Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Mary Jane is very excited. She has been hired to babysit for the summer for a very cute little girl who is shy and a bit awkward, just like she is. While she might have joined her friends at sleep away camp, as she had done last summer, she knew she was quite unhappy there, feeling like she longed for time alone, perhaps to just sit and read rather than always having to follow the group who rarely included her anyway. What she isn’t expecting is the unusual dynamic in the family she will be around, how different they are with each other from what she is used to at home in her quiet, reserved household, and how much she will grow.

This is a beautiful, if a bit unrealistic coming of age story, which takes place in the 1970’s, at a time of evolving and clashing cultures and philosophies. Mary Jane has grown up in a very Christian, repressive, uncommunicative family, where her father never speaks, and her mother speaks only to command and instruct. Suddenly, for her babysitting job, she is thrust into a family where folks hug and kiss and demonstrate love naturally, and stereotypic norms are ignored. While many might be thrown by this, Mary Jane embraces it fully. And even while she does try to instill some order into the chaos that is this family’s home, she loves the way they love, she appreciates the openness in their communication. And while she does not fully abandon her own values, she finds a way to combine the best of both.

The characters here are what truly engage the reader. We immediately love Izzy, the exuberant 4-year old Mary Jane cares for. We love her for her enthusiasm, her raw sweetness, and her fear of the witch who she needs to lock out of her room. We love the glamorous couple that Mary Jane must cover for, as we learn of their very human struggles with fame and how that has disrupted and corrupted their lives. And we love Mary Jane, as she is often the “adult in the room,” even as she herself must play two different people, trying to figure out how she can be her true self.

And while the ending may be a bit idealized, it is still worth the read – it is engaging, fun, thoughtful, and will have you reminiscing about the 70’s if you were alive in that time.

Night Music by Jojo Moyes

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Laura is nearly out of patience, having waited on the ungrateful, sickly Mr. Pottisworth for so many years, with only the hope that he will leave his home, her dream house facing the lake, to her and her husband, Matt. While she has her doubts, Matt seems to retain his confidence that this house will become theirs, and that the plans they have for it will come to fruition.

Meanwhile, on what feels to be another planet (the city of London), another family has just been devastated by the untimely death of the father. The mother, Isabel, who, although loving, has been swept up in her career as a musician, traveling often for performances, rehearsals, and leaving the details of her children’s lives to their nanny. Her husband’s death, and their sudden financial reality has brought this to a skidding halt, and she realizes now that it is up to her to be the grown-up in the room.

The way in which these two families’ lives collide becomes the talk of the small town, but also becomes a reawakening of sorts for all of them.

It took me a bit of time to get into this story, and I believe it was because I did not, initially, completely like the central characters. While I felt compassion for their tragedies, I felt as if they each took no responsibility for their circumstances, as if they were detached from their own realities. Of course, for example, Isabel was not responsible for her husband being killed in a car crash, but it was certainly on her to know her family’s financial situation and the details of her children’s lives. Likewise, Laura was absolutely not the cause of Mr. Pottisworth being so cruel and ungrateful, but she knew better than to rely on her husband and his plans,  as he had proven unworthy of trust in the past. Only when they each began to take control of their lives did I begin to form some respect for them and perhaps connect more with their stories.

I think my favorite character, in fact, was Kitty, Isabel’s brave daughter, who actually took control of the family’s situation immediately and only gradually was allowed to become an adolescent again. She was the one who named their reality, cared for those around her, connected with their new community, and called out injustice when she saw it. While she was only 15 years old, she bore the burden of being the responsible one when no one else was. 

This is definitely a worthwhile read, but it may take a minute to buy in, as it did for me.

The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

How are four very different women with widely varying histories drawn together in the middle of an earthquake in San Francisco? From the beginning, we meet Gemma, a soprano newly arrived to join the Met Opera Company for a stint in the chorus. We also meet Suling, a young woman promised by her opium-addicted uncle to a much-older doctor, who is saving her pennies by doing extra work as an embroiderer to try to make her escape. These two form an unlikely alliance, along with Gemma’s housemate, Alice, a research botanist to uncover a shocking criminal.

