Station Eleven

"One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time-from the actor's early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theater troupe known as the Traveling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains-this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor's first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet. Sometimes terrifying, sometimes tender, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it." (GoodReads)

This book captured my attention and imagination from the outset. I normally don't gravitate to post-apocalyptic scenarios, but this one was different. It was actually filled with characters who had something more than simply surviving motivating them. The concept of the Traveling Symphony, a hodge-podge collection of musicians and thespians determined to enlarge the lives of the people they encounter on their circuit, was novel. Perhaps it was them who made this apocalypse bearable for this reader.

As I devoured the words to discover what would become of my new-found-friends, I found my mind also wondering what I would do if put in their place. How would I adapt to no electricity? Having to hunt/fish/gather? No working plumbing. Most of the niceties I taken for granted simply gone. The only transportation, my own two feet. How long would I last? What sorts of things would I resort to? Would I be able to carve out a place I could call home? With people who became family?

I thoroughly enjoyed Station Eleven. I recommend it highly!

Long, LONG Time Coming!

Phew! Where have I been? Life fell apart for a while there for me with family issues. Sorry about that friends! The reading DID continue, however, despite my absence from the written page. Here's what I read in the interlude:

Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan

Little Wolves by Thomas Maltman

Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Savage Girl by Jean Zimmerman

Hidden Child by Camilla Lackberg

Getting In the Gap by Dr Wayne Dyer

Meditation For the Love of It by Sally Kempton

Secrets of Meditation by davidji

The Cold Song by Linn Ullmann

Two titles by Eckhart Tolle: The Power of Now and A New Earth

Shadows In the Sun by Gayathri Ramprasad

The Ultimate Happiness Prescription by Deepak Chopra

The Sweetness At the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

The Miracle of Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh

Right now I am completely immersed in Emily St. John Mandel's latest novel, Station Eleven. It is a fascinating story about the end of the world as we know it and one possible future that exists beyond the pandemic that changed the planet. I am half done, and likely to finish quickly as the novel is so compelling that I cannot wait to get home from work and finish it!

If any readers would like to know more about any of the books on my list above, just leave a comment and I will be happy to let you know my thoughts on the books. (I enjoyed them all and I really enjoyed several of them!)

This Dark Road to Mercy

Engaging from the get-go is my experience with Wiley Cash's new novel, This Dark Road to Mercy.

A blend of mystery, drama, and coming-of-age, the story has something to connect with for fans of many different genres. Set in 1990's North Carolina, the story centers on Easter and Ruby Quillby, young sisters now in foster care following the death of their mother. Easter resents her father, Wade Chesterfield, for having relinquished his parental rights. Now Wade has come back to reclaim his daughters. Trouble ensues when Wade kidnaps Easter and Ruby from foster care and hits the road with them. What he doesn't know is that a hit-man and the girls' court appointed guardian, an ex cop, are both after them as well. Who will find them first and what they discover about each other on the road make for a suspense-filled page-turner!

I enjoyed the baseball theme connecting the threads of the various stories throughout the novel. Cash does a nice job of weaving together a few sub-plots which add interest and character development to the novel. I was impressed that he was able to make such a variety of characters (six year old Ruby; middle-aged, divorced, ex-cop Brady; elderly Mrs. Chessman; and so many others) believable, especially in such a quickly paced (and not overly long) read. For me, the ending of the novel was perfect.

Unless you have the good fortune to live in a culinary mecca and have the means to indulge in the latest gastronomic trends and adventures, your food experiences are likely fairly standard fare. Hoffman and Wise offer those of us in the latter situation a ticket to experience something new in their cookbook Bold: A Cookbook of Big Flavors.

Alongside the enticing & titillating recipes, Hoffman and Wise offer readers interesting bits of regional food histories, facts about the ingredients we may take for granted, and vignettes of the people who have helped form the widely varied foods and ethnic traditions that are encompassed by American Cuisine.

I can't wait to try Chicken Breasts in Coffee, Vanilla, Sundried Tomato, and Currant Cream; Shrimp in Lemongrass Coconut Broth; Roasted Pears with Rum Caramel Sauce and Chocolate Sauce; and Date, Feta, and Prosciutto Roll-ups. Many of the flavor combinations are exciting twists on traditional dishes. Most recipes include ingredients readily available even in Fort Dodge, Iowa. I am thrilled with my copy and highly recommend this cookbook for everyone wanting to break out of their dietary rut--try Bold!

After I'm Gone

I love a good mystery, so the description of Laura Lipmann’s new novel, After I’m Gone, grabbed me from the get-go:

Dead is dead. Missing is gone.

