Review: Little Fires Everywhere (by Celeste Ng)

My Ratings: 5 stars

Wow, what a story!   As I try to gather my thoughts to write this review, I am finding it difficult to do because there were too many things that made this book so wonderful!  The premise sounded simple enough – a wealthy family living in a progressive suburb called Shaker Heights, where every aspect of the community is carefully planned out and everyone lives idyllic, picture-perfect lives shielded from the "unpleasantness" of the outside world.   Guided by the philosophy that "as long as you follow the rules, everything will be fine," Elena Richardson is the ultimate embodiment of the Shaker spirit – she leads a perfectly maintained privileged life, married to a successful attorney husband with 4 "perfect" kids (2 boys and 2 girls), living in a big, beautiful house, doing a job she loves and surrounded by close friends who all think and act like her.   For Mrs. Richardson -- who was born and raised in Shaker Heights and whose ancestors had proudly upheld the planned community's ideals for 3 generations – it is unfathomable that anyone would choose to live any other way than the way she and her family and her entire community does.  Into this idyllic setting enters Mia Warren, an enigmatic and intriguing artist who brings with her a fatherless 15-year-old daughter named Pearl – hoping to settle down after years of living a nomadic life, Mia rents a small house from the Richardsons (an arrangement Mrs. Richardson wholeheartedly agrees to because, after all, how can someone who leads such a "perfect" life as hers not have a "compassionate" and "charitable" heart?).  As the lives of the 2 families become more and more entangled, things happen that reveal the deep dysfunction that actually lies just beneath the surface of this community, the Richardson family in particular.  As "reality" sets in and things fall apart around her, Mrs. Richardson sees her carefully curated bubble start to burst, which eventually triggers in her the obsessive need to dig up Mia's past and expose her in a desperate attempt to get her "perfect" life back.  The results of this obsession proves to be unexpected as well as devastating.

Author Celeste Ng writes beautifully – she has a skillful way with words and her storytelling draws you in completely.  From the first sentence all the way to the very last word, I was captivated by this well-crafted story with its well-developed, complicated, yet extremely realistic characters – to be honest, I didn't want this story to end.  It's not often that a book comes along where the characters are explored so deeply and flushed out so completely without sacrificing the story or the writing in any way.  While there were some characters that I didn't like at all and others who were unequivocally endearing, all of them I felt like I understood and could empathize with.  I loved how the characters were drawn so realistically – the portrayal of Mrs. Richardson, for example, with her "holier than thou" attitude and "sweet as pie" platitudes trying to mask the hypocrisy and unethical nature of her actions was truly spot-on!  The story itself explored so many different issues, complicated societal issues such as family, mother/daughter relationships, teenage angst and rebellion, racism, etc. yet this was done in a way that presented both sides while still remaining neutral from a narrative standpoint – something that is extremely difficult to do!  As a reader, I appreciated being presented with both sides and letting me decide for myself what side I wanted to be on.

One of the things I saw in this book that I rarely see nowadays with contemporary authors was the use of allusions and foreshadowing woven so seamlessly throughout the entire story.  The number of direct and indirect references to "fire" and all its different iterations (blaze, sparks, flames, flare, smoke, torch, ember, etc.) from the book's awesome title was astounding, but what I loved most was how these references were so thoughtfully relayed through such beautiful writing!  I would quote passages if I could but seeing that I read an ARC version of the book, probably best not to – besides, there were so many great "fire" related passages that deciding which ones to include and which ones not to would be a nightmare for me, lol.  You will just have to read the book and discover them for yourself! ;-)

My only complaint is a little bit of dissatisfaction with the ending – not because the loose ends weren't tied up (I actually like the fact that Ng went with a non-traditional ending), but because I was so invested in the characters already that I wanted to know what ultimately happens to them, wanted the story to continue on so I could keep spending time with them (part of me also wanted to see some type of comeuppance for the deplorable Mrs. Richardson, whom I detested from the beginning of the story to the very end, lol).  But of course, the ending reflects how real life works and I am perfectly fine with that!

