Review: Mercury (by Amy Jo Burns)

My Rating: 4.5 stars

I'm somewhat behind with my reading goals this month, as I took on a bit more than I should have with school and work, plus an unexpected family incident upended some of my plans for this week — but the good news is that, going into next month, I was able to sort things out so that I should be able to get my reading back on track very soon.

With that said, I was able to squeeze in and finish another January ARC a couple days ago, Mercury by Amy Jo Burns — a book that I've been wanting to read ever since I found out about it several months back.  I had read Burns's fiction debut Shiner (she had written a memoir prior to it) a few years back for book club and it became one of my favorite reads that year (one that I had rated 5 stars).  There was so much I loved about that book:  the lyrical, immersive writing that flowed so beautifully that I found myself highlighting one quotable sentence after another; the atmospheric portrayal of time and place that made me feel as though I was right there alongside the characters; and of course, the strong female characters (the heart and soul of the story) who loved fiercely and devotedly, yet rarely got anything in return, instead having to forge their own paths in a world dominated by men whose power often when unchallenged and unchecked. (For more of my thoughts on Shiner, please check out my review of it). While Burns's second novel, Mercury was a fantastic read that I loved quite a lot, if I had to choose between the two, Shiner would still be my favorite.

Mercury is about a family of roofers who live in a "great house" in the small river valley town of Mercury, Pennsylvania — the family patriarch Mick Joseph, his wife Elise, and their three boys Baylor, Waylon, and Shay.  One day in 1990, teenager Marley West arrives in Mercury with her mother Ruth and while stopped at a light they spot 3 men standing atop a roof at the far side of the road. The next day, Marley encounters two of the men (the Joseph brothers) at a baseball game, where she also meets the youngest Joseph brother (10-year-old Shay) as well as their mother Elise — a woman who was beautiful, impeccably dressed, unapologetically cool and collected in a way Marley had never seen before, and also had the ability to "command attention [from everyone around her but especially from her boys] with a single word."  Marley is captivated by this family and as a perpetual loner who is tired of having to move from town to town, she yearns for a seat at the Joseph family table. Soon, that's exactly what happens, as Marley's world becomes inextricably melded with the family's.  As she comes to understand the Joseph family dynamics though, and encounters one difficulty after another, Marley soon realizes that she got more than she had bargained for.  Years later, a discovery in the church attic unearths past hurts and the family finds themselves on the brink of falling apart. As the Josephs scramble to save their family, they must also rethink their priorities and decide what matters most to them.

Just like with Shiner, there were many things I loved about this book:  the writing, of course, which was engaging and immersive and made me feel transported to the small town of Mercury; the characters were also well-developed and wonderfully drawn, especially the 3 Joseph brothers, who each had their own distinctive personalities as well as strengths and weaknesses (though admittedly, I couldn't stand the patriarch of the family, Mick, who, to me, seemed to be a reincarnation of Briar from Shiner); most of all though, I loved the women in this story — Marley and Jade especially, and even Elise to some extent — who were all strong in their own distinctive ways and fought to forge a path for themselves despite society's convictions and judgments.  My one complaint is that there was a tad more romance than I expected, which made some scenes come across a little "soapy" to me, but luckily it wasn't overwhelming so didn't detract from the story too much.

Overall, this is definitely a story worth reading.  One of the things I love about Amy Jo Burns is that she writes with lot of heart and empathy for her characters — even the "bad" characters are written in a way that you end up feeling sorry for them rather than hating them.  I will admit that, despite the dysfunction of the Joseph family, I couldn't help rooting for all of them (this is saying something, since dysfunctional family stories can be a hit or miss for me).  I felt invested in the ups and downs that this family goes through — both the heartbreaking moments and the joyous ones — but most of all, I appreciated the message of resilience and hope that Marley's experiences especially demonstrated.  

This was a wonderful read and I can't wait to see what Burns comes up with next!

Received ARC from Celadon Books via NetGalley.

Review: The Book of Fire (by Christy Lefteri)

My Rating: 5 stars

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and that, like me, you were able to spend some time immersed in a good book! :-)

Kicking off the new year, I've been busy with my studies, but I did get the chance to squeeze in one of the January 2024 ARCs on my list, so I'm happy about that.

I chose to start my reading year with a new release from an author whose works I've loved since reading her debut novel, The Beekeeper of Aleppo, a few years back. In my opinion, Christy Lefteri is an underrated and under appreciated author whose works everyone should be reading.  She writes in a way that is atmospheric and poetic, with beautifully-rendered descriptions of time and place that make us, the readers, feel completely immersed.  

Lefteri sets her third novel in a Greek village where a devastating wildfire has ravaged the once-idyllic forest, destroying nearly everything — living and non-living — in its path. A close and loving family used to live in that forest:  Irini, a talented musician who could play the most beautiful songs with the instruments handed down over generations from her father and grandfather; her husband Tasso, an artist who could paint the forest so realistically that the sights and sounds of nature seemed to come alive just looking at the paintings; and their 10-year-old daughter Chara, a happy and playful girl whose name means "joy." Along with their devoted greyhound Rosalie, the family lived in a picturesque environment surrounded by the beauty of nature.  However, on a fateful day that starts off just like any other day, their paths cross with the fire and within hours, their lives are changed forever.  Their bungalow in the forest is destroyed (along with all of Irini's instruments), Tasso's hands are burned to the point that he can no longer paint, Chara endures second-degree burns that leave horrific scars, and Irini's father-in-law Lazaros goes missing (he's presumed dead).  Many of their friends and neighbors are either dead or missing, while those who survived are physically and emotionally scarred for life.  As if that were not enough, everywhere they turn, they are forced to witness the charred remains of the destruction around them  — the trees burned down to stumps, the barren ground where abundant plants and flowers once grew, and the pervasive, choking smell of burnt things.  Months later, the family (and the village) haven't completely come to terms with all they lost, but are actively trying to rebuild and move on with their lives.  It is during this time that Irini inadvertently encounters the man responsible for destroying their lives — a land speculator she refers to as Mr. Monk, who had started the fire on a small piece of land he didn't own in the hopes of acquiring it (illegally), not expecting it to rage out of control like it ended up doing.  Mr. Monk is mysteriously injured and appears to be on the brink of death — when Irini finds out who he is, she makes a last minute decision out of anger, which follows her for the rest of the story.  The investigation that follows will bring to light some painful truths about the community and its interactions with its surrounding environment.

As she did with her previous two novels, Lefteri once again delivers a hauntingly beautiful, emotional story that is at once heartbreaking and poignant, but also hopeful in its portrayal of humanity in the wake of tragedy.  Lefteri has a gift for writing about real-life (often controversial and difficult) issues relevant to society in a way that is thought-provoking and meaningful, yet not heavy-handed or preachy — in The Beekeeper of Aleppo, it was immigration and refugees fleeing from the situation in Syria; in Songbirds, it was the exploitation of foreign domestic workers in Cyprus; now in The Book of Fire, she explores the relationship of humans with nature and the wide-ranging effects that our actions can have on our environment.  I live in Southern California and remember the deadly 2018 wildfires that Lefteri mentions in her Author's Note (which, by the way, is a must-read in and of itself) as well as the many other fires that have occurred in the region the past few years, so this story definitely resonated with me.  The dilemma that Irini faces in the story is a difficult one and I will admit that if I were in her shoes, I would have probably struggled as well.  I finished this book a few days ago, yet I'm still thinking about this story and its endearingly-drawn characters. Needless to say, I will definitely be on the lookout for what Lefteri comes out with next!

Received ARC from Ballantine Books via NetGalley.