Review: The Unseen World (by Liz Moore)

My Rating: 5 stars

This book blew me away, which, to be honest, I absolutely was not expecting.  When I first read the premise, all the mentions of things like "computer science" and "artificial intelligence" and "virtual reality" and "cryptanalysis" made me wary, as I thought this would be one of those "overly science-y" books that would go way over my head and end up being a struggle to read. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong!  Yes, there was "science stuff" in here and computer as well as coding-related terms that didn't make tremendous sense to me at times — but what I appreciated was that these elements didn't overwhelm the main story; rather, they were more in the background. complementing the story, and only being brought to the forefront occasionally as necessary.

Despite the book's title as well as its science-themed elements, this story, at its core, is actually a coming-of-age tale that follows the main character Ada Sibelius as she navigates an unconventional life raised by her eccentric single father David, who runs a computer science lab in Boston in the 1980s.  Ada is homeschooled and accompanies her father to his lab everyday where she learns the ins-and-outs of his work, so that by the time she is twelve years old, she is already a prodigy in the area of computer tech and coding. It is around this time that David is diagnosed with Alzheimer's and his mind begins to deteriorate more rapidly than anticipated — a diagnosis that deals a devastating blow to Ada, as David was essentially her entire world and now she finds herself unequipped to face the "real" world outside.  Ada goes to live with David's colleague and neighbor Diana Liston, a divorcee with three sons who is also David's closest and most trusted friend. Before Ada has a chance to adjust to the new circumstances of her life however, she finds out that her beloved father actually is not who she (and everyone else who knew him) thought he was.  This leads Ada to embark on a convoluted path to unravel the secrets that David had been hiding — a journey of discovery that follows Ada from adolescence to adulthood and becomes a necessary means to understanding her own existence.

As I mentioned earlier, I went into this one a bit apprehensive, but ended up loving it so much. Admittedly, this is a story that takes awhile to get into, especially the first third or so, as the author Liz Moore takes her time introducing and building up the characters (which definitely pays off in the end given how attached we become to these characters — specifically Ada, David, and Liston). This is very much a character-driven story told primarily through the lens of Ada's coming-of-age and interactions with those around her, yet the arc involving her father David's past and the quest to find out his identity is also written so compellingly. It's always a good sign when I pick up a hefty book such as this one (which clocks in at nearly 500 pages) and find myself unable to put it down because I care so much about these characters and want to keep turning the pages so I can find out as much as possible about them. 

This is the second book of Liz Moore's that I've read (the first one was her newest novel Long Bright River, which I read in early 2020 and also loved) and I've noticed that her stories always seem to have sad undertones to them (probably because she writes about serious, difficult subject matter) where her characters experience their fair share of heartache and pain, and of course things don't necessarily turn out perfectly in the end — though with that said, there is also hope and resilience, which prevents the story from descending into complete bleakness.  

This is a poignant, beautifully written story that is well worth the patience it takes to get through some parts.  It's also a story that invokes thought and self-reflection and definitely won't be easily forgotten.  I'm glad I took a chance on this one and I'm also grateful that this is one of my book club reads, as discussing a book of this nature (where there are aspects I still don't really understand) usually helps clarify and enhance the reading experience for me.  

One last comment that I would like to make about my rating of this book:  throughout the time I was reading, I kept wavering between whether to rate this 4.5 or 5 stars, as I felt it could've gone either way.  Well, in the end, it was the Epilogue (which was amazing!) that pushed this up to 5 stars for me.  Given how much I enjoyed the two Liz Moore novels I've read so far, no doubt that I am definitely interested in exploring her backlist at some point! 

Review: Beartown (by Fredrik Backman)

My Rating: 5 stars

Once again, I am rendered speechless by a Fredrik Backman book!  The man definitely has a way of telling a story that is so utterly compelling that, every time I read one of his books, I find it nearly impossible to tear myself away (which is why I'm glad I started this on a weekend so I could spend all day reading if I needed to).  

Before I go further, I need to make a confession: I've never been into sports and under normal circumstances, I probably would not have gravitated toward a book about hockey.  But as nearly everyone who has read and reviewed this book mentioned, this is more than just a novel about hockey (or, more accurately, about a small town in the forest that is obsessed with hockey). In fact, this book blew me away with the wide range of themes it explored, which ran the gamut from parent/child relationships, to identity, belonging, class conflict, society bias, love, friendship, loyalty, the difference between right and wrong, etc.  