When Felix Brewer meets nineteen-year-old Bernadette "Bambi" Gottschalk at a Valentine's Day dance in 1959, he charms her with wild promises, some of which he actually keeps. Thanks to his lucrative—if not all legal—businesses, she and their three little girls live in luxury. But on the Fourth of July in 1976, Bambi's comfortable world implodes when Felix, facing prison, vanishes.

Though Bambi has no idea where her husband—or his money—might be, she suspects one woman does: his devoted young mistress, Julie. When Julie disappears ten years to the day after Felix went on the lam, everyone assumes she's left to join her old lover—until her remains are discovered in a secluded park.

Now, twenty-six years later, Roberto "Sandy" Sanchez, a retired Baltimore detective working cold cases for some extra cash, is investigating her murder. What he discovers is a tangled web of bitterness, jealousy, resentment, greed, and longing stretching over five decades. And at its center is the man who, though long gone, has never been forgotten by the five women who loved him: the enigmatic Felix Brewer.

Felix Brewer left five women behind. Now there are four. Does at least one of them know the truth?

The novel is written in a way that I always enjoy: chapters going back and forth between glances back at historical moments which gradually begin to lay out the case and shed light on the characters/suspects and present day experiences and encounters by the sleuth on the case (in this case, Roberto “Sandy” Sanchez.)

At about the half-way point in the novel I smugly assumed I had figured out “who dunit.” As the next few chapters unfolded I grew more and more confident in my brilliant deduction and knowledge of human character. I had pinpointed exactly the person who had motive, means and opportunity.

Or so I thought. I must hand it to Lipmann, I fell for the obvious hook, line and sinker! She got me with a twist, and I’m so glad I was wrong. I will recommend this novel to all my friends and to Laura Lipmann I say, “Bravo!” I can’t wait to read more of her work.

Children of the Jacaranda Tree

Many thanks to GoodReads' First Reads for the opportunity to read this book!

I enjoyed this book. Sometimes you think you have learned about a piece of the world and its history only to discover you did not really have any clue, or that a huge part of the picture had been missing. That is how I feel about Iran after reading Delijani's heart-rending novel. The depiction of what happened to so many Iranians during their national upheaval in the 1980s (and again more recently) makes one have to stop and ponder what it truly would be like to have your family suddenly torn asunder over political ideals and philosophies. (Torn asunder to the point of no return in many cases as men and women were executed and disappeared without at trace.) I cannot say which character in the book I think my own reactions/life would mirror in that situation as it so unfathomable to me. I am glad, however, I was taken on the journey to examine this because I know it is such a reality for so many people around the world.

I had a bit of a hard time keeping the characters straight simply from my own unfamiliarity with Iranian/Muslim names. There were a few times I was reading and did not realize the characters were related simply because I had not kept the names straight.

I would definitely recommend this book, especially if you are a fan of historical novels or enjoy learning about cultures other than your own. You will learn a lot and enjoy getting to know the people in this novel!

Bellman & Black

Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield tells the story of William Bellman, born in England during what feels like the Victorian era. (Funny, I'm not sure the book actually listed any dates, although I could have overlooked it.)

The story opens with a scenes from Bellman's youth. He becomes a leader among his peers when he hits a rook (crow/raven) from a long distance using his slingshot. From that moment on it seems William is the golden boy on whom good fortune smiles.

Bellman is the nephew of the town's biggest industry, a woolen mill. His cousin has no interest in taking over the family business and so William is introduced to the day in, day out working of the mill. He flourishes in the environment bringing with him new ideas, improvements and increased business for the mill. He marries and has a family. It seems William Bellman has the Midas touch.

He does suffer losses along the way. A friend passes. His mother dies. And at each of these occasions, Bellman espies a mysterious man in black whose presence in the graveyard unsettles him.

When a deadly disease ravages his town and family, killing his youngest children, his wife, and hovering over his eldest daughter, Bellman strikes up a desperate conversation with this mysterious Mr. Black in the dark, delirium of night among the tombstones. Ready to sacrifice himself to spare his daughter, Bellman makes a deal.

And that will bring you to the half-way point of the book.

What happens in the second half is at once fascinating (in looking back at one possibility for how the funeral industry may have gotten its start) and appalling (in what happens to the character of William Bellman).

Setterfield's writing is engaging and entertaining. She intersperses chapters (titled by ampersands!) which talk about the nature of rooks and the naming of groups of them. These chapters encourage readers to think about the role that the birds are playing throughout the rest of the story about William Bellman.

Because the book itself says it is "A Ghost Story"--I was expecting something a little more paranormal and a little less philosophical. In that respect, I was a tad disappointed. However, I think readers will find the novel engaging and will want to discover what is the meaning(s) of the title and how William Bellman's life unfolds.

Coming Next: Children of the Jacaranda Tree by Sahar Delijani