Catching up, July 2016

I've gotten a bit behind in my book reviews, so I'm just going to mention each book briefly. I wish I had more time to discuss them; there were a lot of good reads in this batch!

Aline Ohanesian. Orhan's Inheritance. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2015. 340 pages. ISBN 9781616203740. Advance reading copy.

I loved this book about a middle aged man who learns that his grandfather left his home to an Armenian woman and then decides that he has to track her down to learn her story.

Celeste Ng. Everything I Never Told You. New York: Penguin Books, 2014. 297 pages. ISBN 9780143127550.

This is an excellent debut novel about a young girl who never let herself be known by the people closest to her. Includes an interview with the author.

Sunil Yapa. Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2016. 306 pages. ISBN 978031638653. Advance reading copy/uncorrected proof.

This is about a bunch of characters who come together during the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle. I thought I would like this book more than I did, as I'd read a number of good reviews. Still worth reading.

Marie-Helene Bertino. 2 a.m. at the Cat's Pajamas. New York: Crown Publishers, 2014. 261 pages. ISBN 9780804140232. Advance readers' edition.

A little girl spends a night getting in and out of trouble, along with a big cast of characters including one of her school teachers. I wanted to like this book, but it just wasn't happening for me.

Colm Toibin. Nora Webster. New York: Scribner, 2014. 373 pages. ISBN 9781439170939.

This was a book club selection, and stars a minor character from another one of our book club books, Brooklyn. I had the same reaction to Nora Webster as I had to Brooklyn. The book seemed to be a reporting of the main character's activities; just a recounting of one thing after another. There is no narrative arc, and little build up of drama or tension. I found it hard to care about the characters, almost none of whom were likable. Not one of my favorites!

Lauren Groff. Fates and Furies. New York: Riverhead Books, 2015. 390 pages. ISBN 9781594634475.

This book reveals how a love story and marriage evolve over the decades, and how two people can still have so much that they don't share with each other even after many years together. Well written, but a little uneven. Also includes a number of really unlikable characters.

Lawrence Douglas. The Vices. New York: Other Press, 2011. 343 pages. ISBN 9781590514153.

This is the story of a man who becomes obsessed with his best friend's family. He digs up information about their history (much of which they made up). Oddly enough, I had read this book a few years ago but neglected to give the book away. When I picked it up last month to read I kept thinking that it seemed familiar, but it took a while for me to realize that I had actually already read it. I liked this book, although I found myself frustrated with the narrator and the poor choices he was making!

Elinor Lipman. The Family Man. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2009. 305 pages. ISBN 9780618644667.

I loved this funny book about a retired lawyer whose estranged ex-wife and step-daughter come crashing back into his life.

Janwillem van de Wetering. Outsider in Amsterdam. New York: Soho Crime. 265 pages. ISBN 9781616953003.

Originally published in 1975, this book is part of the Soho Crime Passport to Crime series. Interestingly dated, and imperfectly translated, this was nevertheless an enjoyable detective story.

I got this book at a Soho Press special event at the 2016 ALA Annual Conference in Orlando.

David Downing. Jack of Spies. New York: Soho Crime, 2014. 338 pages. ISBN 978161952686. Advance uncopyedited edition.

Another Soho Crime book! I liked this spy thriller set in 1913, on the eve of the First World War.

Peter Robinson. In the Dark Places. New York: William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins, 2015. 326 pages. ISBN 9780062393081. Advance reader's edition.

Drug deals gone awry, people who've gone missing. This book is an especially well-written mystery and thriller. Lots of interesting characters, many of whom it's easy to root for.

Karin Slaughter. Pretty Girls. New York: William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins, 2015. 388 pages. ISBN 9780062429056. Advance reader's edition.

When Claire finds what appear to be snuff films on her recently-deceased husband's computer, she begins to investigate what he was into. This is a riveting suspense mystery that kept me glued to the pages.