The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Lynnie

Amy    
   

dystopian, fiction 


Lynnie's Review 

I first read this book in high school, shortly after it was released. I can't remember now whether it was assigned or if it was just a suggestion by my AP English teacher, but my reaction to it then was very similar to my reaction now- this is a book that makes me angry.

When I first read it, the very notion of women having their rights completely stripped away as government was taken over by religious extremists seemed so absurd to me. These days, however, as women's reproductive rights are systematically being challenged and in many cases removed, it seems much less the realm of fantasy and more like a possibility. I won't get into the interdependence of cultural and structural violence, but this book demonstrates exactly how that works- the culture believes that women are "less than," that they are literally only good for certain tasks and not to be trusted to make decisions for themselves or others, then reinforce that believe with the structural design and rules for the population, which reaffirms the cultural beliefs.

I have not seen the miniseries, and have no intention of doing so, but I think this book is an important work of fiction that demonstrates how quickly evil can spread under the guise of "what's best" and how people are likely to stand by, feeling helpless and watch it unfold.

Amy's Review

In The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, a woman’s life is stolen from her (along with her husband and daughter) and she is held hostage by an organized culture that forces her (and some unknown number of others) to be a baby-maker for a man and his wife who are unable to conceive.

I had expected something more compelling.  I mean, I wondered how things had gone wrong in this world and was curious enough to keep reading, although I was never grabbed by the story or the characters.Unfortunately, these grim details were unsatisfactorily and slowly doled out in almost casual thoughts that were given suddenly and out of context in many instances.  So, I often had to re-read a passage after asking myself if I had just read what I thought I’d read.  I normally don’t mind a jumping between time periods but this was done in a jerky, disorganized manner so I was often confused. 

This novel had been on my To Read list for years. I had heard mixed reviews about it so had not gotten around to actually reading it until it was a book club selection.  I never watched the television show because the premise did not interest me. Now that I’ve read the novel, I’m still not interested in the TV show.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Amy   

fantasy, historical fiction

Lincoln in the Bardo is both historical fiction and fantasy. It describes historical facts surrounding Abraham Lincoln’s 11-year-old son Willie’s death. At the same time, the novel describes events that took place in the cemetery where Willie’s body was interred including the activities of all the souls living in the “bardo” (which is the Tibetan’s transitional state between death and rebirth).

What a bizarre book. I almost gave up after the first 40 minutes of the audiobook.  Instead of writing a plotted narrative, George Saunders provides the historical backdrop for the story via lists of excerpts from multiple historical sources, each one credited immediately following the excerpt.  It was odd enough listening to the constant interruptions of a non-storyline. But compounding the discomfort, the excerpts were never ending! UGH! I’m not a lover of lists--whether they are long lists of adjectives or nouns within sentences or a long series of examples with which to make a point.  I’m quick on the uptake.  If I get your point but you keep rambling on and on and providing more evidence or variety around the same basic principle, you lose me.  I’m bored. I get it. You're creative. But please move on!  So, these interminable lists really bothered me with one exception.  (The exception was the multiple viewpoints of how the sky looked on the night Willie died. The accounts all contained different recollections of the color of the moon, some saying a clear night, some saying a cloudy night, etc.  I found the vast published discrepancies to be humorous.)  Breaking up these frustrating lists was an incredibly odd story describing young Willie Lincoln’s time in the bardo told by, and including, an immense cast of characters.  In addition to Willie and President Lincoln, there are three main characters in the story who are residents of the bardo.  The other hundred and fifty (or thereabouts) characters are window dressing having very little to do with moving the main story forward.  After a while it felt like frivolity and excess (like those LISTS). 

I understand that Saunders is known for his short stories and I believe it.  This novel was so ADHD with all these tangent people each having their own stories and the back-and-forth jumps between the bardo and the historical excerpts. Sure, the author’s creativity is on full display.  But, it was almost gratuitous and certainly too frantic to me—like trying to follow Robin Williams’ mind.  I found myself craving the story arc from the bardo which was, itself, just a novella told in pieces.  I sighed every time the narrative went back to historical excerpts.  Granted, I saw brilliance at times. I appreciated all the research that was done to dig up and assemble the historical excerpts, I appreciated the moments of humor, and I really loved a few scenes and mini-stories. It was uniquely crafted. However, The Graveyard Book by NeilGaiman has already covered the idea of a community of graveyard residents and Gaiman did it much better.  And these LISTS!  ARGH!

