The Lotus Shoes tells the story of Linjing and her slave Little Flower. Told through their alternating narratives, readers learn much about the caste system in the 1800’s in China, the importance of bound feet, what it is like to be sold into slavery at a very young age, and how chauvinistic the Chinese culture was back then. Linjing is a mercurial mistress. Some times she wants to be Little Flower’s friend, other times she is cruel and manipulating with little empathy for what the life of a slave must be like. Little Flower is a skilled embroiderer, and this talent will eventually help her rise above her station.

Jane Yang’s debut novel is a good, engrossing “women’s” book. I recommend it to those who enjoy historical fiction and want to learn more about life in China years ago.

Emilia Del Valle is raised by her mother, a devout Catholic, and her stepfather, her nurturing parent, in San Francisco in the 1870’s. She becomes a reporter for The San Francisco Examiner. Emilia is an adventurous, independent woman, a novelty at the time, and after much begging and pleading, she is permitted to go to Chile to cover its civil war for the newspaper. Emilia experiences danger, bloodshed and death in Chile but also love.

I run hot and cold with Isabel Allende. I admired House of Spirits and Paula, liked A Long Petal to the Sea and was indifferent to The Wind Knows My Name. My Name Is Emilia Del Valle is a good read about a strong woman and the descriptions of the civil war in Chile are interesting and informative, but it is certainly not Allende’s best.

In Goldstone’s There Is No Place for Us, the author follows four women, Britt, Kara, Michelle and Celeste and a married couple, Maurice and Natalia. Everything is factual in this work except for the real names of these individuals. All have children, live in Atlanta, are Black and have been employed in low paying jobs since before the pandemic. All are intent on finding a permanent place to live with their families, but many factors make that dream a herculean task.

This work of nonfiction is heart breaking. All six of these individuals spend their days working, trying to find child care, searching for more ways to make more money, helping family members, phoning and meeting with government and nonprofit officials looking for a way to subsidize there rent, searching for better and/or cheaper housing, and trying to pay for rent and utilities with money they don’t have. And when the pandemic hits, life gets even tougher. There are sections in this meticulously researched work where I was literally exhausted reading about what their days were like. There were other portions where I had to stop reading because I was so upset learning what these families had to endure. There Is No Place for Us is a must read for those who care about the future of our nation and its citizens.

This book was recently reissued since it was banned in Ireland since 1961. The Pilgrimage takes place in Ireland, and the main characters are Michael, Julia, Jim and Stephen. Julia and Michael are married. He is the wealthiest man in their small town, totally incapacitated and gay. Julia is having an affair with Jim , Michael’s doctor and nephew. One day Julia receives a letter in the mail describing to a tee what she and Jim are doing behind closed doors. This exact same letter appears at her home almost daily. Julia suspects Stephen, their servant, but is not sure how to get him to confess.

By today’s standards, The Pilgrimage is tame. It is not shocking, but Julia’s promiscuity and several gay characters seem to be the reason it was banned in Ireland for over fifty years. Is The Pilgrimage a great read? No, but it is interesting to see how much morals and sexual standards have changed since 1961.

This wonderful, delightful rhyming poem was written in 1888 by Edward Lear. Lear is famous for his nonsense poems and limericks. Nicholas Santore and his late father, Charles, are responsible for the magnificent illustrations that adorn each page of The Scroobious Pip.

I will not summarize The Scroobious Pip because it will be more fun to discover it on your own. It is a joyful read for children and adults of all ages.

If you are an animal lover and concerned about global warming and industrialization and how they affect the animal kingdom, read Vanishing Treasures. Katherine Rundell describes 22 creatures ranging from the wombat to the seahorse to the crow and how their existence is diminishing and why. Her short chapters on each of the 22 includes folklore, facts and histories of each. Vanishing Treasures is sometimes humorous, often times serious and full of little known facts and stories. Most importantly, it is a wake up call to the human animal.

Adichie’s novel tells the story of four Nigerian women-their friendships, their relationships with men and their lives in Nigeria and The United States. Chiamaka is beautiful, wealthy, has had many boyfriends and dabbles at being a travel writer. Zikora believes she has found the man of her dreams until she becomes pregnant. Kaditou works for Chiamaka and has a hard life which soon will become even more difficult. Finally, there is Omelogor who is brilliant, hard working, and tries to repair some of the injustices in our world.

Don’t be turned off by the foreign names; it is not confusing because each of the four women have a distinct personality. Dream Count is a fine “woman’s” book. Most of the men in the novel do not come off well, and although the four main characters are not heroic, they are for the most part strong and caring.

Anthony Ferrell, and Irish journalist and playwright, alcoholic and absentee father, has been asked to write an article the underwater cables that are necessary for all of our telecommunication systems. When several of these cables break off the coast of Africa, Ferrell boards a ship to write an article about it, knowing he may spend months on this boat. The most intriguing person on the ship is John Conway, a fellow Irishman, a deep sea diver who has literally been all over the world, and captain of the ship. Before boarding the ship, Ferrell meets Conway’s partner who is South African, ecologically minded and about to become a famous actress.

When I finished Twist. I kept wondering what is this novel was really about. Even the title is not as simple as it seems. I admire books that are more than the narrative, and Twist is certainly that.

It is during the pandemic, and Chloe Dalton and has decided to spend that time at her country home in the English countryside. While out for a walk, she comes upon an abandoned baby hare. After much deliberation, she decides to take the infant home and try to nurse it back to health. And so begins Dalton’s life with a hare-a time that will change her from a workaholic to a woman concerned with the animal kingdom and their environments.

Chloe Dalton’s debut work is probably a terrific read if you are an avid animal lover. However, I identify mostly with domesticated animals, and Raising Hare gave me more details about hares, their behavior, history, anatomy and enemies, than I cared to know about.

Charlie and Cece are getting married at his family’s summer home in Montana in the summer of 2004. Cece arrives a few weeks earlier than Charlie to make sure that all the wedding preparations are in place. One day Charlie’s college friend and the wedding officiate, Garrett, stops by to meet Cece and take her for a hike in the mountains. They are attracted to each other and soon fall in love. Dream State follows these three characters, their families and their relationships to each other for the rest of their lives.

If my description of Eric Puchner’s debut novel sounds like a light, simple, romantic comedy, it is not. It is a fabulous, engrossing, wonderfully written novel. Dream State is one of the best works of fiction I have read in a long time. I couldn’t stop reading it but didn’t want it to end.