Tag Archives: Literary Fiction

September 2, 2015 · 1:18 pm

Review: The Household Spirit by Tod Wodicka

I received an advanced review copy of this title from the publisher through Edelweiss.

My Review:
The Household SpiritI finished reading this book last week and I kept thinking about what to write for my review.  On the one hand I absolutely loved the characters in this book, but on the other hand the ending was disappointing.  But I think in the end it is a worthwhile book to read because of the strong characters and relationships that are developed throughout the course of the novel.

Howie Jeffries has been living in the same house in rural upstate New York for thirty years.  After a few years of marriage, Howie’s wife moved out with their young daughter and so Howie has been living in his house alone for most of those thirty years.  He is a very shy and unassuming man and his shyness has been such a hindrance to him that it keeps him from making friends with his only neighbors, the Phanes.  Even though he has lived next to Mr. Phane and his granddaughter, Emily, for thirty years, he cannot bring himself to say anything more to them than a cursory greeting.  Howie’s life is mostly occupied with his job at GE and his favorite hobby, fishing.

Howie is also very kind and loving to his only daughter, Harri, with whom he only gets to visit once in a while.  His favorite thing to do with her is to take her to the mall and to dinner at an Italian restaurant.  When Harri calls him in the middle of the night to pick her up on the roadside, he does so without judgment or very many questions.  Howie is also not bitter towards his ex-wife, whom he understands did not want to spend her life living quietly on rural Route 29.

Emily is Howie’s neighbor and the occupant of the only other house on Route 29.  Emily’s mother and grandmother die when she is an infant, so Emily is raised by her elderly grandfather.  The relationship between Emily and her grandfather is very sweet as they are they only two people in the world for each other.  The book also highlights a serious issue that is not oftentimes spoken about, that of night terrors and sleep paralysis.   Throughout her childhood and early teen years, Emily wakes up every night with horrifying night terrors.  When she is in middle school, she goes to a sleepover at a friend’s house and has to go home in the middle of the night because she has one of her episodes.   As Emily grows older her night terrors fade but they are replaced by sleep paralysis, a very scary condition which I did not know existed until I read this book.

When Emily’s grandfather has a stroke, Emily comes home from college to take care of him.  Once her grandfather passes away, she is left alone in the house and develops agoraphobia and only comes out of her house at night.  Emily and Howie are aware of each other’s existence, but their individual neuroses keep them from connecting. One day Emily accidentally causes a small chimney fire in her house and Howie finds her passed out on her front lawn.  Howie has to overcome his social anxiety to carry her over to his house and take care of her.  When Emily wakes up on Howie’s sofa, she is a little freaked out at being inside Howie’s house but she eventually decides that she likes not being alone for once.  The best part of the book is the development of Emily and Howie’s relationship and how they come not only to rely on each other for comfort but also to help each other overcome their anxieties;  Emily encourages Howie to go on a date with a woman he has been friends with for years and Howie is soothing to Emily when she has her sleep episodes.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the review, I thought that the ending of the book was rather unsatisfactory.  It felt rushed and incomplete.  The worst part about it was that in the end once Howie and Emily help each other they move on with their lives and no longer have contact with one another.  This felt very disappointing, especially since so much time in the novel was spend on developing their very special and unique relationship.

What books have you read that you have enjoyed but felt let down by the ending?

 

About The Author:
WodickaTod Wodicka lives in Berlin. His second novel, THE HOUSEHOLD SPIRIT was published by Pantheon and Jonathan Cape in June 2015.

His first novel, ALL SHALL BE WELL; AND ALL SHALL BE WELL; AND ALL MANNER OF THINGS SHALL BE WELL has been translated into Spanish, Dutch and German. It was shortlisted for The Believer Book Award. Wodicka’s writing has appeared in the Guardian, Granta, Amuse, Tank Magazine, South as a State of Mind, the National, Art Papers, AnOther Magazine and the New Statesman.

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August 11, 2015 · 12:00 am

Review: The Anger Meridian by Kaylie Jones

I received an advanced review copy of this title from Askashic Books through Edelweiss.

