This is a new author for me, from the CBC Books winter reading list (thank goodness for CBC’s literary interest). This is an excellent book about relationships, my favourite topic. The central character is a wife/mother/author who writes a serialized fictional account of a long-standing affair that Charles Dickens had with Nellie, a young woman. This seems an unlikely focus for a novel but the writing is flawless with some time wrinkles that sometimes makes the reading complicated but very enjoyable.
Category: Contemporary
The Little Red Chairs – Edna O’Brien
An astonishing book: the seduction by an evil person, the desperate lives of the displaced and dispossessed. The title refers to a 2012 commemoration of the siege of Sarajevo: 11,514 red chairs were placed in rows, one for each person killed in the siege that lasted for almost 4 years. What is remarkable about this book is that it is an Irish woman, Fidelma, who is the central core to the story which takes place in Ireland and England. Thanks Mike, for this recommendation.
The Dry – Jane Harper
A chance purchase in the Auckland Airport became a very satisfying mystery. An apparent murder-suicide is presented in the context of a small town in Australia 500 km north of Melbourne, with the added complexity of a cold case from the past. The context of how heat and continuing drought and mystery affects the psychology of a place and people both individually and collectively is presented very well – a very good read.
Commonwealth – Ann Patchett
Patchett is a great writer and this latest book is a wonderful story of what appears to be entirely dysfunctional families. A blended family with step-children united in their dislike of their parents, and each other, is described wonderfully. Then over 5 decades, relationships change and evolve. A favourite sentence that encapsulates how relationships change: “She had loved Bert Cousins, and then grown used to him, then was disappointed in him and then later, after he left her, with five small children, she had hated him with the full force of her life”. Wow.
Swing Time – Zadie Smith
An un-named narrator tells a story that alternates between two times: childhood in NW London in the 1980s, and adulthood in the 2000s. All the important relationships in the narrator’s life are with women: her mother, her friend Tracey, and her employer Aimee, a Madonna-like rock star. A sub-plot in Africa is especially rewarding. Smith’s prose is insightful, she is an acute observer of the narrator’s world. This is sensational writing, the best of Smith’s books so far.
The Hidden Keys – Andre Alexis
I, like many others, was conflicted over Alexis’ previous book 15 Dogs, despite all the awards. In contrast, this new book is a delight – a mystery and a heist caper. The characters are a treasure, each vivid and unique. And like De Wit’s Sisters Brothers, there is some philosophizing over good and evil, so overall, a very entertaining book.
The Piano Maker – Kurt Palka
This is a wonderful example of superb story telling: France up to WWI, then Quebec and New Brunswick. Both piano making and piano playing, and a compelling adventure story in an Alberta winter and finally a criminal trial. And best of all, there is a strong female character, Helene.
The Blue Guitar – John Banville
Banville is a fine writer (Man Booker award for his previous novel, The Sea): his writing is elegant with words that sparkle (a dictionary is also useful). This latest novel is about the complex relationships between two couples. The main character, Oliver, is fascinating: annoyingly self-absorbed, a thief of small and large objects, and a coward. And he is a painter.
Stranger – David Bergen
Iso is a young Guatemalan woman who has an affair with an American doctor in Guatemala. Iso become pregnant and at birth, her newborn daughter is taken away to America. So much of this book is about her travel to America as an undocumented person, to attempt to recover her daughter; the risks, acts of kindness and treachery, and the over-arching powerlessness. Given the world’s situation, understanding the plight of undocumented individuals is important. Lawrence Hill’s book The Illegal is better but Bergen’s novel is a worthwhile read.
What David Read 