The Bee Sting by Paul Murray-fiction

Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese-fiction

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens – fiction

The Eyes & the Impossible by Dave Eggers -fiction-children’s book ages 8 and up

A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan – nonfiction

Happening by Annie Ernaux -fiction/memoir

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride – fiction

Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry – fiction

Poverty by America by Matthew Desmond – nonfiction

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane – fiction

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin – fiction

While You Were Out by Meg Kissinger -nonfiction

The setting is Saigon in 1963. Although the beginning of the war in Viet Nam is mentioned, Absolution focuses on two women and their relationship. Tricia, also known as Patsy, narrates most of the novel. She and her husband are devote Catholics. Tricia works hard at being the perfect wife, endures a number of miscarriages and gets swept up in Charlene’s schemes. Charlene is a dynamo. She can talk people into almost anything, Most of her schemes involve charitable works, such as distributing toys, cigarettes and candy at a children’s hospital.

Although I felt that Absolution described in too much detail the main character’s clothes and accessories, I still found it an interesting and thought provoking read. While Tricia is somewhat stereotypical of a 50’s/60’s wife, Charlene is a complex woman who is committed to performing good deeds even though she doesn’t always think about their consequences. Also, the book’s title can be interpreted in many ways.

Michael Cunningham’s first novel in ten years is divided into three segments-April 5, 2019, April 5, 2020 and April 5, 2021. It follows Dan and Isabel who are married, their children, Nathan and Violet, Isabel’s brother Robbie, Dan’s brother Garth and Chess who shares a young child with Garth. Their lives before and during the pandemic is the plot of Day.

Much of Cunningham’s descriptions and conversations are interesting and some are thought provoking. However, I finished Day with the feeling that I really didn’t know any of the main characters well. For me, Day would have been a better book if it was longer with more character development.

The unnamed narrator in The Vulnerables describes her life in 2020. During the first year of the pandemic, she is asked to take care of a friend’s parrot in the friend’s apartment in New York City. After she has bonded with the parrot, named Eureka, a previous “parrot sitter,” a young man who has been kicked out of his parent’s home, joins her in the apartment. Throughout the novel, the narrator discusses her thoughts on poetry, animals, politics and a host of other subjects.

Readers usually either like and appreciate Sigrid Nunez or find her writing too unconventional and confusing. I have not read all her works, but I’ve thought that the ones I’ve read, including The Vulnerables, are creative and provide food for thought.

It is 1921 and Lesley and Robert Hamlyn live in a lovely home on the Indian Ocean in Penang, Malaysia. W. Somerset Maugham, known as Willie, and his lover/secretary are their house guests, invited by Robert. Late one night when neither Willie nor Lesley can sleep, they begin to get to know each other. Ultimately, Lesley divulges secrets she has never told anyone else. Willie is a good listener, but he also thinks Lesley’s confessions will make a great short story.

Several characters and events in The House of Doors are real. Eng is a good writer and this work of historical fiction is enjoyable and informative. Although I did not think it was as fine a work of fiction as his first novel, The Gift of Rain, The House of Doors is a worthwhile read.

Tom Kettle is a retired Irish policeman. He has moved from Dublin to a village on the sea. Most of his days are spent sitting in his old wicker chair, looking out on the water and back on his life. Often Tom as well as the reader isn’t sure if events actually happened or he is imagining them. One night two policemen knock on his door and ask for Tom’s his help on an old case. This crime brings back horrors that Tom has spent years suppressing.

I found Old God’s Time brilliant, timely, horrific and depressing. The writing is lovely, weaving between reality and fantasy like Tom’s mind. Barry’s novel is not an easy read, but well worth the effort. In God’s Time is one of the saddest works I have read in a long time, but, for me, a beautiful piece of literature.

Boyd Halverson, an alcoholic and pathological liar, feels life isn’t worth living anymore, so he robs a bank, grabs the bank teller as a hostage, and begins his odyssey across America in search of his ex father-in-law. While on his journey, Boyd little by little reveals his real life and his made up one. During his search he encounters a number of intriguing, amoral characters.

Judging from the title of O”Brien’s novel, one can figure out that Boyd’s journey is in some ways the author’s view of what has happened in The United States in the last few years. Although the tone of America Fantastica is often lighthearted and comical, its underlying message is serious. If you are far to the right and a Trump fan you will not enjoy America Fantastica.

Nathan Hill’s second novel is a modern day love story-sort of. Elizabeth is from a wealthy, immoral New England family. She leaves them forever to attend college at DePaul in Chicago. Jack has a punitive, lonely childhood in rural Kansas. He too moves to Chicago to escape his past. Jack is a photographer and Elizabeth works at a lab that studies the placebo effect. Although they are very different in background, interests and personalities, they fall in love, eventually marry, and have a child, Toby, who is more involved with Minecraft than the real world.

Wellness is clever and entertaining, but it is not an easy read. It’s Jack and Elizabeth’s story, but it is also a critique on the flaws in our 21st century world, described in much detail-sometimes too much detail.

This is the story of a yellow house situated in the north woods of New England. The home first becomes a refuge for young lovers deserting a Puritan colony. It is then taken over by a British soldier who turns some of the land into an apple orchard. He bequeaths it to his identical twin daughters. And on it goes for many generations. As the years pass, the house’s owners change as well as the appearance of the house.

Anthony Marra said that what the Overstory is to trees, North Woods is to houses. This is not the type of book that will grab you immediately. Rather, one appreciates and becomes involved with the narrative slowly. Some characters and their stories may seem more interesting and exciting than others, however, North Woods is certainly a beautifully written, unique novel.

Told in four narrative voices, The Bee Sting is a story about a family that is falling apart. Dickie Barnes, the father, took over the family car dealership and is running it into the ground. Imelda, the mother, was born poor, had an abusive father and marries Dickie because she must. Cass, the daughter, is in love with her best friend and is an alcoholic. PJ, the brother, is smart but naive, unwisely communicating with strangers over the internet. The Barnes family is in trouble and full of secrets.

Although my description of The Bee Sting makes it sound like a soap opera, it truly isn’t. It is a terrific “can’t stop reading” novel. Paul Murray deftly creates characters and situations that has the reader empathizing, yet disliking these family members at the same time.