Reviews

A touching often painful story of a young boy “Shuggie” growing up in the bleak, coal covered public housing of  Glasgow, Scotland in the 1980’s. His beloved mother is haunted by unfulfilled dreams of glamour and soaks her disappointments in alcohol. His mostly absent father and older siblings walk out, leaving Shuggie to navigate the burden. He has his own societal struggles of not being a “normal” boy as he navigates his yearnings and desires.

This is a raw epic tale of a working class family, their struggles with love, devotion, poverty, addiction and sexuality. The Winner of the Booker Prize and first time novelist Douglas Stuart tells a rich, somewhat autobiographical, unforgettable story that will stay with you for a long time.

I’ve just met Duchess Goldblat and we’ve already cried together. And yes laughed together too. This is a memoir by the anonymous author of the @duchessgoldblat twitter account. I felt as if I was sitting at a table having drinks with anonymous as she carefully unfolds her path to the successful creation of Duchess. Finding herself bereft of her marriage, home, family and job, she reaches out into the twitterverse with her heart open wide, giving love and support to those like her in desperate need of both. Her clever humor resonates with thousands and she finds herself piecing her life back together. She answers her followers, many of them celebrities, with integrity and honesty, and forms true lifelong friendships. I was deeply moved by the simple humanity of this memoir, especially at this moment in time when we are in need of kind voices. Words do matter. One of my favorite books of 2020.

Seventeen year old Noel Crowe arrives in Faha Ireland on the eve of the county getting electricity for the first time. Unstoppable rains, and a stranger looking for a lost love, help to set the tone for this touching coming of age story. Noel is sent to live with his grandparents after he unexpectedly leaves his seminary studies.  Narrated by Noel who is now in his 70's, the story hearkens back to a simpler time in the mid 1950's, and small communities who can all feel the winds of change. The story is a tender written beautiful tale of life, love, longings and growth.

May Attaway is turning 40 and has realized her life might be lacking. As a gardener at a local university, she finds herself more comfortable with trees than people. Living with her father in her childhood home, May starts to wonder how she got to such a place of separateness. “I don’t have a daughter and I don’t know if I ever will. But if I do we will not carry this sadness forward. I’m tired of holding it.”

An unexpected reward of time off has May deciding she will spend the time reconnecting with those who knew her at a different time as she begins to cobble together the pieces. Thinking about a reverse Odyssey “What if Penelope had left?” or a friendless Beowulf, May packs Emily Post’s book on etiquette, a suitcase she has named Grendel and heads out. Each visit reflects on her past, as well as the observation that life is generally complicated.

In Rules for Visiting, Jessica Francis Kane gives us a thoughtful and touching story, and a character you will find yourself rooting for.

After 13 years of marriage, Toby Fleishman, a newly divorced 41 year old upper East Side hepatologist, finds himself being pursued by fascinating, attractive and amorous women. This exciting new life hits a snag when his successful talent agent ex-wife disappears, leaving him to juggle full-time parenting of their 2 children.

 His feelings go from anger to concern when she uncharacteristically loses all contact with him and the kids. With the help of old friends, Toby finds himself contemplating his failed marriage as well as his current life. The plot, told in the third person by an outside narrator, is as much about marriage as it is about mid-life.

In Fleishman Is In Trouble,Taffy Brodesser-Akner delivers a humorous, smart, thought provoking, debut novel. I really enjoyed the characters as well as the story, one of my favorites this year.

My love of food memoirs started when I read Ruth Reichl’s “Tender at the Bone” many years ago. In the years since, I have devoured all of Reichl’s books as well as many other memoirs by food writers, restaurant critics and chefs. Save Me the Plums is about her tenure as the Editor-in-Chief of ‘Gourmet’ magazine for 10 years, and its subsequent closing.

Reichl takes us through the endless machinations Conde` Nast used to woo her, as well as the behind the scenes world of magazine publishing. As the NY Times points out, Ruth was shocked at the perks “Apparently they pay for everything,” Reichl informed her husband. “Country clubs … hairdressers, travel. You name it.” With humor and detail she outlines what it takes to publish a magazine with the  history of Gourmet. The politics, the hierarchy, the eccentricities and the constant topic of money take up enormous amounts of time, not to mention all the creativity to breathe life back into this icon.

As with all of her books, her writing flows easily, but it’s all about the food. She talks about food, she thinks about food, she eats food and she cooks food. Thankfully, there are recipes.

Humorous, informative and simply delicious, Save Me the Plums is a great summer read.

An American Marriage heartbreakingly depicts racial injustice in modern America. Up and coming in their careers, and newly married, Roy and Celestials lives are thrown into chaos one fateful night when Roy is arrested for a crime he did not commit. Tayari Jones likens it to the Odyssey. Odysseus embarks on a challenging journey, hoping to find his faithful wife waiting for him.

The challenge of maintaining the marriage affects the couple as well as their parents, families and friends. Jones wanted people to understand that for black Americans, "Injustice in the criminal justice system — it's just in the air. Like hurricanes if you live on the East Coast or earthquakes if you live out West. It's just something that is." The possibility of being snapped up into the system is always there, hovering.

The story is beautifully written. Jones is a remarkable writer. Using alternate voices helps the reader to see the circumstances and viewpoints through each narrator. If you enjoy character-driven, compelling stories, this will be a great addition to your reading list.