We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

The Mulvaney family – Michael Sr, Corinne, and their four children, not to mention all their animals – are a boisterous, close-knit, and fairly prosperous family living on a working farm in upstate NY. Michael has worked his way up from humble beginnings, to say the least, and Corinne, who left college to marry Michael, prides herself on knowing exactly what is going on with their 3 boys and 1 girl at all times. And while she adores her sons, she takes particular pride in her beautiful, popular, and smart daughter, who mystifies her by the attention, the phone calls, and the friends she garners (that Corinne herself was never able to). So how is it that Corinne missed the change in Marianne, the alteration in her mood, her habits, even her appearance since the prom a week ago? And how would this affect the Mulvaneys going forward?

This portrait of the gradual demise of a family after a major trauma is tragic, heart-wrenching, and devastatingly realistic. We watch as their communication breaks down, as they increasingly close off to one another, drawing inside themselves, festering in their own grief, unable to reach out to the one who actually is the one who truly needs the nurturing: Marianne. Even Corinne, the mom, who is supposedly the heart of the family, desperately tries to be the glue tying them all to their beloved home. She is coming apart at the seams, fraying and caving to the weaknesses of the men around her, particularly her husband’s. Marianne’s vulnerability, her trauma, becomes her fault. As happens way too often, Marianne punishes herself and is punished by everyone around her, as if she has asked for this trauma. As if something she has done has provoked the trauma she’s experienced. (Which, of course, it has not.)

It is hard to read this novel without becoming angry – at the family, at the community, at society in general. Because this is the story of women. It is set in the 1970’s but it can be anytime, anywhere and it will be true all over again. A man assaults a woman and it becomes her fault, she gets blamed and it becomes all about the men around her. How it reflects on the family. How it must be avenged. How she must have brought it on, somehow. How she must be punished for it, ultimately. Because somehow it is her shame, not the shame of the perpetrator. (Why is this still a thing? It is impossible to comprehend.)

I believe the writing is a bit meandering, with quite a lot of extraneous detail. But within is a story for all time, an important statement about the past and current way in which the needs of women become undermined by those of the men around them. How a single traumatic event can impact an entire family for their whole lives. And how if we don’t communicate, face what is needed with kindness, compassion, and humility, we will never get beyond this hypocritical treatment of women in our society.

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Lo has just gone through a frighteningly traumatic event after which she’s not slept for a week. But she knows she has to pull it together because she has a one and only chance to advance her career in the travel journalism field, with this upcoming, singular event: the maiden voyage of a VERY exclusive, very small cruise ship, hosting Britain’s elite with whom she must connect and impress. But suddenly, in the middle of her first night, shocking sounds have awoken Lo, and she is now distracted from her mission. Is she going mad? Can she rely on her memory of what happened in the middle of the night? She must get to the bottom of this, no matter what…

This is truly one of the most suspenseful novels I’ve read, one I felt I just couldn’t read fast enough! (And if you’ve followed this blog, you know I’ve been on a suspense tear, so this is saying quite a lot!) The story bursts immediately into action and, in truth, never stops. We follow Lo and feel for her, as she has her missteps and miscalculations but we also see that she is thwarted and misled by something devious and dangerous as well. And I NEVER would have guessed the ending – total twister!

This is not a character-based novel. I did not derive great insights or ponder deep thoughts about life’s meaning while reading this. I cannot wax poetic about about newfound wisdom gleaned from this novel.

But it is definitely great fun, a wonderful escape, and damn well what we need right now, so treat yourself and indulge!

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Emily is flying high. She has just met Adam, the man of her dreams – gorgeous, sweet, successful – and it feels too good to be true. Especially after having been burned by her previous boyfriend. She just knows it is right this time, they fit together so perfectly. So why is she so uncomfortable around his mother, Pammie? Why is it that every time they are with Pammie, she feels left out, intentionally snubbed, or worse? Emily is trying so hard to please her – why is Adam not seeing this? Why won’t he defend her? As it becomes more and more Emily’s mission to “out” Pammie and her obvious lying, she becomes more and more entangled in Adam’s family dysfunction. Will she ever be able to get Adam to see the truth?

