Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin

Read this for book club. I liked it, but did not love it.  A bit too long and disjointed.  Others in the group loved it. 

Here's a synopsis from Amazon:

Violette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. Her life is lived to the predictable rhythms of the often funny, always moving confidences that casual mourners, regular visitors, and sundry colleagues share with her. Violette’s routine is disrupted one day by the arrival of Julien Sole—local police chief—who has come to scatter the ashes of his recently deceased mother on the gravesite of a complete stranger. It soon becomes clear that Julien’s inexplicable gesture is intertwined with Violette’s own complicated past.

Mercy Street by Jennifer Haigh

This is an extraordinary book about a very hot topic: abortion.  It's an education, as well, for someone like me - a pro-choice advocate who hasn't really considered many issues and factors that go into the decisions women have to face when they get pregnant.  Number one is often, "can I afford it?" Very sad because raising a child costs WAY more than having an abortion, especially when you are young, have no income, have addiction issues, and more.....

The characterizations are superb, even though there are several gritty, non-sympathetic characters (men and women alike!)

Claudia, the protagonist, is in her early 40's, not married and childless. She works in the clinic and describes many encounters with women, young and old, who come in for counseling.

Lots of themes here, including misogyny, white supremacism, religion, race, gender, and more.

I really enjoyed her writing and the story.  Highly recommended!

O Beautiful by Jung Yun

 

Superb book! Love her writing and love the fact that she doesn't "wrap it all up" in the end.  Leaves you thinking..... and it's a realistic look into the  the world and life Elinor, the protagnoist, leads. There ARE no easy answers for the issues the author surfaces in this "O so beautifu" book.

There are so many themes going on here, political, personal and societal.  The author has a lot to say and explore (sometimes I thought maybe too much!) but in the end I was not at all disappointed in the book.  I want to read Yun's first novel. Shelter,
 now that I have read this gem.

Joan is Okay by Weinke Wang

My book club picked this book so I first read Chemistry and now the newer book. I must say that I did like the older book better. I had more humor and clever language. The new book deals with serious subject matter in a more somber manner.  She is still funny and clever with language, but not in the same way. 

I loved the idea that Joan is different and SHE is okay with that fact, but others are not.  Her colleagues, relatives, bosses, friends are after her to change her life and the way she lives it.  But she is OKAY with herself and that is really AOK!

Chemistry by Weike Wang

My book club chose Weike Wang's new book for our next read, so I wanted to revisit Chemistry. I thought I had read it, but now realize that I took it out but never read it. She is a very gifted author!

This book is so clever; her language is punchy, smart and very funny!  Some of her observations are just so spot on.  Here's the review on Amazon:

"Three years into her graduate studies at a demanding Boston university, the unnamed narrator of this nimbly wry, concise debut finds her one-time love for chemistry is more hypothesis than reality. She's tormented by her failed research--and reminded of her delays by her peers, her advisor, and most of all by her Chinese parents, who have always expected nothing short of excellence from her throughout her life. "

Her issue: 

"What do I really want? Over the next two years, this winningly flawed, disarmingly insightful heroine learns the formulas and equations for a different kind of chemistry--one in which the reactions can't be quantified, measured, and analyzed; one that can be studied only in the mysterious language of the heart." 

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton

Read this for book club. Really interesting and loved the way she told the story from the points of view of so many people. Did it very successfully. I thought the book dragged a bit here and there, but really glad I read it.

Here is a synopsis from bookrags:

The book is presented as an oral history comprised of interviews with the various characters involved in the story. The novel follows Opal Robinson (stage name Opal Jewel) and Neville “Nev” Charles. Opal is a Black woman from Detroit, and Nev is a white man from England. Opal and Nev, both musicians, became collaborators around the year 1970. The events that followed became significant not only to the history of rock music, but also the history of the United States. The novel explores themes such as racism, white privilege, art, politics, and memory.

🌟 Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen

I read Freedom and really liked it. I think I only STARTED The Corrections but didn't finish.

I must say that I really enjoyed Crossroads, even though the religious aspects confused me.  I have to wrap my head around the focus on Christianity.  Is Franzen contemptuous of it, or what?

I do like his style of writing, and he is very good at developing his characters. They are a fascinating lot here! 

This book is introduced as Part 1 of a trilogy and I kind of resent that. How can you say it's a trilogy if you have only written one book?

I do recommend reading it and beware! It is long, but I was taken in by it all the way!