Bloodroot by Amy Greene

Bloodroot by Amy Greene
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bloodroot is a novel that needs some tightening, but tells an interesting story. The best part of the novel is the feel for life among the poor in backwoods Tennessee. I listened to the audio version, done with six narrators who were all excellent. Some of that success is to their credit. The author knows the culture well and created Byrdie, who is a fascinating and loveable character.

The book is structured in three parts which center around Myra Lamb and her family. It is written in first person with each part having two narrators, Part one covers the time when Myra is a teenager living with Byrdie, her grandmother. Doug Cotter, one of her neighbors, spends many hours with her on the mountain where they live. He and his brother, Mark, have both fallen in love with her, but Myra's interest lies elsewhere.

Part two jumps forward in time and centers on Myra's twin children, John and Laura. Part three moves back in time to cover the period between one and two. I suppose Amy Greene chose to arrange the novel this way because it's mainly Myra's story and wouldn't have worked well if her part was effectively over when the book still had a third to go. But I believe Greene would have been better off dropping most of part two or just including the highlights in a few reflections toward the end of the novel. There were some interesting sections of part two, but most of it didn't add to Myra's story. There were also some loose ends that didn't get resolved along with a large number that waited until the epilogue to get their resolution.

I noticed in some of the other reviews that a few readers objected to a lack of characters they could care about. I didn't agree with that comment. Although most of them had issues, there were some wonderful ones, such as Byrdie. As the story progressed it became centered on an abusive relationship which spiraled down as the novel moved forward. This aspect was hard to read because it was very well written. Overall, the story held my interest and presented ideas I thought about after I was done.

Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul and White Horse Regressions

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The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Long Goodbye is a book I should have read years ago. It was published in 1953 and has been very popular since it came out. Since most people who will read this review already know who Philip Marlowe is either from the books or the classic films, this will be just a brief reflection on my own impressions.

I love Raymond Chandler's style. He writes with detail and a rough attitude that is in most of the characters, but ultimately belongs to Marlowe because the book is from his point of view.

Here's a dialogue example:
“Talk it up. Who wants him?”
“The name's Marlowe.”
“Who's Marlowe?”
“This Chick Agostino?”
“No, this ain't Chick. Come on, let's have the password.”
“Go fry your face.”

And here's a narration example:
He handled the second slug with one hand. I did a fast washup in the bathroom and the bell of the timer went just as I got back. I cut the flame and set the coffee maker on a straw mat on the table. Why did I go into such detail? Because the charged atmosphere made every little thing stand out as a performance, a movement distinct and vastly important. It was one of those hypersensitive moments when all your automatic movements, however long established, however habitual, become separate acts of will. You are like a man learning to walk after polio. You take nothing for granted, absolutely nothing at all.

But it isn't just the Chandler style that appeals to me. His plot is complex and interesting. I had my theories as the book progressed. Most of them didn't turn out to be right, but some did. I like a detective story that's logical enough to figure out, but doesn't hit you over the head.

There were a few coincidences that weren't believable, I didn't like the way Marlowe met Terry Lennox in the beginning of the novel because they became too friendly too soon, and I thought it a bit implausible that there were so many drunken philanderers in Idle Valley. But those were minor gripes. This is a great book that everyone who likes crime stories should read.

Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul and White Horse Regressions

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Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book, but was disappointed by the ending and lowered my rating for that reason. There's no resolution to the only real conflict in the book. Eilis makes a decision and starts out on that path, but she's changed her mind before and might change it again. Also, we only get a chance to see how one person reacts to her decision and that reaction is both strange and limited. I skimmed through a few other reviews and discovered that there are people who enjoy a story that leaves its readers up in the air, but when so much is left to tell, I'm a reader who feels cheated.

Brooklyn is all about one character, Eilis, and all written from her point of view. She was born and raised in Ireland, but when she is a young woman she travels to America to find opportunity. Eilis draws conclusions about other people she knows, but often finds that her assumptions are wrong. Other reviewers have called Eilis spineless and it is true that she doesn't like to make her own life choices. Still, I would call her too nice for her own good rather than weak. She reminded me of Ado Annie from Oklahoma!, a girl “who cain't say no.”

I liked the focus on relationships in Colm Toibin's writing and the careful portrayal of Eilis' feelings, such as her homesickness and her jealousy of her sister. It's a beautiful picture of a young woman's life.

Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul and White Horse Regressions

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Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Still Alice by Lisa Genova
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are many different qualities that can make a novel wonderful. Some books introduce new ideas, some use careful, poetic language, and some describe settings so well their readers feel as if they've been on journeys. But Still Alice has the quality I consider the most important in a work of fiction. The characters in Lisa Genova's book are real enough for me to identify with their ambitions, joys, concerns, and tragedies. I have had a number of relatives and friends who have suffered with dementia and this fact helps me connect with the subject, but Genova's writing is what brings the people to life.

The book is about an accomplished woman, a Harvard psychology professor, who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Alice is an expert in linguistics, which makes the progression of her disease even more tragic. But the story isn't all negative. There's one important relationship in her life that improves as Alice is forced to learn to accept other people's opinions and to live in the moment.

Even though the book is written from Alice's point of view, it is about her friends and family almost as much as it is about her. Alice's ability to understand non-verbal communication grows as she loses her capacity to process language. In some ways this makes her a more attentive person, at least for a short period of time until she loses additional abilities. Here's a quote from a scene where Alice is watching her daughter, Lydia, rehearse a role in a play.

