the tale.

The central question in The Storyteller is one of forgiveness and atonement. Can someone truly be forgiven for past crimes? Whose job, and whose right, is it to forgive? Can someone who’s committed evil acts ever make up for them? Do 50 years of helping others erase a heinous past? Does it make sense to prosecute a 95-year-old man for the crimes he committed almost seventy years earlier?

I don’t know what this person did you you, and I am not sure I want to. But forgiving isn’t something you do for someone else. It’s something you do for yourself. It’s saying, You’re not important enough to have a stranglehold on me. It’s saying, You don’t get to trap me in the past. I am worthy of a future.

There are no easy answers here. Sage does what she feels to be the right thing by bringing in Leo and cooperating in the investigation, yet she feels a moral obligation toward Josef too. When she looks at him, she sees the horrors he committed, but at the same time she see a lonely, frail old man who loves his dog and mourns his wife of fifty years. Can she feel sorry for him even while feeling repulsed by all she knows? And how does hearing her grandmother’s story affect her ability to listen to the request Josef continues to make of her?

While painting a vivid portrait of a period of history that must not be forgotten, the author is also making an important statement about the power of stories:

Fiction comes in all shapes and sizes. Secrets, lies, stories. We all tell them. Sometimes, because we hope to entertain. Sometimes, because we need to distract.

And sometimes, because we have to.

Jodi Picoult’s fiction tends not to come with easy answers. Of the four or five of her books which I’ve read, all include moral quandaries — people put in difficult or almost impossible positions, where the path forward is murky and ethical questions abound. The same is true of The Storyteller. There’s much food for thought here, and no matter what you think of Josef himself, his request, and Sage’s actions, you’ll definitely find yourself replaying scenes in your mind over and over. I’d imagine that the ending will be controversial for many, and there are certainly plenty of arguments to be made as to why it is or isn’t the right ending, or what the characters should or should not have done.

Ultimately, The Storyteller is a tale of pain and loss, but at the same time, it inspires hope simply by allowing the reader to bear witness to the courage and sacrifice that accompany all the horrors which Minka shares through her story. The Storyteller is not a light or easy read, but it’s an important one, and I applaud the author for creating a work of fiction that explores such a horrible piece of history with grace and honesty.

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The details:

Title: The Storyteller
Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Atria
Publication date: February 26, 2013
Length: 460 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Purchased

18Jan2016

Book Review: The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Love, loss, and connection are the threads that bind together this moving story set in a residential home for seniors.

Anna Forster, age 38, knows that her early-onset Alzheimer’s can only get worse, especially after seeing her mother deteriorate rapidly with the same condition years earlier. With her own agreement, Anna’s twin Jack checks her into Rosalind House, a small private care facility that can keep her safe and provide for her needs. As an added bonus, there is one other younger resident there, so Anna won’t be alone among the elderly.

Luke (or Young Guy, as Anna thinks of him, having lost her ability to master names) is suffering from a different type of early-onset dementia that impacts his speech and language abilities — but despite their challenges, the two quickly connect and form a bond that strengthens day to day.

Meanwhile, in another plot thread, Eve Bennett is newly widowed, a young single mother struggling to provide for her daughter after the scandal of her husband’s involvement in a massive Ponzi scheme costs them everything. Eve had gone to culinary school years earlier before marrying Richard, and she falls back on her cooking skills in order to secure a job as cook and housekeeper at Rosalind House. As Eve tries to rebuild her life, she’s increasingly drawn to Anna and Luke, now forcibly kept apart by the facility’s staff. What has happened to require them to be locked into their rooms at night? And why does Anna, in a rare moment of lucidity, grab Eve’s hand and ask for help?

Told through the points of view of Anna, Eve, and Eve’s young daughter Clementine, the shifting narrative voices unite to paint a picture of this world that can only be partially seen and understood by any one of the three.

Anna’s voice is the most compelling, and by necessity, also the least reliable. Anna is relatively coherent when she first arrives at Rosalind House, but as her disease worsens, her narration develops gaps as well. She loses individual words, cannot tell which door leads to a closet and which to the hallway, and has less and less tolerance for noise or sudden, unexpected stimuli. As she narrates the story of her time at the home, the reader is drawn into the horror and terror of a young woman feeling her mind slip away, wanting desperately to hold onto what matters, but knowing that she’s in a losing war against time.