Once again, along with Janie Chang, Kate Quinn has created powerful, unusual, and vulnerable characters for us to love. These women I’ve described, along with a fourth – Gemma’s friend, whom she thought she was following to San Francisco, but who seemed to have deserted her for Colorado – all have creative personalities, complicated circumstances, and strong loyalties. And the twisty plot binds them together into an unlikely kinship that enables them to be there for each other until the very climax of the story.

And while the story does fall into that trap of tying the ends up just a bit too neatly, it also feels right to do so in this case.

I really enjoyed this one. I’d love to hear what you all think!

 

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Melina has just been trying to find her voice, mainly through telling stories, composing plays. She has viewed Professor Buford only as a supportive mentor, encouraging her and recommending her to submit her plays to contests, even at the cost of snide looks and remarks from most of her peers. That is, until now, when she suddenly and heartbreakingly sees through his gestures, his attention. But why is it that she must rely on these men around her – mentors, critics, producers – to herald her into the world of theater? When she learns from her father about an ancestor, many generations prior, who was the first female poet to publish in England, she becomes a bit obsessed to research more about her, and finds, to her shock, that she was more than just a minor poet. She finds evidence that her predecessor, Emilia Bassano, may have struggled, just as she is, to be given a platform. It may be that she actually did succeed, however – and it may be that she did so through the name of the most famous poet/playwright of her time.

This is a thoroughly researched, courageous argument that suggests that William Shakespeare had ghostwriters – and that it is quite likely that at least one of them, if not the primary one, was Emilia Bassano. As the plot unfolds through both Emilia’s and Melina’s stories, we hear cogent explanations of how Emilia had more insight, exposure, and concrete, detailed knowledge of the history, characters, and locations of the plays that Shakespeare himself would not have had privy to. (And there was, of course, no internet then for him to access this information…) I will not go into these details, as this is part of the joy of reading this novel, but suffice it to say, I was convinced of the need to question everything I’ve ever understood to be the “works of William Shakespeare.”

Even if you’re not convinced to at least question the origin of the works – and I would find it hard to believe you could not – there is still a beautiful, tragic, and thoughtful story embedded here in this novel. Both Emilia’a and Melina’s characters are passionate and strong and yet vulnerable. We love them, cheer for them, even cry for them. Each story is powerful in its own right; but the idea to cast them as parallels is, in my opinion, pure genius. It highlights the problematic issue that, my god, even when we think things have changed so much after all these decades – centuries! – things have really not changed all that much after all.

I think that, for many reasons, this is a MUST READ. I think as a stand-alone novel, it is outstanding. But for its historical and literary significance, its brave questioning of what we know to be the suppression of women’s voices throughout the ages, it is enlightening and essential.

 

 

 

 

 

The Lies that Bind by Emily Griffin

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

It is summer 2001 and Cecily has been living in NYC for 4 years now. She’s been working for a small newspaper and has made a couple of friends, but her life feels like it’s just been put on hold since her breakup with her boyfriend, Matthew. Since her best friend in the world is still back home in Wisconsin, she feels she needs to get out of her own head, and, leaving her cellphone at her small apartment, she takes herself to a nearby bar, alone. She is truly not looking to meet anyone – it’s far too soon for that – but as it happens, someone does join her at that bar, and they immediately just click. What happens from there begins a journey that takes Cecily through a maze of both lies and truths that she learns she will ultimately have to sort out for herself.

While this story is a bit of a stretch in terms of plausibility, if you’re able to sort of “go with it,” it’s an easy, fun read that is mostly satisfying. I think what saves it is that we really come to like our protagonist, Cecily, even as we suffer her naivete, her blind trust in what those around her tell her. While we can guess what is happening, she doesn’t – and it feels almost like watching an accident that is waiting to happen where you want to yell, “Watch out!!” but cannot. The point is, we do care enough about her to want to yell. (At least I did.)

So while this is not the great American novel, it is a lighter read that broke up some of the more intense novels I’ve read recently. Gotta do that sometimes!