Beyond all that though, this is also a richly rendered character study about ordinary people living their lives and struggling with real life issues such as loneliness, abandonment, death, abuse, bullying, financial hardship, circumstances outside our control, etc.  These are characters that we can absolutely relate to because they are flawed and realistic — characters that make us feel the entire spectrum of human emotion and then some.  

Backman is a masterful storyteller with a unique writing style that I absolutely love — a combination of serious and slightly humorous, yet also gut-wrenching and emotional.  I've been told that it's nearly impossible to come away from a Backman novel without feeling something (whether positive, negative, or indifferent) for the characters and I have to say that I absolutely agree!  That was definitely the case with every single character in this story.  In fact, by the end of the book, I was so emotionally invested in these characters that I didn't want to leave them — which is why I intend to pick up the sequel, Us Against You, right after this one so I can stay with the characters longer (and yes, I am eagerly looking forward to the final book in this series, which is scheduled to be published here in the U.S. in September).

Review: My Name is Lucy Barton (by Elizabeth Strout)



My Rating: 5 stars

After reading both of the Olive Kitteridge books a few years back, I immediately put Elizabeth Strout on my list of favorite authors.  As I had mentioned at that time, I've had most of Strout's works on my TBR for a while, but hadn't gotten around to reading all of them.  Now I am slowly working my way through her backlist and decided to pick up My Name is Lucy Barton next, mostly because I got approved for an ARC of Strout's newest book publishing this month and it is a more direct sequel to that book (though technically the third in the entire series) so I want to make sure I read it first. 

I was actually surprised by how short this book was (less than 200 pages), yet it packed such a punch in terms of depth of the story as well as its characters.  Strout is a masterful writer and just like she did with Olive Kitteridge, she once again creates a realistically flawed yet highly memorable character in the form of Lucy Barton.  While recovering in the hospital from what she thought would be a simple operation, Lucy is surprised to see her mother, from whom she had been estranged for many years, go visit her and sit by her bedside for several days.  Together, mother and daughter reminisce and gossip about various friends from Lucy's childhood growing up in Amgash, Illinois (though they are careful to skirt around the specific issues that had caused Lucy to escape her troubled family and move to New York after marriage).  The visit from her mother, though brief, leads Lucy to reflect upon various aspects of her life — from recognizing the impact of the poverty and abuse that she grew up with, to seeing the vulnerabilities present in her marriage, to realizing her desire to become a writer, to understanding that even her unconditional love for her own two daughters does not guarantee that love will always be reciprocated.   

Many of the struggles that Lucy reflects upon are ones that many of us can relate to, regardless of differences in background and status.  With that said, Lucy's role as a daughter and the nuances of her relationship with her mother resonated the most with me, as there were quite a few moments where I recognized aspects of her relationship with her mom (and with her family as a whole) that were similar to what I had experienced.  One particular conversation that Lucy had with her mom especially jolted me — the one where Lucy uses a certain word that surprises her mother, who in turn, comments that she must have learned to use that word after moving to the big city, to which Lucy replied that she didn't have to move to a big city to learn such things.  In that moment, Lucy could've called her mom out on her "willful ignorance" of the things that were happening under her roof at the time (things that contributed to the strain in their relationship all these years), yet she chose to keep her mouth shut.  Reflecting on this moment later, Lucy writes "I suspect I said nothing because I was doing what I have done most of my life, which is to cover for the mistakes of others when they don't know they have embarrassed themselves."  In reading this, I realized this is exactly what I've been doing with people in my own life, but especially with my mother whenever she says things (often in front of others) that are hurtful or insulting — in that one sentence, Strout (through Lucy) helped put words to something I've struggled with for a long time.  It is the power of being able to experience resonant moments like these that motivates me to be a lifelong reader — constantly learning, understanding, and reflecting on various aspects of my own life.

I know Strout wrote another book, Anything is Possible, that is a continuation of Lucy's story in a sense, though she is only a small part of that book in that she returns to her hometown to visit her siblings, but mostly it is a collection of short stories about people she reunites with there. While I do intend to read this second book at some point, I'm actually more excited to read her newest book, Oh William!, where Lucy tells her first husband's story.  Definitely can't wait!

