This is a really excellent book, not surprising since this was a Giller finalist. The chapters are all about pairs, for example, two sisters. But some of the pairs are not what they seem: a husband and wife, a mother and son, and a brother and sister. There is a strong sense of place but not of time. And finally, lives begin to intersect. This is dazzling writing and exceptional translating (the translator won a Governor General’s Award), so a “must read”.
Category: Female author
The Transcriptionist – Amy Rowland
This book is a gem, a short but meaningful book about loss and finding one’s place in the world. First, it is a very New York book. But it is mostly an existential book. Lena is a transcriptionist at a prestigious newspaper; her job is to transcribe dictation, a job that is disappearing in 2001. Thus, Lena is looking for meaning in her life, a quest that is precipitated by chance encounter with someone on the subway. A very good read.
The Japanese Lover – Isabel Allende
A story of inter-woven lives, mostly in San Francisco: a young woman from Moldova, a Polish woman who escaped from Germany in 1939; a Japanese gardener interned during WWII. There is a powerful love story, what love can overcome and what love cannot overcome. As always, Allende’s writing is beautiful – an example from the end of the book: “In the darkest hour of the night, that mysterious hour when time thins and often the veil between this wold and that of the spirits is drawn back, the guest Alma was waiting for arrived at last”.
Umbrella Man – Peggy Blair
Blair is a Canadian who writes mystery novels about Inspector Ramirez in Cuba. The plot is complicated: murder and spies and double/triple agents. But as in most mystery stories, the context is more important than plot. In this case, the context is Havana: decaying elegance, a hopelessly under-resourced police department, and the general deprivations of life in Cuba. This is a very fun read, and topical since Cuba has received more attention after the death of Fidel.
The Widow – Fiona Barton
This contemporary novel is a very well-written story about a child abduction in Britain. The story unfolds Gillian Flynn-like with an alternating time frame and chapters from different points of view: The Detective, The Reporter … The Widow is a stand-by-your-man wife so her psychology unfolds ever so slowly. Several characters in this book are overcome by obsession. This is a very good companion book to Zoe Whittall’s The Best Kind Of People in that the main focus is on the aftermath of a traumatic event.
The Witches of New York – Ami McKay
This book takes place in 1880 New York, with Moth from The Virgin Cure as one of the central characters. Witches abound in New York, along with ghosts and spirits. The practise of witchcraft is mostly folk magic. The story-telling is excellent, with some peril of course for the sisterhood. And there is an alienist. Will there be another sequel?
An Uncommon Education – Elizabeth Percer
This is a remarkable first novel about relationships (my favourite topic): Naomi and her parents; Naomi and her childhood friend; Naomi and her fellow Wellesley College students. Parts of this book reminded me of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, which is high praise.
The Trespasser – Tana French
Another superb mystery thriller in the Dublin Murder Squad. The procedural detail in staging an interview, for example, is fascinating. But the best feature of this novel is the description of the head-space of Detective Antoinette Conway, the only female in the Murder Squad, so she is faced with Prime Suspect-like intrigue from the good-old-boys. French is a great crime writer; all her books are highly recommended.
The Wonder – Emma Donoghue
Set in Ireland in the 1860s (not long after the famine), this book provides impeccable detail into an investigation into a fantastical claim that an 11 year-old girl hasn’t eaten for four months: a miracle or a scam? The investigation requires close observation (24/7) and as Margaret Mead postulated long ago – observation changes behaviour. One of the observers is an English nurse, so there are Irish-English issues as well. There are strong religious overtones but at its heart, this is a story about motherhood (so in that regard, somewhat similar to The Room). Donoghue is a fabulous story teller, nominated for the Giller.
What David Read 