My Review:
Anger MeridianMerryn Huntley is prone to anxiety attacks, has constant headaches,  and hasn’t slept well for years.  When the police knock on the door at her Dallas home and inform her that her husband Beau has died in a car accident, Merryn feels nothing but relief.  She has been married to Beau for over ten years and he was always disconnected from and disinterested in his wife and their nine year old daughter, Tenney.  In fact, when Beau crashed his car, a local waitress with whom he was having yet another affair was also in the car.

Merryn packs up her daughter and immediately flees to San Miguel, Mexico where her mother has a plush home with fabulous views.  One of the greatest strengths of the book are the descriptions of San Miguel’s  intense, blazing sun, its dusty streets and its markets full of local people and tourists. But when Merryn gets to Mexico, comfort is the last thing she gets from her mother.  Merryn’s mother, whom they call Bibi, drinks too much, gossips about her so-called friends, and belittles Merryn every chance she gets.  Throughout the book Merryn struggles to deal with her strained relationship with her mother.  Bibi is not a likeable character and the degrading words she constantly hurls at her daughter makes us glad that she comes to a tragic end.

While Merryn is in San Miguel, she also has to deal with constant calls from the FBI.  It seems that Beau was making himself rich  by laundering enormous sums of money for terrorists.  Merryn had nothing to do with her husband’s business and she is very worried that she will not be able to convince the feds that she is innocent.  Merryn is already a nervous person but with her mother’s constant berating, the circumstances of her husband’s death and the FBI breathing down her neck she is at her breaking point.

To complicate her life even further, Merryn also meets an American doctor in Mexico that she is instantly drawn to.  But Dr. Fuller has a reputation for sleeping with wealthy American widows in order to raise money for his health clinic.  On the one hand his sexual promiscuity disgusts her, but on the other hand she is very attracted to him, especially since he is so kind to her daughter Tenney.

The best characters in the book are Tenney who is a chess prodigy and her stray dog, Sophia.  Tenney and Sophia seem to possess the strength that Merryn lacks and in the end Merryn makes the right decisions because she realizes that she has to be strong for her daughter.

THE ANGER MERIDIAN is a fun and quick summer read with an interesting and complex plot.  Takes this one to the beach for a good end-of-the-summer read.

About The Author:
Kaylie JonesKaylie was born in Paris, France and attended French schools until she returned with her family to the U.S. in 1974. Her father was the novelist James Jones.

Kaylie began to study Russian as her third language at age 8, and continued to study the language and literature through her four undergraduate years at Wesleyan University and her two years at Columbia University’s School of the Arts, where she received her MFA in Writing.

Kylie Jones has published six books, the most recent a memoir, Lies My Mother Never Told Me. Her novel A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries was adapted as a Merchant Ivory film in 1998.

Jones has been teaching for more than twenty-five years, and is a faculty member in the Stony Brook Southampton MFA in Creative Writing & Literature program and in Wilkes University’s MFA in Creative Writing program. She is the author of Speak Now and the editor of Long Island Noir. Her newest endeavor is her publishing imprint with Akashic Books, Kaylie Jones Books

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June 3, 2015 · 12:00 am

Review: Greenery Street by Denis Mackail

The purpose of my blog has been to connect with like-minded readers and share great books.  This title was recommended to me by one such like-minded reader whose recommendations of books for me always seem to be spot on.  For a full list of wonderful titles from Persephone Books please visit their website: http://www.persephonebooks.co.uk/

My Review:
Original-Greenery-Street-cover-422x600Greenery Street is the perfect place in London for the blissfully happy newlyweds with its “thirty-six narrow little houses.”  The street is so charming that every couple moves in with the intention of staying there forever, but as soon as the first baby arrives each couple realizes that Greenery Street is too small to contain a growing family.  This book treats us to the first several months in the life of the charming and adorable newlywed couple, Ian and Felicity Foster.

