This is Where the Serpent Lives

Daniyal Mueenuddin

This is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin is structured as four interlocking novellas with common characters threaded throughout. The setting is Pakistan.

The novel opens with a young child abandoned by his family at the bazaar in Rawalpindi in the 1950s. The child, Yazid, is taken in by a tea stall owner where he lives and works for several years. Enterprising and intelligent, Yazid gains in popularity with customers who teach him to read and write. School boys from the privileged classes seeks his friendship. When the sister of his friend Zain is compromised, Yazid takes matters into his own hands. As a consequence, he has no option but to leave town, finding employment with an army colonel turned politician in Lahore.

The second novella tells the story of the colonel’s nephew Rustom as he attempts to revive the fortunes of the declining estate he inherited from his playboy father. He has to rely on local gangsters to enforce boundary disputes on his estate. He seeks advice from his cousin Hisham.

The third novella focuses on Hisham, his glamourous wife, and Yazid, who has become their trusted chauffer. This section includes the backstory of Hisham and his brother while studying in America, and the meeting with Shahnaz who initially dated Hisham’s brother but then set her sights on and married Hisham.

The final novella recounts the story of Saqib. Taken into Hisham and Shahnaz’s household as a young boy, Saqib is mentored by Yazid and gradually earns the trust of his employers. They assign him to grow cucumbers on a portion of their land. His use of modern technology is successful. His success makes him greedy, leading him to steal from his wealthy employers and to betray Yazid, who has been like a surrogate father to him. The novel ends with calamity for Saqib and his young family.

Spanning decades, the novel offers a panoramic view of Pakistan, exploring class, power, and corruption within all segments of society. Mueenuddin portrays bribery, theft, extortion, violence, and moral turpitude as norms. The setting is immersive, with its sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of Pakistani food, market places, villages, squalid huts, and luxurious homes. The characters are vividly drawn. However, the four novellas, although linked together by some of the characters, may have been better suited if considered as short stories. Put together, the novel seems to lack cohesion and presents a disjointed narrative structure.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Muriel Spark

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark is a classic that is as fresh today as it was when first published in the 1960s.

Set in Scotland in the 1930s, it portrays an eccentric Scottish teacher in an Edinburgh girls’ school who singles out a select group of students for her unique style of education. Known as the Brodie set, the six girls are subjected to Jean Brodie’s views on education, her passions, her sharp reprimands, her biting wit, her constant reminders that she is in her prime, her love of all things Italian, and her sympathies with fascism. She spins tales of her love life—real or imagined—and exerts considerable influence on her girls.

Woven seamlessly into the narrative are flash forwards of the girls from the time they are ten years old until they are eighteen and beyond, at which time Brodie’s influence has begun to wane. In brief authorial intrusions, we learn of the girls’ careers, marriages, and, in the case of one young girl, her untimely death, and in the case of another, her entrance into a nunnery.

Spark’s depiction is laced with biting satire, wit, and humor. Her genius lies in depicting Jean Brodie through the eyes of other characters while simultaneously denying access to her interiority. Our knowledge of Jean Brodie is restricted to how others see her and to what she articulates.

In Jean Brodie, Muriel Spark has created an unforgettable character—a manipulative, opinionated, incorrigible, charismatic, egotistical, and self-righteous woman who abuses her authority as a teacher to mold impressionable young minds in her image. Although we are denied access to her thoughts unless she articulates them, Jean Brodie emerges as life-like and recognizable. Thanks to the genius of Muriel Spark, Jean Brodie steps of the page as one of the most unforgettable characters in literature.

Gilgamesh: A New Verse Translation

Simon Armitage

Gilgamesh: A New Verse Translation by Simon Armitage is not a translation, per se, but a reimagining of the epic in beautiful, rhythmic verse that breathes life into this very ancient poem.

Prof. Armitage’s intention, articulated in his introduction, is to “balance linguistic and historical frameworks against literary expectations of the present day.” In other words, he wants to translate the epic as a poet, not as an Assyriologist. He aims to render the scholarly word for word translations into a language that is vibrant, accessible, and readable.

Included in the introduction is a brief history of the poem’s evolution; the different translation and how each translator handled the issue of gaps in the existing tablets; an exploration of some of the major themes of the poem; and an acknowledgement of its continued relevance. Prof. Armitage eschews blank sections or rows of dots to indicate gaps in the material. Instead, he bridges the gaps in the tablets by using prose as fillers. That technique, coupled with a brief outline at the beginning of each chapter, allows for easy comprehension and smoother readability. Included at the end is a helpful glossary of the characters in Mesopotamian mythology, detailed notes, and a bibliography.

