My Friend Richard : A True Ghost Story by William Hart

My Friend Richard : A True Ghost Story is a well-written, short memoir. It includes, but is not limited to, William Hart's relationship with the spirit of Richard, his best friend from high school.

Richard died when he was 25 because he ran back into a burning building to try to save his guitar. This action is an indication of how wild and hyperfocused he could be and it's not the only irrational impulse Richard acted on during his short life. Those actions give us a picture of someone impossible to forget but also someone whose spirit would be determined enough to reach out to the friend he left behind.

My favorite chapter in Hart's book is the last one. In the previous chapters he told us of Richard's attempts to communicate and the effect this ghost had on his life. In the last chapter he discusses the reality of spirits among us. Here is an excerpt from this section:

“Western science, focused entirely on the material, denies or ignores the existence of a spiritual reality in the universe, making our physics terribly incomplete.”

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Love on the brain is silly at times but if you're looking for a light, fun read, it will do. The main character, Bee Königswasser, is a neuroscientist who also seems to be a space case. That term is appropriate, I suppose, since she is assigned to co-lead a NASA project with Levi Ward, an engineer. Levi is someone she believes hated her when they knew each other in college. She is always getting into situations requiring help from Levi and regrets each time he saves her.

"Lust" on the brain would be a more accurate title for the book since the story is about two people who find each other very attractive but have a difficult time communicating. The book has some graphic sex scenes but lacks the small things that lead to love. Still, the mishaps the characters get into are fun.

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Calling this book Normal People is like calling Picasso's Guernica a painting about people not getting along. Sally Rooney follows the relationship between Connell and Marianne, two young people living in Ireland who are attracted to each other but can't seem to commit. There are issues, Connell's mother is single and makes her living cleaning homes, one of which is Marianne's and Connell's mother is a kind and loving parent while Marianne's parents are not. But the main issue is their lack of ability to communicate. They are both constantly hiding their feelings and misinterpreting what the other says.

Although their relationship is too extreme for what I would call normal, I loved Rooney's writing and the depth of the character study. This is a book worth reading.

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Geraldine Brooks' novel, Horse, is an amazing work. I felt the emotions of all the characters in both the 19th century and modern sections. The topics the novel covers include art, horse racing, Osteology (the scientific study of bones), and racism in both antebellum America and current times.

In her afterward, Brooks mentions how she started to write the book about Lexington, the greatest stud horse in American history, but soon found she could not ignore the racism in the horse breeding and racing industries before emancipation. Many of the greatest horse trainers of the time were enslaved people. I knew indoor slaves were treated better than those in the fields but I had never thought of the treatment of slaves who had skills in high demand. Those people were respected at the tracks and sometimes put in positions of authority at the breeding farms but they were still owned and still had to navigate in a world where they were considered little more than livestock.

Although, I did find some of the interpretations of modern-day racism as seen through the eyes of Jess, one of the main characters, seemed simplistic, overall, Horse is a great read!

Let Me Die by Virginia Babcock

The best Sci-Fi novels are based on fascinating ideas. Let Me Die certainly fits that criteria. The novel's “what if” question is: What if a scientist figured out how to digitize a person's entire being, not only his memories but also his emotions and his capacity to create new emotions? Virginia Babcock's book has been compared to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein but this novel is more about relationships than the creation of a monster, especially the role of sex in relationships.

Nicoleta, the story's main character, experiences a relationship where sex is impossible, then moves on to other relationships where sex is tied to everything from love to sacrifice to rape. I could envision this book opening the door to some important questions in a book club. There are, however, some fairly graphic scenes. The book-club members should be aware of that before taking it on.

The title doesn't seem to fit the way the book plays out. It's as if the author chose a working title then, as novels often do, the story took off in an unexpected direction. However that happened, I'm glad it did. Let Me Die is better for its unexpected turns.

