The narrator, Damon Fields, nicknamed Demon Copperhead, is a young boy living with his drug addict mother in Appalachia. Young Demon’s life is plagued with poverty, addiction, abuse and death, yet somehow he maintains a sense of humor and a realistic look at the world around him. Demon is bright, perceptive and talented, but sometimes that is not enough for him to overcome all that the world has thrown at him.

Barbara Kingsolver readily admits that Demon Copperhead was inspired by David Copperfield. Having never read Dickens’ novel, I can’t make a valid comparison. Kingsolver’s tome is clever, and Demon is a likable, sympathetic character. However, for me, there were descriptions of his bad luck life that became tedious.

Although The Mosquito Bowl is the title of Bissinger’s work of nonfiction, the game itself is merely a blip in the book. Rather, it is a vehicle to bring together the story of five young men who participated in the bowl game and how their lives played out in Okinawa in 1945. Bissinger tells the biographies of Marines George Murphy, Tony Butkovich, Robert Bauman, David Schneider and John McLaughry. All five could have remained stateside and played football, but instead they chose to join the Marines and fight for their country. In depicting their lives on Okinawa, Bissinger vividly describes the horrors of war.

While the title of this book is totally misleading, Bissinger does a good job of describing five good men and their gruesome life in World War II.

*I’ve just read two works of nonfiction that describe the atrocities and senselessness of war. No more “war books” for me for a while.

Ng’s third novel takes place somewhere in the near future. Our country is run by a group called PACT which, among other things, stresses allegiance to the United States while at the same time promoting anti-Asian feelings. Twelve year old Bird lives with his father in a Harvard dorm. His father used to be an etymologist, but due to the way the country is heading, he now shelves books at the school library. Bird’s mother left the family three years ago because her parents were from China, and she felt Bird and her husband were safer if she disappeared. Recently, Bird has discovered scraps of paper that he thinks if he is able to decipher their meaning, will help him find his mother.

At first glance, all of Celeste Ng’s novels seem very different, but all three have the theme of prejudice running throughout them. Like Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You, Our Missing Hearts is very well written with characters readers will empathize with.

Simon Mawer has traced his roots back five generations. Emphasizing his family that was formed around the 1850’s, Ancestry describes relatives such as, Abraham Black who leaves home to become an apprentice seaman at the age of fifteen and Annie Mawer, nee Scanlon, an illiterate Irish girl who finds ways to keep her family fed and housed after her husband is sent off to fight in the Crimean War.

Perhaps because these and other characters in Ancestry are real yet ordinary people, I was captivate by this work of nonfiction. Mawer is a fine writer who not only keenly depicts the hardships his ancestors endured, but also what life was like for so many during those times.

Warning: Mawer’s descriptions of the Crimean war are difficult to read. The most horrific rendering of war that I’ve read in a long time.

In 1926 Nellie Coker, mother of six who owns several night clubs in London, has just been let out of prison. Meanwhile, Inspector John Frobisher is looking for a reason to send Nellie back to prison while also hunting down missing girls, discovering several drowned young women and taking care of his French wife who is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. He distrusts most of the policemen he works with, so he employs Gwendolen Kelling, and ex librarian from York, to dig up dirt on the Coker family. The results are a sometimes fun, sometimes dark romp through post war London.

I usually enjoy Kate Atkinson. She has a knack of being lighthearted yet serious at the same time-not easy to do. There’s a lot going on in Shrines of Gaiety, and it may be confusing at first, but if you’re an Atkinson fan, stick with it.

Fabienne and Agnes are best friends who live in a small, poor, rural town in France. Fabienne is the dominant one in the relationship. One day she decides she will dictate a creative work of fiction to Agnes, and Agnes will take full credit as the author. The retired postman who lives in their village edits it and then sends it on to a publisher in Paris. It is printed and Agnes becomes famous when she is fourteen years old.

I have read several of Yiyun Li’s books, and although she is a fine writer, there is always an element of discomfort in them. The Book of Goose is mainly a book about friendship, but there are also themes of death, poverty and deception.

Elizabeth Strout’s newest work focuses on Lucy Barton, her ex husband, William, and the pandemic. It is March of 2020 and William, because he is a scientist, knows before most that the world will be turned upside down very soon. He finds a house in rural Maine and strongly urges Lucy to leave her New York City apartment and move with him. Lucy by the Sea describes Lucy’s experiences, thoughts, insights and flashbacks during this traumatic time.

I know that Elizabeth Strout’s writing style and characters are not for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed most of her novels. For me, reading Lucy by the Sea felt like chatting with a good friend. Like a good friend, Lucy Barton is caring, thoughtful and honest.

Lessons is the story of Roland Baines – from his childhood in Africa to his time in an English boarding school to his life in London when he is in his 70’s. During these years he is seduced by his piano teacher, marries a German woman who deserts him leaving him to care for their young son, and eventually happily remarries. His life is nothing special, he never worked at anything with a passion, but in some ways he is satisfied. Roland Baines is an ordinary man living an ordinary life.

Ian McEwan’s most recent novel is one of his best. Perhaps because the main character is my age, has lived through many of the historical events that I have, and reacted to friends and family as I probably would, I identified with him Lessons is a fine story about a multi-dimensional man. It is my favorite book so far this year.

Lucrezia di Cosimo de Medici was born in Florence to Italian nobility in 1545. When she was fifteen she married an Italian duke, a man she had only seen once when he was engaged to her late sister. Lucrezia was a bright, stubborn, talented girl who was an expert at making herself almost invisible and listening in on conversations. After being married for almost a year and not producing an heir, her husband takes Lucrezia to a remote fortress-like country estate where she believes he will murder her.

This is an interesting well-written book of historical fiction, but not O’Farrell’s best work,. I found The Marriage Portrait overly descriptive, sacrificing plot for ornate, unnecessary details. Also, it is a novel that jumps around in time and settings and can get a bit confusing.

Agnes and Polly have been friends forever. Both are Quakers in their early 80’s who spend their winters in Philadelphia and summers on Fellowship Point in Maine. Agnes is single, head strong, independent and earns a living as an author. Polly is married to a domineering husband, the mother of three sons and tries her hardest to get along with everyone. When money hungry relatives want to develop Fellowship Point, Polly and Agnes work together to try to stop them.

Alice Elliott Dark’s work of fiction is a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Agnes and Polly (it’s about time someone wrote a novel about friendships among the elderly). Fellowship Point is well-written, yet an easy read. After finishing it, I wanted to go to rural Maine, take a look at the beautiful scenery and meet the wonderful cast of characters.