No one trusts anything I say. If I point out, for example, that the toast is burning or that it’s time for the six o’clock news, people marvel. How about that? Is is time for the six o’clock news. Well done, Anna.

At the beginning, I was reluctant to switch over to the Eve chapters, not quite seeing the point of her storyline or why we needed this plot thread, reminiscent of both the real-life Bernie Madoff scandal and the movie Blue Jasmine. Bit by bit, though, I was drawn into Eve’s story as well, coming to care about her and her daughter and their struggle to move forward and rebuild. Beyond that, it ‘s quickly apparent that Eve is a necessary key to the plot as a whole, and a very clever choice on the part of the author. Because of Anna’s condition, we can’t get a full picture of events from her alone. Eve provides another set of eyes and ears, a caring and sensitive witness to Anna and Luke’s story, and ultimately, a catalyst for helping them hold onto the shreds of happiness they’ve managed to find amidst their own personal tragedies.

The timeline of the plot weaves back and forth between past and present, with Anna’s story beginning with her arrival at Rosalind House, and Eve’s starting fifteen months later. Between the two, we start to learn what happened to Anna and Luke, with Eve’s current interactions with them finally filling in some of the blanks.

The Things We Keep is heartbreaking yet not altogether bleak. Seeing Anna’s decline is painful, and I can only imagine the horror of watching this strong, vibrant young woman slowly lose herself to a disease that can’t be stopped. At the same time, her connection with Luke is lovely and unexpected, and I couldn’t help being moved by this surprising discovery of grace in the middle of loss.

I also appreciated the wider cast of characters. The other residents of Rosalind House form a background of moments of friendship, love, beauty, and sorrow, as we learn more about their lives, their loves, and what they still cherish. As one of the elderly residents explains to Eve:

“When you get to my age [ … ] you don’t waste time with regrets. In the end, you just remember the moments of joy. When all is said and done, those are the things we keep.”

The Things We Keep is a sad story, beautifully told. While the tragedy of Anna’s decline can’t be lessened, there are rays of hope and joy, both as Anna’s story comes to an end and as Eve and her daughter finally arrive at a new beginning. I highly recommend this book, and look forward to reading the author’s previous novel, The Secrets of Midwives.

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The details:

Title: The Things We Keep
Author: Sally Hepworth
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication date: January 19, 2016
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley

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25Aug2015

Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday: The Brontë Plot

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

There’s nothing like a Wednesday for thinking about the books we want to read! My Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday post is linking up with two fabulous book memes, Wishlist Wednesday (hosted by Pen to Paper) and Waiting on Wednesday (hosted by Breaking the Spine).

My most wished-for book this week is:

The Brontë Plot by Katherine Reay
(to be released November 3, 2015)

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Lucy Alling makes a living selling rare books, often taking suspicious measures to reach her goals. When her unorthodox methods are discovered, Lucy’s secret ruins her relationship with her boss and her boyfriend James—leaving Lucy in a heap of hurt, and trouble. Something has to change; she has to change.

In a sudden turn of events, James’s wealthy grandmother Helen hires Lucy as a consultant for a London literary and antiques excursion. Lucy reluctantly agrees and soon discovers Helen holds secrets of her own. In fact, Helen understands Lucy’s predicament better than anyone else.

As the two travel across England, Lucy benefits from Helen’s wisdom, as Helen confronts the ghosts of her own past. Everything comes to a head at Haworth, home of the Brontë sisters, where Lucy is reminded of the sisters’ beloved heroines, who, with tenacity and resolution, endured—even in the midst of change.

Now Lucy must go back into her past in order to move forward. And while it may hold mistakes and regrets, she will prevail—if only she can step into the life that’s been waiting for her all along.

I’ve read Katherine Reay’s two previous novels, Dear Mr. Knightley (review) and Lizzy and Jane (review), and really like the way she incorporates themes from classic novels into contemporary stories. I’m really looking forward to The Brontë Plot!

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

Looking for some bookish fun on Thursdays? Come join me for my regular weekly feature, Thursday Quotables! You can find out more here — come share the book love!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I host a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

21Jul2015

Book Review: Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Are our lives determined by fate? Or is it all just a matter of chance?

Is there just one person in all the world that we’re meant to be with? Or is life more of a multiple-choice quiz, where different answers may be correct in different circumstances?

In Maybe in Another Life, the characters say one thing, but their lives and actions give a very different message.

