More New Books!!
The Calamity Club, Katherine Stockett–Remember The Help? How could one forget it? Now Katherine Stockett has another book–this time set in Oxford, Mississippi, during the Great Depression. Three unique and strong-willed female characters form a club so that mutual support can steer them through hard times and societal pressures. Reviewers praise Stockett’s writing and character development; but, more than that, they stress the entertainment value of the read. It’s a long read, by the way, but worth it according to most readers.
The Things We Never Say, Elizabeth Strout–For this book, I shall defer to my friend Becky of beckyonbooks. Becky loves Elizabeth Strout and Olive. So do I. She says that she immediately bought The Things We Never Say and knew from the beginning that she would read the book twice. It’s just that good! Excuse me, Becky, but I can not talk about this book as well as you do, so here goes: “The story of Artie Dam, high school history teacher, husband, father, neighbor and sailor has much to say about life in 2026 America. Like many of us Artie appears to be living a full and comfortable life. But he is filled with questions and loneliness. He senses his isolation, his need for connection. And then he learns a shocking secret. He must now consider how to handle his most impostant relationships and his future. Artie, like many of us today, is dealing with questions of love, family, friends, loss, change, loyalty and community. Strout poses those question in stunning simplicity. And I need to have second chance to consider them!” Maybe you will want to give this book a try. I know that I do!!
The Midnight Train, Matt Haig–It’s The Midnight Library all over again, or is it? This time Haig writes about an 81 year old billionaire who, after his death, boards a magical train that travels backwards through his memories. The protaganist visits all his old regrets, knowing he can’t do anything about them now. I’m not at all sure how productive such a journey would be, but if you are a Matt Haig fan, you will enjoy his new take on an old theme. And this time around, readers report that the novel is much lighter in tone than The Midnight Library.
The Young Will Remember, Eve J. Chung–This book is a historical novel about a Chinese American war correspondent, Ellie Chang, who is stranded behind enemy lines during the Korean War. To save her, a North Korean woman claims Ellie as her own daughter and together they navigate the perils of women during war time. It is a thrilling story with two very captivating characters. As NPR reviewer Dhanica Pineda put it, “…… in a war, some people have a heart of gold. Many have hearts that are hardened. But every person has a heart that bleeds.” In this book, you will meet both kinds of people.