Prof. Armitage opens the section “A Note on the Translation” with an image of a clay jigsaw, thousands of years old, scattered over several thousand miles. His image reinforces the challenge facing any who wish to embark on translating Gilgamesh. Fortunately, scholars remain undeterred since there are several scholarly translations of the epic by Assyriologists, the most memorable being Sophus Helle’s Gilgamesh: A New Translation of the Ancient Epic.

The number of translations begs the question do we really need another translation? The answer is a resounding, yes! This remarkable epic continues to sing to us after four thousand years. Each translation or rendition adds a new layer of meaning, a new interpretation, a new way of seeing. And in the capable hands of Simon Armitage, we have the opportunity to read this ancient epic through yet another new set of lenses, this time in a powerful and mesmerizing verse rendition that captures the haunting beauty and poignancy of the original.

Highly recommended.

The Fox Wife

Yangsze Choo

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo is a historical fantasy novel unfolding in two parallel threads. Set on 1900s Manchuria, the first thread is the story of Snow, a mother seeking vengeance against the murderer of her child. The second thread is of Bao, a private detective initially hired to discover the identity of a dead woman found at the doorstep of a business. The threads unfold separately in alternating chapters. Although the same characters are mentioned and/or appear separately in both threads, the two threads don’t merge until close to the end of the novel.

The novel blends Chinese mythology; folk tales; mysterious, shape-shifting fox spirits that can assume human form; and disappearing shadows. Although it had a lot of potential, it failed to meet expectations. The slow start and dragging momentum made it a challenge to sustain interest. The characters seem directionless and lackluster as they drift from one episode to another. The plot meanders. The dialogue frequently smacks of hackneyed phrases and cliches. The writing is somewhat simplistic; the conclusion, predictable. And although we are told Snow is a shape-shifting fox, she is never shown as a fox.

On the whole, a disappointing read.

The Stone Diaries

Carol Shields

Winner of the 1995 Pulitzer Prize, The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields is a character-driven, semi-autobiographical novel depicting the life of Daisy Goodwill. Daisy was born in Manitoba in 1905 and died in Florida in the 1990s. Although the primary focus of the narrative is Daisy, Shields skillfully intertwines Daisy’s story with the stories and interiority of her friends and family. The segue from one character’s story to another is artfully executed.

The narrative alternates between first-person and third-person. It opens with Daisy describing the day of her birth and her mother’s death while giving birth to her. Raised by a neighbor and her son until the age of eleven, Daisy moves back with her father when the neighbor (Aunt Clarentine) dies. Her first marriage to Harold Hoad ends abruptly when Harold falls out of a hotel window in Paris during their honeymoon. Daisy returns home a widow. Several years later, she marries Aunt Clarentine’s son, Barker, with whom she has three children. After Barker’s death, she moves to Florida where she dies.

The shifting points of view portray Daisy as others see her—her friends, family, children, grandchildren, and niece. Occasionally, Daisy speaks for herself. But more often than not, others speak for her or about her or about each other. After her husband’s death, Daisy writes a column as Mrs. Green Thumb for a local paper where we also see her through a series of letters from her editor. She suffers from a severe depression when her employment is terminated. This is followed by a sequence of conflicting views from friends and family as to the cause of her depression. Conflicting views resurface after Daisy’s death in the form of a series of lists itemizing the bland facts of her life.

The novel’s strength lies in many areas. Through its elegant prose and prolific use of detail, Shields immerses the reader in minute details of time, place, and character. Her dazzling display with words captures the essence of a thing or person with layer upon layer of intricate detail, primarily focusing on domesticity. The complex structure, alternating as it does with different voices in the form of letters, diaries, lists, and newspaper entries, allows Shields to leap in time by inserting a brief comment to bridge the intervening years.

What emerges from this complex and arresting novel is a composite, multifaceted portrait of Daisy but one that fails to pin her down definitively. And that may be the point. How others see Daisy—or us—may not be entirely accurate. Just like the novels’ characters, we project on to others our own biases and perspectives and see in them what we are predisposed to see. How we really are may remain a mystery—even to ourselves.

This complex novel is elegantly written, skillfully executed, and highly recommended.

Life in the Garden

Penelope Lively

Life in the Garden by Penelope Lively is an atypical book on gardening. Lively eschews delving into the how-to of gardening. Instead, her exposé of the garden is part memoir, part history, part social commentary, and part personal musings on life. Lively explores gardening in its many aspects. Included is a personal journey into her engagement with gardens, beginning with her childhood in Cairo followed by the various locations where she lived in England.

