Ms. Thuy writes impeccable books that are short, like her titles (Ru, Vi), and yet packed with insightful content. This new book begins in Viet Nam in the 1970s, with the My Lai massacre and the fall of Saigon. Both the horrors of war and the resilience of survivors are highlighted: overall, this is a powerful book.
Category: Genre
When We Lost Our Heads – Heather O’Neill
Simply put, this is a wonderful book about compelling and complex women in Montreal at the end of the 19th century. Men in the story are mostly inconsequential, despite some appallingly boorish behaviour. Marie and Sadie are best friends as children, but theirs is a classic love-hate relationship (“Every decent friendship comes with a drop of hatred. But that hatred is like honey in the tea. It makes it addictive”). Marie is spoiled and entitled; Sadie is subversive and dangerous. Ms. O’Neill‘s writing is enchanting with exquisite similes describing disparate worlds: life in a brothel, exploitive factory work (the Squalid Mile). Female relationships are infinitely complex with righteous anger, pettiness and jealousy, and a self-absorbed woman who has no empathy toward other women. Powerful feminist themes abound: the invisibility of marriage, sexual awareness leading to female empowerment. And finally, anticipate a late plot twist and an extraordinary ending. This is O’Neill at her best, a Montreal noir story.
These Precious Days – Ann Patchett
Ms. Patchett is one of my favourite novelists (The Patron Saint of Liars, Bel Canto) but she also writes essays that previously were collected into the wonderful book This is a Story of a Happy Marriage. This is her second book of essays, some published previously in Harpers and the Atlantic. All are insightful glimpses into her life, from childhood to the current time. A favourite for me is the first essay about her three fathers, all different experiences, all with positive and negatives. Her writing is clear, focused, and honest – highly recommended.
(Amy seconds all of this!)
When The Stars Go Dark -Paula McLain
Anna is a police detective who flees San Francisco for Mendocino due to a personal tragedy where she becomes involved in a missing person investigation. What distinguishes this novel from most police procedural stories is the impeccable research. The context for missing persons: fleeing an abusive situation, or an abduction? This is a very fine book, to be expected by the author of The Paris Wife and Circling The Sun.
The Winter Wives – Linden MacIntyre
A superb relationship book: Allan and Byron have married the Winter sisters, Peggy and Annie, respectively. What is love and friendship in the face of manipulation? What is memory when confronted with dementia and suppressed recall? How much wilful disbelief accompanies work for someone who has criminal activities? This is a cracking good psychological thriller – highly recommended.
Mirrrorland – Carole Johnstone
A psychological thriller that reminds me of Gone Girl. Two estranged identical twin sisters are living with repressed memories that have been replaced by childhood imagination. There is a sinister gothic family home in Edinburgh, a missing person, and many devious plot twists driven in part by clues from a mysterious source. What is real and what is imagined? Overall, a deeply satisfying story.
The Man Who Died Twice – Richard Osman
Another delightful Thursday Murder Club mystery: Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim investigate missing diamonds and then several murders. As before, this is a warm and clever story, in large part about friendships. It is also deeply philosophical about aging – a real pleasure to read.
Beautiful World, Where Are You – Sally Rooney
Ms. Rooney’s new book is about four 30-year-olds: Alice and Eileen, Simon and Felix. Although older than the teenagers in Normal People, these adults are no more successful in their relationships. Despite deep friendships and yes, love, they can be frustratingly emotionally distant, deflecting a question with a question as the rejoinder. Overall, a fabulous examination of the modern world. Desire is complicated with delusion; perceptions of happiness are clouded by anxiety and uncertainty. A brilliant book – highly recommended.
Hamnet and Judith – Maggie O-Farrell
It is the late 16th century. Agnes marries a Latin tutor and they have three children, Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. The death of one of the twins produces intense grief, so readers be warned that the final 100 pages of this historical novel are extraordinarily sad, culminating in the writing of Hamlet by the Latin tutor, aka William Shakespeare.
What David Read 