March Books

Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver, 2018

The novel alternates between the 21st and 18th Century, residents of a house in Vineland, New Jersey. Based on historic figures from the 18th Century, fictional Thatcher Greenwood befriends Mary Treat, naturalist and professional corespondent to Charles Darwin and Asa Gray. 

Willa Knox, the modern resident of Vineland, struggles with her husband's ailing father, two adult children who have fled back home due to tragedies, and a home that is literally falling apart.

As the story progresses, the stories come together and are cleverly tied together by the last words of the chapters resulting in the name of the following cross-century chapter. The story of Willa Knox struggling with financial challenges, even from her Harvard-educated son, was compelling; while the 18th Century chapters I found a bit tedious, despite the real events of a cult leader and murder.

I took this book with me to a vacation to Hollywood, Florida and despite being more than halfway through the book, did not finish the book during the vacation. I fell asleep twice while reading about the story unfolding during the 18th Century...

The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng, 2023

Taking place in Cassowary House in Penang, Malaysia, The House of Doors is based on historical events, centering around the visit of Somerset Maugham. The story revolves around Leslie Hamlyn, an angmoh (Malay for white person), who is married to Robert, an old friend of Maugham.

There are secrets and scandals (affairs galore!) that unfold during the visit, including remembrances of the time when revolutionary Dr. Sun Yat Sen, leader of the Tongmenghui party, lived in Penang in the 1910 while fleeing from his Chinese countrymen. 

Having spent time in Bali, reading the novel transported me back to Malaysia. It provides the context of the Chinese, as well as the English, in Malaysia as well as piquing my interest in Maugham. I had heard of the famous writer, but was not familiar with his life or works. Now, I look forward to learning more about him through his novels (I don't tend to read plays) and biographies.

A lovely story filled with twists, The House of Doors is an enjoyable read that effortlessly transported me to another place and time. Similar to Eng's previous works, The House of Doors was longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize.

Trust by Hernan Diaz, 2022

With a unique story-telling format, Trust captivated me from the beginning. While reading the second part of the novel, I was a bit confused as to where the narrative was going. Unfortunately, I let this distract me.  However, the third part managed to tie all the pieces together.

Mainly set in the the 1920s, Trust is the story of the great wealth created by financiers moving money around through buying and selling of stocks. Along with great wealth, comes notoriety, secrecy and gossip. The book starts off with a fictionalized version of Andrew Bevel, who is driven to correct accounts of his and his late wife Mildred's life story with an autobiography.

Ida Partenza is hired to help Bevel write his autobiography. She represents the third voice in the story. Along with the reader, Partenza works to puzzle out the true story of the mysterious Bevels.

When the truth is uncovered and a new light is presented, it will make you want to re-read the novel to put the pieces together as you realize that assumptions that are made are misleading. 

Trust is the 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner, along with Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead.

The Things We Didn't Know by Elba Iris Pérez, 2024

I stayed up until midnight to finish this book. The Things We Didn't Know is a story of Puerto Rican siblings who grow up in a western Massachusetts town called Woronoco, where their father works at a paper plant. Based on a true town, Woronoco is an isolated community where Andrea and Pablo grow up and struggle to fit in.

They deal with the prejucides of being Puerto Rican and not 'American' (despite the fact that they are Americans), and struggles with idenity and racism.

Part of the novel takes place in Puerto Rico, where Andrea and Pablo's mother takes them after suffocating in the isolation of Woronoco and the strict confines of their traditional Puerto Rican father Don Louis.

From memorable family members (Tia Machi, Tia Florencia, Socorro, Tia Perfecta) and friends (Tito, Hannah, Emily, Frankie, Donnie), we follow Andrea and Pablo from childhood to adulthood.

The chapters in Puerto Rico are so rich and full of emotion. I do wish that Pérez delved more into the serious topics that occurs in the book: identity, racism, abuse, and mental illness.

I'm Baaacckk

Five years later (wow....), it's me again. I have always been reading, but work and life has taken me away from this blog. It is a new year and a new decade for me, so I am back at it.

I started the year finishing Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead after reading Patrick Radden Keefe's Empire of Pain and becoming obsessed with the opiod epedimic and the Sackler family's role in it. 

I have been turned back onto Zadie Smith after discussing the author with some friends. I remember becoming enthralled with White Teeth when it was first published in 2000 (although I cannot recall what it is about...) and then being disappointed with her follow-up. Since her seminal work, she has become a prolific writer and I enjoyed both Swing Time and On Beauty The latter was especially fun to read given that the novel takes place in Boston and what looks to be Cambridge, reflecting Smith's tenure as a Resident Fellow at Radcliffe.

Over time, I have come to appreciate and even prefer female writer. The voice tends to be different and something that resonates with me more. As I have matured, I realize certain truths about reading that reflect me. In my 20s and part of my 30s, I finished every book I started. No matter how tedious. I suppose it was a matter of principal. No books life behind! I let go of that and now have no problem closing a book and leaving the characters forever, fate unknown, even after investing 80 pages into their lives.

I have always noticed the difference in voices, including along gender lines. I relate more to a woman's voice. Not that I will only read books by female authors, but I am more true to what I read (versus what I should read) and the books I have read reflect this.