Lively interprets artistic renditions of gardens and discusses the role they play in literature and how they serve the narrative either by creating atmosphere or providing insight into a character. She cites examples in literature to demonstrate her point and plunges into the gardening exploits of literary and artistic figures. She is able to recognize writers who know first-hand about gardens and those who don’t. She critiques gardening manuals and garden designers, re-counting how gardening and garden fashions have evolved over time. Her exploration of gardens as indicators of social standing was eye-opening. Peppered throughout are descriptions of memorable gardens laced with splashes of colorful flowers. Lively elaborates on the physical and psychological benefits of gardening and the impact gardening has on our concept of time. Asserting the importance of green space in our lives, she argues gardens provide a much-needed refuge from the hustle and bustle of daily existence.

Lively sprinkles English and Latin names of flowers and shrubs, describing their appearances and vibrant colors. As an experienced and passionate gardener, she demonstrates an almost encyclopedic knowledge of gardening, inserting her knowledge with smatterings do’s and don’ts. She freely shares her garden likes and dislikes, her successes and failures. She seamlessly zips in and out of describing actual gardens and fictional gardens in a voice that is engaging, witty, entertaining, and conversational.

A glorious celebration of the garden and the therapeutic role it plays in body and soul. Lively’s exuberance for gardening sings on every page.

The Correspondent

Virginia Evans

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans unfolds in a series of letters to and from Sybil Van Antwerp, a retired septuagenarian who served as a judge’s chief clerk for thirty years.

Sybil dedicates certain days and times during the week to write letters. She prefers writing letters to sending emails. She corresponds with friends, family, neighbors, authors, newspaper editors, a university dean, and individuals from her past. In short, she sends letters to anyone and everyone.

The letters gradually reveal Sybil’s background and personality. She emerges as a no-nonsense, quirky, stubborn, caring individual who speaks her mind, and who is haunted by mistakes and regrets she made in the past. The novel includes some of the replies she receives. All the letters reflect the unique voices of the letter-writers, each of whom appears as a well-rounded individual and who, in one way or another, also face some of life’s challenges.

Virginia Evans handles the epistolary format with consummate skill. She adds layer upon layer of information, gradually revealing details until the full picture materializes. The letters are poignant, tender, and emotionally moving. Taken as a whole, they articulate the search for identity, the pain of losing a loved one, the importance of personal connections, the challenges of aging, the necessity of self-reflection, and the healing power of making amends with those whom one has wronged.

An engaging, gem of a book. In Sybil Van Antwerp, Virginia Evans has given this reader a character who will not soon be forgotten.

The Boundless Deep: Young Tennyson, Science, and the Crisis of Belief

Richard Holmes

The Boundless Deep: Young Tennyson, Science and the Crisis of Belief by Richard Holmes charts Tennyson’s early years until he became poet laureate. The biography captures Tennyson’s loneliness and feelings of isolation during his early years and the crisis of faith he experienced in his later years. Tennyson is described as a tall, handsome, imposing figure, unkempt, with a scruffy beard, enveloped in smelly tobacco smoke, and sporting his signature black Spanish coat and sombrero.

Holmes portrays the early Tennyson as a conflicted individual struggling to reconcile his faith with new scientific discoveries. His early adult years coincided with rigorous debates about the emerging theories of evolution and the discoveries in geology and astronomy. Tennyson read heavily the works of geologists and astronomers and was an avid astronomer, incorporating cosmic imagery in many of his poems. He questioned humanity’s role and importance in a universe that pre-dated the existence of human beings by millions of years. Holmes explores how Tennyson’s crisis of faith is reflected in his poetry. He explicates Tennyson’s poems, showing how the theories of evolution and scientific discoveries of the day influenced his thinking and his writing. His marriage and the birth of his two sons brought stability to his life.

The biography is well-researched and engaging. Holmes covers a wealth of information about Tennyson’s early years. He describes his friendships with leading political figures, authors, artists, and scientists of the day. He analyzes the diction, rhyme, and meter of some of Tennyson’s poems. He cites excerpts from what others have written about him, as well as the critical reception his poetry received.  Extensive notes, bibliography, index, and color plates are included.

Holmes masterful biography vividly breathes life into one of the giants of English literature. The young Tennyson emerges as a flesh and blood figure, reserved, solitary, prone to fits of melancholy, plagued with existential anxieties, and thoroughly brilliant. He had the capacity to channel these qualities into some of the most beautiful poetry in English literature.