Review: Tell Me Three Things (by Julie Buxbaum)

My Rating:  4 stars

I haven't been much of a YA reader for many years already — so long in fact that I can actually count the number of YA novels I've read over the past decade on one hand.  The reason I don't regularly read YA isn't because I have anything against the genre of course — rather, it has more to do with the fact that, after reaching a certain age and already having a certain amount of life experiences as well as insights under my belt, I sometimes find it hard to relate to the themes and characters often explored in books from the genre.  There are different reasons why I read and indeed, the way I experience a book each time will not be the same, however one thing that I look for each time I read is being able to connect to the story and/or the characters in some way.   Given everything that has been going on recently, both in the world and personally in my own life, that connection has become increasingly important in helping me better understand and make sense of things.  With all that said, one of the things I've noticed with my own reading experiences in recent years is that this connection to a story or characters or (in the case of non-fiction books) subject matter, more often than not, can happen unexpectedly – and sometimes without me even realizing it until afterwards when I'm sitting down to write a review and start reflecting on what I read.  This is exactly what happened with author Julie Buxbaum's Tell Me Three Things, her YA debut novel from 2016.  

To be very honest, this is not a book that I probably would've picked up on my own – the main reason I chose to read it is because it is one of the recommended books in my book club's summer reading guide, plus friends who've read it seemed to enjoy it (also my library hold for the book happened to come through).   It turns out that I ended up enjoying this one more than I thought I would.  Sure, the premise is simple, the plot is not tremendously exciting, and much of the story as well as the ending are super predictable – but that's fine because I wasn't expecting a complicated read and instead wanted something light and fun, which this book definitely delivered.  What worked for me the most with this book though were the characters, especially the main protagonist of the story, Jessie.  Even though I'm not a teenager and I finished school eons ago, I still absolutely connected with Jessie and the emotions she went through navigating the strange new environment she suddenly found herself in after moving across the country – new family, new house, new school, new friends etc.  Part of why I connected so strongly with Jessie though is because she reminded me so much of how I used to be in high school – bookish, quiet, solitary, not having many friends, not being much of a talker because I'm terrified of saying the wrong things and so would much rather "write" what I wanted to say than verbally say it, etc.  It felt nostalgic (and perhaps a bit surreal) to re-visit that period of my life through the eyes of a character whose personality hewed so closely to my own – an experience that doesn't come around often, that's for sure!

Overall, I found this to be a delightful read – funny, sweet, light-hearted, poignant and sentimental where it needed to be but not overly so.  Also, I loved the structure of the story, with the text messages between Jessie and "Somebody-Nobody" and also with her other friends interspersed so seamlessly throughout.  This type of structure can be risky depending on how it's done, yet Julie Buxbaum pulled it off so beautifully here.  It's been a long time since I've had so much fun reading a book, but more significantly, it provided a much-needed respite during this trying time.  Glad I got the chance to read this one and definitely recommended!

Review: The Perfect Nanny (by Leila Slimani)

My Rating:  3.5 stars

For me, this book was originally a solid 4 stars – that is, up until the ending (which I'll get back to later).  The opening scene was quite explosive and emotional, hooking me from the start in wanting to find out exactly what happened, why things turned out the way they did, how such a horrific tragedy occurred.  We are taken back in time to the very beginning where we are introduced to the Masse family – parents Myriam and Paul who have two adorable kids, toddler Mila and baby Adam – a seemingly ordinary family who decides to hire a nanny due to Myriam resuming her career as a lawyer.  Enter Louise, a young woman with a world of experience taking care of kids – not only are the kids charmed by her from the start, she also proves to be efficient in everything she does, whether cooking or cleaning or coming up with activities for the kids.  Myriam and Paul are thrilled that they have found the "perfect" nanny to take care of their kids, allowing them to immerse themselves into their careers without worry…as long as Louise is there, everything will be fine – that is the mantra that Paul and Myriam live by as they become increasingly dependent on Louise day-to-day….until one day when they realize everything ISN'T fine after all….

