G.W. Pabst is a famous German director. When his country begins to fall into the hands of the Nazi’s, he goes to Hollywood with his wife and his son. After an unsatisfying time in the United States, he goes with his family to visit his ailing mother in Vienna. The minister of propaganda in Berlin learns of Pabst’s whereabouts and goads him into directing nationalistic films.

Daniel Kehlmann’s latest work takes a unique approach to the horrors of World War II. Using Pabst as an example, he poses the question should art ever be sacrificed for the well being of the artist. If readers have not had their fill of World War II novels, read The Director.

John Calum MacLoed, known as Cal, is a gay young man. He graduated from art school and returns home to a remote island in Scotland after his father informs him that his grandmother is quite ill. Cal’s life in his hometown is extremely uncomfortable. He must hide his sexuality from the strict Presbyterian community he now lives in, including his father, John, who is a closet gay man. It turns out that many of the townspeople have secrets that Cal, for the most part, discovers.

If you liked Douglas Stuart’s first two novels you will want to read his third. Like the others, John of John has a main character who is gay and thus has a hard life with many obstacles. It takes a while to understand the lives of the main characters in John of John but perseverance pay off. Douglas Stuart does a fine job of rendering loneliness, family obligations, taboos and repression.

Artie Dam is a history teacher at a Massachusetts high school. He cares about his students, and he loves his family and sailing. A near death experience as well as a family revelation and the change in American politics forces Artie to look at life, people and the future differently. Artie Dam is a great teacher, a loving father and husband and a good friend who is trying to make sense of his world.

Elizabeth Strout has never disappointed me. Her prose makes it seem like writing a novel is easy-which of course it isn’t. Her characters are individuals you’d like to sit next to at a dinner party. The Things We Never Say is a terrific work of fiction unless you admire Donald Trump.

Vernice and Annie have been best friends since birth. Both girls are Black, motherless and grew up in a small town in Louisiana. Vernice is raised by an unmarried aunt. She is bright and ambitious, goes to college and marries well. Annie is raised by her grandmother. Her sole ambition is to find her mother who abandoned her the week she was born. Although these girls’ lives head in completely different directions, their friendship endures.

Told in alternating narratives, Vernice and Annie’s stories are finely crafted. Some segments are humorous, others sad. I liked and appreciated Kin, but for some reason that I can’t put my finger on, I didn’t love it.

Less than a month into the pandemic, Belle Burden receives a phone call from a man who informs her that her husband is having an affair with his wife. When she confronts her husband, he tells it is true, says he is no longer happy being married to her, and immediately leaves Belle and two of their three children. Married for twenty years, Belle had always felt that her marriage was solid and filled with love and happiness. Strangers is the telling of how Belle survived.

Although my life is in many ways different from Belle’s, I could not put Strangers down. I read it in two sittings. In some ways Belle’s story is not just about the end of a marriage but also a woman’s memoir about love, disillusionment, friendship, motherhood and standing up for oneself. I believe most women can find parts of Strangers to relate to.

Tessa and Marian are sisters living in Northern Ireland. Tessa is divorced with a young son and works for the BBC. Marion is single and is a paramedic. One day Tessa learns that her sister has been involved with the IRA(Irish Republican Army) and may have been involved in a number of violent crimes. After learning the truth about Marian, Tessa’s life is never the same.

Trust Her is a sequel to Northern Spy. Northern Spy is an interesting, sometimes tense, read, but Trust Her starts off exciting and anxiety-provoking and never lets up. Although it is the least dramatic of the two, it is necessary to read Northern Spy first.

Tom Junod’s memoir centers around his father, Lou. Lou was good looking, charismatic and a womanizer. Although Lou loved his family and stayed married to his wife, Frances, he also had many affairs-some long term, some not. The author always suspected this, and after Lou’s death, he feels the urge to find out the details of his father’s life and his ancestry.

In many ways In the Days of My Youth . . .is like so many of today’s memoirs-a search for the answer to family secrets. However, unlike many other tell alls, Lou Junod truly loves his children and wants the best for them. Lou is a complicated man, and his younger sons’ well-written work leaves the reader with some answers to his life but not all.

Lately I’ve been thinking about books I read years ago that would still be enjoyable to read today. The following is a list of some of my all-time favorites in alphabetical order.

American Pastoral by Philip Roth

Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood

Cider House Rules by John Irving

The Color of Water by James McBride

Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer

The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler

The Magus by John Fowles

Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk

Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Possession by A.S. Byatt

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Sophie’s Choice by William Styron

Stone Diaries by Carol Shields

There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz

If I’ve left out some of you’re favorites, I would love to hear from you.

On November 29, 2019, nineteen year old Zac Brettler fell from a balcony five stories above the Thames River. Zac Brettler died and the circumstances surrounding his death is the crux of London Falling. Was Zac pushed, did he fall or did he purposely jump hoping to land safely in the river. While covering Zac’s story, Patrick Radden Keefe also describes con men, London gangsters, the lives of wealthy or seemingly wealthy Russian oligarchs in London and the ineptness of the London police and Scotland Yard.

No one can write about true crime better than Patrick Radden Keefe. Although I didn’t find London Falling quite as intriguing and startling as Say Nothing and Empire of Pain, it is definitely worth reading.

Theo arrives in the city of Golden, Georgia. He is 86 years old, has lived in many places around the world, and is quite mysterious never divulging his last name or much about his life. On one of his first days in Golden, he steps into Chalice, the local coffee shop, and studies the many portraits painted by a local artist. He soon starts buying the paintings and distributing them to the appropriate individuals.

Allen Levi’s debut novel has become a national sensation. Most readers loved it and felt inspired by it. Theo, the mystery man, exemplifies unselfishness, kindness, integrity and the ability to befriend people from all walks of life. Theo of Golden is a feel good novel that leaves no unanswered questions.