This book made me think and reflect on a lot of things but most of all, it made me think about life and all its complexities.  No matter how much we may want to -- try to -- plan or control things, life happens and more often than not, takes on directions that we don't expect, can't anticipate, can't control, and oftentimes can't change.  Whether good, bad, or indifferent, when life happens, even the best-laid plans cannot help us avoid it..  Wonderful book, highly recommended!!!

Received advance reader's copy from Penguin Press via Penguin First to Read program and Edelweiss.

Review: The Space Between Words (by Michele Phoenix)

My Rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

This book turned out to be a bit different from what I expected it would be, though not necessarily in a bad way.  Originally, when I had read the synopsis of the book (which is what had prompted me to request it from NetGalley in the first place), I was expecting a dual timeline historical fiction novel with equal (or near equal) emphasis on both the historical and contemporary storyline, as this type of narrative structure seems to be the norm nowadays with this genre.  Michele Phoenix’s The Space Between Words turned out to be a “different” type of book in that the story is actually a contemporary one, albeit with some historical elements woven in.  The main narrative revolves around events that took place not too long ago (in 2015), with a small portion of the book jumping briefly back to a historical event that took place back in the 17^th century.

The story takes place at the end of 2015, right after the horrific terrorist attacks on the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, France.   The main character is thirty-four-year-old Jessica, who was in attendance at the concert along with one of her friends when gunfire erupted in the main chamber of the concert hall.  Jessica endured injuries during the shooting and even though she survived and was physically on the path to recovery, the emotional wounds were far from healed.  Wrestling with the emotional trauma from her ordeal and haunted by memories from that fateful day that she wanted desperately to forget, Jessica’s first instinct was to flee France as soon as possible.  However, after some persuasive encouragement from her roommate and best friend Patrick, who had been steadfastly by her side the entire time, Jessica decides to take his advice and continue on with the treasure-hunting trip that the two of them had planned prior to the attack, in the hopes that it will help Jessica with her healing process.  During the trip, Jessica discovers an antique sewing box with old documents inside, which she finds out upon having them translated that they date back to 1695 – pages written by a young French woman named Adeline during a time when the Huguenots in Catholic France were being persecuted for their religious beliefs.  Seeking emotional healing from her own ordeal, Jessica is drawn to Adeline’s narrative and, along with the new friends she meets during her trip, she sets out on a journey to find out the rest of Adeline and her family’s story as they attempted to flee religious persecution in 17^th century France.

I struggled a bit with how to rate this book, as I definitely enjoyed the story overall:  the writing was excellent, the characters were likable, and the author did a good job weaving past and present events into the narrative.  I especially liked how the history of the Huguenot persecution from the 17^th century was presented in the form of Adeline’s story – this was a time period and event that I knew next to nothing about so I appreciated getting some exposure to that part of history in a way that was accessible but also heartfelt.  The timeliness of the novel in taking on the Paris terrorist attacks and its aftermath also makes this a book that is necessary and should be read given the current situation not just in the U.S. but also around the world.  With all that said however, there were definitely some issues with the plot – mainly the contemporary part about Jessica and her experience – that I found difficult to ignore and detracted from the story.  Some parts of the plot felt a bit too “contrived” and at times, I found myself questioning the plausibility of some of the things that occurred.  I also felt that some parts of the book came across a bit “preachy,” which I guess wasn’t too surprising given the religious context with the main events in the book (I found out later that this book is being marketed as Christian fiction, which, while it has no bearing on whether I would’ve read this book or not, since I read across genres and base my decision to read on the book’s synopsis as well as recommendations from friends, it did explain where the “preachiness” came from).  Fortunately, the religious aspect wasn’t too overdone so I think those who aren’t interested in the religious part can still read and enjoy the story.  On the positive side, there was a “twist” at some point in the narrative that was totally unexpected and I felt was done well.  The “mystery” element with Jessica discovering bit by bit what eventually happened to Adeline’s family was also done well and for me, the history part was a huge redeeming factor for the flaws in the main narrative.