This was a slow-burn, character-driven story that doesn't really follow the traditional mystery/suspense/thriller format in that we already find out "what happened" and "who did it" within the first few pages, so the big question explored throughout the rest of the narrative was to understand the "why" and "how" – why did the nanny do what she did and how did things get to this point?   Originally written and released in France 2 years ago, this book was recently translated into English for the U.S. market – while some of the sentences did come off a little bit oddly structured, I would say that overall, the writing was quite good.  The author did a great job building up Louise's character, revealing her past in bits interspersed with parts of the investigation.  As Louise's relationship with the family slowly unraveled, the sense of creepiness and tension slowly heightened as well, reaching near breaking point – I was absolutely on the edge of my seat and felt like I couldn't turn the pages fast enough!  So I guess it shouldn't be a surprise then that I was disappointed with the way this book ended, which was very abruptly, with many questions still unanswered, plot points not yet resolved, many loops not yet closed.  My first thought when I got to what ended up being the last page was that perhaps something happened to my copy of the ARC when I downloaded and perhaps some pages went missing, so I immediately went back and re-downloaded the book – in all formats available – and checked each one to see if the last section was the same….when I found out they were and the story truly did end at the point it did, I was actually quite upset, as I honestly felt like I'd just been played.  It was akin to me waiting all season to finally watch that finale episode of my favorite TV show where everything will finally be revealed after building up the suspense for months, with my eyes glued to the TV set in eager anticipation, only to find out the finale was pre-empted last minute with no re-scheduled airing date planned (this is actually something that happened to be me before, way back in the day…).  I guess in a way, the ending ruined the book for me, as I'm the type of person who doesn't like to be left hanging – when I'm reading a book (or watching a TV series or a movie), I always need to have some type of closure, some indication that the story arc has ended…even if the intention is to continue with the story as a series with the same characters at a later point, this particular story needs to end first.  I didn't get that with this book and unfortunately, it ended up leaving a bitter taste in my mouth as a result.

Aside from the issues with the ending, this was an otherwise solid read that I actually do recommend for its compelling story and riveting characters.  The author is obviously a very talented writer and can craft a truly captivating story.  I would probably still read other books by this author but of course while crossing my fingers hoping that those endings don't turn out like this one did…

Received ARC from Penguin Group via Edelweiss

Review: Theresa Smith at the Court of Heaven (by Polly Walshe)

My Rating: 3 stars

I need to start off by saying that there is absolutely no significance behind why I chose to read this book. Technically, I came across it by chance, as I was looking through a few book summaries and this one looked interesting, plus it seemed like an easy read, so I decided to try it. Well, it turns out this book was nothing like I thought it would be.

First, the premise: 79-year-old Theresa Smith is suffering from a crippling terminal illness plus a plethora of other health issues. She lives by herself in an upscale convalescent home named Leonard Cohen Court (LCC for short), surrounded by other eccentric but amiable seniors and occasionally visited by her 2 adult daughters Abigail and Saskia as well as teenage granddaughter Poppy. One day, she is paid a courtesy visit by a health advisor from the nearby Makeway Clinic who tells her about a process called Life Enhancement. After that, a "health negotiator" from the same clinic shows up and after much persuasion, she eventually accepts the process, signs an agreement contract, and makes an appointment to have the process completed. The story begins with Theresa lying on a bed in a room at the clinic, on the day of the appointment, having a one-sided conversation – supposedly with Poppy, whom she believes is sitting at her bedside one minute but then the next minute is lying on her own bed in her own room listening to music -- and from there, on the brink of death, Theresa takes a long hard look at her life and in doing so, tries to seek justification for deciding to accept this "life enhancement" procedure. She wavers back and forth in her decision, at times thinking she wants it, at times thinking she doesn't. In the end, after reviewing the details of her life, she finally decides that she doesn't want the procedure after all….but is it too late?

Off the bat, it was very obvious from the start that this book is a satire, though it doesn't become clear, to me at least, until about half way through the book that the "world" Theresa Smith is living in is perhaps not real – that it is essentially a dystopian world where things seem to happen one way one minute but then change course the next minute and in the end we are left wondering whether those things ever occurred in the first place.