There are many stories in which I feel that I cannot turn away; yet this one is one in which I felt frustrated not to be able to turn the main character away! More than once, I heard myself almost yelling out of frustration with Emily, admonishing her to just walk away from her untenable situation. I can’t imagine how she’d persist – how anyone would persist – and stay determined to salvage her relationship, in spite of what is clearly a destructive, even demented state of affairs. But then, so many do, right? Even when we see how unhealthy, how not normal, how even abusive a relationship might be. We believe we will fix things, we will convince the other to change. What I did not expect was the VERY surprising ending, which caught me totally off-guard and which made the whole book worth reading, after all.

So while this was something of a torturous experience – of course, all in the spirit of the fun of reading – it built into a worthwhile, albeit a bit insane, venture.

I would LOVE to know what others think of this one! Comments please???

Conviction by Denise Mina

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Anna has known her marriage was not going well for awhile now, but she never expected to be greeted at the door with the shocking (and truly cliche) news that her husband was leaving her for her best friend. And worse, he is taking their 2 daughters with them. The most heart-wrenching part of this is that Anna knows she is unable to fight this. Even her husband doesn’t know that she cannot show up in a court of law to contest this because he has no idea she’s concealed her true identity even from him. And she needs to keep it that way, to save her life and theirs – literally. That is, until she learns that a podcast she’s listening to reveals a story that is, in fact, part of HER story… And may come to bring her identity to light in spite of her best efforts.

With all that is going on in the world – more to the point, in our country by our federal government* – I have found that I am desperate for any kind of escapism now more than ever. Thrillers like this one are definitely doing the trick for me – and this one is QUITE the page-turner! Anna sets out to escape her circumstance, finding herself with, of all people, Fin, her best friend’s husband. The suspense builds as we gradually learn what she’s escaped and why she’s had to cover up her past. But as more is uncovered, the danger for her builds as well, and the twisty plot thickens. I actually found myself holding my breath as I was reading more than a few times!

I also came to love Anna’s character. She is honest to the point of being blunt, deeply compassionate in spite of being bruised, and values her family above all in spite of it being fractured. She is so brave and has a keen insight into people, most likely from necessity. Trauma does that – creates hypervigilance in a person, such that one becomes discerning of who to trust.

I would highly recommend this novel if you’re looking to escape, as I have been. This is a great one to drown out the world right now!

*My favorite quote about this point, by the way: from Thomas Friedman in his interview by Ezra Klein from yesterday: “Hire clowns, expect a circus.” That is what we have at the moment!

By the Book by Jasmine Guillory

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Izzy was initially delighted at the prospect of having landed a job in publishing. For someone to pay her to read, to be surrounded by books, to put her literary skills to the test at a New York-based publishing house was a dream come true. That is, until reality sunk in, with all its concomitant pressures and workload, essentially being ignored by her senior editor/supposed mentor, and the occasional cloying comment by her associates. Not to mention the entitled, spoiled, famous Beau Towers, whom she had to email every two weeks to try to urge to write his memoir – which had been ignored repeatedly for the past year. At least she has the upcoming conference in LA to look forward to, which, to her excitement, she’d be attending with her best friend, Priya. Little did Izzy suspect that this break in her routine would be the break she needed from her very life.

This fairy-tale-based story is very much like a fairy tale: sweet, romantic, and entirely predictable. Izzy is a beautiful character, an idealistic, talented, clever protagonist wrapped up in a slightly insecure package, daunted by her surroundings, intimidated by the dog-eat-dog world she’s working in. True, she’s also one of a very few people of color in a very White-dominated field, and this intimidates her further. And we like her, with her humor, her charm and her dedication to her art, family and friends. When she comes up with a creative idea, thinking outside the box to try to get this obnoxious client, Beau, to finally answer her and her boss, we cheer her on, excited for her potential win.

But sadly, while the dialogue between Izzy and Beau are initially full of intriguing outbursts and only a gradual thaw, they melt into such banal banter that it becomes a disappointment. The “big reveal” of Beau’s history, his source of his anxiety and tragedy might have been interesting, but it is almost as if the author tired of the story herself and just wanted it to be completed. There are no major plot twists of note, just a host of romance tropes that were, to be honest, saccharine and trite.