Ian and Felicity’s courtship and engagement is not an easy road for them especially since Felicity’s father, “Old Humphrey” objects to his daughter’s marriage.  It’s not that he doesn’t like Ian, but it just seems to him that Felicity would never have to do something as complicated as getting married and leaving home.  Old Humphrey is famous for dodging touch decisions and he does this by getting a fever and having to lie in bed for several days whenever a pivotal moment in life arises.

Some readers might this this book mundane since it is the chronicle of a happy marriage.  Mackail’s sense of humor and witty dialogue make ordinary matters like shopping, having lunch, dealing with the servants and paying bills funny and entertaining.  Ian and Felicity are so nice and polite of a couple that when their servants are taking advantage of them and drinking on the job, they can’t even bring themselves to fire them.  The house-parlor maid, who is particularly cranky and awful at her job, is affectionately and secretly called “The Murderess” by the newlyweds.

I was truly delighted by the happiness of this couple and the little ways in which they found to show their love and devotion to each other.  Felicity waits eagerly on their little balcony everyday to greet Ian when he gets home; Ian apologizes and soothes Felicity even when he is not sure what he has done wrong; Felicity secretly sells her grandmother’s pearls when she wants to pay the builder’s bill and not worry Ian over money.

I highly recommend GREENERY STREET as a charming, witty and well-written book.  I could not put this book and read it in only a few sittings.  I am eager to read other titles from Persephone Books.

About The Author:
Denis MackailDenis Mackail was born in Kensington, London to the writer John William Mackail and Margaret Burne-Jones, daughter of the painter Edward Burne-Jones. Educated at St Paul’s School, Hammersmith, he went to Balliol College, Oxford, but failed to complete his degree through ill-health after two years.

His first work was as a set designer, notably for J. M. Barrie’s The adored one and George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion (1914). The outbreak of World War I interrupted this promising start, however, and Denis, not fit enough for active service, worked in the War Office and the Board of Trade.

In 1917 he married Diana Granet, only child of the railway manager Sir Guy Granet, who was a director-general for railways in the War Office. The couple had two children, Mary (born 28 March 1919) and Anne (born 12 January 1922) and lived in Chelsea, London. It was the necessity of supporting his young family that led Denis to write a novel when office jobs became insecure after the end of the war.

With his novel published, his first short-story accepted by the prestigious Strand Magazine and the services of a literary agent, A. P. Watt, Denis was soon earning enough from his writing to give up office work. He published a novel every year from 1920 to 1938 and among his literary friends were P. G. Wodehouse and A. A. Milne.

During the 1930s Mackail lived at Bishopstone House, Bishopstone near Seaford, Sussex

As therapy from a nervous breakdown, Denis agreed to write the official biography of J. M. Barrie, which appeared in 1941. He went on to produce seven more novels and some books of reminiscences, but after the early death of his wife in 1949, he published no more and lived quietly in London until his death.

 

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May 29, 2015 · 8:08 am

Review: Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

Knopf did not let me have access to this title when I requested it on Edelweiss. Sometimes bloggers do get rejected when they request review copies. But this book piqued my interest enough for me to buy it on my own anyway.  As always, this is my honest review.

My Review:
Our Souls At NightThis title is a brief yet beautiful read that took me by surprise.  Addie, a septuagenarian who has been widowed for years, walks over to her neighbor Louis and makes a proposition to him.  Since he also lives alone, Addie wants him to come over to her house at night and sleep with her and talk to her in the dark.  But there is nothing sexual or indecent about her suggestion.  She is lonely at night and instead of taking sleeping pills Addie would rather have a companion to talk to in the dark to help lull her to sleep.

Addie and Louis are awkward at first in a very sweet and gentle way.  They talk in the dark about their respective deceased spouses.  They slowly get to know intimate details about each other’s past lives.  Eventually they start holding hands as they communicate in the dark.

The small town in Colorado in which Addie and Louis live start to gossip about the pair because people see Louis walking over to Addie’s house every night.  The stance that they take, Addie in particular, against the nosy neighbors is that they don’t care what other people think anymore.  Addie and Louis are happier spending time with one another than they have ever been in their lives and they are no longer lonely.  However, will Addie and Louis also be able to dismiss the opinions of their grown children who also get wind of their “relationship” and don’t approve of it?