The first half or so of the book was entertaining enough and at times, I even found myself chuckling at some of Theresa Smith's observations about the people around her – be it her family, her friends and neighbors at the senior home, or the strangers who visit her. However, after the halfway mark, I started to lose interest, especially when some of the details started to repeat and became more tedious to read. The last third or so of the book was a bit of a chore to get through. There was a lot of dialogue that seemed like pointless conversation – conversations that were at times mundane, at times nonsensical, at times thought-provoking. The author deals with many sensitive issues in the book: in addition to the main topic of assisted suicide, there is also commentary (albeit subtly) on terminal illness, death, attitudes toward the elderly, family relationships, generation gap, social norms and conventions, education, politics, etc. In a way, it was a bit TOO much and at one point, I struggled to keep up. I also felt like the book was way longer than it needed to be and the flow was a bit off – some of the "stories" about Theresa's past felt like they were randomly inserted in sections where they didn't belong while other anecdotes and recollections made perfect sense where they occurred.

While the story is cleverly written, with a good amount of wit and sarcasm scattered throughout that did make the story entertaining at times, it is very obvious that this book is not for me. I appreciate the author's efforts though and she truly did do a great job in her development of the main protagonist in the story Theresa Smith. Even though I wasn't really able to get into the story itself, I still felt for Theresa and her struggles and ended up genuinely liking her as a character. I also appreciated the fact that the book did give me some "food for thought" on a few issues, which is something that I think most of us look for in every reading experience. In that regard, despite this book not being for me, I still found the reading experience satisfying, though obviously it won't be a book that I have any intention of re-reading.

Received  advance reader's copy from publisher via NetGalley.

(Read in March 2017)

Review: Last Things (by Betta Ferrendelli)

My Rating: 2.5 stars

This was a book I became aware of while browsing Kindle's lending library – upon reading the summary, the story sounded interesting so I decided to check it out. Overall, the story itself was not bad – in fact, there was actually a lot of potential for this to have turned into something great. Unfortunately, due to poor execution, a story that would have otherwise been emotionally moving and heart-wrenching turned out bland and lacking in emotional depth (for me at least).

To me, the main problem with this book was the writing, which was very inconsistent and distracting. Some parts were written in a way that felt choppy and abrupt while other sections I felt attempted to go the "literary" route with overly descriptive paragraphs that were unnecessary and didn't do much to further the plot, but then there were other parts that flowed well. This made the story come across as being all over the place and "true" character development swallowed up by stuff that didn't need to be there. All the characters in the book endure one dramatic/tragic event after another and I'm sure the expected reaction from us as readers was to sympathize and feel for them, to be moved by their plight, to applaud their ability to overcome in the face of adversity and the relationships that formed as a result. I'm sorry, but throughout the entire time I was reading, I just couldn't get into it – I found it difficult to connect with the characters on an emotional level, even though I know I was supposed to (and from the many glowing reviews this book received on Amazon, it sounded like everyone else did feel an emotional connection except for me). The main characters themselves, despite being inconsistently developed, were actually likable enough – the friendship between Bridgette and Alexis was admirable, Eda Mae and Blanche were there when they needed to be, and the little girl Eden was indeed very sweet. However, the situations they go through were too contrived, especially as it relates to the main character Bridgette – it was almost like the author was trying to throw every bad thing possible at this character and show how she was still able to rebound from all of it and therefore make the better person she becomes at the end more significant. In a way, it was too formulaic and predictable to be believable. I also felt as though Bridgette's story wasn't actually being "told" in the relatable way that it needed to be, but rather, it was merely being "reported" by an outside party similar to what we would see in a newspaper article.

Overall, I felt like the author tried too hard to give us an emotionally packed story and in doing so, crammed way too many "heavy" emotional topics into the story without giving adequate time to explore each one and tie it back to the development of the characters. Also, the last third or so of the book was essentially "fluff" that I ended up skimming through, as I felt like the author had already said everything she had intended to say a few pages back and so the rest was unnecessary – the loose ends could've been tied up in another page or two instead of dragging on for another 3 or 4 chapters.

Basically, I don't regret reading this book and I definitely don't feel it was a completely wasted effort, but if the book had gone on for longer (324 pages was way too long as it is), I very possibly would've abandoned it in favor of a better written book (and one that didn't have as many grammar/spelling/sentence structure errors too, though it wasn't significant enough of an issue to make the book unreadable for me).

(Read in January 2017)