Taft

Ann Patchett is the author of Taft, a fiction novel set in Memphis, Tennessee. John manages a bar in Memphis. Before that he was a drummer in a jazz band. He chose to take a steady job in an effort to convince his girlfriend that he can be a responsible parent and should be able to see his son more often. One of John's new employees is a young girl named Fay Taft. Fay and her brother Carl become regulars in John's life. John tries to figure out what kind of life Fay and Carl's father provided for them. His obsession with the Taft father takes over his own life and concerns. Like other Patchett novels, the story is about a regular person living a regular life.

 

 

Prudence

 David Treuer wrote the historical fiction novel called Prudence. Set in northern Minnesota in the early 1940's, some guys come back from college to the family resort before heading off to World War II. Across the river is a German POW camp. One of the prisoners escapes the camp and the young, macho college boys take off into the woods with rifles to find him. They don't find the prisoner but someone else gets shot. The violence of that day lasted for decades. This book is a poignant saga of a tale about race, relationships, and forgiveness.

 

 

Talk Before Sleep

Elizabeth Berg is the author of the novel called Talk Before Sleep. This novel isn't for everyone but I liked it. The story is about a pair of women friends. One of the friends is married with a young child. The other in divorced and living with terminal cancer. The book is sad, of course, given the plot but also humorous.  This is a great story to take your mind off your troubles.  

 

 

A Rare Event

Offspring #2 and I like to play scrabble. I lose 96% of the games but this time I won by a mere 4 points. Even though they got a bingo (ringtones/shrimgtones) I won anyway. They get a bingo nearly every game. I have never gotten a bingo yet although I have come close. Anyway, it feels good to win.

 

The Moonlight Runner

 I learned a lot of facts about the relationship between Ireland and England by reading The Moonlight Runner written by Karen Robards. This historical fiction novel starts out in Ireland in 1918. The Great War and the Spanish flu have taken a toll on Ireland. Rynn Carmichael is a nurse working with wounded veterans at a country estate in Ireland. Some locals are fighting British rule. The Brits aren't having any of it. Every time the Irish try to enforce their right to be a separate country the British react with punitive measures. I knew India and Kenya struggled to be free of British rule but I never knew the Irish had it this bad. The Irish tried to be reasonable but being reasonable didn't work. Previous to this book I had thought of Winston Churchill as a mostly likeable character. I did not knew he called in a mercenary militia called the "Black and Tans" to inflict pain and suffering on Irish people who ended up having zero civil rights. Only when the Irish leaders took the facts to other countries who stood up the the Brits did they finally agree to negotiate. I will have to look for more historical fiction novels written by this talented author.

 

 

Too Bright To Hear Too Loud To See

 I read an incredible story about a man with bi-polar disease called Too Bright To Hear Too Loud To See. The author is Juliann Gary. At the end of the book I was surprised to see that she was female because the whole book is from the male perspective. Having this mental illness herself she writes a true story. The story is about a fictional character named Greyson Todd. Greyson is a Hollywood studio executive who has spent years covering up his mental illness. Eventually he abandons his wife and daughter and travels around the world displaying all of his symptoms. He goes from South America to Africa to Asia. After ten years he ends up in a psychiatric institution in New York City. Here he undergoes electric shock treatments. He comes to enjoy being strapped down, medicated and treated. At his worst he heard bees buzzing in his head and glass shards in his veins and arteries. This dramatic story helped me learn more about what it is like to have a mental illness.

 

 

 

 

Far And Away

 Far and Away was written by Amy Poeppel. I listened to the audio book which took about 12 hours. In this story a woman who lives in Dallas impulsively decides to switch homes with a woman from Berlin. The woman in Dallas is named Lucy. Lucy has a boy who is a high school senior and twin tweens who are girls. Jack, the high school senior, gets in trouble in high school and gets expelled. Neighborhood families disapprove of Jack and are taking it out on the family by vandalizing their home. Greta, who lives in Berlin with her orthopedic surgeon, Otto, is completely taken by surprise when Otto announces they will spend the summer in Dallas. This humorous story about two very different families switching homes for the summer kept me completely entertained.