 

 

 

 

How the Light Gets In by Joyce Maynard

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Even though her ex-husband has now passed away, and there is much water under the bridge, she still has difficulty moving past that fateful moment when it felt like her entire life changed: when her youngest child, Toby, suffered a brain injury after being found face-down in their pond for who-knows-how-long. She cannot help but think what would have been had her husband not fallen asleep that day when he was supposed to be ensuring his safety? But as her life unfolds, she begins to learn to appreciate the beautiful person Toby becomes, rather than mourn who he might have been.

This is ultimately a beautiful story, but I feel that it takes unnecessary work to get there. There is quite a bit of repetition, such an unfortunate belaboring of points that the story could have been told in a much more succinct and effective way. Whether it was the writing or the editing – likely a combination of the two – I believe it is a drawback of this book.

Nevertheless, there is a lovely story underneath all this tautology. The unfolding of Toby’s story as told through Eleanor’s perspective is truly meaningful. Many overlook or dismiss Toby because he does not speak or walk or dress the way his peers might; but those who see him for who he is have the honor of getting to know someone who is warm, honest, loyal, and who is the kindest person they will ever know. He pays attention to details that few notice. He sees the potential in folks that others don’t see, appreciating what it is like to not be seen. And he accumulates family, friends, and fans along the way who deeply appreciate who he is. 

I believe this book is worthwhile, but you have to be willing to accompany Eleanor, Toby and their extended family on this long journey, even with all its detours and corollaries.

 

 

 

Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

It is 1960 and Evelyn is terrified. She has no choice but to accommodate her parents’ wishes and move to the home for unwed mothers where she’ll work and live until she gives birth to the child that she is now carrying. It would have been completely different had her boyfriend not died of a heart attack just before she found out she was carrying his baby. But now, she is trapped. Literally.

Fast forward to 2017 and Angela, working in her aunt’s antique store, stumbles upon a letter received years prior, meant for the tenant in the upstairs apartment. She opens the letter, just to see how she might be helpful to the sender, and she sees a heartbreaking plea. How can she be helpful in this situation? Should she try to help in this situation?

Meanwhile, in the 1970’s, we meet Nancy, who is struggling to assert her independence from her overbearing mother. They frequently clash, given her mother’s overpowering personality and ability to ignore most of what Nancy actually says. So Nancy learns to hide her self in a way that is detrimental. She learns to keep secrets. When a cousin asks Nancy her for help in a crisis, she keeps that secret as well, in spite of the trauma that it leaves her with. But she also learns a tidbit of information at that time that will have an impact on her future in a way that she cannot possibly imagine.

This is a particularly relevant read for this moment. In a time during which access to safe, legal abortions is threatened in too many areas of our country, this book should be read by everyone. This book touches upon the issue of women forced to carry pregnancies against their will (and then forced to give up the babies when they do deliver), women compelled to undergo dangerous procedures that endanger their lives, and women and medical providers who are threatened with arrest for having life-saving procedures such as D&C’s for natural miscarriages. And ironically, as it is pointed out in this story repeatedly, it is generally men making these decisions about women’s bodies!! What an absurd world we live in! [Of note, this story takes place in Canada, but the situations can and do happen here all the time in the US as well. Fortunately for Canadians, their country has not reneged on their commitment to women’s health the way we have here.]

This is an intricately constructed story and the way in which these very realistic, very human characters are portrayed and come together will captivate and engage and surprise you until the very final page. I could not put this book down. I loved it not only for its relevance but for how personally connected I felt to these beautiful characters. They are each products of their times, their circumstances, and yet connected by the fact that they are women who love.

Enjoy this book! I know I did!

This Used to be Us by Renee Carlino

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Dani and Alex used to be in love. Dani and Alex used to have the kind of marriage where communication was rarely even necessary because they could read each others’ minds. Now, it seems, that what’s on their minds is that the other is just wrong and they are speeding, headlong into divorce. As they work out the details of this new life with their two boys, they find they may be able to actually communicate on a whole new level.

This is a sweet story that will have you engaged from the very start. It is told from both Dani’s and Alex’s perspective, which deepens our understanding of both how they became a couple and their demise. We empathize with their overtures to connect as well as their despair when they feel defeated. We also hear their attempts to move forward with their lives, and how they are impeded by their deep love for each other. 