Addie’s grandson, Jamie, also comes to spend the summer with Addie and Louis.  Jamie’s parents are in the middle of a separation and poor Jamie has been cast off to live with his grandmother for the summer; when Jamie is dropped off at Addie’s home is upset and lonely.  Addie and Louis gradually establish a routine with the boy, shower him with love and attention, and adopt a shelter dog for him.  Addie, Louis, Jamie, and Bonney the dog have a wonderful summer and all four of them find comfort and solace in their little group.

OUR SOULS AT NIGHT packs a lot of though-provoking messages into one small book: it’s never to late in life to make connections and establish relationships, we can find happiness is simple things like conversations, and we really shouldn’t care what other people think of us if what we are doing makes us happy.  I highly recommend you put this book on your “To Read” pile for the summer.

 

About The Author:
Kent HerufKent Haruf was born in eastern Colorado. He received his Bachelors of Arts in literature from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1965 and his Masters of Fine Arts from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa in 1973. For two years, he taught English in Turkey with the Peace Corps and his other jobs have included a chicken farm in Colorado, a construction site in Wyoming, a rehabilitation hospital in Colorado, a hospital in Arizona, a library in Iowa, an alternative high school in Wisconsin, and universities in Nebraska and Illinois.

Haruf is the author of Plainsong, which received the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Maria Thomas Award in Fiction, and The New Yorker Book Award. Plainsong was also a finalist for the 1999 National Book Award. His novel, The Tie That Binds, received a Whiting Foundation Award and a special citation from the Pen/Hemingway Foundation. In 2006, Haruf was awarded the Dos Passos Prize for Literature.

All of his novels are set in the fictional town of Holt, Colorado. Holt is loosely based on Yuma, Colorado, an early residence of Haruf in the 1980s.

Haruf lived with his wife, Cathy, in Salida, Colorado, with their three daughters. He died of cancer on November 30, 2014

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May 18, 2015 · 8:43 am

Review: Still Life with Insects by Brian Kiteley

I received an advanced review copy of this novella from Pharos editions.  The description of this press from their website states: “Pharos Editions is dedicated to bringing to light out-of-print, lost or rare books of distinction. A carefully curated list of beautifully produced books, Pharos titles are hand-picked and introduced by some of today’s most exciting authors, creators, and artists. Pharos Editions is an imprint of Counterpoint Press.”

My Review:
Still Life With InsectsElwyn Farmer’s life hasn’t exactly turned out as he had planned.  He was in graduate school to become an entomologist but circumstances out of his control forced him to abandon his work before he finished his degree.  He does, however, maintain a passionate interest in bugs throughout his life and collects and catalogues them with meticulous precision.

The book is unique in that each memory Elwyn has about his life is punctuated by the bugs he has collected along his journey.  For instance, he is on a camping trip with his wife and he captures two mating beatles in an outhouse.

Even though this is a very short read, I fell in love with the character of Elwyn.  We are told through the course of his narrative that had a nervous breakdown at one point in his life when his job became too much.  He is a kind, dependable, humble man whose family, friends and colleagues all display a great amount of respect for him.  His evolving relationship with his sons and grandsons, in particular, is deeply touching.

In the end, maybe it is because it is a hobby and not his job that helps Elwyn maintain his passion for entomology.  If he were forced to deal with bugs he might not have had such a zeal for collecting.  Elwyn teaches us that sometimes life has other plans for us and in the end all things work out for the best.

About The Author:
Brian Kiteley is Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Denver, and the author of the novels Still Life With Insects, I Know Many Songs, But I Cannot Sing and The River Gods and two fiction writing guides, The 3 A.M. Epiphany, and The 4 A.M. Breakthrough. The recipient of Guggenheim, Whiting, and NEA fellowships, Brian has also had residencies at the MacDowell Colony, Millay, Yaddo, and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. His fiction has been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories and The Four-Way Reader.

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