Hannah Martin, age 29, has lived anywhere and everywhere, but has no idea where she truly belongs. After a go-nowhere disastrous affair in New York ends, Hannah moves back “home” to Los Angeles, to reunite with her best friend Gabby, pick up the pieces, and start from scratch.

And maybe, just maybe, rekindle an old flame with her high school sweetheart Ethan.

On their first night out on the town, Hannah faces a moment of truth: Should she go home with Ethan and see what happens… or call it a night, head back to Gabby’s place, and spend the night alone? At the moment of decision, the narrative of Maybe in Another Life splits.

From this moment on, we follow two separate narrative threads in alternating chapters. In one, Hannah does go home with Ethan, their dormant feelings are rekindled, and they begin to work through what an adult relationship might look like. In the other, Hannah turns Ethan down, continues on the way home with Gabby, and is struck by a hit-and-run driver, resulting in serious injuries and a lengthy hospital stay.

In both versions of Hannah’s life, she’s confronted with choices. What does her future hold? How do you know if you’re meant to be with someone? How do you recognize a soulmate? What do you give up for a relationship, and what are the deal-breakers?

Likewise, in both versions, Hannah tries to puzzle out the question of destiny and predetermination:

“You think things are meant to be?” I ask her. For some reason, I think I’ll feel better if things are meant to be. It gets me off the hook, doesn’t it? If things are meant to be, it means I don’t have to worry so much about consequences and mistakes. I can take my hands off the wheel. Believing in fate is like living on cruise control.

Hannah has been so busy searching for the perfect life and what she’s “meant” to do, who she’s “meant” to love, that she’s never fully engaged with her options anywhere she’s been.

“Doesn’t it scare you?” I ask her. “To think that you might have gone in the wrong direction? And missed the life you were destined for?”

Hannah’s life is so messy that she has to believe there are other forces at play:

“I mean, I think I have to believe that life will work out the way it needs to. If everything that happens in the world is just a result of chance and there’s no rhyme or reason to any of it, that’s just too chaotic for me to handle. I’d have to go around questioning every decision I’ve ever made, every decision I will ever make. If our fate is determined with every step we take… it’s too exhausting. I’d prefer to believe that things happen as they are meant to happen.

Ironically, the split narrative demonstrated that it is all random, and that every decision changes the course of events. Towards the end of the book, a party guest talks about the multiverse theory, in which every decision leads to multiple universes in which all possible outcomes exist. From the moment Hannah decides to go home with Ethan — or not to go home with Ethan — she has two different parallel lives. In both lives, she confronts pain and difficult choices, finds a soulmate, faces hard truths, and finally sets off on the path toward professional fulfillment as well as a life filled with love.

The lovely thing about Maybe in Another Life is that both halves of the story feel right! Neither of Hannah’s two lives is 100% easy, but both feel real and both seem like valid outcomes. In both, Hannah begins to grow, take chances, and own up to the decisions she’s made that lead her to this point. Both feel like the absolutely right thing for her, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

I really enjoyed the writing in Maybe in Another Life, which maintains a light touch even in heavy situations. Hannah herself is a person with a lot of room to grow, but she’s self-knowing enough to own up to her mistakes and want to make better choices. And through it all, she’s got a great sense of humor, is a devoted friend, and knows that she needs to finally do something with her life.

The author gives Hannah certain quirks and habits that are both charming and make her feel like an individual, rather than a stock character. In particular, Hannah’s need to always have her hair in a high bun and her constant craving for cinnamon rolls are recurring motifs, and to my surprise, the repetition is actually pretty charming (rather than annoying, as it so easily could have been).

I liked the double narrative, although occasionally I lost track of which event happened in which version of Hannah’s life. No matter, though: Both halves of the story contain ups and downs, loves lost and found, and the true and deep friendship between Hannah and Gabby, which is a key element of the entire story. It’s not often that contemporary novels emphasize the huge difference a good friendship between women can make, while also dealing with romantic entanglements and all sorts of other drama. But here, it’s crystal clear that the bond between Hannah and Gabby is the most important element for both women, grounding them in such a way that they’re able to make their life decisions from a position of strength and support.

Maybe in Another Life is a very quick read. It’s light, but heartfelt. Not sugary, not glossing over the hard stuff, Maybe in Another Life shows a young woman dealing with real life… and the way every decision has consequences. This book is quite fun to read, and yet manages to be emotionally real even amidst all the jokes about cinnamon rolls.