I will warn that you will experience a major emotional rollercoaster here, as there are sudden twists and unexpected dips that will throw you. Nevertheless, you are well cared for by the author; even when you are grieving, you are handled gently and beautifully.

I liked this book quite a lot – I believe you will as well.

The Cactus by Sarah Haywood

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Susan is pretty confident she knows what she likes: she likes order and predictability, she has found a career that suits her skills, and while her childhood has been challenging, she’s even managed to maintain a decent relationship with her complicated family. Nevertheless, when her brother, Edward calls her to tell her that her mom has died, Susan is quite shocked. She knows that her mom has had two strokes, that she’d been a bit out of sorts, but she’d been living solidly on her own, albeit with the inconsistent “help” from her brother Edward. Susan is a realist, though, and understands that this is what happens. What she cannot understand is how her mother could have come up with the terms of her will she is now hearing read, once the funeral is over. Susan is convinced there is foul play and is determined to fight her brother over this – battling again, as they’ve done their whole lives. Only this time, it will be before the eyes of the court. There are just a few complications that may hinder her in the process…

It is hard to believe this is a debut novel, as it is as delightful and entertaining as its characters. Susan’s character, in particular, is one that I believe will stay with me for awhile. While Susan prefers to be alone, she is also a deeply kind person, and though blunt, she is always honest. Sadly, she has learned from life that others can bring pain, so she has built a shell around herself. Much like the cactus, she has grown thorns not to pose a threat to others, but merely to protect herself. But as she gradually begins to let others in – her neighbor, her brother’s friend, even her annoying aunt – she begins to see that it is not always to her detriment.

I would highly recommend this book – it is engaging story, with lovely characters, and your heart will melt for Susan and her predicaments. I look forward to Haywood’s next project!

 

 

 

 

 

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Already reeling from the death of the man she’s known to be her father,  Joy has also just learned some shocking news about her mother, Pearl. These two events challenge Joy’s identity to her core. At the same time, as the 1950’s American government is targeting those suspected of being Communists, some, particularly those on college campuses, feel that Socialism can be the ideal of equality and fairness. Following this ideal,  Joy makes the impulsive decision to leave the comforts of what she’s known as home to embark on a journey to find her true birth father, to seek her Chinese roots, to relinquish her capitalist excesses, and to enter Mao’s People’s Republic of China. What she finds there shocks her even more.

With her usual skillful style, Lisa See has managed to compose yet another beautiful family saga, depicting family relationships at both their worst and their best, while incorporating a significant historical moment that is not frequently highlighted. Her mother, Pearl, on learning that Joy has left for China, follows her daughter there, even if it may put her own safety in jeopardy. She knows that Joy is young, that does not understand the consequences of her actions to the fullest, that she has never experienced the heavy hand of Communist rule. And if she is being honest, finding Joy’s father is of interest to her to, as they have a complicated history as well. The relationships depicted here are tender, beautiful, and authentic.

History plays a large role in this saga as well. China’s “Great Leap Forward” is anything but — but this is the era in which Joy finds herself. Initially, she tries to find the grace in it: the idealism of the communal life, the simplicity of the farm, the romance in the hard work. She also finds meaning in the art she’s able to produce there through which she can express herself, at least within the confines of the dictated rules. As time progresses, however, she sees the rampant deception. She begins to see that even when the rules are failing the people miserably, they are forced to abide the whims of their dictator, even at the cost of their very lives. When Joy becomes responsible for the life of another, this is where she can no longer abide this lie.

There is much darkness depicted here, but it is a frighteningly timely and realistic story. We are now in a moment when so many are following another wannabe fascist – a worshipper of Putin, of Kim Jong Un, of Hitler – and these followers are ignoring the harm he has done and has the potential to continue to do. He has already threatened to imprison his enemies – a classic fascist move. People make excuses for him – but we’ve seen him do this already in his first presidency. It’s an authentic threat. We need to learn both from other countries’ pasts such as that depicted here and our own past. This can happen again and this can happen here. We have the power to stop it with our votes. But this may not be the case for long if he is elected…

I hope you will read this novel. It is a beautiful family saga as well as a harsh warning for the world and for our country in particular.  A MUST READ for this moment!