I believe, once again, this is a very cute idea that is only fairly well executed. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a way to be distracted from what is happening in the world at the moment with a guaranteed happy ending, this is your story!

Summer People by Elin Hilderbrand

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Beth, and her twins Garrett and Winnie, have just arrived onto Nantucket for the summer. They’ve done this every summer since the twins were born, but this summer is tragically different: they’ve just lost their husband/father in a sudden plane crash. To make things worse, at least in Garrett’s eyes, their father had invited his client’s son, Marcus, to join them on the island for the summer, and Marcus is still coming, even though his family needs this time alone to grieve. When Beth runs into an old boyfriend from years past and invites him and his daughters to join them for dinner soon after they arrive, life gets that much more complicated. And not just for Garrett, but for them all.

This is a story of secrets; that is, how they may be personal or explosive, quietly respected or resentfully detonated. According to Beth, “everyone is entitled to one secret,” but the course of events leads one to wonder if this is true. One may be entitled, and we should all respect this, but things may backfire – and not in a good way.

This is also a story of loss. While the family is coping poorly with their loss, we also feel deeply for Marcus, as he has suffered his own trauma. It was his mother whom the father was defending pro bono to protect her from the death penalty when his plane went down, and Marcus is struggling with his own anger, resentment and sadness. He cannot even bring himself to read the letters she has been writing him from prison. But he grieves quietly, internally, with such composure we worry he might explode.

There is much more to this story than one might imagine. While it does take you to sunnier days, to sandy shores, it is not at all a light summer read. But it is written with warmth and with tenderness, and it captures the imagination as well as your attention throughout.

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Avery Keene is so frustrated with herself when she realizes that she’s missed her opportunity to run into the Chief Justice “by accident” this morning. She’s spent months getting into the good graces of the Chief’s assistants in order to learn her schedule so that she can get a word in with her, and once again, her mother, a perpetually “recovering” addict, has distracted her from her intended plan to discuss her future. To her surprise, she is called into the Chief’s office anyway – and with news that is both shocking and horrifying: Justice Wynn, for whom she has been clerking, is currently in a coma and she, Avery, has been named his Power of Attorney. What could he possibly have been thinking, to name her, a measly law clerk? As she gains bit by bit of information about the Justice’s recent state of health and personal life details, she learns how tangled he has been in a sordid plot, which only Avery, with the help of a few other trusted souls, has the potential to uncover. But at what cost?

This is an utterly gripping thriller which will have you on the edge of your seat from page one until the very end. Avery is caught up in a series of clues left behind by Justice Wynn, prior to his drifting into his coma, and although many relate to chess (which I don’t play – but luckily Avery does!), the plot is brilliant, complex, layered, and twisty. Avery herself is also a likable character, with a vulnerable past, a kind heart, and brilliant mind. She wants to do the right thing, which has become a rarity, not only in government but in the justice system as well. (Not only in fiction, sad to say…)

Stacey Abrams is not only an impressive and brilliant legislator, but an impressive and brilliant author as well!

The Ride by Kostya Kennedy

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Most people likely assume, as I have, that Paul Revere merely rode one night, alone, shouting, “The British are coming, the British are coming!” to alert the American militia to ready themselves against the beginning of the War of Independence – and that was that. Most people do not know that Paul Revere actually had a long history of trusted connections with the founding fathers based in the Boston area, namely John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and the Reverend Jonas Clarke, and that he rode on many occasions to deliver vital information in secret to the various players involved in coordinating efforts to liberate America from the ever-encroaching British. In fact, if he had shouted that the British were coming as loudly as we imagine from the common lore, he would have been found out and captured, thwarting his effort to get the word out, ensuring failure of his mission altogether. Here in this deeply researched and warmly shared tale of the life and accomplishments of Paul Revere and his compatriots, we learn what actually happened that night, long ago, at the birth of this nation.