August Blue

Deborah Levy

August Blue by Deborah Levy explores the interiority of Elsa M. Anderson, the central figure in Levy’s novel.

The novel opens with Elsa, a world-famous pianist, escaping to Greece after she had abruptly walked off the stage in Vienna in the middle of a performance of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2. No one knows why Elsa abandoned the concert, least of all Elsa. She drifts around in Greece and then hops off to other European cities. She gives private piano lessons, interacts with friends, and goes to Sardinia to be at the side of her former piano coach/surrogate father who is terminally ill.

The plot is skeletal, consisting mainly of scenes frozen in time. Flashbacks of Elsa’s past pepper the narrative. She is abandoned by her mother for reasons unknown. At the age of six, she is adopted by Arthur Goldstein, her piano coach, who raises her as if she were his daughter. He changes her name and molds her to his specifications. Elsa continues to be haunted by amorphous, fleeting images of her mother.

What makes this novel fascinating is Levy’s ability to conjure up an almost a dream-like atmosphere as Elsa drifts from one episode to the next, from one European capital to the next. It is as if she sleep-walks through her life. While in Greece, she encounters a woman she is convinced is her double or better half. This doppelganger appears to Elsa intermittently in various European cities. Assuming the role of an alter-ego, the double confronts and challenges Elsa in imaginary conversations.

The novel grapples with questions of identity, gendered power dynamics, abandonment, love, and grief. It also tackles the issue of female agency in a world in which Elsa’s life has been dictated to her by men. She colors her hair blue to assert her freedom of choice and independence. Her refusal to continue with the public piano performance is an act of defiance. She openly rejects the path pre-planned for her by others. The narrative follows her as she struggles to find her own path and articulate her identity and self-expression.

A slow, meandering novel that is both mesmerizing and atmospheric.

Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History

Moudhy Al-Rashid

Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History by Dr. Moudhy Al-Rashid explores the 5,000-year-old ancient artifacts of Mesopotamia. Each chapter examines a specific artefact and formulates what it reveals about life in Ancient Mesopotamia and the people who inhabited the region.

Among the wealth of artefacts examined are a clay drum, a brick, a statue of King Shulgi, school tablets, the cone of Kudur Mabuk, a boundary stone, and a mace head. Dr. Al-Rashid concludes her research with a chapter on Ennigaldi-Nanna, a high priestess and the daughter of King Nabonidus. Ennigaldi-Nanna was possibly the first ever curator of a museum of ancient objects since many of the artefacts located in her “palace” pre-date her by many centuries.

Dr. Al-Rashid is an honorary fellow of Assyriology at the University of Oxford’s Wolfson College, specializing in the languages and history of ancient Mesopotamia. Fortunately, she writes in a style that is accessible and engaging, avoiding academic jargon. By comparing ancient artefacts with modern day equivalents, Dr. Al-Rashid humanizes the past, making the material relatable and drawing connections between those who lived 5,000 years ago and ourselves. She shows how the era laid the foundation for our understanding of astronomy, mathematics, and the spread of diseases.

Dr. Al-Rashid’s expertise and knowledge of the subject matter is clearly evident. Her scholarship is impressive. Her enthusiasm for the material is contagious. She shares some fascinating details about the lives of not only kings, nobles, and priestesses, but also the lives of ordinary people. Her excitement is palpable as when, for example, she translates a lullaby found on a tablet thousands of years old. This triggers memories of her own attempts to lull her crying infant to sleep with a soft lullaby. And, not surprisingly, some 5,000 years ago, women’s complaints about the challenge of juggling child-care with full-time employment resonates with women today. And some will relate to the merchant who suggested his couriers smuggle goods in their underwear to avoid paying taxes. The methods may differ, but the desire to avoid taxes is, apparently, thousands of years old.

A fascinating, thoroughly engaging, and accessible study of a time and place in history that gave birth to civilization. An extensive bibliography and notes are provided for further reading.

Highly recommended.

A Mask the Color of the Sky

Bassem Khandaqji; trans. Addie Leak

A Mask the Color of the Sky by Bassem Khandaqji, translated from the Arabic by Addie Leak, won the 2024 International Prize for Arabic fiction. It is a complex novel in which a Palestinian man from the Ramallah refugee camp interrogates his identity.