In the end, I decided on a rating of 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4, as I felt the positives outweighed the negatives for the most part and the writing was truly very good, plus the story was engaging.  I would definitely recommend this one for those who like contemporary stories with a historical element as well as a little mystery and romance thrown in.  I would also recommend reading the final published version of the book rather than an advance copy, as the ARC I received was missing the Author’s Notes section.  I’m a huge fan of Author’s Notes and actually feel this section is necessary (perhaps should even be mandatory) when the book deals with real life historical events.  I will admit to being a little disappointed with the lack of Author’s Notes in my version, though not really a deal-breaker since I can borrow a final version later on and read the notes at that time.

Received ARC from Thomas Nelson / Harper Collins publishing via NetGalley

Review: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (by Gail Honeyman)

My Rating: 5 stars

Wow! It's hard for me to put into words how TERRIFIC this book was! As soon as I finished reading, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that this would be 5 stars – in fact, if I could give more stars, I absolutely would (knowing how stingy I am with 5 star ratings, that's definitely saying a lot)!

Judging from the reviews I've read, it seems that for most readers, the character of Eleanor Oliphant was not too likable at first, but then she eventually grew on them as the story progressed. For me – well, I actually LOVED Eleanor from the getgo! Her quirky personality, her social-awkwardness and the "unique" world-view she seemed to have on things that always made her come across as "weird" to others, her obsessive-compulsiveness with things such as hygiene, safeguarding her personal info, proper speech and etiquette, her stubborn persistence and insistence on doing things a certain way, etc. -- all of these things were oh so familiar because I actually knew someone exactly like Eleanor (she was a former co-worker of mine at the company I used to work for). As I was reading about Eleanor's successful and not-so-successful attempts at social interaction (most of which made me smile or laugh, especially with the "spot-on" descriptions of the other parties' reactions), I couldn't help thinking about my former co-worker – whom we all loved dearly -- and shaking my head in wonder at the similarities. The scene at the computer shop, the pizza delivery episode, the name thing at the coffee shop, the initial "meeting" between Eleanor and Raymond and the subsequent "impression" that she has of him – I laughed as I read because so many of those scenes were déjà vu for me, having experienced them (or a variant of those same scenarios) with my co-worker friend at some point. It was fun getting the chance to relive all those hilarious moments with a friend I adored!

Fun and humor and personal connection aside though, there was also a serious element to this book with the story of Eleanor's past – the rough childhood, the many negative experiences she had, and most significantly, the tragic "incident" that had left her physically, mentally, and emotionally scarred. I found tears streaming down my face at certain points and my heart went out to Eleanor during those moments when her overwhelming sense of loneliness and self-loathing would get the best of her. I felt simultaneously angry and sad hearing Eleanor's phone conversations with her "Mummy" and finding out bit by bit the horrible way that she had been treated by her mother – the manipulation, the abuse, the utter hatred that it is unfathomable for any mother to ever have against her own child. Those parts were heartbreaking to read, but they were powerful -- for me especially, it made me reflect on my own relationship with my mother and how the misunderstandings and quarrels we've had over the years seem so petty now. The author Gail Honeyman did an excellent job with the characterization of Eleanor as well as the other significant characters in the story (such as Raymond, Sammy, Eleanor's mother, etc.). These were all characters that I won't easily forget and Eleanor I know will always have a special place in my heart!

I would be amiss not to mention the writing in this book, which was beautiful and perfect. Honeyman has a masterful way with words and I was absolutely drawn in from the first page – when I started reading, I got really into Eleanor's story and found it difficult to break away for even a few minutes. The fact that this book was a roller coaster ride for me emotionally also speaks to Honeyman's immense talent as a writer. Rarely does a book take me through such a wide range of the emotional spectrum, but this one definitely did: I laughed at the many funny moments created by Eleanor's witty observations of the people and things around her, I cried during those heartbreaking moments when Eleanor painstakingly wrestled with the demons from her past, I felt sadness and sympathy for what Eleanor had to go through at such a young age and how that shaped who she became, and anger at how she was treated by her mother and the grip her mother still had on her that affected her ability to feel any emotion and move on with her life.

