French Braid by Anne Tyler

From the Washington Post:

Everything about Anne Tyler’s 24th novel, “French Braid,” is immediately recognizable to her fans. The story offers such a complete checklist of the author’s usual motifs and themes that it could serve as the Guidebook to Anne Tyler in the Wild. The insular Baltimore family, the quirky occupations, the special foods — they all move across these pages as predictably as the phases of the moon.

And I enjoyed every page!  The novel spans several generations and many years and is done in a way that is not difficult to follow. Entire decades are skipped but it does not matter.  It's all about family and how families relate to each other, avoid each other, treat each other, reconnect with one another, and try to deal with the individual relationships and issues they have with each other.  

Reading this reminded me that I have several Anne Tyler books to catch up with!

🌟 The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

Such an interesting and different book, and I really enjoyed it. I chose this for my book club, and it got mixed reviews from my friends. It does not read like a "typical" novel; there is not really a plot line.  Many characters have no name, but there really are only 2 or 3 main characters. Alice, who is in the beginning stages of dementia at the start, her daughter and husband are the only real characters. There is no dialog. There are five sections, all coming from a different first person (mostly plural) voice.  The writing is staccato-like, and for me interesting.  The book deals with different themes, and aging and the way society treats the aging and memory-impaired is pretty brutal.  I can't say it is an uplifting book, but realistic it is. And a kind of scathing indictment of the way elderly are treated in this country.

Booth by Karen Joy Fowler

I really enjoyed this book, even though it took me a long time to read it.  Because the reader knows the outcome, there is no compelling "plot line" to keep you guessing and reading.  But there is SO much that I didn't know, and learned, from reading this compelling book.

I highly recommend it (even if the NY Times did not!)  Here is a review from the Washington Post that reflects my feelings on this wonderful historical novel.

An interview with the author, and her afterword at the end, explains just why this book is so important now...today...in this politically charged polarized America we live in.

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!