Nur al-Shadi, an archaeology student, has aspirations of writing a novel about Mary Magdalen based on her portrayal in the Gnostic Gospels. He discovers an Israeli identity card for Or Shapira in the pocket of a second-hand leather jacket he purchased. Nur’s knowledge of Hebrew, light-colored skin, and fair hair enable him to adopt the identity of Or and pass as an Ashkenazi Jew. His fluid identity alternates between Palestinian or Israeli depending on the circumstances. As Or, he travels to a kibbutz to participate in an archeological dig with the hope of conducting research for his upcoming novel. His situation is exacerbated when he meets two women on the team, an Israeli Zionist and a Palestinian Muslim. The two women clash and Nur/Or finds himself caught in the middle as he interrogates his identity.

The novel’s structure is layered. It alternates between third-person and Nur’s first-person point of view. Peppered throughout are Nur’s thoughts on how to construct his novel and his attempts to grasp the nature of Mary Magdalene’s transformation after her interaction with Jesus. He records his thoughts in letters to his close friend imprisoned in an Israeli jail—letters he knows will never be sent. His internal conflicts are manifested in the form of dialogues between Nur and Or, Self and Other.

The novel also explores the dynamics between inanimate objects and identity. Nur’s fake Israeli identity card and the star of David he wears around his neck give him access to places he would never be allowed to enter as a Palestinian. They endow him with a power denied to other Palestinians and provide him with insight on the lives of those he sees as enemies. The mask he assumes acts as the catalyst for his journey of self-discovery. Although externally he passes as an Israeli, internally, he remains a Palestinian, highlighting the tension between external appearances and internal truths.

Connected to this is Nur’s exploration of the different texts written about Mary Magdalene. He considers how objects—in this case, the written word—can be manipulated to promote a specific agenda. This idea is reinforced when the archaeological team unearths artefacts or encounters remains of Arab villages that are now occupied by Israeli settlers. How is this material interpreted and who gets to interpret it? These issues force Nur to interrogate his fake identity vs. his true identity. At the end of the novel, he liberates himself from the oppressive mask he had maintained. He discards his Israeli identity card and the Star of David necklace and embraces his authentic Palestinian identity.

A complex, challenging narrative that articulates the physical, emotional, and psychological impact of displacement and occupation while exploring the interplay between objects and identity.

No Friend to this House

Natalie Haynes

No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes unfolds as a series of alternating vignettes in multiple first-person and third-person voices. Most of the speakers are women who tell their stories of use and abuse perpetrated by humans and/or gods. Some of the goddesses also speak in their voices as they bicker and scheme to help or thwart their favorites.

The first half of the novel focuses on the story of Jason and his adventures as he embarks on his quest for the golden fleece. Peppered throughout are stories of women who narrate how they were deceived, raped, abandoned, and/or died. Medea does not appear until nearly half way through the novel and only after Jason arrives in Colchis. She is completely besotted with Jason thanks to Cupid’s arrow. She helps him overcome a series of challenges until he is able to abscond with the fleece. In exchange, Jason promises to make her his wife. Theirs is a bumpy relationship which spirals downwards when Jason decides to marry the princess of Corinth. Medea tells her side of the story. Angry at the betrayal and the injustice, she plots her revenge against Jason by killing the princess, her father, and murdering her own children.

Haynes is to be commended for giving voice to female characters, some of whom barely receive a tertiary mention in Greek mythology. But because there are so many voices, Medea is reduced to one voice among many. Her rage and anger are presented in intermittent stops and starts interrupted by the constantly changing points of view. This leads to an unfortunate consequence: the fierce female rage we are familiar with from Euripides’ Medea is diluted. Medea appears as a feeble shadow of her original self.

Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater

Peggy Orenstein

Unraveling: What I learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World’s Ugliest Sweater by Peggy Orenstein is part memoir; part an exploration of life during the COVID pandemic; part anxiety over climate change and sustainability; part a meditation on grief, aging, family; and part a reflection on the meaning of home. Orenstein works all of these elements into her journey of making a sweater from scratch.

When the COVID pandemic hit, Orenstein wanted to find solace by making something with her own hands. She had always been a knitter. Because the lockdown brought her book tours to a screeching halt, she decided to take advantage of her free time by learning the steps involved in knitting a sweater, beginning with shearing sheep, through to spinning yarn, dying wool, and knitting a finished product.

Orenstein describes each step in the process with vivid detail. She solicits the help of experts along the way to guide her in performing specific tasks and to educate her on the past and current status of textile production. Included in her journey are segments on the history of textile creation, the various technological developments associated with it, the pivotal role played by women throughout, and the ubiquitous influence textiles has had on history and culture.

Peppered throughout the memoir are anecdotes about Orenstein’s personal background, including her upbringing, education, and marriage. She reflects on her role as a parent and the changes she will have to navigate with her daughter’s upcoming entrance to university. She threads political commentary throughout. And she does it all with humor and informal diction.

Using the process from sheep to sweater as the platform to explore broad social issues and to reflect on her life’s journey, Orenstein’s memoir is entertaining and educational. However, a glaring omission is her failure to acknowledge her quest is predicated on her position of class privilege. She has the means, resources, and the contacts to organize her sheep to sweater enterprise. Most people are not so fortunate.

The Space Between Us

Thrity Umrigar

The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar is the story of two Indian women in Bombay who are separated by caste. Bhima, the maid, has worked for the Dubash family for decades. In many ways, she supported and comforted her upper-class employer, Sera Dubash. Their relationship has been mutually beneficial. Bhima soothed Sera’s physical wounds each time she received yet another beating from her husband. She helped to raise, Dinaz, Sera’s daughter, and sympathized with her after her husband’s death. In turn, Sera came to the aid of Bhima when her husband was hospitalized, and she paid for the college tuition for Bhima’s granddaughter.

The novel opens with Bhima learning her granddaughter has shamed the family by becoming pregnant and dropping out of college. By way of contrast, Sera is excited at the prospect of becoming a grandmother since Dinaz and her husband are expecting their first child. In spite of the fact Bhima and Sera have known and supported each other for decades, the class distinction remains prominent in their lives. Sera will not permit Bhima to sit at the table with her or use the same utensils as the rest of the family. And Bhima has internalized her subordinate status, convincing herself her illiteracy and poverty make her worthless and that she has to tolerate injustice if she is to survive. Their relationship ends with a resounding clash when Bhima confronts her granddaughter’s oppressor.

The novel portrays the deep-seated structural inequities of caste stratification and gender discrimination and oppression in modern India. As women, Bhima and Sera are abused by a system that privileges the male. They are victims of systemic male oppression and deception. But instead of working together to fight a common oppressor, each is rooted firmly behind her class lines. Sera emerges as the more morally and ethically culpable. When given a choice to believe a woman who has served her loyally for decades or to accept a harsh reality that threatens the status quo, she insists on her class privilege and sides against Bhima, effectively perpetuating a system that abuses them both.

Alternating between the perspectives and backstories of Bhima and Sera, Umrigar treats her characters with sympathy. Her diction is elegant; her setting, immersive. Through her characters, she illustrates the complexities of challenging class, power, and gender oppression, a daunting task requiring considerable courage.

Tin Man

Sarah Winman

Tin Man by Sarah Winman opens in 1950 when a pregnant Dora Judd publicly defies her husband by selecting a reproduction of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers as her raffle winnings instead of the bottle of whisky he wanted. The painting holds special significance for Dora and references to it appear throughout the novel.

The novel then shifts to 1996. Dora’s son, Ellis, is forty-six years old and mourning the death of his wife, Annie, who died in a car accident. What follows are flashbacks to Ellis’ past, his teenage love affair with Michael, and his marriage to Annie. The three form a powerful bond with Michael as a force of energy. The narrative then shifts to 1989 and 1990 with Michael’s first-person point of view, as he recalls his relationship with Ellis and his later relationship with G who dies of AIDS. Michael later succumbs to the disease. Included in the flashbacks are images of Michael’s loving grandmother who plays a prominent role in all their lives. Michael abruptly leaves London after her death and loses contact with his two friends for several years.

In beautiful, simple, and heart-warming prose, Winman captures the sadness, grief, and loneliness at the loss of those who were once bound by an all-consuming love and friendship for one another. Her prose is tender, restrained, and compassionate. The loneliness and grief are palpable, as is the love they share. But the novel is not simply about grief over the loss of a loved one. It is also about grief for the many paths not taken in life—the many pursuits, indulgences, choices in life that were relinquished in favor of others. In that sense, the novel laments our lost selves—the selves we might have been had we made different choices.

Winman has crafted a powerful, moving narrative in a little over 200 pages in which she depicts with tenderness and warmth the many forms and fluidity of love; intense feelings of loss and grief; and middle-age regret over the road not taken.

Very highly recommended.

The Lincoln Highway

Amor Towles

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles opens in 1954 with 18-year-old Emmett Watson’s early release from detention on compassionate grounds because of his father’s death. The warden drives him to the family farm in Nebraska and gives him parting words of advice.

Because of the father’s mounting debts, the bank has foreclosed on the family farm. Emmett intends to pick up his 8-year-old brother, Billy, and drive to California in his old Studebaker to start a new life. But his plans go awry when two fellow inmates, Duchess and Woolly, appear unexpectedly at his doorstep. Having escaped from the detention center by hiding in the warden’s trunk, they reveal their plan to retrieve thousands of dollars ostensibly left for Woolly by his grandfather at their summer home in the Adirondacks. They want Emmett and Billy to join them. Emmett declines. Duchess then “borrows” Emmett’s car and heads to New York. And so begins an eventful journey consisting of a desperate chase. It is replete with detours, U-turns, digressions, a “borrowed” car, “borrowed” money, rides on freight trains, visits to the sites in New York city, magic tricks, a circus, a slew of coincidences, and interactions with savory and unsavory characters.

The novel spans a period of ten days. The intricate plot unfolds from multiple points of view, shifting from first-person and third-person narration. The reader is given access to each character’s thoughts and background, including how the three detainees ended up in the detention center. Each embeds stories of the past and background within the larger framework. The characters are portrayed as distinct individuals with a unique way of thinking and speaking. They are well-developed, the most interesting character being Duchess who is endowed with a quick-thinking gift for talking his way out of any situation.

The episodic nature of the structure shares elements with the picaresque novel. The narrative has a fitful stop-and-start quality with its many digressions and stories within a story, and with its leaps from one narrator to the next. The pacing is uneven, at times hurtling through, and at other times, moving slowly and dragging. The tone shifts from a comedic tone in the beginning to a dark, anti-climactic one at the end. What started off with a rollicking opening ended not with a bang but a whimper.

In spite of these issues, however, this was an enjoyable read and is recommended with reservations.

Still Life

Sarah Winman

Still Life by Sarah Winman covers a period of nearly four decades. It opens in Tuscany in 1944 during the final stages of World War II. Evelyn Skinner, an English sixty-something art historian, meets Ulysses Temper, a private in the British army. The two have an immediate connection and chat as if they have known each other for years. Their brief encounter leaves a lasting impression on both.

Ulysses returns to England after the war. In a surprising turn of events, a man whose life he saved in Italy dies and bequeaths Ulysses his home in Florence. Ulysses decides to relocate to Florence. He takes with him his ex-wife’s daughter and an elderly friend. The three form an inseparable bond. At various points, they are joined by Ulysses’ ex-wife and other close friends. Together this motley crew forms a rambunctious, loving family.  

The novel shifts to Evelyn Skinner who is now a professor of art. She is adored by her students and carries a wealth of knowledge about Italian art. She returns to Florence on a couple of occasions. Although she is in the same city as Ulysses, and although she and Ulysses remember each other with great fondness, their paths don’t cross for several years. They just miss each other. At one point, they are even standing at opposite ends of the same bridge. Eventually, they do re-connect and Evelyn, now in her eighties, moves to Florence to join Ulysses and his makeshift family.

The novel is strong in many areas, beginning with a narrative voice that is bright, engaging, funny, irreverent, and delightful. The characters are interesting, realistically portrayed, and each has a unique, authentic voice. Their interactions, subtle jabs at one another, jokes, and bickering are infused with a deep sense of love and friendship. The descriptions of Florence with its sights, sounds, and smells are immersive. One can almost smell the delicious food wafting off the page. The streets, the bridges, the buildings, and the Arno are depicted in all their majesty. The description of the 1966 flood that devastated the city is particularly effective. An impressive wealth of information about Italian masterpieces in painting and sculpture pepper the narrative.

There is so much to praise about the novel that it is easy to overlook some of the not-so-successful features, including a talking parrot who spouts lines from Shakespeare; a talking tree; and a series of highly improbable coincidences that feel staged. There is also an extended section at the end of the novel called “All About Evelyn,” that feels like an add-on feature and sticks out like a sore thumb.

Aside from these problematic features, the novel is a highly entertaining and engaging. It celebrates friendship, community, and love in its many forms. It is an education in Florentine art and architecture. And it celebrates of the magic and charm that is Florence.

Noonday

Pat Barker

Noonday by Pat Barker is the third book in her trilogy about World War II. The three main characters are Paul Tarrant; his wife, Elinor; and their friend, Kit Neville. Now in their middle-ages, the three were former art students attending the same school. The novel takes place during the London blitz. Paul works as an Air Raid Precautions warden, and Elinor and Kit drive ambulances. Woven within the main thrust of the narrative, which describes their volunteer activities during the blitz, are the occasional flashbacks of the past, most notably those centering around the death of Elinor’s brother, Toby, in World War I and Paul’s recollections of crawling through tunnels and trenches during the war.

The novel is weak on plot and character development. It is episodic in nature and shifts from one scene to another, seemingly without much purpose. Minor characters, like Bertha Mason, a medium who communes with the dead, are introduced to suggest a significant role, but then they fizzle out. There is mention of childhood incest, adultery, and rape, but little is made of any of these.

The main characters are floundering, aimless, and uninteresting. They come alive when they are driving ambulances or entering bombed out buildings to rescue survivors. Otherwise, they are bland and lack substance. But perhaps that is the point. At times of war when bombs are dropping, people readjust their priorities. They become casualties of war and have little choice but to adopt a flat veneer in order to survive the horrors they witness. It’s as if they bury their vitality in the rubble. They go through the motions of daily life, but little seems to matter other than surviving and helping others to survive.

The strength of this novel lies in Barker’s vivid description of the blitz. Her writing transports the reader to a London experiencing relentless bombing and destruction. The descriptions of the bombing and its aftermath on people and infrastructure vividly evoke the horrendous conditions people endured. What also emerges is the bravery and self-sacrifice of individuals tasked with rescuing survivors in bombed out buildings teetering on the edge of collapse. Barker describes rescuers crawling through small, claustrophobic spaces; listening for survivors; and painstakingly digging tunnels to get to people trapped in the ruins. Ambulances navigate through rubble, debris, unexploded bombs, and gas leaks. The images are haunting and relentless.

Barker successfully evokes a historical time and place through her use of descriptive detail and vivid imagery. The immersive sights, sounds, and smells of the blitz coupled with the camaraderie and courage of rescue workers constitute the highlight of the novel and redeem it from its lackluster characters and meandering plot.

Three Days in June

Anne Tyler

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler unfolds in the first-person voice of Gail Baines, a middle-aged divorced woman whose daughter is getting married. Day 1 is the day before the wedding of her daughter, Debbie. Day 2 is the day of the wedding. And day 3 is the day after.

On day 1, Gail learns that even though she is the second in command at a high school, she will not be promoted to replace the retiring headmistress due to her lack of people skills. Furthermore, the new headmistress is bringing with her an assistant, so Gail’s services will no longer be needed in that capacity. She marches home in an angry huff. To her surprise, her ex-husband, Max, shows up at her doorstep with a cat. He is there for their daughter’s wedding. He has to stay with Gail because their future son-in-law is allergic to cats. And so begins the next three days when Gail and Max get reacquainted.

Theirs is a study in contrasts. Gail is uptight, aloof, self-conscious, organized to a fault, awkward with small talk, and blurts her opinions with little consideration for other’ feelings. Max is loving, compassionate, comfortable in his own skin, forgiving, and kind. Gail distances herself from others; he connects with others. Gail is both drawn to Max’s easy-going style and irritated by it.

The presence of her ex-husband and her daughter’s upcoming marriage serve as the catalysts for Gail to re-evaluate her past, her marriage, and her divorce. Details of the past are woven into her narrative as flashbacks. Max helps Gail navigate the stressful three days and reins her in when she tries to interfere in their daughter’s decisions. Their opposite styles balance each other out.

Tyler’s characters are authentic and handled with empathy and sensitivity. They are vividly portrayed and so believable they could be stepping off the page. Gail is plagued with guilt for her past transgression, and Max is forgiving and has a generosity of spirit that makes him thoroughly endearing. They seem to complement one another so well that we want them to reconcile. Fortunately, and to our satisfaction, the closing pages of the novel suggest a reconciliation seems to be in the offing.

An easy, quick, and enjoyable read.

The Collected Stories of Carson McCullers

Carson McCullers

Collected Stories of Carson McCullers is a collection of nineteen short stories and two novellas, The Ballad of the Sad Café and The Member of the Wedding. McCullers stories plunge the reader in the atmosphere of the South. She captures the sights, sounds, smells, and texture of Southern life with immersive detail.

The thread that holds this collection together is McCullers consummate skill in depicting marginalized and alienated characters with authenticity and depth. She is particularly adept at depicting the interiority and dialogue of children. Some of the stories that stand out in this respect are “The Haunted Boy,” “Wunderkind,” “Like That,” and “The Member of the Wedding.” She treats her characters with empathy while underscoring the tragic circumstances of the human condition.

Many of McCullers stories focus on a single event or a moment in time that carry with them profound repercussions which haunt a character and impact his/her behavior and outlook. The tone throughout is melancholy, and although these are not uplifting stories, the consummate skill and delicacy with which she depicts her complex characters and their tragic circumstances will resonate profoundly with readers.