When I found out that this was Honeyman's debut novel, I just about fell out of my chair – for sure I will be in line for whatever Honeyman decides to write next! Absolutely recommended read!

Review: The Green Phoenix (by Alice Poon)

 My Rating: 3 stars

Most Westerners who have studied or read Chinese imperial history are probably very familiar with famous female monarchs such as Empress Wuzetian from the Tang dynasty and Empress Cixi from the later Qing dynasty.  There have been countless books and stories written over the years about these two famous female rulers of ancient China, which is of course not surprising from a historical perspective given the direct impact these two women had in shaping China’s imperial history.  While both women definitely deserve their place in the history books and in the numerous fictional and non-fictional accounts that have been written about their lives, there is another woman – Empress Xiaozhuang from the early Qing dynasty – who equally deserves to be brought to the forefront and recognized for her contributions to imperial Chinese history.  Alice Poon’s new novel The Green Phoenix does exactly that – it brings to the forefront this remarkable woman who, despite never having ruled over imperial China directly, played a tremendous role in the establishment of one of the most famous ruling dynasties in Chinese history.

China has a rich and complex history dating back thousands of years, so I can understand how difficult it would be to choose one particular time period to write about.  The time period that Poon chose to set her fictional story against was especially complex given it was what I would classify as a “limbo” transitional period where the Ming dynasty was mostly toppled already but hadn’t officially ended, while the Qing dynasty as we know it hadn’t yet been established.   Being quite familiar with this period of Chinese history already as well as the place that Empress Xiaozhuang had in it – namely the influence she had on her son, Emperor Shunzi, and her grandson Emperor Kangxi – I appreciated the opportunity to learn more details about Xiaozhuang’s life and her transformation from a young, free-spirited Mongolian princess (whose actual name was Bumbutai) to one of the most revered and influential Empresses in Chinese imperial history.   Poon’s narrative is meticulous in its recounting of historical detail, which, as a history fanatic, I absolutely appreciated – however from the perspective of this being a novel, a work of fiction, I feel that the rich historical detail detracted a bit from the flow of the actual story.  At times, this read more like a nonfiction book than fiction, especially the sections about the various battles and military conquests that occurred, the numerous instances of scheming and infighting within the Emperor’s inner palaces, etc.  I found myself time and time again wanting to get back to Empress Xiaozhuang’s personal story and wanting to understand more her internal struggles and thought process instead of being interrupted by details of everything that was happening around her (some of which didn’t really have anything to do with her directly). 

With that said though, there is no doubt that this book is well-researched and it is also quite well-written.  I applaud Poon for her meticulous attention to historical detail, as I understand how hard it is to write good historical fiction – the challenge constantly being trying to accurately establish the historical context while still giving the story its own unique voice.  In this case, there were times when the story faltered in favor of the history, which for me, affected my ability to connect with the story and the characters – especially the main character Empress Xiaozhuang – as much as I would have liked.  The “fiction” part in terms of the story didn’t quite work for me, but the “historical” piece was absolutely top notch.

This was a solid and sincere attempt to bring a less widely known aspect of Chinese history to Western readers and as a long-time student of Chinese history, I absolutely appreciate Alice Poon’s effort!  I recommend this book to those interested in learning about China’s imperial history and especially about the establishment of the Qing empire as well as the role that Empress Xiaozhuang played in it.

Received advance reader’s copy from Goodreads friend Alice Poon for review.