The Geomancer's Apprentice by Yin Leong

If you are a horror fan, The Geomancer's Apprentice is a perfect read for you. It's a well-written novel that includes graphic fight scenes against a horrible shape-shifting creature called a Yaoguai. Yet the book also has well-developed characters in relationships that are thoroughly explored. There's a middle-aged man who always thought he didn't live up to his father's expectations and a young romance that's beginning to take shape.

The book covered subjects I wasn't familiar with in an interesting way. These are feng shui and geomancy. I had heard of feng shui (a system of laws considered to govern spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to the flow of energy) but I did not know the related term geomancy (the art of placing or arranging buildings or other sites auspiciously). It was fun to learn a little about these topics.

The story begins when a young woman, Junie, approaches her uncle. His profession is to bless houses and offer advice about furniture arrangement and color choices. Junie's mother has convinced him to hire Junie, provisionally. Once Junie discovers what the job entails, she finds it interesting, researches the subject, and comes to her uncle with some basic knowledge. As time goes on they find she is a good fit to work with him.

Then they get a job at a house with more problems than they expected. Millie, the woman who owns the house, has had a frightening experience with something in her cellar, something she cannot explain. What happens after that is an adventure worth reading.

The Comeback by Lily Chu

 

The Comeback is Ariadne Hui's story. She is a young, Canadian woman who lives and works in Toronto. She starts dating her roommate's cousin and grows quite attached to him before discovering he's a pop star—actually a K-pop idol. This novel could be seen as two books in one, with the first half about Ariadne before she learns Jihoon's full story and the second about her dealing with the crazy fans of a famous person.

I don't know much about K-pop so I found this book fascinating. It delves into the problems for the musicians in those groups, not only the crazy fans but also the corporate control and the lack of respect from other musicians.

I enjoyed the multiple relationship problems that occurred throughout the story. Hannah (who is Ariadne's roommate) and Hannah's mother have some issues. Ariadne has issues with her sister, Phoebe, and both Phoebe and Ariadne have issues with their father. Throw those together with the problems of dating somebody famous and you've got a lot to work through.

When the book starts, Ariadne is a successful lawyer who wants to make partner in her firm but has to deal with racism and nepotism. It's fun to see how she handles her career while in a difficult relationship.

The Comeback is an audible only book, free to subscribers of audible.com. It's well worth picking up a copy.

At the end of Beach Read, Emily Henry wrote a section she called “Reader's Guide: Behind the Book.” In it, she said if she's describing this book to someone who is not a writer she says it's about “a disillusioned romance author and a literary fiction writer who make a deal to swap genres for the summer.” She then says if she's talking to a writer she says it's a book “about writer's block.” I didn't find the writer's block discussions and the pressure from her agent to be particularly interesting. However, the concept of the difficulties with writing the two different genres was fascinating. I believe it is the best part of this book.

The basic storyline of Beach Read is that a woman, January Andrews, who just lost her father discovers that he had a second life with a mistress with whom he shared a house on Lake Michigan. January's father has left the house to her. She goes to this beach house to find a place where she can concentrate on her writing. She is being pressured by her agent to produce a book over the summer and she is having trouble getting started.

January did not know about her father's affair but learns that her mother knew everything. Every time she asks her mother about the affair her mother says, “I don't want to talk about it.” So January is shocked and confused by her father's death, his affair, the way her mother allowed their life to go on without any changes, and how she has now inherited a place she didn't even know existed. Combine all this with the fact that January ends up living next door to Augustus Everett, someone she knew in college, which is, of course, a setup for romance.

The book is a fun read as the two writers get to know each other and rehash their feelings about misunderstandings they had years ago. It's also a serious book about dealing with tragedy and with disappointment in people you love.

What a Wonderful World This Could Be by Lee Zacharias

What a Wonderful World This Could Be is a fascinating character study of a woman coming of age in the early sixties. Alex was a loser in the lottery that determines our parents. She was the illegitimate daughter of a father who committed suicide and a mother who seemed to believe parents owe their children food, clothing, shelter, and little else.

