The Mother-in-Law

Reflecting on Sally Hepworth's mystery (?) thriller (?), The Mother-in-Law, now that I've finished reading it, this was probably not the best book for me to read at this time. (For the record, I'd call this family fiction since it didn't really fit my definition of thriller or mystery.) I figured, oh, I won't connect. I've been married for 26 years - over two husbands - and I've never had a mother-in-law. But little did I know when I started this book that while reading that my one remaining uncle, the uncle I've been closest to, would die one day ahead of the anniversary of my mother's death.

In this novel, Lucy has had a difficult relationship with her mother-in-law, Diana, from the moment they first met. Lucy admires Diana for her charitable work and admires the love that Diana and her father-in-law, Tom, have for each other. No matter what Lucy does, Diana just doesn't warm up to her or seem to even like her at all.

Diana and Tom have vastly different world views, yet their marriage works. They have opposite personalities, seemingly opposite values, but somehow, their marriage works. Lucy's husband, Ollie, and her sister, Nettie, have interesting relationships with their parents. Lucy and Ollie have three children while Nettie and her husband, Patrick, are desperate to have children. That causes friction all around.

Early in the book, Diana is found dead. Did she take her own life? Was she murdered? We read the story from alternating perspectives. The story, as it unfolds, is an interesting one.

What really spoke to me was the following reflection of Lucy's after her father tries to comfort her after Diana's death.

Even as an adult, it's easy to forget that your parents are people. Now, it occurs to me that of course he's been there. My mother's death had come right on the heels of Dad's mother, my nana. It's not something I'd thought much about back then, after all, my dad had been a grown-up and I was just a kid. And Nana, as far as I was concerned, had been old (sixty-one). But it was only a year later, almost to the day, when Papa, Dad's dad, dropped dead of a heart attack. He had been sixty-seven.

This isn't my normal type of book to read but it engaged me right away and kept me engaged toward the end. If life ever gets back to normal, I look forward to discussing this one with my book club.

A Woman Is No Man

I decided that I'd request from the libraries all the books that my community book club has slated to read this year and I'll read them as they come in. A Woman Is No Man is the first of the books to come in. I'd heard about it, about a Palestinian community in Brooklyn, so I was intrigued.

Etaf Rum was brave when she wrote A Woman Is No Man, her semi-autobiographical fiction. It's a story of 3 generations of Palestinian women living in Brooklyn, New York. I thought I'd feel some connection considering the setting of the book. But this story could have taken place in any city. For the most part, the characters of this novel - written by a woman, about women and possibly for women - were invisible to the greater community. It's a story of a patriarchal society, of violence and injustice that I can't believe was going on more or less under my nose when I was in Brooklyn.

Women are undervalued, unappreciated and trod upon in this novel of Palestinian women. The women have hopes and dreams for their futures. But what will it take for them to break out of the holds of their families and their communities? Do books and reading hold the key?

Not an easy book to read, I found the book totally engaging.

When We Believed in Mermaids

At this point, I'm picking up books to read without even knowing what they're about. As long as someone has recommended it and it has enough stars on goodreads.com, I'm in. That's what got Barbara O'Neal's When We Believed in Mermaids in my hand. Unlike most of my reading, this was an old-fashioned print book. And I adored the cover. It brought back wonderful memories of the times when I was little and used to play mermaid with my cousin at the Dinner Key pool in Miami.

I'm happy to report that When We Believed in Mermaids was pretty much a feel good read for me. Yes, some of the problems that the family faced seemed to have been resolved too easily. But that felt good. Yes, there were some icky parts. What can I say?

When We Believed in Mermaids is the story of a family broken by tragedy. They face their demons, they chase the truth, and I can't tell you any more without spoiling it for you.

I was really disappointed with No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference, a collection of speeches that Greta Thunberg gave during 2018 and 2019. I applaud Greta for creating the awareness of Climate Change that she's achieved, mostly with her school strike, and secondarily with her speeches around the world.

But this "book" wasn't really necessary. Because each speech was given to a different organization, the speeches contain mostly the same information. Greta mostly scolds politicians. She states that we already have the answers, but those answers - or suggestions - to keep the temperature from rising - are not part of this text. Having heard Greta speak once (on television), I really learned nothing new from this book.

Now I'm wondering if perhaps it was just a fundraising opportunity for Greta's foundation, if she even has a foundation. There was no background information about Greta whatsoever. The book was simply the printed version of her speeches.

Dear Edward

Sometimes I don't pay close enough attention to the recommendations coming from Renee's Reading Club. I see a title, I see a lot of "Oh, yes, that was great" and I request the title from the library. I requested the novel Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano months ago having no idea what it was about. I  started reading the e-book before looking at what would have been the flap of a printed book. (One disadvantage of e-books over traditional print books - no flap!) Okay, a book about a sole survivor of a plane crash. Was I really up for reading a book like that? Then again, all future air travel is totally up in the air so I know I won't be on a plane in awhile. Why not? And it had gotten so many rave reviews.

Dear Edward is about Eddie who becomes Edward after he becomes the sole survivor of a Newark to Los Angeles flight in 2013. Eddie's dad is a professor who didn't get tenure when Eddie's mom gets a good opportunity to rewrite a Hollywood movie script. Eddie, his parents and his brother, Jordan are on the cross country flight along with 188 other passengers and crew, some of whom we get to meet and become familiar with.

