Educating Harry

Man and Boy by Tony Parsons 

The blurb for this book on Goodreads says, “Harry Silver had it all: a beautiful wife, a wonderful son, a great job in the media. But in one night he throws it all away. Then Harry must start to learn what life and love are really all about.” So generally, I hate it when I read that a character “had it all” because we all know from this that something is going to go terribly wrong, and the book is going to be all about their struggle to recover from some tragedy that’s not really their fault. However, in this instance, we immediately see that he’s to blame for his own predicament, so I figured this one might be a little different. More importantly, I was looking for something that wouldn’t be as heavy as some of the other books I’d recently finished reading, and the blurbs on the cover did talk about this one being funny. That’s the main reason I decided to read this book. The question is, was it a good choice or not? 

The short answer to that question is both yes and no, and I’ll start with the latter. First of all, while there were some amusing passages that made me smile, and one or two that got a small giggle out of me, I can’t really say that it was hilarious or even all that funny. I’d say that better adjectives for this book would be sweet, as well as lighthearted. Other blurbs on this book said it was “tear-jerking” and one person said they “cried five times.” Well, while there were some less than happy parts in this book, I didn’t cry even once, and again, better adjectives would be tender and maybe touching. What I’m saying here is that if you’re looking for a rollercoaster of emotions, you won’t find it here. 

That said, there is much about this novel that is worthy of praise. To begin with, Parsons writes Harry Silver, the book’s protagonist, as a very sincere young man who makes one very stupid mistake that changes his whole life. Despite his indiscretion, we grow to really care about Harry, particularly since he makes such efforts to become a better person, as well as a better father to his young son. Mind you, women reading this book will be a touch annoyed that Harry doesn’t seem to get why his wife felt that his one-night stand was a deal breaker, or how quickly he seems to find another love interest. Even so, we like Harry, and we like how much he tries, and having a sympathetic protagonist is very important. Parsons also gives us a truly believable cast of characters that we can either fall in love with or dislike, but in most cases, it is the former, which also helps the novel. 

Furthermore, Parsons really has a lovely writing style. What we get here is something that feels very easy-going, very breezy and light, even when things aren’t going all that well for Harry. Parsons prose is also just carefully descriptive enough to paint pictures of both the places in Harry’s life, as well as the people he encounters along the way, without the narrative feeling stodgy or poetic. Where Parsons really shines, however, is in his dialog. Here we can listen to each character separately, and know almost immediately who is speaking. The talent that takes to make each character’s voice sound so distinctive is notably praiseworthy, and ultimately admirable. 

All told, Parsons’s sympathetic and believable characters, together with his clear, natural prose and sparking dialog, make for a very good read indeed. The question then is, does it matter that it isn’t highly emotional; should we care that we won’t have tears running down our faces with either laughter or in sadness? To tell the truth, if you ask me, no it doesn’t. This is a good book, and although it is nothing groundbreaking or spectacular, it is just the type of book that you might need after you’ve read something that wears you out emotionally. For that, I think it deserves a slightly better than average three and a half stars out of five. (By the way, this was the first in a series of three books.) 

"Man and Boy" by Tony Parsons is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books, Kobo audio books, eBooks.com, iTunes (iBook or audiobook, and the trilogy), The Book Depository (free worldwide delivery), new or used from Alibris or Better World Books (free worldwide delivery and supporting libraries and literacy) as well as from an IndieBound store near you.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Ghostly Blues

The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton 

According to Goodreads, this book is “a story of murder, mystery, and thievery; of art, love and loss. And flowing through its pages like a river, is the voice of a woman who stands outside time, whose name has been forgotten by history, but who has watched it all unfold…” of course, the woman is refers to is the titular Clockmaker’s Daughter. However, her voice is hardly the only one we hear in this book, and the many other voices spread across time, beginning in the mid-1800s through the 21st century. 

This is actually the first Morton I’ve read, even though I know we have one or two of her novels on our shelves; I’ve simply never gotten around to reading any of them. This is obviously a hole in my literary education, because what I found here was quite unexpected on several levels. 

To begin with, I had no idea that Morton’s writing style was such that I would find the prose totally riveting, luscious, and appealing, while also being deceptively simple. This type of artistry is exactly what I love to find in these types of novels, particularly ones that are as epic as this one. To my mind, this is the type of writing that seems to lend itself especially well to the historical fiction genre. Of course, not every writer can achieve this level of allure in their writing, so I’m sorry I never read Morton before. 

I was also surprised about how little the inclusion of the unrealistic parts of the story bothered me with this novel. Most of my regular readers know that I don’t care much for fantasy books, and while I can handle a bit of magical realism here and there, I don’t generally go in for horror or ghost stories. However, despite finding a ghost early on in this book, once again, I was unwilling to quit reading this book because of the prominence of an apparition being a major protagonist here. Once again, Morton’s literary style eclipsed that prejudice in me, and yet again, that kept me reading. 

Another surprising element here is how Morton gives us such a wide-ranging cast of characters, not only from across the years, but also within each of the eras where the actions take place. Often something like this can be confusing, and I must admit that there were times when I wasn’t sure who was whom, or where these people fit into the story. In fact, putting the pieces of this puzzle together wasn’t easy at all, and Morton only starts fitting them together for the readers about three-quarters of the way through the book, with the real answers only coming very near the ending. This can be both a good and a bad thing. On the one hand, being overly confused might turn off some readers. On the other hand, this increases the mysterious aspects of the plot, and I pride myself in figuring out “who done it” far too early in many books, which is the reason I hardly read mystery novels anymore. In fact, the former is more often the case for me, but if you can keep me guessing about what really happened, then you’ve got me hooked. Of course, add that to such brilliant prose and I’m in seventh heaven. 