“Alice watched and listened and focused beyond the words the actress spoke. She saw her eyes become desperate, searching, pleading for truth. She saw them land softly and gratefully on it. Her voice felt at first tentative and scared. Slowly, and without getting louder, it grew more confident and then joyful, playing sometimes like a song. Her eyebrows and shoulders and hands softened and opened, asking for acceptance and offering forgiveness. Her voice and body created an energy that filled Alice and moved her to tears. She squeezed the beautiful baby in her lap and kissed his sweet-smelling head.
The actress stopped and came back into herself. She looked at Alice and waited.
“Okay, what do you feel?”
“I feel love. It’s about love.”

I loved the way I could feel what Alice was feeling. That process not only helped me enjoy the book, but I believe it will make me a better caretaker.

Recommending Still Alice is tricky, because some people who are or have been caretakers will benefit from seeing the process through Alice's eyes, while others will not be able to handle the emotions the story can reawaken.

Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul and White Horse Regressions

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The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Signature of All Things follows the Whittaker family through two generations. The first portion is about Henry Whittaker and the second is his daughter, Alma's story. I found Henry to be interesting and Alma fascinating. They both want what they don't have. Henry, who was born to a working class family, wants riches and respect. Alma, who was born to wealth, wants love, companionship, and sex. Although both stories are complicated and have many different elements, I found that Henry's story reads more like an adventure, while Alma's reads more like a character study.

As a child, Alma is isolated. She was born in 1800, in Philadelphia, where her family has more land and riches than any other family. The other children in her area treat her with deference, so Alma has little to do with them. But she has a brilliant mind and finds solace in study. Alma doesn't have anyone she can call a friend until Retta, a young girl from another wealthy family, becomes her neighbor. The relationship between Alma, Retta, and Alma's adopted sister, Prudence is critical to how the plot unfolds. One of my favorite aspects of this book is how Alma's opinion of the other two girls changes over time. There are a few surprises and, since this portion of the book is written mostly from Alma's point of view, readers don't discover these until Alma does.

There are times when the discussions of botany may get a bit tedious for some readers. (I noticed this was a common complaint in other reviews.) But I listened to the audio version and found Juliet Stevenson's narration moved well enough to keep my attention throughout the long novel. This is an excellent choice for readers who enjoy historical fiction.

Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul and White Horse Regressions

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My Father Moves Through Time Like a Dirigible by Gregg Cusick

The stories in Gregg Cusick's My Father Moves Through Time Like a Dirigible often reveal themes that aren't evident until the reader is well into the text. The title story is one of those, starting with an elderly man trying to convince a school principal to produce a play based on the 1925 wreck of the Shenandoah, an American blimp. Slowly, through conversations with the principal, the man's background is revealed and reasons for his interest in that tragedy become evident. Dozen Wheelbarrows is another work that uses a slow reveal to let the reader understand its theme. Cusick writes each story from the point of view of a limited number of characters and generally keeps to the present tense. He handles these techniques beautifully, providing an intense picture of his characters' thoughts, which wander and circle, but always wind back to where they need to be.

In Welding Girl, one of my favorites in the collection, a young woman uses the experience of learning a new skill to deal with her insecurities and with a family tragedy. The details of the welding process serve as a metaphor for her life in ways that are unique and fascinating. This story, like all the others, works on multiple levels that come together powerfully. Another story, Ghosts of Doubt, has a teacher, the main character, leading his class in a study of Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim. During the process he internally relates the pivotal event of his own life to the experience of Conrad's title character, losing himself in the power of that comparison while his students watch and worry.

Every story in this collection builds at a perfect pace and creates the intense, emotional impact that makes reading fiction so wonderful.

Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul and White Horse Regressions

Dead on the Trail by Susan Williamson

Dead on the Trail by Susan Williamson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dead on the Trail is a fun whodunit that becomes a great read due to the fascinating details of its setting.

The novel takes place on a horse farm run by Molly Lewis and her husband John. Molly is exercising her horse, Kip, on a trail partially owned by the couple from whom they rent the farm and partially by their neighbor. Molly's dog, Bingo, is following her when he senses something off to the side of the trail. It turns out to be a dead body. Once the victim is identified, he turns out to be someone who was almost universally disliked, which means there are plenty of people with motives. The police show up, but they are fairly useless, so it falls on Molly to investigate. All the characters are interesting whether they are friends of Molly, suspects, or police.

For the first part of the book Molly's husband is out of town, judging a horse show. Molly needs to take care of their farm while she looks into the murder. She's spending time cleaning stalls, feeding and exercising horses, dealing with sick horses, giving riding lessons, working on ways to increase the farm's income, and playing nursemaid to her landlord's troubled daughter, Sarah. All these tasks increase the pressure on Molly and the tension in the plot. Here's a sample of the detail:

First up was Betsy in a walk, trot canter class for riders 14-17. The practice show started with the more advanced riders in hopes that the horses would be tired and slow by the time the little riders came along. The classes were judged on the rider, not the horse, but a good horse always made the rider look better. Betsy was showing Honey for the first time. Honey, a former show mare, would be up for the class, the challenge would be to make her walk. Molly gave her a leg up and they went to the make-up ring early. The mare looked around, but settled quickly to work.

Most people who know something about the horse industry know it from the side of the customers. These are people who love animals, love competition, and love being outdoors. It's a pricey hobby, but one that can provide an escape from day to day stress. Dead on the Trail shows the horse industry from the side of the farm managers. These are people who have to learn how to market their lessons, their horses for sale, and their boarding facilities. They have to work hard, physically. They have to be willing to give up a horse they care about if someone offers the right price. And they have to understand horse health enough to call the vet when necessary, but not to waste money on calls that aren't needed. This is a 24/7 occupation, but these people wouldn't be in the industry if they didn't love the animals. They make sacrifices for that love.

Dead on the Trail is a perfect book for readers who like mysteries and horses.

Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul and White Horse Regressions


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