As for the audiobook, bravo to the director. What a chore it must’ve been to work with such a huge cast on a relatively short novel.  There must’ve been infinitely more work involved with this audiobook than any other.  And most of the recordings sounded unified.  Only a couple stood out as having a different recording sound. Also, most of the narrators did a good job with their parts.  A few were terrible and sounded like they were flatly reading their parts—I’m assuming these were the relatives of the author and the relatives of other actors that are credited.  Thankfully, they were brief—only a couple of sentences here and there.  The main actors were really great.  The bulk of the narration during the bardo story was done by Nick Offerman and DavidSedaris.  I had never heard either of these men speak.  I was convinced that Offerman was really Hugo Weaving and was shocked to learn that I was wrong. He sounds just like him!  And David Sedaris has a very wispy, high, slightly strained voice much like Winnie the Pooh when Sterling Holloway narrated the character.  I give them both A+.

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Amy    

historical fiction

British Alice and American Bennett meet while Bennett is touring England in the late 1930s, they fall in love and get married, and move to Bennett’s home in Kentucky. Alice is bored and dissatisfied in Bennett’s home and decides to accept an opportunity to be a traveling packhorse librarian, delivering books to far flung homes in the mountains, in order to get out of the house and have something to do.  As a librarian, she develops friendships and grows to love the Kentucky outdoors.

While it’s not a bad novel, it’s a disappointing Jojo Moyes novel.   There is no humor in this story.  It’s just a straight up historical novel but not an amazing example.  In fact, it had a couple factors I didn’t like at all.  One was the tragic downturn of the story around the 2/3 mark that kept the novel depressing and uncomfortable until the very end.  The other was the fact that the main character, Alice’s, solution to her situation with her husband was obvious (and, frankly, unfathomable) early in the novel but the characters never figured it out until the last few pages and, therefore, suffered needlessly throughout the story.  The happy ending was insufficient to make the duration of the suffering worth it for me.   Much of the story had a lot of heart and even made me tear up at one point. But it was just alright. I appreciated learning about the packhorse librarians of the time. Unfortunately, when the best part of a historical fiction novel is the history, that means that the fictional storyline is lacking. Also, the book title, The Giver of Stars, was weak. I recognize its source but it doesn’t represent the novel at all.

I’m going ahead and giving it 3 stars even though I’m strongly leaning towards 2-1/2 because my disappointment weighs on me.  But, if this novel had not been authored by Moyes, from whom I expected more, I probably would have given it a solid 3 stars.

I would also like to let my opinions be heard regarding the accusations of another author who claims that Moyes stole some of her story ideas.  The accusations and facts are detailed in this article: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tomiobaro/jojo-moyes-the-giver-of-stars-kim-richardson-bookwoman-of

I think Richardson’s claims are ridiculous.  I cannot tell you how many novels I’ve read with similar plot points.  The things that are similar in these two novels are not so inconceivable to have been coincidences.  The plot points which Richardson feels are too similar are story lines that I can see anyone coming up with when trying to build a full novel around historical events in this specific time and place.  Of course there’s going to be an attack in the mountains to add some excitement and drama.  And many authors nowadays are trying to incorporate a diverse cast of characters, so it’s not far fetched that both authors would insert women of color in their fictional accounts even when there were no women of color documented factually.  Besides, Jojo is a very successful author, has no reason to need to steal ideas, and did not plagiarize actual written sentences.  To me, I feel that Richardson, on the other hand, is simply disappointed that another author wrote a story about Kentucky packhorse librarians, thereby taking some of her perceived glory.  Too bad, so sad, I say.  I attended a discussion with Jojo Moyes when she discussed how she had come up with the idea of writing about this period from a magazine article published a few years ago.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Richardson read the same article and her idea was ignited at the same time.  Anyway, I think The Giver of Stars’ only problem is that it’s not all that terrific.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Amy   

mystery

Alicia is in a mental institution in London after being charged with murdering her husband.  She tied him up and shot him five times in the face, slit her own wrists (but survived), and never spoke again. Theo is a psychotherapist who is infatuated with her case and finally gets the opportunity to work with Alicia in an effort to learn her story and help her situation.