Review: The Alice Network (by Kate Quinn)

My Rating: 5 stars

In the past few months, I've read my fair share of books either set in or about WWII and a handful about WWI, but up to this point, I hadn't read anything that covered BOTH wars.  The Alice Network by Kate Quinn did just that – it presented a wonderfully written, captivating dual timeline story about two women from different generations, their lives impacted by the wars in different ways, whose paths eventually cross when fate brings them together.  In the first narrative, which takes place in 1947, we meet Charlie St. Clair, a feisty American college girl from a well-to-do family who had just gotten herself into major "trouble" by becoming pregnant out of wedlock. She is banished to Europe to "take care of" the problem of her pregnancy, after which she would be accepted back into the family again, but once there, Charlie runs off instead to search for her cousin Rose, whom she loved like a sister, holding out hope that Rose might still be alive despite disappearing a few years back in Nazi-occupied France during WWII.  Charlie's search brings her to the door step of Eve Gardiner, a woman in her fifties who looks much older due to years of drinking herself to oblivion in efforts to escape the "ghosts" of her past.  Through Eve, we are transported back to 1915, during the Great War (WWI), when she is recruited to join the Alice Network, a network of female spies across Europe who collected intelligence for the Allied forces to use against the enemy.   Eve is sent to German-occupied France where she meets other members of the network as well as its fearless leader Lili, who also goes by the name Alice Dubois.  From there, we are given insight into the fascinating yet complex world of espionage as we follow Eve's life as a spy and bear witness to the horrific experiences she and the others go through as well as the great risks they take for their countries. 

I'm drawn to books with strong female protagonists and with this one, we get plenty of them in the characters of Eve, Charlie, Lili, and even side characters such as Violette and Rose.  It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I grew to love the characters in this story and found myself rooting for them to the very end.  The author did a great job with the characterizations of the main players especially – defiant and rebellious Charlie, whose love for her cousin and her family despite all the issues really enamored her to me; hot-tempered Eve whose experiences during the war left her broken and hardened toward life, choosing to spend the rest of her days drinking, cursing, and threatening to blow people's brains out with her ever-present Luger, yet I have nothing but utmost respect and admiration for her;  the charming Scotsman Finn, who captured my heart from the start with his sense of humor and personality and the way he stood supportively by Eve despite the way she often treated him.  I loved Lili too, even though she technically wasn't the main character of the story despite being the key figure off of which the Alice network is based.  All of these characters were fictitious, but some were based on real people and I was surprised to read in the Author's Note at the end of the book all the factual elements that drove the story.  The history fanatic in me is grateful that the author listed so many of her sources as well as all the additional material at the end of the book – I actually wrote down quite a few of the titles for further reading, as this book triggered my curiosity about the real Alice network and I want to find out more about it as well as the women whose stories were touched upon in this book.

I liked how the author addressed the various societal issues that were prevalent during Eve's time period as well as Charlie's.  Gender issues, class issues, attitudes toward women, impact of war, etc. – it was interesting to see how all of that was dealt with in both eras and how, sadly, there is much that hasn't changed, even today.  This book brought to light the challenges of being a spy, especially a female one, due to the double standards that existed – it was disheartening to see how these brave women risked their lives day in and day out while already getting little reward or recognition for their work, yet they still had to battle the gender stereotypes imposed on them internally, at times even having to "fight" to be believed or trusted!  There was one part where Eve finds out one of her reports was brushed aside and not believed by the higher ups, resulting in disastrous consequences that could have been prevented, which leads her to question whether everything she and the other women in the Alice network did were in vain – it was heartbreaking to read but it also angered me, especially when I found out (from the Author's Note) that this was a true event that happened to the real Alice Dubois.

I was also fascinated by the world of espionage and the lives of the female spies as depicted in the book.  Earlier in the year,  I had read a nonfiction book about female spies during the WWII era, but I feel like I learned more from this fictionalized account than that nonfiction one -- the way that author Kate Quinn was able to take real events and people and integrate them so seamlessly into a fictionalized story, yet still maintain such historical accuracy truly speaks to her skill and talent as a writer of historical fiction.  I'm definitely interested in reading her other works at some point in the future.

This book is highly recommended and even though it didn't "blow me away" like other war-themed books have, I still loved it nonetheless!  And I totally agree with other reviewers who have said that once they started reading the book, it was hard to put down – I ended up plowing through the entire 500+ page book in 3 days (which is a record for me!), neglecting the other books I had already started and will now need to get back to, lol.  If you pick this one up, be ready for an engrossing story and a hugely enjoyable read!