Usually a sports writer, Kostya, Kennedy has chosen a topic that is still well within his arena, as he gives life to the ride itself, to Revere’s background, to his connections, and to his industriousness. He answers the question of why Paul Revere? Why was he chosen to deliver this message? Why was he, above all others, trusted? And although there were others who helped him on that fateful night in April of 1775, he was the primary source of intel because of who he was, how reliable he’d proven himself, how sociable and believable he could be, and what a skilled rider he had become. Kennedy sets the stage for us, gives us the background, the complex historical details leading up to that fateful night, and builds the suspense for us so that we truly understand the weight and the danger of Revere’s mission, of the Ride.

This is definitely a part of history on which I am weak – but it is so important for us to understand. In this moment when our democracy is being challenged on so many fronts, I feel it is crucial for us to appreciate how hard-won it was. Thousands of lives were lost to win this delicate, precious freedom we take so for granted. Paul Revere was just one of our heroes, but there were so many. We must learn about them, celebrate them, revere them as it were – and not take them or democracy itself for granted. Because it is fragile. It can be lost. And then we will all be lost.

Burnt Mountain by Anne Rivers Siddons

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Even in early days, Thayer felt out of place in her own home. For while her older sister gravitated to shopping for pretty dresses and searching through the fashion magazines treasured by her mother, Thayer was much more likely to be found shoeless, in shorts and tee shirt, at her little makeshift hideaway by the river. While she cared little for fashion, she did love her books, and she adored both her father and grandmother, who both appreciated her for who she was. When a tragedy befell her family, Thayer knew she could turn to her grandmother, and her grandmother was truly there for her. Or was she?

This story began, as most of those written by Siddons, as a beautiful novel that created characters that we love right from the start. Thayer is at once spirited and shy, smart and awkward, and we bond with her and feel for her from the first word. And through the first several chapters, we are still with her as she struggles, experiences her first love, and loss, and tragedy. But the novel then takes a turn toward the bizarre, and that is where I begin to lose my connection to the story. While I still feel for Thayer, the other characters grow so dark and the plot line so vague, that it becomes almost disconnected to reality itself. And yes, I can believe that people can be dark and evil – I live in this world – but this is just suddenly and so weirdly so that it is hard to remain on board.

I am usually such a fan of Siddons’ writing, so this was a bit of a disappointment. I suppose every one of her books can’t be perfect, can they?

On to the next book, I guess!

Long Bright River by Liz Moore

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Mickey is worried about her sister, Kacey, who’s been missing for more than a month. This would not be so unusual – both that her sister has been missing or that she is worried about her – except that there is currently a strangler on the loose who is out for women with exactly Kacey’s description: young, pretty, and addicted to heroin. You would think that Mickey might be able to rely on her family to help. You would also think that being on the police force in Philly would give her an advantage. Neither, sadly, seem to be the case. And apparently, it’s up to Mickey to figure out just why this is so.

This novel, which has recently been made into a streaming series (which I have not yet seen), is quite addictive in itself. The story is engaging from the beginning, growing ever more suspenseful as one turns its pages. And I found the characters to be gritty and vulnerable and often just desperate to find connection, family, and love – just as we all are, really. I felt totally connected to Mickey, even as hard as she had to be.

It’s admittedly a tough read, though, with some scenes that, while brief, depict the lives of those who are under the deeply-unmagical spell of the terrible drugs we’re seeing out there in such high numbers. But while it depicts the deplorable conditions many resign themselves to while in search of that next fix, it also highlights the community, the unofficial network that develops, even the care that some take to watch out for each other. These folks understand that underneath the unwashed desperation and the naked fear, these are human beings, with family who care about them, with complicated histories and feelings, and often with a true yearning to get clean but who just struggle against this horrible disease.

This story also addresses police corruption, which can be rampant in some cities. While I have true respect for officers who defend us honorably – they provide one of the most thankless and important contributions to society that we live with, truly. But I live in fear of those who are dishonorable. The abuse of power is a thing to be feared on any level – but if it’s someone with a weapon, that is terrifying.

On the whole, this is a novel that is hard to put down. If you commit to it, make sure you set aside time – you will not want to do anything else until you get to that very last page!