The Bird Hotel

 

The Bird Hotel by Joyce Maynard

Fiction

2023

Finished on July 28, 2024

Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

After a childhood filled with heartbreak, Irene, a talented artist, finds herself in a small Central American village where she checks into a beautiful but decaying lakefront hotel called La Llorona at the base of a volcano.

The Bird Hotel tells the story of this young American who, after suffering tragedy, restores and runs La Llorona. Along the way we meet a rich assortment of characters who live in the village or come to stay at the hotel. With a mystery at its center and filled with warmth, drama, romance, humor, pop culture, and a little magic realism, The Bird Hotel has all the hallmarks of a Joyce Maynard novel that have made her a a leading voice of her generation.

The Bird Hotel is a big, sweeping story spanning four decades, offering lyricism as well as whimsy. While the world New York Times bestselling author Joyce Maynard brings to life on the page is rendered from her imagination, it’s one informed by the more than twenty years of which she has spent a significant amount of her time in a small Mayan indigenous village in Guatemala.

I have yet to be disappointed by a novel written by Joyce Maynard. Last year I read Count the Ways, which made my Best of 2023 list, and I've just finished another gem, which is bound to be on my 2024 list. If I manage to get a copy of How the Light Gets In (Maynard's new release and sequel to Count the Ways), I may wind up with two of her books on that list.

The Bird Hotel is hefty novel, but the chapters are short, giving one a sense of reading a chronological collection of vignettes. This format made it easy to read in fits & spurts, which made it a perfect read during a visit from relatives, but it wasn't until Irene found her way to La Llorona, that I became invested in her story. The cast of characters came and went as the years passed, but Maynard draws each so vividly that I was able to imagine them (and the lush setting) without any trouble.

We could have taken ‘tuk tuk’ into the village, but Jerome suggested we walk. It was the time of day I loved best, when the sun was sinking behind the volcano in the sky, changing color every few seconds— rose color, giving way to peach, giving away to violet, golden glow on the hillside, and birds swooping low over the water.

There are a few unexpected events that take place in the final quarter of the book that held me so captivated, I sped through the last section without glancing up. Had it not been for the sluggish start, this would have been a perfect 5-star read. I was never tempted to give up on the book, but I'm glad it grew on me the further I read. 

“Nothing stays the same forever. . . Not gardens, or love affairs. Not joy, or sorrow either. Animals die. Children grow up. The thing you have to learn is to accept the changes when they come. Welcome them if you can. See what they bring into your life that wasn't there before.”

Now that I've read The Bird Hotel, and have a sense of the richly drawn setting, I prefer this cover art to that of the one I read.

Are you a Joyce Maynard fan? Click here to see more of what I've read and loved by this talented author. Maybe this will be the year I finally make time to re-read The Usual Rules.

The House in the Pines

 

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes

Fiction - Psychological Thriller

2023

Narrated by Marisol Ramirez

Finished on July 17, 2024

Rating: 2/5 (Fair)

Publisher's Blurb:

Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend's sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed....

Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they'd been spending time with all summer.

Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can't account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer--the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey.

At her mother's house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father's book that didn't stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank's cabin....

Utterly unique and captivating, The House in the Pines keeps you guessing about whether we can ever fully confront the past and return home.

Here we go again. Maya is an unreliable narrator (ala Gone Girl, Girl on the Train, etc.) who is withdrawing from Klonopin, suffers from insomnia, and drinks far too much. She is certain that her best friend was murdered when they were seniors in high school, and that the man Maya believes is responsible for Aubrey's death has now killed another woman. But there is no evidence that Frank is guilty, and both events are treated as unexplained deaths. Sounds like the perfect set-up for a mystery/thriller, right? It started off with a strong opening, but fizzled about halfway to the end. I understood what was going on well before the main character did, and the ending was a disappointment. 

I listened to the audiobook and the reader's halting narration during the dialogue portions of the audiobook was noticeable and quickly became a distraction. She also failed to distinguish her voice between characters, male or female, so there were times when I wasn't sure who was speaking. Additionally, the transitions between chapters were confusing in this dual timeline narrative, making it difficult to know when a flashback was introduced.

The audiobook held my interest, but the story would make a better TV series than a book, especially if David Tennant (who was super creepy in Jessica Jones) were to play Frank. 

Can't recommend.

I received a complimentary copy from Libro.fm. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

After Annie

 

After Annie by Anna Quindlen

Fiction

2024

Finished on July 13, 2024

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Quindlen’s trademark wisdom on family, emotions, and the secrets of people in a small town are at the center of this novel about triumph over adversity and the power of love to transcend time, by the best-selling author of Still Life with Breadcrumbs and One True Thing.

