Maeve and Danny live of a life of contrasts. Their house is by far the grandest in their neighborhood and money is not something they ever have to think about, but their mother left when Danny was only three and Maeve ten. Their father is a taciturn man who excels at real estate, but shows little interest in either of his children. What they have is each other and it’s enough, ... Read More...
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Sometimes a book comes my way not from reviews or recommendations, but from simple proximity—I see it at the library and decide to read it. Very often these are some of my favorite books. This is the case with Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb. It’s her account of being a therapist and what happens when she needs a therapist herself. Gottlieb lives in L.A., is ... Read More...
The Most Fun We Ever Had: A Novel
Where to begin about The Most Fun We Ever Had? To be concise: It’s a sweeping story of a Chicago couple who meet and marry in 1970s and go on to have four daughters. But that’s like telling someone the Grand Canyon is a big hole in the ground and not the way I work. Marilyn and David are the perfect couple to everyone around them, including their daughters Wendy, Violet, Liza ... Read More...
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Marianne and Connell live very different lives in the same small Irish town. She has a wealthy family and a big house, but is an outcast at their school, while he is everyone’s best friend, a natural athlete, a good student. His mother cleans her family’s mansion, so he comes over every afternoon to pick her up. On one of these afternoons they talk. This innocuous circumstance ... Read More...
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
There’s a loser in every relationship. We may not like to admit it, but one of us always gets a little more, and one of us gives up a little more readily. Given that I have very little interest in sports related fiction, it was no small feat on Fredrik Backman’s part that he made me care so much about hockey. But, in his novel, Beartown, I did. Mostly because it ... Read More...
It’s Not You, It’s Me: Laura & Emma
The whole point of this feature is that it’s for books that did not come together for me, but this is one of the first times I’m doubting myself, because two of the bloggers I know and trust loved Laura & Emma. I did not. I didn’t even like it. I disliked it, but gladly admit that maybe I was in the wrong mood for the novel and am wrong in my assessment. In that spirit, ... Read More...
