Harari, the brilliant author of Sapiens and Homo Deus, has written a third work of nonfiction that is just as interesting and mind expanding as his first two.  The twenty-one lessons cover a wide range of relevant subjects today such as, equality, religion, terrorism and justice.  For each of these topics, Harari describes how they are important, how they are truthful and how helpful or harmful they are as we move towards 2055 and beyond.  Harari’s range of knowledge is almost unbelievable, and his explanations are clear, concise and perfectly explained.  I am a fan of Yuval Noah Harari even though his view of mankind and our future is sometimes pessimistic.

Warning:  If you are devoutly religious and a fan of Donald Trump, the Israeli government today and Brexit, you may find parts of 21 Lessons for the 21st Century offensive.

Scarlett Chen is single, pregnant and recently arrived in California from China.  Her ex boss, who is the father of her child, has sent her to a home for unwed Chinese mothers in Los Angeles.  She learns weeks before giving birth that the owner of the home plans on taking her child and giving it to the baby’s father who is back in China.   Scarlett escapes with a pregnant teenager named Daisy.  They drive to San Francisco where they both give birth and Scarlett finds employment and dodges detectives and officials who she feels want to take her baby away from her.

A River of Stars didn’t excite me.  I never felt totally involved in Scarlett and Daisy’s adventures possibly because some of their circumstances were not believable.

For me, the perfect read for the final days of summer.  Delia Owens’ debut novel has romance and mystery told against the lush setting of coastal North Carolina.  Kya Clark’s family has deserted her one by one, forcing her to live alone at a very young age.  While fending for herself, she learns to “read”  the flora and fauna around her even though she has only had one day of formal education.   Ostracized by almost everyone in the nearby town, Kya, know as Marsh Girl, cautiously forms relationships with two young men only to learn that humans are the least reliable life form in nature.

Delia Owens is a fine writer who deftly combines a coming of age novel with a possible murder mystery and a testimonial to the beauty of the North Carolina marshlands.

Kim’s debut novel follows a Korean family from 1951 to 1967.  Told in chapters narrated by several of the family members, If You Leave Me centers around Haemi, a strong-willed, independent, temperamental woman living in a country where females are ostracized if they are not meek and mild.  Other interesting, well-described characters are Haemi’s sickly but kind younger brother, her husband who survived the Korean War but will always bear the scars from it, and the love of Haemi’s life who wants to marry her and help raise her four daughters despite the consequences he knows they will face.

If You Leave Me is a wonderful read.  Kim’s characters are fully drawn, the situations they encounter are thoroughly realistic and the plot moves along quickly.

A strange and eerie debut novel.   As the title suggests, it is the story of a Christian cult heading towards acts of violence.  It is told in short segments narrated mostly by the three main characters-John Leal, the leader of the cult, Phoebe, a follower, and Will, who rejects Leal’s teachings and is in love with Phoebe.

The Incendiaries takes a long time to unfold,and, for me, each character’s back story got in the way of the plot’s progress.  Also, parts of the novel were a bit confusing, and some paragraphs I had to reread two or three times.

For my summer classic read, I chose Oscar Wilde’s only novel because I was intrigued by the concept and the author.  Dorian Gray, a beautiful English gentleman, is having his portrait painted by his friend and admirer, Basil Hallward.  Another English gentleman, the cynical and corrupt Lord Henry Wooten, is espousing his theories on life and nature while the portrait is being finished.  As the dark, Gothic novel progresses, Dorian goes from innocence to complete depravity.  While he stays as handsome and youthful as ever, his portrait takes on the true aging and abuse he heaves on himself and others.  Dorian keeps the frightening picture locked in a room in his attic, but there is always a chance that someone will find it as well as discover all the foul acts he has committed.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a fast paced, sometimes exciting read with clever ideas verbalized by Henry Wooten.  One can see Wilde in all three of the main characters, and for me, his life was as exciting and horrifying as his novel.

In 1967 Willa Drake is eleven years old and living with a younger sister, a kind-hearted, gentle father and a bipolar mother.  In 1977 she comes home with her soon to be husband, Derek.  In 1997 Willa becomes a young widow with two teenage sons.  And in 2017 she has remarried and moved to Tucson when a phone call from a stranger sends her to Baltimore.  Like many of Tyler’s characters, Willa wants to please everyone, which is impossible.

Like most of Anne Tyler’s novels, Clock Dance is filled with quirky, heart-warming characters.  The neighborhood Willa visits in Baltimore has its share of endearing, well-meaning sorts.  Although I don’t think this is one of Tyler’s best, it is worth a read.  It’s engaging and fun with a likeable main character.

 

 

The Great Believers is a two part story that alternates between Chicago in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and Paris in 2015.  The Chicago part focuses on Yale Tishman, a gay young man-his job, his friends and how he and his community were affected by the AIDS epidemic.  The main character in the Paris sections is Fiona Marcus.  Her brother was one of the first of Yale’s friends to die from AIDS, and because of this, she becomes a champion for gay equality.  She is in Paris searching for her daughter and granddaughter.

It took me about fifty pages to get into The Great Believers.  There are a lot of male characters, and, in the beginning, I kept mixing them up.  However, once I was clear about who was who, I couldn’t stop reading.  Stay with it; it’s well worth it.  The Great Believers artistically depicts important issues and memorable characters.

A sparse, beautifully written novel about a different kind of love triangle.  Ellis, Michael and Annie form a threesome.  Ellis and Annie are married, Michael is gay and loves Annie platonically and Michael erotically.  Ellis loves Annie and Michael while Annie understands what is going on and approves wholeheartedly.  The action takes place in Oxford, England, Provence and Venice with an appreciation of Van Gogh thrown into the mix. Most of Tin Man takes place in the 1980’s and 90’s when the AIDS virus was at its peak.

This is a terrific little book that lovingly yet tragically describes different types of love from mother love to true friendship.

The High Season was listed on a few articles about good summer reads.  It’s a quick, engaging read with good guys, bad guys and a lovely setting on the coast of Long Island.

Ruthie Beamish is curator of a small history museum in Orient, New York.  She lives with her husband(they’ve been contemplating a divorce for three years) and their fifteen year old daughter.  Every summer they rent out their home and move to a smaller, less attractive place in order to be able to afford the life they live in Orient.  However, this summer, Ruthie and her daughter have been invited to stay at the home of a wealthy board member of the museum while her family is in Europe.  The High Season follows Ruthie and her friends, family and enemies throughout the summer.

For me the perfect summer read-light, but not silly.