The Forgetting Tree by Tatjana Soli

I was so excited to get this book, the second by this author. The first, "The Lotus Eaters," was certainly one of the more memorable books that I have read in the past few years.
And this book did not disappoint! (But I did like the first one a bit more.)
This book conveys some tragic stories that touch the life of Claire Baumsarg, a woman living and tending to a large citrus farm in California. The beginning of the novel quickly sets the stage for tragedy and drama, when Claire and Forster, her husband, and daughters Gwen and Lucy, lose their son and brother in a botched kidnapping attempt.  While the rest of the family wants to abandon the farm, Claire can't leave and this results in her divorce and somewhat of an estrangement from her daughters.
Fifteen years later when she contracts breast cancer, she hires Minna, a strange and mysterious young woman, to care for her.  What ensues is mystifying, captivating and engrossing.
Toward the end, I lost patience with Claire, but when the story shifts from the point of view of Claire to the first person narrative of Minna (Marie), the story makes more sense.
Soli is a talented author. I am ready for her next novel!

Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead

What a fabulous book as an end to summer reading! This novel takes place on an island that is not called Nantucket, but clearly IS Nantucket. There is a big wedding to take place on the weekend that the novel occurs and the bridal party and relatives are in place, ready for the big event.
Most of the novel is told from the point of view of the father of the bride, Winn Van Meter, who is not quite 60 and is marrying off his oldest daughter....he is the father of three daughters, which was clearly a problem for him philosophically. He was SUPPOSED to drop his SON off at Harvard...not a daughter.
Winn is such a wonderfully drawn character...or caricature... of the social climbing, blue blood WASP who wants to be in the best club, and has the "old money" house and has sons to rear. He lusts after one of the members of the bridal party and she is equally lusting for him. I found it hard to believe that this novel was written by a 28 year old female; she has such a great sense of Winn. She must have known someone very much like him to tell this story from his point of view...and do it so well!
This is such a fun book to read, but also so well written. A great social satire that will have you laughing and thinking.

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

This book won the Man Booker Award and I understand why. It's a very thoughtful and intellectually challenging read. Lots of musings on life and relationships, friendships and remorse.
I was definitely challenged by the end of the book and bit confused.
This is a very short review, but in two short words....."Read it!"
(You will be challenged intellectually and rewarded with a great and intriguing story.)

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I waited quite a while for this book. I read the review in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/books/gone-girl-by-gillian-flynn.html) and was really excited to read it. And I was not disappointed. It was a psychological thriller that has twists and turns in each and every chapter. And some of them are short!
Her writing is really amazing. Ms. Flynn is a gifted writer.  On the one hand, I wanted to race through the book to follow the intrigue and drama; on the other hand, I wanted to savor her writing and her deep probing into the minds of these characters. The book is written in the first person from the point of view of the two protagonists: Amy and Nick. They are a married couple who are "celebrating" their fifth anniversary at the opening of the book. But that same day, Amy disappears. I don't want to give anything away, but will say that both of the characters have dark sides that are revealed slowly over time, so that the characters that you meet in the first 50 pages are very different people than those described on the following pages.
I raced through this book in just a couple days, which I am sure is the case with many of the readers.
What will hold me like this book next? It's a tough act to follow!

Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer

Jeffrey Archer is a great storyteller. I still recall reading As the Crow Flies quite a while ago and remember it as a book you just want to read and read until you get to the end. His storytelling is fantastic. I read more than half of the book today because I couldn't wait to finish it.
I certainly don't think it's great literature, but it is good storytelling. There are cliches galore, but they didn't really bother me. It was an easy read....I could read it at the gym, in the car, just about anywhere. I didn't have to THINK much when reading it. That is usually a problem for me; I set my standards too high. But once in a while you need this kind of reading and writing. And now I have done two of them in quick succession (The Shoemaker's Wife)!

Archer tells family stories....at least that is my sense of his writing.  In this book he tells the tale of Arthur Clifton, son of a dockworker (or aristocrat - his mother having had a one night stand shortly before her marriage to Arthur's father).
The paternity issue is the major plot element in the book. There are secrets galore, plot twists and a real zinger at the end that leaves you really wanting to get the next book in the series. And yes, I will undoubtedly fall for it and reserve it at the Library. (I would NOT purchase the book.)
Some of the characters are cliche and stereotypes, but I put up with all of it because I liked the fact that I was really involved in good storytelling!

The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger

First off, I LOVE the cover of this book. You see the image here. It is simple, straightforward and doesn't classify this book as "chick lit."  And it's not!

It's a story of a Bangladeshi woman, Amina who at age 24 moves to Rochester, NY to marry George, a civil engineer, who she met online.

This marriage offers a chance for a new life for both of them. But the complications of marriage and emotion challenge the relationship.

Amina's parents are one challenge. They live in Bangladesh and have major family issues to deal with. Cultural differences play a major part in this book and that is one reason why it is so engaging. George and Amina come from such different families and places; their union is challenged before it even begins. It is "understood" that Amina's parents will come and live with them in their house in Rochester once the marriage is complete and her citizenship in place. That is simply "the way" that Deshi families live. But not so with American families!

The family stories here are rich and varied; both the American and Deshi families are described in depth, giving the reader an insight into life in the two very different life styles.

September 11 figures in the story but only indirectly; I was surprised, actually, that it was not a bigger part of the rift between Amina and George.

In summary, this was a great novel and I would highly recommend it.

The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiana

This was just the book I needed the week that school ended for students and teachers .... an entertaining, engaging family saga  that really constitutes "summer reading." I enjoyed reading it and found myself wanting to pick it up at all times of the day.
The story starts in Northern Italy, with two brothers being dropped off at a convent by their mother, recently widowed, because she can't take care of them herself.  They are raised by the nuns and are "good boys" but very different. One ends up in the priesthood, while the other moves to America at the turn of the century, to find his fortune (and following in the path of his lost father, who moved to America to earn money for the family, back in Italy). 

I learned later that this story was written as an homage to the author's grandparents, who met much the same way that the two main protagonists, Enza and Ciro, meet in the book.
Although the book does resort to some conventions and is predictable in many ways, I am not complaining at all. It's well written, the characters are well developed, and it weaves fact and fiction in an interesting manner.  I really do love novels that explore immigrants' experience in America and this was a version I had not read before. I have read so many about Jewish families coming to American to escape persecution, Irish families coming to escape poverty, Indian families coming for a better life...but I hadn't experienced the Italian family saga before...at least I can't recall a novel like this.