When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her four young children and her closest friend are left to struggle without the woman who centered their lives. Bill Brown finds himself overwhelmed, and Annie’s best friend Annemarie is lost to old bad habits without Annie’s support. It is Annie’s daughter, Ali, forced to try to care for her younger brothers and even her father, who manages to maintain some semblance of their former lives for them all, and who confronts the complicated truths of adulthood.

Yet over the course of the next year, while Annie looms large in their memories, all three are able to grow, to change, even to become stronger and more sure of themselves. The enduring power Annie gave to those who loved her is the power to love, and to go on without her.

Written in Quindlen’s emotionally resonant voice, and with her deep and generous understanding of people, After Annie is a story that ends with hope, a beautiful novel about how adversity can change us in profound ways.

We all have those favorite authors who write stories that reflect our own lives, and Anna Quindlen is high on my list. I've read all but two of her novels, and After Annie is classic Quindlen, full of real-life issues, addressing the tender emotions of grief from the vantage point of a husband, a young daughter, and a best friend. She doesn't shy away from the visceral anguish felt by Annie's family and her closest friend, drawing the reader into the center of the Brown home as they navigate the confusion and helplessness after Annie's sudden death. 

Grief was like spring, maybe. You thought you were getting out from under it and then it came roaring back. And getting out from under it felt like forgetting, and forgetting felt like treason. Sometimes when he reached in the closet for a shirt, a sleeve or two from her side would touch his arm, like it was reaching for him, and there would be a faint smell, lemon and hand cream and something else, maybe her shampoo.

My heart ached for Ali (Annie's thirteen-year-old daughter), but it was eleven-year-old Ant, whose anger turned to despair when he cried, "I want my mom." I have held a grieving child who said those exact words to me, and all I could do was hold her tighter. I didn't believe it at the time, but I can now agree with Ant's father as he held his son, telling him that it does get better. 

Every Last One continues to be my favorite work of Quindlen's, but After Annie comes very close to nudging that novel down a notch. I was captivated from the opening lines, finishing far more quickly than I wanted. 

Highly recommend.

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle

 

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain

Fiction

2021

Narrated by Simon Vance

Finished on July 10, 2024

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Albert Entwistle is a private man with a quiet, simple life. He lives alone with his cat Gracie. And he’s a postman. At least he was a postman until, three months before his sixty-fifth birthday, he receives a letter from the Royal Mail thanking him for decades of service and stating he is being forced into retirement.

At once, Albert’s sole connection with his world unravels. Every day as a mail carrier, he would make his way through the streets of his small English town, delivering letters and parcels and returning greetings with a quick wave and a “how do?” Without the work that fills his days, what will be the point? He has no friends, family, or hobbies—just a past he never speaks of, and a lost love that fills him with regret.

And so, rather than continue his lonely existence, Albert forms a brave plan to start truly living. It’s finally time to be honest about who he is. To seek the happiness he’s always denied himself. And to find the courage to look for George, the man that, many years ago, he loved and lost—but has never forgotten. As he does, something extraordinary happens. Albert finds unlikely allies, new friends, and proves it’s never too late to live, to hope, and to love.

Fans of A Man Called Ove, The Guncle, and Meredith, Alone will enjoy this sweet, touching story of self-discovery, friendship, and community. The novel's main theme of being a gay teenager when it wasn't acceptable (and when it was also illegal) is enlightening, and is also presented in the audiobook's bonus material in which the author interviews several men who experienced discrimination as gays in the 1950-1970s. The details of Albert and George's budding romance are handled tastefully, and Albert is an endearing character whom I was cheering on from the very start. His self-acceptance and growth are admirable and heartwarming. There were moments when I was certain I knew how one or two scenarios would play out, and I was pleasantly surprised that my suspicions were incorrect.

I've listened to several books narrated by Simon Vance and he is an absolute perfect reader for this book. Each character is distinguishable from the others, and Vance's ability to switch between male and female characters is remarkable.

Highly recommend. 

I received a complimentary copy from Libro.fm. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Salt to the Sea

 

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Fiction - YA

2016

Finished on July 6, 2024

Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

In 1945, World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, almost all of them with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer toward safety. Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. Not country, nor culture, nor status matter as all ten thousand people aboard must fight for the same thing: survival.

A tribute to the people of Lithuania, Poland, and East Prussia, Ruta Sepetys unearths a shockingly little-known casualty of a gruesome war, and proves that humanity can prevail, even in the darkest of hours.

A winner from the backlist shelf! I read Sepetys' debut novel (Between Shades of Gray) over a decade ago, and while I appreciated that suspenseful and eye-opening story, I enjoyed Salt to Sea even more. Once I was able to recognize and remember background details of the central characters, I was hooked, eager to return to the book every night. Sepetys weaves the narrative with alternating perspectives, each chapter devoted to one of the four main characters. The additional supporting characters are given equal time within the chapters, and I came to care about each, apart from one (for obvious reasons, to those who have read the book).

