Tag Archives: families

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

28 Monday Oct 2019

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Can a house/a childhood home dominate the grown-up lives of a brother and sister who grew up with a father and caring staff in a fairy-tale huge house in Pennsylvania? A quiet read, a re-examining of childhood loss and forgiveness, but two indelible characters you won’t forget long after the book is finished.

“Patchett’s splendid novel is a thoughtful, compassionate exploration of obsession and forgiveness, what people acquire, keep, lose or give away, and what they leave behind.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review))

“…you won’t want to put down this engrossing, warmhearted book even after you’ve read the last page.” (NPR)

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The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abby Waxman

16 Friday Aug 2019

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This novel keeps up a fun, friendly patter while still dealing realistically and respectfully with mental health issues in the form of anxiety.  A good “cozy read,” a good “beach read,” a good choice for a wide range of readers.

“Waxman has created a thoroughly engaging character in this bookish, contemplative, set-in-her ways woman. Be prepared to chuckle.”—Kirkus Review (starred review)

“Book nerds will feel strong kinship with the engaging, introverted Nina Hill, who works in a bookstore, plays pub trivia, and loves office supplies… Readers will be captivated by Nina’s droll sense of humor.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Move over on the settee, Jane Austen. You’ve met your modern-day match in Abbi Waxman. Bitingly funny, relatable and intelligent, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill is a must for anyone who loves to read.”—Kristan Higgins, New York Times bestselling author of Good Luck With That

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The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

15 Monday Jul 2019

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Yale is working at an art museum in 1980s Chicago when he is called to meet an elderly woman who claims to have a priceless collection of art to donate. At the same time, Yale, his boyfriend, and their group of male friends are feeling the devastating effects of the developing AIDS crisis. Years later, one of their friends reflects on this time period as she tries to track down her missing daughter in Paris. This is a beautiful, sad, engaging novel.

FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE IN FICTION
WINNER OF THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL
WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR FICTION
WINNER OF THE STONEWALL BOOK AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

Soon to Be a Major Television Event, optioned by Amy Poehler

 As her intimately portrayed characters wrestle with painful pasts and fight to love one another and find joy in the present in spite of what is to come, Makkai carefully reconstructs 1980s Chicago, WWI-era and present day Paris, and scenes of the early days of the AIDS epidemic. A tribute to the enduring forces of love and art, over everything.”—Booklist (starred review)

 “To believe in something is to have faith, and Makkai dispenses it fiercely, in defiance of understandable nihilism and despair—faith in what’s right, in the good in others, in better outcomes, in time’s ability not to heal but to make something new.”—National Book Review

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Benediction by Kent Haruf

13 Monday May 2019

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A friend of mine said ”I have read this before.  But when I noticed my husband was reading it,  I decided to read it again. It’s the best thing I have read in a long time.”  Author of Plainsong and Eventide, Haruf returns to the small town of Holt, Colorado to have us sit by the bedside of terminally ill Dad Lewis and experience the strong ties that bind people to get through the hard times in life.  Enjoy a setting without the chaos and distractions that govern our lives today.

“Benediction suggests there’s no end to the stories Haruf can tell about Holt or to the tough, gorgeous language he can summon in the process.” —Paul Elie, The New York Times Book Review 

“Itself a blessing. . . spare and unencumbered. . . . Haruf’s great skill is in describing the plain ways of people who live in small places [and the war] going on between good and evil that we recognize as part of our nature. This is what makes Benediction a universal story, not a hometown tale.” —Michael D. Langan, The Buffalo News

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A Catalog of Birds by Laura Harrington

13 Saturday Apr 2019

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What makes a life worth living?  In these 259 pages, I dropped into upstate NY in the 70’s where small town life is simple and close to nature.  When the larger world rips a family and community apart, the author with sheer fierceness permits us to see and share the impossible.  “A marvel of a novel.”

“Stunning natural descriptions provide a rich backdrop for Harrington’s beautifully articulated coming-of-age story, which captures the pain of loved ones grappling with the after effects of war.”—Booklist (Starred)

“ … one of the great pleasures of reading A Catalog of Birds is that it’s as impossible to categorize as it is to put down. The smooth path of Nell’s life is interrupted by tragedy. Her best friend, Megan, disappears mysteriously, and her beloved brother, Billy, comes home from Vietnam severely injured. At once, the novel becomes a searing war story and a page-turning thriller.”
—The Washington Post

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Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy

13 Saturday Oct 2018

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Baby Frankie is born into an unusual family. Her mother is desperate to find someone to take care of her child and she doesn’t have much time. Noel doesn’t seem to be the most promising of fathers but despite everything, he could well be Frankie’s best hope. As for Lisa, she is prepared to give up everything for the man she loves; surely he’s going to love her back? And Moira is having none of it. She knows what’s right, and has the power to change the course of Frankie’s life . . . but Moira is hiding secrets of her own. Minding Frankie is a story about unconventional families, relationships which aren’t quite what they seem, and the child at the heart of everyone’s lives.

