Venetian Vespers by John Banville

I enjoy Banville's writing and certainly there were aspects of the book that I really loved, but overall, I would say I was a bit disappointed.

 

From Westchester Library System:

1899. As the new century approaches, struggling English writer Evelyn Dolman--a hack, by his own description--marries Laura Rensselaer, daughter of an American oil tycoon. Evelyn anticipates that he and Laura will inherit a substantial fortune and lead a comfortable, settled life. But his hopes are dashed when a mysterious rift between Laura and her father, just before the patriarch's death, leads to her disinheritance. The unhappy newlyweds travel to Venice to celebrate the New Year at the Palazzo Dioscuri, ancestral home of the charming but treacherous Count Barbarigo. From their first moments in the mist-blanketed floating city, otherworldly occurrences begin to accumulate. Evelyn's already jangled nerves fray further. Where has Laura disappeared to? How to explain the increasingly sinister circumstances closing around him? Could he be losing his mind?

Venetian Vespers is a haunting, atmospheric novel from one of the most sophisticated stylists of our time.

The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovitz

 

I waited for this book for a LONG time.  Was it worth the wait? 

Yes, but I was not overwhelmed.  Perhaps I should read it again. Finalist for Booker Prize

From Westchester Library System:

When Tom Layward's wife had an affair twelve years ago, he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest child left the nest. Now, while driving his college-bound daughter to Pittsburgh, he remembers his promise to himself. He is also on the run from his own health issues and a forced leave from work. So, rather than returning to his wife in Westchester, Tom keeps driving west, with the vague plan of visiting people from his past--an old college friend, his ex-girlfriend, his brother, his son--en route, maybe, to California. He's moving towards a future he hasn't even envisioned yet while he considers his past and the choices he's made that have brought him to this particular present. Pitch-perfect, tender, and keenly observed, The Rest of Our Lives is a story about what to do when the rest of your life is only just the beginning of your story.

The Satisfaction Cafe by Kathy Wang

 

I enjoyed reading this "lighter" book after having just read the Ann Packer one.  While this certainly had serious threads, it was a funny, upbeat story about a Taiwanese immigrant who finds her way in America - after some twists and turns.

Eventually she opens a cafe, a dream for her,  where people can find connection through conversation.  Her own loneliness, loss of family ties and search for happiness in a new place makes her realize that people need other people!

It was a good read - not earth-shattering but enjoyable.