I'm familiar with the Titanic and Lusitania disasters, but until now, have never heard of the 1945 Soviet submarine attack on the German cruise liner in the Baltic Sea. As with most great historical novels, I'm inspired to learn more, and would like to find a nonfiction account of the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy. Death in the Baltic: The World War II Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff by Cathryn J. Prince sounds promising. 

The book is 418 pages in length, yet the text of the novel is only 378 pages. There are forty additional pages that include an impressive collection of ancillary items: Author's note, research and source material, acknowledgments, maps, discussion questions, and "in conversation" material from individuals who shared knowledge or direct experience of that period in history. With that said, the novel's chapters are two to three pages in length. Toward the end, several chapters contain a single sentence. My point is that this may appear to be a lengthy work, yet it is a compelling story that is easily read over a short period of time. For those readers who disdain young adult novels, Salt to the Sea is impressive and worthy of the numerous awards bestowed upon it.

Highly recommend.

Second Quarter Favorites of 2024

 

Welcome to a new feature on my blog. I noticed a few people sharing their quarterly favorites (on Instagram) and decided to do the same. It might be helpful at the end of the year when it's time for me to compile my "Best of 2024" list.

Sandwich by Catherine Newman (5/5)

Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander (4/5)

Still Life by Sarah Winman (4.5/5)

The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring (4/5)

The Hours by Michael Cunningham (re-read) (4/5)

Devorgilla Days by Kathleen Hart (4/5)

A Month in Summary - June 2024

Little Whale Cove

Depoe Bay, Oregon

June 2024

Whoohoo! We now have daytime temps in the 60s. This may sound like spring weather to most of you, but trust me, it finally feels like summer to us on the Oregon coast. A few nights ago, we actually ate outside at a restaurant and didn't need sweatshirts. I don't think it's been this nice since last October. Fortunately, the weather was close to perfect last week when my brother and his family came for a week-long visit. I think they enjoyed the mild temps, as they're used to the heat in Escondido and Nashville. 

I managed to get a few books read, but paused one (The Latecomer) and gave up on another (North Woods), so my Summer Reading Challenge isn't going too well. I did have one excellent read, however, and I'm hoping my choices for July are also winners. 

Books Read (click on the title for my review):

Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421 by T.J. Newman (2/5)

A Change of Circumstance by Susan Hill (3/5)

Family Family by Laurie Frankel (3/5)

Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander (4/5)

Sandwich by Catherine Newman (5/5)

Flying Solo by Linda Holmes (3.5/5)

Movies & TV Series:

The Responder (Season One) - Despite the bleak and depressing premise of this series, we're eager to watch the next season.

Vera (Season 13) - We're all caught up until the final season drops next year. It's been an entertaining program, but I've grown tired of the show.

Dark Matter - I read and loved this book in 2016 (reviewed here). We enjoyed the series, although it was an episode or two too long. I'm hoping that Blake Crouch is busy working another TV series for his book Recursion, which is also outstanding.

Visitors:

My brother's extended family were here last week and we all had a wonderful time! Sure makes me wish we lived closer...

(Respecting a social media-free child.)

Flying Solo

 

Flying Solo by Linda Holmes

Fiction

2022

Narrated by Julia Whalen

Finished on June 29, 2024

Rating: 3.5/5 (Pretty Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

A woman returns to her small Maine hometown, uncovering family secrets that take her on a journey of self-discovery and new love, in this warm and charming novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Evvie Drake Starts Over.

Smarting from her recently cancelled wedding and about to turn forty, Laurie Sassalyn returns to her Maine hometown of Calcasset to handle the estate of her great-aunt Dot, a spirited adventurer who lived to be ninety. Along with boxes of Polaroids and pottery, a mysterious wooden duck shows up at the bottom of a cedar chest. Laurie's curiosity is piqued, especially after she finds a love letter to the never-married Dot that ends with the line, "And anyway, if you're ever desperate, there are always ducks, darling."

Laurie is told that the duck has no financial value. But after it disappears under suspicious circumstances, she feels compelled to figure out why anyone would steal a wooden duck--and why Dot kept it hidden away in the first place. Suddenly Laurie finds herself swept up in a righteous caper that has her negotiating with antiques dealers and con artists, going on after-hours dates at the local library, and reconnecting with her oldest friend and first love. Desperate to uncover her great-aunt's secrets, Laurie must reckon with her past, her future, and ultimately embrace her own vision of flying solo.

I enjoyed this light-hearted novel by Linda Holmes a little bit better than her debut, Evvie Drake Starts Over. Flying Solo is not one that would have held my interest had I read the print edition, but the audiobook, narrated by the wonderful Julia Whalen, was just what I needed to pass the time on my daily walks. Leaning more toward romance than general fiction, it's not my favorite genre, but Whalen kept me entertained, and even had me laughing out loud at some of Laurie's dialogue.

I received a complimentary copy from Libro.fm. All thoughts and opinions are my own.