I had heard The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides was un-put-downable.  However, it was entirely put downable.  I mean, it held my interest but did not grip me in suspense or make me feel tethered to the story while reading it.  To me, it got most interesting around the ¾ mark.  Before that, it was just lots and lots of background information.  Don’t get me wrong. I liked it.  I am just discrediting the claim that you can’t put it down. It was classified as a psychological thriller but it really feels more like a psychological mystery to me. Also, the title is a lie.  The main character is not the silent patient.  That’s just the character that brings the readers to the book in the first place and around which the most mystery exists.  But the main character is really Theo.  He’s much more interesting, realistic, and present in the telling of the tale.  The novel alternates between Theo’s narration and Alicia’s diary. Theo acts as a detective, breaking rules and propriety in his efforts while his own life is in chaos. 

I appreciated the red herrings and the big twist.  I didn’t see it coming.  However, I had a hard time getting around Alicia’s silence.  I suppose there must be some actual patients who fell into this condition in the world, but it felt very far fetched and more like a device of the novel’s story-telling than a believable situation. So, while I enjoyed the novel, the premise was a bit large to swallow.

The audiobook was well done.  There were two narrators, Louise Brealey read the passages from Alicia’s diary and Jack Hawkins read the sections written in Theo’s viewpoint.  They were both excellent. Great voice acting!  A+ for both.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

Amy      
Lynnie  

historical fiction

Amy's Review

The Alice Network tells the stories of two women: Eve, a British spy working for the Alice Network in WWI and Charlie, a downtrodden, yet resilient, young American woman trying to find joy in life after her brother’s death during WWII. After WWII, Charlie approaches Eve in an effort to locate her missing cousin in France and they embark on a journey to discover truth and seek revenge.

The story was rich and had some heartwarming moments. It illustrated the harsh realities of life in a German-occupied French town during WWI and it gave hope that broken people can find happiness and a place to belong. It’s about survival, relationships, living with the results of decisions, and finding your people and place in life. The last section of the book was so gripping that I could not put it down.

Lynnie's Review

I have been saying for years that I don't like historical fiction. I don't think I can say that anymore however because the last several books I've read in the genre have really captivated me, including The Alice Network.

I was intrigued by all of the characters and really enjoyed the backstory of Eve's history as a spy in German-occupied WWI France mixed with the journey through post WWII Europe as Eve and her charming Scottish driver Finn help Charlie search for her missing cousin who may have a unique link to Eve's previous life. Based on nuggets of real life, Kate Quinn does a great job of creating a story and characters to hold your attention and establish a believable scenario. This was a fascinating story about strength and resilience. 

A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne

Amy  

fiction

WOW!  This is likely going to be my favorite novel of the year.  This is amazing because it’s not fantasy, it’s not historical fiction, and it is about writers. Normally, I get tired of all the literature snobbery in books about writers. But this one lacks a lot of obscure literature references and the writing itself isn’t flowery or wordy at all, which often tends to happen in books about writing! Rather, the story is so fascinating!

A Ladder to the Sky is about one terrible person and his story is being told by four different characters  with whom he has, unfortunately, crossed paths.  The final story is told from his point of view. I must say I’ve never seen, in the same novel, so many changing points of view. This novel was sometimes written in first person, sometimes second person, and sometimes third person! The reader knows that each of these stories is going to turn out to be devastating but we cannot stop reading!  The pull to find out how everything resolves and to learn all the details around each of the situations is extremely compelling. I have rarely found myself so horrified and enraged by a novel that is not about war while still enjoying it so much!  A particularly funny line by one of the characters was the cherry on top of this fabulous novel.

This story also makes me wonder what sort of experiences John Boyne has had and whether he’s known characters like those within these pages.   His writing and storybuilding were outstanding.  I loved the ride.

The novel is told in sections, each of which has a different narrator on the audiobook. All were good, but each had his/her own flaw. I’m not sure which voices went with which sections so I’ll just list their names: Richard E. Grant, Robert Cordery, Nina Sosanya, and Laurence Kennedy.  I’ll give them a B+ rating as a group and blame the director for some of the most annoying flaws—discontinuity and poor character voicing choices.