Labor Day
Another End of the Summer. Labor Day. There are less than 20 games for the Red Sox left and then the boys of summer hopefully move on to the play offs. The days and nights are cooler. I feel like if this was Lord of the Rings, someone would put their hood over their head and make some poignant remark. Albert Camus, famous writer, called, “a second spring when every leaf is a flower”. I like that.
I have really been in a great reading space with each book I have read over the last couple of weeks or so. Here are some of my favorite books.
The Three Graces of Pearl Street by Elizabeth Wellington Rollins is another fabulous novel from a debut author. The novel centers around an Italian American family consisting of a grandmother, mother and daughter all named Graziella.The three women are thrown back together after a discovery by Ella which puts her in jeopardy. Together they are working their way forward finding each other and themselves. A new box of tissues is a requirement for this book. The poignancy and love for the neighborhood and each other is remarkable. An awesome read.
The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon is one fabulous book. Certainly I can not give over 5 stars – but I sure wish I could. I love how Ariel Lawhon takes an important but relatively unknown person from the past and with research and imagination writes a fascinating book about them! Grace O’Malley was strong, vital, courageous, intelligent, crafty and bigger than life. She traded goods, committed piracy (or privateering) and fought the insurgency of the English into Ireland. The book was written in three time lines of Grace’s life: The Maiden, The Mother, the Matriarch. The story rotates through the times in her life allowing the reader to understand the breadth of her life. An awesome read!
The Treasure House by Amy Matthews takes place on the coast of Maine in a very small town. The house that Zoe and her daughter Flo buy is a treasure house. It is full of stuff from the prior owner – really filled to the brim – with various found treasures, antiques, left overs and just stuff.While cleaning out all the stuff, Perhaps more importantly Zoe learns about the meaning of family and neighbors and what it means to really belong. The novel is well written and full of life. The characters and the challenges of the novel certainly mirror life. An awesome read!
The Resistance Book Club by Ellie Curzon is another look at WWII from a small town on the coast of France. The book is told in two separate storylines (contemporary and WWII) with two strong women Margot and Lucy. With Margot’s death Lucy inherits her bookstore along with the evidence about her life during WWII. Fascinating book
The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen is one of those books that just chill you to your toes. Not because it is bloodthirsty or gross, but because it is so chilling. The book is written in two time periods, the present and the past. In the present, Betty, an older woman, hires Riley Bell to gather information about Betty’s friends from the past, which leads to questions and then more questions. In the past, Betty and her friends were taking part in a series of experiments on ESP. Chilling and fascinating.
Elise is also reading some interesting books. She sent in a guest review called Clean Slate by Brianna Labuskes. The book is a thriller with the main character helping track down a serial killer! There is also the interview with Shelley Shepard Gray about her newest book, The Unexpected Caller. It is great reading.
