From the author of The Reader, comes another novel about a complex and mysterious woman.  Irene has three men in love with her.  Gundlach, her wealthy husband has commissioned a painting of her nude descending a staircase,  Schwind, the soon to be famous artist who authored the painting and becomes Irene’s lover, and the nameless narrator, a young lawyer who has been brought in to settle a dispute between Irene’s husband and lover.  The painting and Irene soon disappear, but the work of art surfaces many years later in a gallery.  Each of the three men track down Irene, and meet again on a remote Australian island.

The Woman on the Stairs is more than a love “rectangle.”  It is a novel about the ownership of art, how the past shapes the present and the future, and life lived avoiding emotional relationships.

 

 

Ill Will is the story of a dysfunctional family and a series of murders that have certain ritualistic similarities.  Dustin Tillman is a psychologist whose parents, aunt and uncle are murdered one summer night when he is thirteen.  He has an adopted older brother, Russell, who is found guilty of the murders based on Dustin’s and his cousin Kate’s testimony.  Thirty years later, Russell is released after DNA evidence finds him not guilty.  Mix in a drug addict son and a wife dying of cancer and you have the Tillman family.

This novel was just too disjointed and weird for me.  There wasn’t a sane character in it, and I didn’t empathize with any of them.  For me, this was not a who done it, but rather a who cares?

Faith Frankel’s life has suddenly changed.  She’s moved back to her hometown in Massachusetts from New York City,  bought a small home with a mysterious history, started a new job at her alma mater, and is thinking about breaking up with her unreliable fiance.  In typical Lipman fashion, Faith’s problems are never taken too seriously and her friends, co-workers and family members engage in witty repartee.   For those who want a “Spring Break” read that is fun, easy and “happily ever after,” One Turpentine Lane might be just the thing.

 

 

Narrator, Robert Carter, leads a lonely life.  He is bullied, has an older brother with a degenerative disease, and must work every summer at his family’s amusement park on the coast of Maine.  His solitary life changes the day he meets Nathan Tilly, a daring adventurer who just moved to the East coast from Texas.  In this coming-of-age novel, Robert learns, with the help of Nathan and a few others, about love, loss and loyalty.

Setting Free the Kites is one of those novels that almost everyone will enjoy, however; it did nothing for me.  Most readers will find it heart warming but it left me flat.

 

An Oprah Book, Melton’s memoir chronicles the highs and lows of her life.  Born into a warm. loving family, she turns to alcohol and food(bulimia) to fill the void her lack of self-confidence has created.  Marriage and three children only replace one set of  insecurities with another.  Love Warrior is Melton’s description of her struggles, attempts and success towards self-actualization.

Some will find this work interesting and rewarding.  To me, it was too spiritual and a bit repetitive.

Pachinko is a saga that follows one family from rural Korea to several large cities in Japan.  It begins in 1910 with Hoonie, a twenty-seven year old, hard working Korean man, who unfortunately, has several birth defects.  Nonetheless, he marriesand sires a daughter who becomes pregnant with a wealthy married man’s child.   The novel continues on for two more generations, ending in Tokyo in 1989.

If you enjoy multi-generational tales, you will want to read Pachinko.  Min Jin Lee is a fine story teller who keeps the plot moving with interesting, engaging characters.

Wow!  Just finished Paul Auster’s tome.  It’s slow and complex, but for me, well worth the time and trouble.  The main character, Archie Ferguson, a Jewish boy born in New Jersey in 1947, has four different avenues his life can possibly take.  Although several characters remain constant in his lives, and in some respects Archie’s personality is the same, each path provides very different outcomes for the four Archies.  Throughout these four lives, Auster describes the significant events of each era;  with much detail given to the turmoil of the 60’s.

It took a while for me to keep the Archie’s straight;  however, even when I was a bit confused, I still had the urge to read on.  If you don’t like slow reads that take some time to get into,  4321 is NOT the novel for you.  If you like dense, descriptive books with well-developed characters, give it a try.

A lonely man who lives a solitary existence on the coast of Ireland rescues a one eyed dog.  These two outcasts need each other, and as they spend a year together,  driving around Ireland, their love and dependence increases.  Written in poetic prose with vivid descriptions of Irish birds, plants and trees, Baume’s debut novel artistically touches on themes of isolation, fear, deprivation and love.

I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated this novel, but it is not for everyone.  It is more about a sad, unloved man than it is about his companionship with his dog.  Spill Simmer Falter Wither’s happy moments are few and far between.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This is the story of Florence Fein, a young Jewish woman born and raised in Brooklyn who leaves the comforts of her middle class home to begin, what she thinks, will be an enlightening adventure in Russia.  This saga begins in  1932 when Florence is a college student and ends in 2008.  The novel moves back and forth in time and focuses, for the most part, on Florence and her son, Julian.  Each chapter heading delineates the location and the year, so it is not difficult to follow the plot lines.

For those readers who enjoy historical fiction and are a bit weary of reading World War II novels, I recommend The Patriots.  It’s informative, historically accurate, and Sana Krasikov is a very fine writer.

Solimar is Ignacio’s birth mother.  She is young, unmarried and an illegal immigrant from a small, rural Mexican village.  Kavya and Rishi are Ignacio’s foster parents.  They are first generation Americans who have tried to conceive but with no success.  All three love the little boy and want what each thinks is best for him.

Lucky Boy poses a dilemma that has been discussed for ages.  What benefits a child more to be with his or her birth family or the family that can provide him or her with financial, educational and social advantages?  This is not a tale of right versus wrong, but instead about who should decide the fate of a very young child.

Sekaram writes a good, easy to read novel that could lead tosome very  interesting discussions.