Alex becomes a young woman searching for guidance in a world where she'd always been alone. Instead of making her own choices, she follows whatever paths her life throws her way. She becomes a photographer because the first man in her life was a photographer. The second love of her life is a leader in the political counterculture, supporting civil rights and opposing the Vietnam War. She follows him into a collective where she lives with members of the Weathermen branch of SDS (Students for a Democratic Society). The Weathermen (named after a line in a Bob Dylan song: “You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,”) was a branch of SDS who believed in using violence to achieve their goals.

Alex is a brilliant choice for the main character. She is the perfect foil for a study of the people drawn to The Weathermen. She is also concerned about traditional values such as love, family, and kids at a time when society is moving on from the repressive fifties. This novel is not just an exploration of the politics of the time. It touches on multiple aspects of that time. 

 

Circle of Darkness is a beautifully written story set during the 1930s at an upscale Louisiana Inn, located near the site where the Norwegian Wood Plantation once existed. The spirits of the people involved in a tragedy at that plantation, decades earlier, have a presence in that area.

Sonja Shivera is a twenty-four-year-old woman who supports herself as a paid companion to a mean-spirited elderly woman. They don't like each other but Sonja needs the job and the woman, Althea Stone, needs someone to help her with daily tasks such as dressing. They are staying at the Moorcroft Inn where Althea enjoys playing cards and talking with her friends. Meanwhile, Sonja meets some people closer to her age. Among those are two men she finds interesting, Freddie Marsh, who seems to like her, and Hajime Tanaka, a mysterious figure who floats in and out of her presence. There's also a woman named Anya Cambion whom Sonja finds disturbing.

Sonja has unusual qualities. She often drifts off into her thoughts, losing touch with the world around her. Here's a section describing her first conversation with Hajime Tanaka:

My movements as well as my thoughts were burdened by a confusing fogginess. When I glanced toward the other diners, it appeared that a pale, shimmering mist separated our table from theirs. I blinked to dispel it and made an effort to focus on Mr. Tanaka's words.

Circle of Darkness is filled with complex characters and Sonja is certainly one of them. I loved her realistic relationship with her employer and with Freddie. I also loved the slow build of the writing as Sonja discovers her role in the mysterious events occurring around her.

The Reeking Hegs by Pete Peru

The Reeking Hegs is a satire beginning in the form of a noir fiction novel. Nick Seighton is sitting around his office with his secretary Gina Lorrabitchinner when a call comes from Dogsson, the district commissioner. Nick is offered a case to chase the politician Atiqtalik who is running for office even though an offensive letter has been discovered among the entrails of a pregnant woman known as White Cow Walrus. The noir style is quickly abandoned and this book changes into something closer to an adventure story.

The novel is filled with characters with names such as Reverend Fullalov, Judge Aswell Whynot, King Solid Fume III, Rob Roy Rogers, and Little Knowing What, who is often referred to simply as What, which allows the author to do a little parody on the Abbott and Costello routine. As these names demonstrate, the humor in the book often comes from words used in strange ways: misusing terms, running words together, or simply putting in phrases in weird contexts. An example of this last one is “We listened intently. Sometimes there seemed to be more than one voice, making it difficult to make out individual words. But the message itself was clear: ‘Eat at Joe’s.’”

The satire is not confined to book genres. Other subjects are also targets of its pointed humor. Here the authors are taking on politicians:

Atiqtalik sensed that everyone in the crowd was watching, waiting to hear what she’d say next. She was centre stage, and almost in control. Power was, she conceded, a large pleasure and her desire for more knew no bounds. This was before she developed her unbearable loathing of eyes. She felt like belting out a verse or two as the edge of the precipice rushed towards her and leapt. Swinging her fists she pumped out a dance hall chorus, “Man ist was man ist!”