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The details:

Title: Maybe in Another Life
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Publication date: July 7, 2015
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Adult contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley

18Jul2015

Book Review: The Sweetheart Deal by Polly Dugan

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Synopsis:

(via Goodreads)

The poignant story of what happens when a woman who thinks she’s lost everything has the chance to love again.

Leo has long joked that, in the event of his death, he wants his best friend Garrett, a lifelong bachelor, to marry his wife, Audrey. One drunken night, he goes so far as to make Garrett promise to do so. Then, twelve years later, Leo, a veteran firefighter, dies in a skiing accident.

As Audrey navigates her new role as widow and single parent, Garrett quits his job in Boston and buys a one-way ticket out west. Before long, Audrey’s feelings for Garrett become more than platonic, and Garrett finds himself falling for Audrey, her boys, and their life together in Portland. When Audrey finds out about the drunken pact from years ago, though, the harmless promise that brought Garrett into her world becomes the obstacle to his remaining in it.

My Thoughts:

I feel like I’ve read at least 4 or 5 contemporary novels about young widows in the last fews years, and while The Sweetheart Deal is the latest, it’s certainly not the least.

When Audrey’s firefighter husband Leo dies in a tragic ski accident, she’s left alone with three boys to raise. But not entirely alone: Years early, celebrating the Y2K New Year with quite a lot of booze, Leo made his best friend Garrett sign an agreement saying he’d marry Audrey if anything ever happened to Leo.

Audrey never knew about the deal, but Garrett has never forgotten. So when Leo dies, Garret drops everything in his own life to support Audrey and the boys, moving into their guest room and committing to finishing the addition to the house that Leo left half-built.

Needless to say, eventually Audrey emerges from her devastating grief to find comfort and the hint of new love in Garrett’s arms. But will the drunken promise from all those years ago come between them? Dunh, dunh, dunh….

The Sweetheart Deal is actually quite engaging, and I felt that the author did a very good job of portraying how the different family members deal with such a shocking loss. Different characters narrate different chapters, so we see events from the perspective of Audrey and Garrett, as well as each of the boys. It’s interesting to see how the kids come into the story, how their feelings complicate matters, and how Garrett very selflessly immerses himself in doing whatever he can for Leo’s family.

While Audrey has a best friend as well, it’s the friendship between Leo and Garrett that really drives the story. Friends since boyhood, they’re bonded in a way that we don’t often see in female-centric contemporary love stories, where the main friend relationship is usually between women. Garrett’s feelings here are intense and conflicted: He loved Leo truly and faithfully, would do anything for him, and sincerely wants to protect and assist Leo’s family. His feelings for Audrey grow out of his grief and devotion, and he deals with heaping helpings of guilt as well.

Audrey’s initial bereavement is realistic and heartbreaking, and she is really to be admired for her strength in caring for her boys even as she falls apart inside. There’s no suggestion at all that she wasn’t madly in love with her husband. Instead, we see a woman who suffers a great loss trying to figure out if she’s entitled to any future happiness, and trying to understand if what she wants is wrong for herself, for her children, and for the memory of her husband.

The characters are all Catholic and their faith does come into play, but not in a way that feels heavy-handed. Audrey’s religion guides her actions, and she gains strength and insight through the counsel she receives from her priest – but I never felt alienated by the religious aspects or that they took away from the story.

Ultimately, the romance with the husband’s best friend feels deserved and well-developed, given the odd backstory and the guilt everyone feels.

The Sweetheart Deal is a sweet, moving, sad, and finally uplifting love story that deals with challenges that feel all too real. The plot is not complicated, but by focusing on an everyday family and its crisis, the book remains grounded and is quite accessible.

I think, if I hadn’t recently read other books about widows in their 20s or 30s finding their way back to love, I might have been more moved by The Sweetheart Deal, so perhaps it’s not really fair to even mention the other books. I did like this book a lot, and readers who haven’t read other books with similar set-ups should find it fresh and engaging.

The Sweetheart Deal is a quick read, but it hits the sentiment right on the nose and strikes a good balance between grief and hope. Recommended for readers who enjoy contemporary fiction focusing on family and marriage.

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The details:

Title: The Sweetheart Deal
Author: Polly Dugan
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication date: May 19, 2015
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Adult contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley