Beautiful Ruins

Beautiful Ruins
By Jess Walter (337 pages)
Published by Harper
Bookish rating: 4.25

This was my first Jess Walter novel, and I was impressed. It begins in a cliffed coastal village in Italy in 1962, as an American actress gets out of a boat to stay at the Hotel Adequate View. We then meet oodles of characters, all of whom have some emotional demons to flesh out.

In the meantime, we go from Italian villages to Rome to Scotland to Seattle to (no, really) Sandpoint, Idaho, to L.A. and Hollywood--but always returning to Italy. Walter coves a lot of ground.

Walter brilliantly switches voices as he moves around various points of view. Sometimes we're getting a story via flashback or a general narrative, but we also learn about characters and story through movie pitches, rejected memoir chapters, plays, and so on. The novel has a tremendous amount of energy, it's incredibly imaginative, the writing is pitch-perfect and delightfully ironic, and the characters are achingly realistic and complex.

 Absolutely recommended, and I'm excited to see what Walter accomplished in other novels. Which means I have to read them. Doh! Why does my to-read list never, EVER get shorter?

The Dark Enquiry

The Dark Enquiry
By Deanna Raybourn (387 pages)
Published by MIRA
Bookish rating: 3.5

Should I be PROUD or ASHAMED that I have now concluded the FIFTH book in the Lady Julia Grey mystery series? I wouldn't go so far as to call it reading bubble gum, but there's definitely a guilty indulgence factor here.

I don't know if Raybourn has any plans to write a sixth Lady Julia book, but I get the sense our fair author is crapping out. This was my least favorite of the series (Silent on the Moor was my fav). The plot and mystery were fine, though the political stuff was a wee too intricate for my brain expecting Bubble Yum, but what bugged me most was the dynamic between our heroine, who now wants to become Super Sleuth, and her detective now-husband, Brisbane, who spends most of the 387 pages reprimanding her. She comes across too eager-beaver and innocently idiotic, and he's always the steadfast, intelligent one, either annoyed or amused by his little protégé. Sometimes almost violent, and the feminist in me just doesn't think that's the best way to illustrate a male character's hotness. (And yes, we have our bodice-busting moments here and there.) It kind of reminded me of an argument I read in grad school that suggested the most damaging thing women could do to themselves was read romance novels. (Fear not, this is NOT a romance novel. I don't think. Wait . . .)

At times, I sensed Raybourn herself was annoyed with Julia's character and aware she had written herself into a pickle of character likability (something, by the way, that I don't believe is crucial, but in commercial fiction, it DOES matter).

There are charming moments of wit, and the book is written with a delightful, light, faux British tone (Raybourn is Virginian by way of Texas) and thus was fun and entertaining to read. Should a sixth book come out, I will read it, partially in hopes some of these marital dynamics get less obnoxious.

The Sins of the Father

The Sins of the Father
By Jeffrey Archer (339 pages)
Published by St. Martin's Press
Bookish rating: 3.5

The Sins of the Father, the ominously titled second book of the incredibly popular Harry Clifton novels, picks up literally where the first book leaves off. I dare not give spoilers, because Archer's novels are all plot, compulsively so. And that's fine. Like I said before, the guy tells an engrossing story.

However, I do believe the term "Dickensian" was invented to apply to books and story lines like Archer's. Everyone is conveniently connected everybody else, with crucial events happening at the most serendipitous of times.

Characters are okay: Every character is stalwartly good or weasel-like and evil, but what the hell. You root for the heroes anyway.

In terms of voice, however, the point of view of Giles vs. Harry is virtually indistinguishable. Their plot lines are very different, though, so Giles and Harry seemed like the same character in different unlikely scenarios. It was kind of odd.

Here's the kicker, though: Archer's book ARE absorbing, bubble-gummy, historical stories. It's a good story, and I know I'm going to read the third book. So, there you go. Recommended, I guess.

Gold

Gold
By Chris Cleave (321 pages)
Published by Simon & Schuster
Bookish rating: 4

As someone who enjoyed watching the 2014 Winter Olympics, despite them being "Putin's Olympics," and as someone who was a tad bummed they were over, I happily picked up Cleave's Gold at the library, anxious for the high drama that the pursuit of, well, gold engenders.

Two sprint bicyclists, Zoe and Kate, are BFFs and absolute rivals. Kate's daughter, Sophie, is battling leukemia. Cleave explores the single-mindedness that going to the Olympics entails and ups the drama and conflict big time by inserting something almost impossible to back-burner, even temporarily: a very sick child.

Cleave successfully sets up high stakes and neurotic, haunted characters, and that's good, because I'm a mere mortal with a completely normal resting heart rate---without characters with depth and flaws, I don't think I could buy into people so unbelievably self-absorbed, even if they ARE elite athletes.

Gold makes you ponder what it means to WIN, what WINNING gets you, and what has to be sacrificed for something so ultimately ambiguous. It's a theme I struggle with a bit as I watch the Olympics every couple of years. I love the pageantry of the Olympics, the stories and drama, the competition, and seeing the very best athletes in the world perform. But there is always something so random about it, too. So many factors at play.

Anyway, the dialogue dragged here and there, and the jumps in time could be, well, jumpy, but this is a (necessarily) fast-paced, original novel. Recommended.

The Snow Child

The Snow Child
By Eowyn Ivey (386 pages)
Published by Reagan Arthur/Little, Brown
Bookish rating: 5

I give it a 5. The most enthusiastic 5 I have given since I can remember. A ballsy statement,here, but I think this novel is perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Part fairy tale, part achingly gritty and human, this story begins with an older, childless couple homesteading in the Alaskan wilderness in the 1920s. Coping with the longing and disappointment and heartache of wanting a child, Jack and Mabel are fascinating characters who create a little snow girl for fun one snowy night. Then one day, the snow child shows up at their door as a real girl, flitting in and out of their lives. And of course, they grow to love her. But is she even real?

Anything else I write about events will spoil the plot, so let me move on to themes--and boy, are they big. This novel explores what it means to be a mother in the many, compelling forms motherhood can take. Loss, heartache, unexpected joy, suffering, friendship--it's all packed into one of the most moving and beautiful novels I have ever read. I fear that everything else I read for awhile will seem contrived and lame.

The writing is pitch-perfect, whether describing moss or falling snow, or the pain of losing a baby. You can feel the cold air along with every single emotion the characters experience. It's quite incredible. As Mabel thinks back to the years and years her arms "ached with longing" for a baby, she imagines the mommy desire and physical need to just stroke and kiss and clutch her babies and wiggly toddlers. "Where else in life, Mabel wondered, could a woman love so openly and with such abandon?" (p. 328) See? Freaking brilliant.

The Snow Child was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer, which means I need to read the actual winner, because I am skeptical that it is superior to this novel.

Do I actually need to type out that I recommend this book? HIGHLY? Oh my goodness, just read it.

Only Time Will Tell

Only Time Will Tell
By Jeffrey Archer (386 pages)
Published by St. Martin's Press
Bookish rating: 3.75

In this first vaguely titled book of Jeffrey Archer's wildly popular Clifton chronicles, we're introduced to Harry Clifton, our hero, and lots and lots of drama.

Brinking on commercial lit, this is not the greatest book ever. However, it IS a fun, engrossing story. Archer is not the greatest writer ever. However, he IS a good storyteller. And really, isn't that what we really read for? Stories?

The plot pacing is fast (in fact, at times it seems rushed), the stakes are always high, and the characters are fundamentally good or evil, making it easy to love the heroes and hate the villains.

One beef I had was Archer's treatment of point of view. Although each chapter opener tells us precisely which character we are now following, the narrator pops into various characters heads within a single scene. An omniscient narrator just doesn't seem to work for this book or its set-up. It reads clumsily and can be jolting. You've got to be a damn good writer--not just storyteller--to pull off simultaneous points of view, and I just don't think Archer is at that level.

But these are quibbles, really, because I did indeed enjoy the story and I've already started the second book. So I guess I recommend it?

The Circus in Winter

The Circus in Winter
By Cathy Day (271 pages)
Published by Harcourt
Bookish rating: 4

The Circus in Winter is essentially a collection of short stories (a la Olive Kitteridge), but also essentially a novel. How can it "essentially" be both. It just can.

Through the viewpoints of multiple people and multiple generations, we see the character of the town of Lima, Indiana, which houses the circus during its off-season, grow and develop. Some of the stories are very circus-y, some merely take place in the same town, but they're all connected and give multiple impressions of the town and the rise and fall of the carnie life.

The Circus in Winter is darker than, say, Water for Elephants, and the exploitation of the circus "freaks" is astutely handled without being preachy or self-righteous. Mostly, the novel is an interesting study in the craft of writing interesting and unique characters, portraying time and history, and articulating the sense and soul of a particular place.

Overall, this novel is a worthy piece of writing and was pretty enjoyable. To appreciate the book, you've got to get past the short story aspect--don't get too attached to a particular story line or character. Because it will end shortly. And they will probably die.

Recommended.

The Lost Symbol

The Lost SymbolBy Dan Brown (509 pages)
Published by Doublday
Bookish rating: 3.5

Yes, I'm one of the trillion people who read The Da Vinci Code and liked it, one of the billion people who read Angels and Demons, and, a mere couple of years after millions read The Lost Symbol, I can now count myself among them.

The Lost Symbol is what it is. It's well-plotted (except for the ending), smart, thriller-esque, and escapist reading. It is not great literature, but who cares? And really, on the whole? It's actually pretty good.

I feel like I'm apologizing for liking this book.

Another Robert Langdon thriller, our symbolist professor finds himself in another symbol chase, this time in Washington, DC. As someone who dwelled in DC, Northern Virginia, and now Maryland for the past (almost) decade, I enjoyed the DC element. After all, DC is the center of the universe, right?

Throughout the story, I found myself generally entertained and often surprised as I read. The ending fell rather flat for me, but overall, The Lost Symbol delivered. I even think Chris might read it.