Characters in the book die often, then reappear later without much of an explanation, like something out of the old Roadrunner cartoons. The story has sections where the villains are molluscs allowing lines such as “To be safe I searched for the salt cellar in my leggings - never trust a mollusc.” It also has an odd scene where one of the main characters attempts to turn into a fish.

I loved the humor but felt it became redundant as the book went on. Perhaps this style would be better suited to a shorter format. I recommend this book to someone who likes satire and is looking for a unique read.

A History of Wild Places has interesting characters and plenty of tension but in places there are sections where someone has abilities that are over the top, even for the world Shea Ernshaw created. There is plenty to like about this novel so if you can suspend disbelief enough to accept those, this is a great story.

There is an interesting theme of materialism vs living close to nature. This subject is common but Ernshaw handles the subject in an unbiased manner. I liked that.

I listened to the audio version. The volume was a little uneven so I had to keep turning it up and down but the readers were good and the performance captivating.    

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

The Four Winds is a powerful book. It is written well and left me thinking about man's inhumanity to man. I learned a lot about the dust bowl era and I was pleased that Kristin Hannah covered the environmental issues with farming practices that were a factor in that tragedy. The characters are strong. I came to care about them a great deal which made it a difficult read but definitely a five star book.

I am an Amor Towles fan. I enjoyed The Lincoln Highway even though I did not feel it came up to Rules of Civility or A Gentleman in Moscow. The writing style was wonderful and the characters were sympathetic and interesting. However, the plot had a number of situations where things should not have worked out but always did.

Eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson and his eight-year-old brother, Billy travel from Nebraska to New York in search of Duchess and Wooley, two young men Emmett met while all three were serving sentences in a juvenile work farm in Salina, Kansas. Duchess and Wooley took advantage of Emmett's release to break out of the camp then proceeded to steal Emmett's car, which, along with some cash in the trunk, was the only thing of value he had left after his father's death.

Emmett and Billy change their plans to search for their long lost mother who is somewhere in California. They hop freight trains to chase down the people who betrayed them. They cross the United States with little knowledge of where to go but always managed to make the right decisions based on little information and run into people who help them when they need them.

What I liked the most about the novel were the strange characters. Emmett is naive but sincere and determined to protect his brother. Billy has a young boy's interests but manages to think things through in ways that are well beyond his years. Duchess has a morality that is at odds with most of the world. Wooley thinks about some important things in a naive and slow way but has a fascinating philosophy on life that rings true in many ways.

I recommend The Lincoln Highway to readers who are looking for stories that are a little different and who don't mind suspending their disbelief.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half is the story of two twin sisters who live in a town where everyone is a light-skinned African American. The plot follows these two sisters as they leave the town where they grew up and go off together. Eventually they split, with one sister marrying a dark-skinned black man and the other sister deciding to pass for white and marrying a white man who doesn't know anything about her background.

The book delves into the issue of “passing,” the term used for light-skinned blacks who decide to pretend they are white. (This practice was also dealt with in Philip Roth's novel, The Human Stain.) It's interesting how Stella begins to pass in a gradual way. She needs a job but finds she can't apply for most of the jobs she wants due to the racism of the time and place where she is living. So she applies for a position without mentioning her background and gets it. Little by little she has to live with this lie and little by little she begins to appreciate the advantages, which culminate in her marriage to her wealthy boss.

Meanwhile her sister, Desiree, ends up in an abusive marriage. She has to leave her husband and returns to the town where they were born. Both of the sisters have daughters and those two cousins get to know each other later in the book.

The concept of passing is an interesting topic on its own but what makes Brit Bennett's handling of it even more interesting is that she introduces a transgender man. I suppose she put this character into her story so readers will compare the process of changing from black to white with the process of changing from female to male. It was strange how different my reaction was. I sympathized with the trans man but the woman passing for white seemed to be living a lie, especially when she dealt with other blacks.

I like books that make me think and this one stuck with me for a long time. The characters were well-developed. I sympathized with them which kept me wondering what was going to happen next. This is a fine book, one I would recommend to anyone.