Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Gabrielle Zevin the author of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, is a lifelong reader no doubt.  She understands that books are connected to the soul of those who cannot do without them.  She realizes that for some people, reading is an extension of life.  If you are a reader then you too will appreciate this connection that can only be found in literature that is read and shared and loved by people.  In Zevin's novel we find a remarkable celebration of literature, of books, and of the impact that they have on all of us. The main character, Fikry, is a cantankerous, small bookstore owner whose life is forever changed when he finds an abandoned baby in his store.  Shocking everyone who knows him, he decides to adopt this little girl who he names Maya.  Their story unfolds wrapped carefully by their bookstore and the books that they read together.  Other characters come into Fikry's life and all of these people are changed by the bookstore owner and his daughter.  The story sounds so simple but it is so much more.  The main character realizes that people need a way to express themselves that is real and yet not too scary.  He says, "We read to know we're not alone.  We read because we are alone, We read and we are not alone.  We are not alone." Reading connects us with others; books make a wonderful bridge on which people can reach one another.  If you love books this is a book you should not miss.  It is a celebration of a bond that is as old as time.  Read and enjoy being a part of this circle. Read and share your life with others who are like you.  Read, for as Fikry says, "We are all collected works."

Girl On the Train by Paula Hawkins

Girl On the Train by Paula Hawkins


Paula Hawkins, the author of the novel Girl On the Train, chose a tried and true story line showing once again there is nothing new under the sun.  As long as man has been on this earth, he has found a way to sin and cause irreparable damage to those around him.  This book has been compared to Gone Girl but was really quite different especially where the characters were concerned.  The main character in Girl on the Train is a shattered, vulnerable woman struggling to recover from a divorce she did not want.  Many problems existed in her marriage but the most destructive it seems was her infertility.  The need to have a baby drove Rachel to desperation and her desperation led to her alcoholism which led to losing her husband, her job but most importantly, her self image.  Rachel tells us at one point, "I am not the girl I used to be.  I am no longer desirable, I'm off-putting in some way...it's as if people can see the damage written all over me." The story line intertwines Rachel's life with many people who add to her depression.  Her ex-husband and his new wife seem to have the life that Rachel always dreamed of.  They have a darling baby and live in the house that had been Rachel's.  All of the drama of the book is cleverly drawn around Rachel's daily ride on the train that passes behind her former home.  She watches her husband and his family but she also watches the couple who live a few doors down the street.  She imagines what their lives are like and when she sees that something is amiss, she is determined to solve the mystery.  The outcome of her sleuthing is amazing indeed.  The twists and turns the Hawkins builds into her story are truly amazing.  For those readers who enjoy trying to figure out "who done it", this is a fun novel.  The ending will not leave you wanting!

Wild: From Lost to Found by Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl Strayed in her biography, Wild: From Lost to Found, travels a 1000 mile trail along the Pacific coast looking for the meaning of life.  Most people at one time of another have wondered and worried about what this all means.  Especially at time of trials and tribulations people find they want more than anything to feel that what they know as their life is worth something or that the life of a loved one was not lived in vain.  We find out early on that Cheryl's life has spiraled down to the bottom of a very rough barrel.  Her mother's death at the young age of 43 has sent her spinning out of control.  She has left her loving husband, attached herself to many strange and dangerous men and alienated herself from her family.  It is at her lowest point that she makes the decision to walk the Pacific Crest Trail a 1000 mile trek through multiple states on the west coast.  This decision was made with little forethought and even less preparation.  One day into this quest, Cheryl sees that she is not up to this journey, but she doggedly refuses to quit.  Amazingly, Cheryl manages to complete her journey.  Along the way she finds peace of a sort.  She also finds that she is much more capable than she ever imagined and people are far more worthy than she ever gave them credit for being.  At the end of the trail, Cheryl realized that in the end it was just life--like all lives, "mysterious and irrevocable and sacred."  She realized that life was "wild."  She realized that all that was necessary was to put one foot in front of the other.  Just walk on and let it be.

Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford

The plight of the Chinese Americans in depression era Seattle is the background for Jamie Ford's second novel, Songs of Willow Frost.  Once again Ford has made the central characters of his story two "second class" citizens.  William Eng is a Chinese boy left orphaned at the age of five by his single mother who he knows did not want to abandon him.  Willow Frost, or Liu Song, is the troubled mother who is powerless to keep her son.   She is a victim of both a US governmental system that believes only fathers have rights where children are concerned and the Chinese culture where a man could rape and entrap a woman because the male gender was totally powerful over females. Ford slowly reveals the sad story of Willow and her son.  Through perserverance the two eventually find each other, but there is little doubt their lives will not be easy in the aftermath of all they have been through.  The historic background of this novel shows a dark time in our culture too.  Ford obviously cares deeply for the Chinese Americans of the early 20th century, but his story also enlightens readers to the lives of other less fortunates like Native Americans, physically handicapped and poor people in general.  Readers will sympathize with all the characters and their longing for a home and a family to love.  This novel will affect anyone who reads it.  Hopefully, we will gain more empathy for those less fortunate in the end.

Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler

Julie Kibler employed a tried and true story builder in her novel, Calling Me Home.  "Forbidden Love" is a constant in literature, but in this case, Kibler added a twist.  The love story took place in 1939 but the story line is contemporary.  The main character, Isabelle, is a 96 year old woman who tells us over time about how she fell in love when she was 17 years old with a black man in her southern home town.  The love of her life,Robert, married Isa secretly but their joy was short-lived.  They were torn apart both literally and figuratively by Isabelle's family.  The southern hatred of their black citizens was difficult to understand, but the resulting carnage was understandable.  Secrets, fears, prejudices and mistrust worked to tear the families apart. The interesting twist that Kibler employed was in juxtaposing Isabelle's story in flashback style between chapters set in the current time.  Near the beginning of the story we are introduced to Dorrie, Miss Isabelle's hairdresser, but we quickly see she is so much more than that.  Little by little we see that Dorrie is more like a daughter to this older woman and because of this connection she is the one to help Isabelle find closure with her long lost love, Robert.  This is a story that forced self reflection.  It is impossible to read the novel without feeling the injustice of prejudice.  Kibler explained that she had learned that her own grandmother had had a romance with a black man many years ago.  The implications were clear when she heard her grandmother's story.  Love was not enough.  Society would not allow such a romance and it was just too impossible for two people to stand against the status quo.  Kibler created her narrative, perhaps, so that we have the opportunity to learn and to change.

The Whip by Karen Kondazian

Anyone who has heard the expression "I am woman; hear me roar" has to admit that the 20th century part of this chapter of history is not really the whole story.  We of the 20th/21st centuries know that women have been fighting for equality in the work arena, in political situations and in relationships for a long, long time.  We have only to look back in history to see the underpinnings of these cultural problem.  Women have for all time, it seems, been fighting for freedom and recognition.  We have luckily always had historical figures, who have been immortalized and regaled, to study as forerunners of the liberation movement.  One fascinating era that produced many memorable women who we all heard about was the "Wild West."  Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane are two of the more colorful women who made a name for themselves in a predominately male environment.  They thrived where many failed.  In the book, The Whip, Kondazian uncovers a story based on historical fact about Charlotte Parkhurst the first woman to drive a stagecoach during the California Gold Rush era and the first woman to ever vote in national elections in the United States.  Kondazian embellished and added to the true story of  Charlotte "Charlie" Parkhurst with a details about her life as an orphan, raised in the cold reality of the 18th century charity home.  Characters were added to the life of this woman that were amalgams of real people who could have played a part in the life of Charlie.  The tragedies of her life were true however to those that many women faced during this era.  The important difference was that Charlie chose to heed the advice of her one true parental figure, Jonas, who said, "Life's going to ... upset your wagon, not just once but many times.  And you got to choose (what are you going to do)..."  Charlie chose to make a life of her own.  She chose to be true to her own nature and not cower to the norms of society.  It was not an easy life she chose to be sure, but she was free and independent and able to make a difference in the lives around her without betraying her true self.  This was a really interesting story and knowing that it is based on a factual character only added to the impact.  The Whip is a wonderful historical fiction novel and this lead character deserves some of the adulation that is bestowed on the more famous Wild West women. History teaches us much and this story is a piece of history we can all learn from and use as a lesson of survival and growth.

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

Can you keep a secret?  Can you leave a box or package unopened even if you have to wait for a long, long time?  Most of us will admit that we are not good a keeping a secret especially if the secret has something to do with us.  We want to know what it is that another person has said or has done even if we think that the "something" may be painful or embarrassing or likely to cause an issue.  We just cannot stand the not knowing. This curiosity in humans is nothing new. From ancient mythology comes the story of Pandora and her forbidden box and it remains today the most common reference used for the dilemma a person faces when deciding to follow an instruction or satisfy their curiosity.  Today the phrase "to open Pandora's box" means to perform an action that may seem small or innocent, but that turns out to have severely detrimental and far-reaching consequences.  Liane Moriarty incorporates the idea of Pandora's box in her novel The Husband's Secret.  In this mystery book, a long lost letter is found.  Clear instructions are written on the envelop stating that the letter should not be read until after the death of the writer and husband, John Paul.  Unfortunately,  afflicted as all humans are with an overriding sense of curiosity, his wife Cecilia reads the letter.  The results were tragic and life altering indeed. The really intriguing part of this couple's misery is that their  tragedy is intertwined with many other people.  As the story unfolds, we are able to see how each of the characters in the story connects to the others in ways they and we as the reader never imagined.  But more interestingly each of the people demonstrates at least one tragic flaw from Pandora's box.  We see envy, jealousy, greed, anger, vengeance, and pride to name just a few.  All of the flaws lead to actions that are indeed severely detrimental with far reaching consequences.  Moriarty has written a fascinating book with a plausible moral dilemma that left us with much to discuss.  This is an excellent book for a book club or just one to discuss with friends because who among us does not have secrets to keep or expose.  This novel has been described as a page-turner and I would have to agree.  Enjoy!