I should also mention that this is no small work of fiction, as it hovers around 600 pages, which is easily 15-20% longer than most of the books I read. Of course, as already noted, when a book is this well written, we don’t often pay that much attention to the length (and if you’ve got it on your eReader instead of holding it in your hands, that makes it all the less daunting to tackle). However, the exceedingly large confluence of characters, and the many eras that this book encompasses, despite their very valuable contributions to the plot, does force me to lower my rating of this book. I can still recommend this book warmly, especially to lovers of historical fiction, people with a good measure of patience, and people who like a good ghost story. I’m not necessarily all of those types of people, so I’m going to give it four out of five stars, almost solely because of the excellent writing. 

Atria Books released "The Clockmaker’s Daughter" by Kate Morton in the UK on September 20, 2018. The US release will take place on October 9, 2018. This book is available (for purchase in the UK, and for pre-order in the US) from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo eBooks, Kobo audio books, eBooks.com, iTunes (iBook (US), iBook (UK) or audiobook), The Book Depository (free worldwide delivery), new or used from Alibris or Better World Books as well as from an IndieBound store near you. I would like to thank the publishers for giving me an ARC of this novel via NetGalley.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Three Belles’ Secrets.

The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White. 

The sinking of the Lusitania by Germany was the tragic event that brought America into the first World War. In this novel, the three co-authors, look at that event through the eyes of three women, two of whom survived the disaster, and one woman, Sarah Blake, who looking into the past to find inspiration for her next book by hopefully uncovering the truth about her great-grandfather, who was a purser on the ship. The two passengers are Tessa Fairweather and Caroline Telfair Hochstetter, whose paths end up crossing despite their sailing on separate classes. Goodreads says “As the Lusitania steams toward its fate, three women work against time to unravel a plot that will change the course of their own lives . . . and history itself.” 

First, I want to apologize to Williams, Willig and White (who I will refer to as “Team W” from now on) for not publishing this review sooner (I hope will you forgive me since the delay was due to a vacation abroad that included research into my own historical fiction novel), but better late than never, right? That said, I’ve had quite a bit of time to think about this book, which further shaped my opinion, but not by much. To begin with, I immediately found that each of “Team W” are well adept in building fascinating, and highly sympathetic characters. If I had to rate them, I’d say I liked Tessa the best, and almost equally Sarah, with Caroline being my least favorite (but only by a whisper). 

I mention this because for me, often how authors portray characters can make or break a novel. In this instance, I am assuming that the three writers worked primarily on one character each, which not only gave each of the female protagonists their own perspective, but also their own distinct voices. Sarah, for instance, is the one looking back at the past, trying to uncover a mystery, that may or may not have some special connection to her own family. Her modern voice is bold and unguarded, but being a historian, she still has a nostalgic streak, which beautifully connects her to the past and both Tessa and Caroline. 

Since Tessa and Caroline are both from the historical parts of the story, their accounts are in “real time” but yet very different. Tessa’s lower-class status, allows her to be blunter than Caroline, without being rude (for the most part). She also has the type of wit and quick mind that assists her with her less than honest schemes, as well as hide her own emotions. As for Caroline, she isn’t your classic high-society woman. She’s passionate, intelligent, and forthright when the world around her prefers quiet, unassuming women who adorn the scenery and defer to their husbands. However, she is a woman who is torn between loving her husband, and falling for a man whose character more closely matches her own. 

With these women, and their individual love interests (and thankfully, the romance parts are not at all gratuitous, and they work well in furthering the plot), we have the mystery that connects them all. Team W artfully weaves the subterfuge and intrigue into the story, which they carefully unfold with just the right pacing, and switching between the past and the present, to keep our interest throughout. If I have one criticism of this book, it would be that there was an essential part of the plot from the opening of the book that never got satisfactorily resolved. Because of this, I felt that the ending was just a tiny bit disappointing, although still satisfying for the most part. Admittedly, because “Team W” did such a marvelous job describing the bombing of the ship and the panic that ensued, followed by the horrible aftermath with the survivors and the victims made for such an exciting climax that practically anything after that would naturally feel a touch lackluster by comparison. 

All told, “Team W” have given us a truly enthralling novel and their collaboration feels seamless, even though they must have worked almost equally apart, as they did together. By the way, I was already slightly familiar with two of the Ws here – Williams and Willig – since they both contributed to the short story collection "Fall of Poppies." When I saw their names on this book, I knew I had to read it, and now I also want to see what else White has written. As you can see, I truly enjoyed this book, I can warmly recommend it, and I believe it deserves a very healthy four and a half stars out of five. 

William Morrow - Harper Collins released “The Glass Ocean” by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White on September 4, 2018. This book is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books, Kobo audio books, eBooks.com, iTunes (iBook or audiobook), The Book Depository (free worldwide delivery), new or used from Alibris or Better World Books as well as from an IndieBound store near you. I would like to thank the publishers for sending me an ARC of this novel via Edelweiss in exchange for a fair review.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad