A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

51toufzzzpl

OK, I’ll admit I’m a little obsessed with the writing of Beatriz Williams at the moment.  But it’s justified!  In this novel, she has managed, once again, to create characters that I’d love to go out and have a drink with.

This story, which takes place in New York just as the world is reeling from the effects of the first World War, weaves together the lives of Sophie, a reclusive innocent who secretly tinkers with “machines”, Octavian, a WWI air force veteran/hero, and Theresa, a middle aged NYC socialite.  As their lives become entangled, we gradually learn why Sophie’s life has been so sheltered by her father and how complications of love can bring out both evil and good.

Williams’ use of different voices enables her to truly uncover the personalities of her colorful and complex characters.  We hear from Theresa in first person – and her aggressive but coy and sardonic humor shines through.  On the other hand, we learn about Sophie in third person, but this is fitting as she actually knows little about herself, having been sheltered by her father and trying to break out.  And with each change of perspective comes a different tint in language and feeling.

What is also amusing is that all of Williams’ books either centrally or peripherally involve the Schuyler family of Manhattan, her fabricated, very large and very intriguing  family of characters.  In this book we get to know Julie Schuyler, who is rich and confident and worldly, but also admittedly dependent on her family for her fun – a woman typical of her wealthy 1920’s era.  She is a side character here, but serves as the vehicle that brings Sophie into the limelight of the story.

I can’t wait to read my next Beatriz Williams book!

The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

wednesday-sisters-ds

It is the late 1960’s and Frankie has just moved to Palo Alto with her husband and two children.  While her husband has found his dream job, her own dream of going to college and becoming a writer has gone unfulfilled.  That is, until she meets the “Wednesday Sisters.” While watching her children play in a park near her new home, she meets a group of women who become her closest friends, her confidantes, and her literary critics!  And as the 60’s roll into the 70’s, they see each other through their writing struggles as well as their personal struggles, and they evolve with women all over the country, supporting each other as they each begin to pursue their own interests and passions just as their husbands have done.

This is a sweet story, with the 1960’s as a subtle backdrop.  The women have a wonderful relationship and bring out the best in each other.  The respect that they show for each other, in spite of their individual quirks and conflicts, is what most would aspire to in a friendship and their solidarity, expressed most fully at the end (I won’t spoil it for you!) is truly beautiful.  It is a little far-reaching as “realistic” goes, but it works anyway.

A fun, mostly light read…  definitely a chick book!

 

 

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

51+4Kx79MyL

For each of the 3 families attending the BBQ hosted by Tiffany and Vin, life was permanently altered.  Clementine and Sam were unsure if their marriage would survive, Tiffany and Vin were not sure what was going on with their daughter, Dakota, and Erika could not remember a slice of time during the BBQ and was obsessively trying to recover that memory.  Life seemed so simple before the BBQ.  Things were taken for granted…

The beauty of this book is in the skillful crafting of the narrative, which circles around the BBQ and only very gradually divulges exactly what happened and how.  By rotating around the characters’ perspectives and by weaving in and out of time frames, Moriarty builds up the suspense and enriches the impact of the crescendo of the story.  And on the way down, she continues to add smaller punches which ultimately tie in each of the pieces of the puzzle.

I also love the message in this book, which is, essentially, that issues that are difficult or painful should be talked through.  Keeping secrets and holding things inside only lead to repression and misperceptions, usually resulting in unfounded guilt or other sources of misery.  Especially with children.

I am a big fan of Liane Moriarty – and this is yet another engaging, well-spun tale by her!

Such a Pretty Face by Cathy Lamb

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

7714109

In the past, Stevie has coped with her life stress by eating – and this brought her to being 170 lbs overweight and to having a heart attack at the age of 32.  She’s now had her stomach stapled and has lost the weight.  Unfortunately, she still has not confronted her demons and her nightmares continue as do her shyness and her fear of speaking her mind.  Fortunately, she has her cousins who love and support her, although they too are coping with shared trauma.  This story is the tale of how Stevie finally confronts her fears and begins to take back her life.

The theme of the story is interesting, and some of the scenes are very poignant.  There is stark portrayal of mental illness and how it affects everyone around them.  The scenes with Stevie’s mother are particularly heartbreaking, as she has raging auditory and visual hallucinations and severe paranoia.  This is the valuable part of the book.

On the other hand, the writing is so poor that it was hard to actually enjoy this book, and it seemed to deteriorate as the book progressed.  It was almost as if the author herself tired of the book and just didn’t care anymore about how it was written – just had to finish it already!  Things worked out too perfectly, characters were unidimensional and flat, dialogue was inane.  Even basic grammar was sort of thrown to the wind.  Sad, just sad.

So, all in all, it was actually a bit painful in many respects – not worth the time it took to read it.  A good idea, but not at all well-executed.

By the way, I found this book via Bookbub, a daily email notification of the books that are on sale on the Kindle.  I’ve found a few good books this way – I highly recommend this resource!  Unfortunately, this wasn’t the best find on the email…

 

Life and Other Near-Death Experiences by Camille Pagan

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

51sSXG9MS2L._SX332_BO1,204,203,200_

When Libby receives a series of 2 horrible pieces of news all in the same day, she feels her life is exploding.  While she tries to go to work and resume a sense of normality, she finds she just can’t  continue to deal with her impossible boss and the usual things she normally  has tolerated.  Suddenly, she is off on an adventure and ends up discovering how coping with her past traumas can enable her to face her current ones.

While this story is a little cliche and not entirely plausible, it is sweet and entertaining and actually a delightful read.  The writing is sarcastic and interspersed with sharp vocabulary and compassionately wise insights.

A good find on Bookbub – which I highly recomnend!

The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

6604176

Lindsay is a smart, driven, slightly compulsive and successful ad executive on her way to the top – until she finds herself in a very compromised situation that puts her career on the line.  She is totally thrown, because after all, she is the smart one.  Her twin sister, Alex, is the beautiful one.  This is how it’s always been, ever since she can remember.  How can she tell her parents that she’s no longer successful?  This would throw off her entire identity.  The journey into which Lindsay is propelled brings all of her preconceived notions into question and forces her to really examine her priorities — and her relationship with Alex.

What begins as light-hearted and somewhat comical actually builds gradually into a heavier and more substantial novel.  Lindsay exemplifies the pressure so many young people feel today to be perfect and successful, even at the expense of their personal lives.  It is hard for her when she takes a step back and examines what she has actually accomplished and what is really important to her.  It also examines stereotypes and the roles we are socialized to play, whether they reflect our true talents or not.

Throughout, however, the author writes with a voice that is full of both tenderness and sarcasm.   It is a fun, generally light read that is great for the beach or just for those late nights with the reading lamp on!

 

A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

16158535

Lily has always felt as if she were in the shadow of Budgie, the worldly one in the center of all the attention.  Having spent summers together on the small peninsula of Seaview, RI, although she’s grown and at Smith College, she still feels inferior to Budgie who is able to navigate the world of men so smoothly – or at least, that is what is feels like.  As Lily begins her romance with a football star from Dartmouth, Nick, she learns gradually, as we do, that things are not exactly as they appear to be.

The author utilizes a back and forth, between time periods 7 years apart, which tells the story from 2 sides and maintains a great aura of suspense. The characters are beautiful, the writing is elegant and the story whips into a twisted plot and a stormy ending.

Another beautiful story by Beatriz Williams!

Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

51FmTQnR1kL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_

To say that this story had a subtle beginning would be a radical understatement.  The story builds almost painfully gradually as a love story between Joan, an aspiring ballet dancer, and the world-famous ballet-dancing Arslan, who has mysteriously chosen her to assist him in his defection from Russia in the 1970’s. Ultimately jilted by Arslan, she turns to her truest friend, Jacob, who has always loved her, and builds a life with him instead.  But about half way through, there are gradual revelations that ramp up the momentum and twist the plot around on its tail such that it ultimately becomes a book that you cannot put down.

What is as beautiful about the book as the story is the writing, which is crisp, clear, and full of pretty imagery.  The author carries the reader through changes in time and date as well as voice of narration with the utmost of grace, avoiding any flicker of confusion, but adding richness from additional perspective in doing so.  I also felt I learned quite a bit about ballet, something about which I am quite ignorant.  It gives the inside perspective on just how hard and demanding a lifestyle it is to be a professional dancer.

The moral of the story is:  Don’t give up!  This gets so very much better with every turn of the page that its worth staying with it.  Enjoy!

Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

boysnowbird

Things are not what they appear to be, is the message of this story.  Boy, a teenage girl (actually!), runs away from her abusive father and finds a new life in a small town in New England.  In this town of craftsmen and artists, she falls into a relationship with a jewelry designer whose family has secrets that she only discovers only after they have impacted her very personally.  But she also lives to discover that her own family has secrets as well.

The story, taken at face value, is somewhat fantastical and remote, bordering on the bizarre.  Some scenes are actually briefly disturbing.  However, I think there is a lot of symbolism here.  The story really is, in my mind, a story of rebellion – rebellion against evil, against racial prejudice, against gender stereotyping, even against what is expected based on general physical appearance.  There is recurring mention of mirrors and what is or is not seen in them, which echoes this theme.  In this, the book has great value.

Unfortunately, though, while the message is important, the delivery is somewhat off.  Because of the mystical quality of the story, there is a distance between the writer and the characters, as if even the writer doesn’t love her own characters. I also found choppiness in the writing that lead to confusion in the actual details of the story.  In changing the voice, which I usually love, the author skips over details that tell the story, and it takes too long and, honestly, too much work to connect the dots.

So while I did love the message of this book, the delivery could have been tighter.

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

6066819This is the quintessential summer read!

I love Jennifer Weiner!  Her writing is always witty, sarcastic, entertaining and full of heart – and this book is yet another example of this.

Addie and Valerie, who although are very different, grew up as best friends, living across the street from each other and sharing all their childhood secrets.  Unfortunately, their paths diverged when an incident in high school sent them spinning in very different directions.  Suddenly, now, many years later, just after their high school reunion, Valerie shows up at Addie’s doorstep asking for help after what may have been a serious crime.  Almost in spite of herself, Addie is drawn in to the drama and their adventure begins.

What I love about Weiner’s writing is the building of characters that the reader loves.  The reader cannot help rooting for Addie in this story – she’s an underdog who you can’t help adoring for her steadfast loyalty to her friend and her family.  Even Valerie, who is vain and materialistic, is sympathetic and entertaining in her own right.  Each of the characters is written with tenderness and self-deprecation and you can’t help wanting to know how it all ends for each of them.

I think I may have a deeper appreciation for Jennifer Weiner, also, since I had the amazing opportunity to be present during BookCon (a few weekends ago at the Javits Center), when she interviewed Judy Blume.  There was such a great rapport between the 2 of them ,as they spoke about everything from writing to sex and to the size of their respective chests.  They were both warm, funny, smart and respectful of each other’s talent —  I could have listened to them converse for hours!

Bottom line, I’d take this with me to Cape Cod if I hadn’t already read it!