“Binchy’s worldview is a large, benevolent one, and the reader is happier for it. . . . Bless her big Irish heart.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Maeve Binchy has done it again [with] yet another warm tale of individual growth and human community, [in which] she assembles a large cast of characters and deploys them with her characteristic playfulness . . . Binchy specializes in exploring human foibles without spelling them out in tiresome detail . . . There’s a good chance that many readers, like this one, will consider Minding Frankie one of Binchy’s best novels yet.” —BookPage

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The Lost Family by Jenna Blum

12 Wednesday Sep 2018

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The New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us creates a vivid portrait of a husband devastated by a grief he cannot name, a frustrated wife struggling to compete with a ghost she cannot banish, and a daughter sensitive to the pain of both her own family and another lost before she was born. This book tugged at so many emotions for me. I couldn’t wait to read the next chapter.

“This exquisitely crafted and compassionate novel offers a lesson in honesty, regardless of how difficult the truth may be. It will offer plenty of discussion for book groups.” (Library Journal (starred review))

“(Blum) takes on the difficult task of rendering generational trauma visible, and does it with such humor and empathy, you can’t help but be swept along for the ride.” (Village Voice)

“Blum avoids the sap of happy endings and easy resolutions in this perfect encapsulation of the changing times and turbulence of mid- and late-20th-century America.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

20 Friday Apr 2018

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I loved this book, full of sibling love, magic, and fate. In 1969, 4 siblings (ages 13, 11, 9, and 7) living in NYC hear about a psychic who not only can tell you your fortune, but also the day that you will die. I disagreed with some turns the author took, but overall thought it was very good.

“A family saga about love, destiny, living life and making choices that will cause readers to consider what to do with the time given them on this earth.”—The Huffington Post

“Chloe Benjamin is a novelist to watch….The Immortalists weaves together philosophy and fortune-telling, to great effect….As deft and dizzying as a high-wire act…the reader is beguiled with unexpected twists and stylish, crisp prose….Unwittingly, this ambitious, unorthodox tale may change you too.”—The Economist

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The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

06 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by in 20th century, Fiction, Historical Fiction

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Kristin Hannah, author of The Nightingale, has done it again.  A troubled family consisting of thirteen year old Leni and her parents Ernt and Cora, sets off to Alaska in the 1970’s hoping to find happiness and fulfillment.  But they find that the harsh reality of the long dark winter is an unsympathetic teacher. The family learns the terrible truth that there is no one to save them but themselves.  A classic coming of age story and survival saga that is highly readable.  This book will make you enjoy the Nor’easters of 2018!

Alaska itself and its wildness and beauty is as much a character in this book as the people who are brave enough to live there. “In the vast expanse of this unpredictable wilderness, you will either become your best self and flourish, or you will run away, screaming from the dark and cold and the hardship.  There is no middle ground, no safe place, not here, in the Great Alone.” — Kristin Hannah.   Beauty versus violence.  An excellent read.

“Hannah vividly evokes the natural beauty and danger of Alaska and paints a compelling portrait of a family in crisis and a community on the brink of change.” ―Booklist

“There are many great things about this book…It will thrill her fans with its combination of Greek tragedy, Romeo and Juliet-like coming of age story and domestic potboiler. She recreates in magical detail the lives of Alaska’s homesteaders…and is just as specific and authentic in her depiction of the spiritual wounds of post-Vietnam America. A tour de force.” ―Kirkus (starred review)

“Hannah skillfully situates the emotional family saga in the events and culture of the late ’70s… But it’s her tautly drawn characters―Large Marge, Genny, Mad Earl, Tica, Tom―who contribute not only to Leni’s improbable survival but to her salvation amid her family’s tragedy.” ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

30 Friday Mar 2018

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NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST

This novel is both an absorbing tale of family dynamics and a fascinating look at another culture and time. It’s a big book, but I read it quickly, unable to put it down. This book chronicles an immigrant Korean family living in Japan during most of the 20th century. You might be shocked about the treatment of Korean immigrants in Japan. The characters are well developed and I really cared about them, especially Sunja and her sister-in-law.

“An exquisite, haunting epic…’moments of shimmering beauty and some glory, too,’ illuminate the narrative…Lee’s profound novel…is shaped by impeccable research, meticulous plotting, and empathic perception.”―Booklist (starred review)

“Stunning… Despite the compelling sweep of time and history, it is the characters and their tumultuous lives that propel the narrative… A compassionate, clear gaze at the chaotic landscape of life itself. In this haunting epic tale, no one story seems too minor to be briefly illuminated. Lee suggests that behind the facades of wildly different people lie countless private desires, hopes and miseries, if we have the patience and compassion to look and listen.”―The New York Times Book Review

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