like a snake eating its tail

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction

Review: Jake Bonner wrote a really good, very popular book.  But he was in danger of remaining a one-hit wonder when chance threw an opportunity in his way.  Many years ago, when Jake was a teaching at a low-rent writer's workshop, a student told him about the plot of the book he was writing.  Recognizing that the idea was sure to become a bestseller, Jake couldn't help but be jealous.  Several years later, he comes to learn that the student has died, his book never written.  So Jake takes the idea and runs with it.

Sure enough, the book is a hit, jumping onto the bestseller list, becoming an Oprah pick, everything Jake always thought he wanted.  But he can't enjoy his fame and fortune, because he's just waiting for someone to expose him.  And then one day, he gets a note: "You are a thief."  Someone knows his secret, but who?  And what do they want?  As the threats of exposure intensify, Jake falls down the rabbit hall of his former student's life, where he unearths more secrets than might be quite healthy for him.

Like other reviewers, I too found the plot twist to be kind of predictable, but there was still plenty of suspense as I read to find out how Korelitz was going to pull it all off.  On one level, this book is a disturbing, twisty story, with a somewhat pathetic main character you couldn't help but have some sympathy for.  On another level, this book is a meditation on the ownership of ideas and the responsibility wrtiers have to one another.  On either level, the book falls a little short, as characters and ideas aren't as fleshed out as one might like, but that doesn't prevent it from being an overall enjoyable read.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

the value of perspective

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction

Review: This book is a bit of a departure for Picoult, as it doesn't involve an ethical dilemma where both sides are, if not sympathetic, at least fully fleshed out.  Here, the focus is on one character, Diana, who must decide if she really wants what she always thought she wanted from life.

The story starts just when things are starting to get serious in New York City with the COVID-19 pandemic.  Businesses and schools are being shut down and Diana's doctor boyfriend tells her how the hospital is becoming overrun with patients.  Is it too soon for a novel about the pandemic?  Maybe, but not in Picoult's hands.  Perhaps because the first part of the book keeps the pandemic at a remove.  I think the bigger reason (for me at least) is that, because the timeline of the book is largely the spring of 2020, I was able to read about what was going on with a whatever-the-opposite-of-nostalgia is (because I definitely wouldn't wish for those days all over again).  "Oh yeah, I remember all those celebrities singing on YouTube!" "That's right, I had forgotten about wiping down packages!"  "Oh yeah, I remember how we thought this was only going to last two weeks!"

Being able to achieve that kind of perspective is one of the great gifts of fiction and Picoult gives it to us in abundance.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

what comes after

The Living and the Lost by Ellen Feldman

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Genre: historical fiction

Review: As teenagers, Meike and her brother David were sent to America from Germany in the aftermath of Kristallnacht.  Their parents and younger sister Sarah stayed behind.  Meike, who Americanizes her name to Millie, spends WWII at Bryn Mawr, and then as an editor at a magazine.  David enlists as soon as he turns 18.  Both go back to Berlin during the occupation, both to help in various official and unofficial capacities, and to try to make sense of what happened to their family, their city, and their country.

The reader's first question will be: what happened to the rest of the family?  The answer, and Meike's journey to come to terms with it, will haunt readers beyond the last page.  The second question may well be: can Germany and the German people ever recover?  History more or less tells us the answer to that question, but Feldman's exploration of the immediate aftermath of the war will also not soon be forgotten by readers.

Feldman has put all the pieces together to form a worthwhile addition to the genre.  She has a light touch on this weighty topic, but does not shy from addressing the mass hatred and prejudice on both the German and American side.  She brings her scenes and characters to life with heartwrenching feeling.  No reader will escape this book unscathed, and yet it is not so emotional as to get in the way of being able to process the narrative and really think about the larger story.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

stalking data

Fan Fiction: A Mem-Noir: Inspired by True Events by Brent Spiner with Jeanne Darst

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction

Review: Was Brent Spiner the target of a stalker who sent him threatening notes signed by his fictional character's fictional daugter Lal?  He might have been.  Did that result in an entanglement with an FBI agent and her personal-security-guard twin sister and all the other dramatic events that follow as he writes in this book?  Probably not.  Spiner isn't telling which parts of this book are "mem" and which are "noir," but no matter where the the line is, he's written a fun, madcap story.

The book will, of course, appeal mostly to Star Trek fans, which is not to say that it won't appeal to people who don't identify as Star Trek fans too (except, perhaps, the ST:TNG name-dropping).  Fans will be pleased to see that Spiner's writing chops are almost as strong as his acting chops, and non-fans will enjoy a zany mystery with a true noir feel.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

the art of the lumberjack

The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All by Josh Ritter

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Genre: historical fiction

Review: Weldon Applegate was 13 when he and his father moved to Cordelia, Idaho.  Weldon's father wants his son removed from the civilizing influences of starched collars and Sunday services, but still intends to honor his promise to Weldon's late mother not to go to work again as a lumberjack.  Instead, he will run the general store while Weldon makes friends around town, and some pocket change, as he delivers the local hooch to its various hiding places.

But when the near-mythical lumberjack Linden Laughlin comes to town, promising the elder Applegate that they can both make a fortune if they partner together to clear the Applegate family's "Lost Lot," Weldon's father can't resist.  Weldon looks back on the results of that fateful decision from his deathbed 80+ years later and gives the reader the benefit of his acerbic observations.

From the very first sentence, readers will be transported into the rough world of lumberjacks, with all its coarseness and danger.  Filled with boldly written, exaggerated characters, this lush, yet gritty tale will captivate readers who appreciate authentic dialogue and a strong sense of place.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

not your grandmother's romance

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Genre: romance

Review: On the one hand, this is a standard romance novel.  Boy meets girl and there is instant attraction, but things are complicated, a few hijinks ensue, and finally everything gets worked out and they all live happily ever after.  That's all true, and it's a very sweet, fun read.

But there's more going on here.  Ruthie is very buttoned-up, and scared to leave her comfort zone.  Teddy gives off louche, rich-kid vibe, and everyone tries to convince Ruthie that he's going to break her heart.  Ruthie's not convinced though, and what Thorne does very well is give us a sense of the dichotomy between other people's perceptions of Teddy, and even his own actions, and the real Teddy, without ever shifting to Teddy's actual perspective, but through narrative descriptions of his body language.

Second First Impressions is not your grandmother's romance novel.  With robust characters and writing that avoids cliché, this is a romance for anyone who wants to good story.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

charisma in a box

The Very Nice Box by Eve Gleichman and Laura Blackett

Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction

Review: Ava Simon is not, as the jacket copy would have you believe, another Eleanor Oliphant.  She's grieving, having lost her fiancée in a car accident several years ago, and has shut herself off from nearly all social interactions.  Her life is quiet, steady, and calm, consisting of engineering work that she loves at STÄDA (an Ikea look-alike), Monday lunches with a colleague, podcasts, and her dog.  But when Mat Putman blows into her office like a charismatic hurricane, this self-contained existence is quite upended.

The novel follows Ava as she somewhat grudingly re-enters the world, learns that it is possible to love again, and navigates the truly asinine corporate culture at STÄDA.  The office culture is almost a character in itself; think Eggers's The Circle, without the menancing undertones.  The tone here is much more lighthearted, although it's clear that Mat Putnam is not what he seems.  He's too goofy to seem truly threatening though, unless you count his misguided sense of self-worth to be a threat (and by the end, I'm not so sure that you'd be wrong to do so).  Ava and Mat's personal drama, and the scandal-in-the-making that's been building up at STÄDA all come together for a satisfying, if slighly ridiculous resolution.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.