Goodbye, October! This was another one of those months where, when I looked up it was the 20th and I had no idea where the days went. Is that an age thing? Because I never used to notice it so much. Anyway, I didn’t read as many books in October, for two reasons. One, I’m continuing to pay less attention to new releases (which is kind of working, in part because I’m only reading novels that have been directly recommended to me) and two, several were in the 500+ page range. The great news is that in October I read not one, but two five star novels. Woo Hoo!
Published by Penguin
Publication date: August 5th 2003
After falling crazy in love with The Rules of Magic, I knew I’d want to go back and read Hoffman’s first novel about the Owens sisters. I’m glad I did because it is more of her wonderful storytelling, but it is not as good as The Rules. In the ten year difference between the two books I saw clearly just how much Hoffman has grown as a writer. Still, it’s fun, quick reading if you want to see what happens to Gillian and Sally.
Published by Penguin Books
Publication date: April 1st 1995
I may not always love Picoult’s books, but by and large I really like them. Try as I might I could not give more than one star for this novel. The plot is splattered across a wide canvas like bad abstract art—a wealthy young cardiac-surgeon-to-be falls in love with a runaway, uneducated waitress. They marry after 3 months. His family cuts him off, she works to put him through school and later when things have settled down a bit she gets pregnant. OK, lots of ways to go here, most them good. Is Picoult going to examine women who give up their dreams for a husband’s grueling career and motherhood? Or, mismatched marriages? Motherhood ambiguity? Parental abandonment? No, she’s going with all of these and by the end of this one I was simultaneously bored and completely put off by the maudlin, manipulative ending.
This Is How It Always Is: I’m already calling this the best book of 2017. Comes with my highest recommendation. Loved this book so hard. My review
No One is Coming to Save Us: Review to follow
Paris in the Present Tense: My review
The Heart’s Invisible Furies: Another phenomenal book recommended to me by fellow bloggers. I should have a review up by next week, but it is a close second to How It Always Is.
Ferocity by Nicola Lagioia, Antony Shugaar
Published by Europa Editions
Publication date: October 10th 2017
An Italian translated novel and I can only hope that the translation is the problem because I could not finish this book. It’s about a young woman who supposedly killed herself, but it opens with her wandering alive, but bloody, across a highway. I could not make sense of what was happening and when we got to her funeral and some old guy tries to fondle her in her coffin I decided I’d had enough.
I read Lookaway Lookaway several years ago, but decided I needed to revisit Barnhardt’s snarky humor in this take on a old Southern family trying to live life in a way that no longer works for any of them. Funny and sad.
Published by Penguin Classics
Publication date: June 27th 1974
This is the first book in Trollope’s Palliser series. The more formal, old-fashioned prose of the classics is wonderfully soothing. Etiquette of the time was such that it took ten words to say what only needed five. At its core this is a story of a young woman, Alice, who breaks off her engagement (hugely shocking!) with a fine gentleman because she is no longer sure of their compatibility. Instead, she agrees to marry her ne-er-do-well cousin who proposes to her mostly because he wants her money to fund his election campaign and he has no job. Sound modern? That’s the thrill of Trollope—he was writing about British society in the late 1800s and in many instances it reads like contemporary times.
My only problem with Can You Forgive Her? are those same British values of the times. Alice and every woman in the novel is made to toe the line of appropriate behavior to such a degree that it went beyond annoying to making me mad. Thankfully, there is still much to enjoy about the book and I’m looking forward to the next one in the series!
Published by Knopf Publishing Group
Publication date: June 6th 2017
I was so looking forward to Roy’s new book (the first in 17 years), but I simply could not stay engaged with this one. The first part of the novel is about a hijra, as transgender women are known in India. If the story had stayed there, I might have stayed as well, but Part Two moved to an entirely different scenario. That plus the focus on Indian politics during the 1970s and the resulting religiously fueled violence were too much for me. I gave it 2 stars, even though I didn’t finish it. Her writing is beautiful so this could very well work for someone else.
How did October treat you? Any great books I need to add to my TBR?
Once again, thank you so much for the recommendation on The Rules of Magic; definitely my favorite book of the month! I had to laugh out loud as I began reading this post; I lamented on a similar experience of discovering that we are now in the month of November, and wondered whether this is because I am getting older – ha! I’m reading nonfiction this month, for Nonfiction November, but I can hardly wait to get to The Heart’s Invisible Furies; I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I’m going to try and participate in NNF, but not sure I can really handle more reality these days!
AH your review of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness worries me! That’s our next book club book and we don’t have a date for our meeting but I feel like I have been avoiding this book because this is my fear! I remember reading a few pages and being blown away by the writing but thinking that the plot was going to be hard going for me.
I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you loved the John Boyne book! It was really something special!
I just watched Practical Magic again. Do you think that will work for me instead of reading the book?
LOL- yes, that could count, but I watched it again as well and the book is much better. The movie got kind of dopey.
The Boyne was perfection. A librarian I know has now recommended Roddy Doyle and I seem to remember you reading him. Any book you recommend?
You might be in the mood for the Roy. I’m just tired of fiction that switches narrative from one person to another. I want to sink in and stay!
I haven’t read any Roddy Doyle! Let me know how they are!
Yay, to two fire star books! So glad you loved The Heart’s Invisible Furies. It was brilliant, with humor and seriousness wrapped together so beautifully. It nudges out This Is How It Always is for me, but they’re definitely close.
October truly did fly by, and I just bought my first couple Christmas presents which is sort of freaking me out!
I bought my first Christmas present yesterday and am so happy about it.
We are opposites- This is How It Always Is nudges out Heart’s Invisible for me. Both 5 stars, but I feel as if This is so topical. IDK, I just feel as if it is a critical book right now. I wish I would have met her when she was here!
Interesting month, you were really swinging back and forth between losers and winners. I have been saving your review of This Is How It Always Is for when I really have time to dig into what you wrote and my response. I felt the same way you did, it will definitely be on my Best Of list for the year. So darn good.
I am a loather of long books, but some are worth it, and Liberty Hardy’s raves about Infinite Furies made me select it as one of my Books of the Month. I haven’t gotten to it yet, but your response spurs me to want to do so sooner rather than later. Do you belong to BOTM? I think you might really like it. I am not a joiner or a fan of anyone telling me what to read, but I agreed to be a test subject when they were starting out and I fell in love with the format, which is much better than the old timey BOTM format.
I just know I had Lookaway Lookaway on a list somewhere. Not sure how or when it fell off, but if it has prompted you to read it twice I might have to rethink the fact that it slipped off the edge of my TBR somewhere.
Hope your reading November is even better!