The story is told in alternating chapters. One chapter about the flight followed by a chapter about Edward trying to move forward, living with his aunt and uncle in New Jersey. Eddie had been homeschooled. Edward has to adjust to going to public school. A grateful Edward has his new next-door neighbor, Shay, and his therapist, Dr. Mike, to help him through.

I don't want to give away more of the book, including why the book is called Dead Edward. As long as you're okay reading a book about a plane crash (inspired by a true life story of a sole survivor), you would probably enjoy this book.

Postscript

In 2005, I read a novel by a very young author called P.S. I Love You. Cecelia Ahern created the story of Holly whose husband, Gerry, had the forethought to write 12 letters to Holly, with the direction to read one letter a month for the first year of her death.

In Postscript, we meet up with Holly again, 7 years after Gerry's death. She's in a relationship with Gabriel. She's working for her sister, Ciara, at her eclectic resale shop. Her life seems to be in a good place.

Holly's sister asks Holly to participate in a podcast, telling people the story of Gerry's letters. Unbeknownst to her, one of Holly's sister's benefactors at her shop, Angela, is dealing with her own death and starts the P.S. I Love You Club. It's a club where terminally ill patients come together to create a legacy for their loved ones similar to the one that Gerry created for Holly. The P.S. I Love You Club wants to meet with Holly.

Gabriel thinks that her joining the club is going to take her backwards at a time when she should continue her move forward. Her family is more on the fence. Holly reluctantly agrees to meet with the club after she learns of Angela's death. Over time, she's drawn in and agrees to help the remaining members.

You'd think a book about dying people and death would be depressing, but it was really uplifting. Holly helped the terminally ill folks navigate their P.S. I Love You projects, making sure to be true to their personalities and what they jointly believe that their loved ones need. The club members learn about themselves as Holly learns more about the woman she has become since the time that Gerry died.

I loved Holly's family and her friends, Sharon and Denise, even though I don't remember them from the first novel. In fact, I don't remember much about the first novel. But I think I appreciated Postscript as much as I did because I totally remembered the gist of P.S. I Love You. 

Now that I'm much older, I don't always find books with young protagonists engaging. But I really enjoyed this one. I'd highly recommend Postscript.

Philadelphia Freedom

I love the song "Philadelphia Freedom." It was released in 1975, the year I left home to attend college in ... you guessed it, Philadelphia. I always considered it a sort of theme song. Even to this day, it puts a big huge smile on my face every time I hear it.

After reading Me, Elton John's autobiography, I now know with certainty that "Philadelphia Freedom" was dedicated to me spreading my wings, but was written for tennis star, Billie Jean King, and her professional tennis team, Philadelphia Freedoms. Who knew?

Me was the book selected by Books & Beer Club for our memoir/autobiography month. I found it a difficult book to read. The writing was awkward, there was a lot of repetition, a lot of name dropping and some pretty graphic descriptions of the drug scene of the 80s.

BUT...

... this autobiography made me love and appreciate Elton John more than I did before. I've always considered him a great artist and a great collaborator with Bernie Taupin. But now I know that he was a great friend to many. And as high as a kite as he flew, his values remained pretty down to earth.

Now I want to see Rocket Man, a recent film about Elton John.

If you're an Elton John fan, you might want to pick this book up.

Pandemic reading

I haven't blogged in quite awhile. I was caught up in following the early news of the novel coronavirus and in trying to get the renovations on my rental property completed. And I was hardly reading. I was way, way, way, too distracted.

I'd started reading Little Women for book club as all these distractions started. Some days I'd pick it up and read a little bit. Other days, I didn't have the concentration to pick it up at all. I'm not even going to bother writing a review of Little Women. I only got through about 1/3 of the book by the time of the book club meeting. I was able to discuss the book because I'd read it twice. Once as a child and a second time just about a dozen years ago. But right now with my limited concentration, that is not how I want to spend my brain energy.

I kept thinking back to the novel The Things That Keep Us Here by Carla Buckley that I read in 2011. It's a book about a pandemic. At the time I read it, parts of the story seemed so far-fetched. I'll spare you the terrifying parts of the book that have stayed with me. I don't remember how it ended, though. As a friend replied when I asked, "It probably ended happily ever after." I don't think that's so but I'll hold on to that thought. I might even still have that book hanging around the house but I don't want to touch it. Just thinking about picking it up gives me the creeps.

There are some funny memes popping up on social media. I mean, isn't being isolated at home a reader's dream? The perfect time to tackle that TBR list? Maybe for some readers. This reader is too distracted by the news. I normally read for at least two book clubs each month. Plus another book that I just want to read. But right now while my concentration is challenged, I need to read things that grip me from the start and keep me wanting to go back for more. The books don't have to uplifting. They haven't been if you've check out the latest entries on my reading log. But they have to quickly engage me. Do you have any recommendations for me?

Lots of my recommendations are coming from Renee's Reading Club, a private group on Facebook. Renee is a librarian and between Renee and the over 10,000 members in the group, I'm getting some good recommendations. If you're on Facebook, you might want to check it out.

And thank heavens for e-books!