The Gravity of Birds

Title:  The Gravity of Birds

Author:  Tracy Guzeman

Publication Information:  Simon & Schuster. 2013. 294 pages.

Book Source:  I received this book through the GoodReads First Reads program. The book arrived as an advance uncorrected proof.

Favorite Quote:  "That's the job of an artist:  to make people look at things - not just at things, but at people and at places - in a way other than they normally would. To expose what's hidden below the surface."

Thomas Bayber is a world-renowned painter. He has not painted for many many years and lives pretty much as a recluse. Dennis Finch has spent his life studying Thomas Bayber and supporting him as an individual and as an artist. He is the authority on Thomas Bayber's work and is shocked when Bayber reveals the existence of an undocumented painting. A painting that is part of a triptych that he now wants to sell.

The painting is of a young Thomas Bayber and two young ladies - sisters Alice and Natalie Kessler. Bayber has one piece of the painting. The other two are supposedly with the two Kessler sisters, who seem to have vanished. Bayber charges Dennis Finch to find the other two panels of the paintings so that the three can be put up for sale, and he engages Stephen Jameson, an art expert, to authenticate and sell the paintings.

The book is about Finch and Jameson's search for the paintings and the sisters. The book weaves back and forth through time and characters. Alternating sections tell of the the search, of the past relationships between Bayber and the Kessler sisters, and of the life of the sisters. What emerges is a tale more complicated and discoveries much different than what Finch and Jameson could ever have imagined.

This book reminded me a little of Kate Morton's books (The Secret Keeper) - the emotional story, the mystery, the hint of things around the corner. The book kept me reading. The ending throws in a curve that I felt was unnecessary to the story, but other than that, this story pulls you in and keep you with it. A beautiful debut. I look forward to reading more by Tracy Cuzeman.

The Lake House

Title:  The Lake House

Author:  Marci Nault

Publication Information:  Gallery Books, Simon & Schuster. 2013. 390 pages

Book Source:  I received this book through the GoodReads First Reads program. The book arrived as an advance uncorrected proof.

Favorite Quote:  "Don't pray for God to make your life perfect. Instead, ask for the humor and courage to get you through."

The Lake House refers to a community on the shores of Lake Nagog in Massachusetts. It refers to a group of kids growing up together who vow to stay together forever. Some keep that promise. Some do not. Victoria is one who does not. She leaves and returns many times during her life. Finally, at age 72, she returns to stay and to see if she can rebuild her life there.

Into this community comes Heather Bregman. She is young and still trying to determine the direction of her life. She steps into this close knit community and attempts to make a place in it for herself.

Old friendships, old memories, and old loves crossover into new relationships and rekindled friendships and love. Somewhat predictable and formulaic but that is part of the attraction. You know what to expect with a book like this, and it delivers. An easy to read story to pass away an afternoon. If this was summer, I would call it a good beach read.

The Secret of the Nightingale Palace

Title:  The Secret of the Nightingale Palace

Author:  Dana Sachs

Publication Information:  HarperCollins. 2013. 348 pages.

Book Source:  I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. The book came as a paperback copy.

Favorite Quote:  "Grief is a kind of prison, too"

The Secret of the Nightingale Palace is the story of Goldie and her granddaughter Anna. Goldie and Anna were close during Anna's childhood, and yet, they have been estranged for five years since Anna entered into a marriage Goldie did not approve of. Now, Anna is a widow, and Goldie has asked for her help in a cross country journey to return artwork to an old friend.

Through this journey, the reader learns of Goldie's past and of Anna's past. The reader discovers many secrets not shared and a story that intermingles with the story of the Japanese in the United States during World War II.

The story had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, it started to encompass way too many elements and became a bit like reading a soap opera. Estranged family. Terminal illness. Death. Forbidden love. Marriage of convenience. Affairs. War. Family obligations. Betrayals both real and perceived.

It becomes a story with too many emotional elements such that for me, it lost its reality.

Depression Cookies

Title:  Depression Cookies

Author:  Tia Silverthorne Bach and Angela Beach Silverthorne

Publication Information:  Xlibris Corporation. 2010. 553 pages.

Book Source:  I read this book as the monthly selection for my local book club. The book was a Kindle purchase through Amazon.

Favorite Quote:  "Hot chocolate. Only Mom would think hot chocolate could save the world and tilt the balance of good and evil. If she could, she would hand out cups of hot chocolate and freshly made cookies to soldiers entering battle and feel certain it would shield them from harm. As an adult, I loved her for it. As a kid, I wanted to scream for some focus. There were times I did not want Dorothy on my side; I wanted the Witch."

Depression Cookies is a look at the story of a family from two parallel perspectives. Abby is a wife attempting to support her husband's career dreams, a mother trying to steer her daughters safely through childhood and the teen years, and a daughter dealing with aging parents. Krista is the oldest of Abby's three daughters - a teenager who trying to navigate that tough age.

Because of Bob's career aspirations, the family finds itself moving from town to town every couple of years. Bob pursues his dreams, and his family is left to deal with the ramifications of starting over time after time after time.

I related to and sympathized with the plight of these women. What a challenge to have to move to a new community every couple of years and to have to start over. I had to do that once in my life, and it was a very challenging experience. I can't imagine having to do it over and over again. It was interesting to read both Abby's and Krista's perspectives, coming from such different points in life. As a woman and a mother, I related to their experiences and relationships.

However, unfortunately, the book was long - close to 600 pages, and after a while, it started to take on the tone of a journal vent. That is a coping mechanism many people use. A journal where you vent out whatever you are feeling at that particular moment - the good, the bad, the whiny, the angry, the sad. It is a very useful tool for processing emotions and getting through difficult times. The process in and off itself is cathartic and part of letting go of those negative feelings.

However, that journal is not meant to have an audience. This book seemed to build and build upon those feelings, and I felt as if I was the audience to that. So, much as I could relate to this family of women and the situations they found themselves in, I found myself not really wanting to read about it.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Title:  Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Author:  Robin Sloan

Publication Information:  Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2012. 288 pages.

Book Source:  I wanted to read this book the minute I saw "24-hour bookstore". What an awesome idea! The book came as a hardcover edition from the library.

Favorite Quote:  "The relationship between book and reader is private .... so we go on trust. If you tell me that your friend will read these books deeply, in a way that honors their authors, I will believe you."

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is an adventure story for grown-ups.  A children's story with adult characters and relationships. Clay Jannon lives in San Francisco, is out of work and desperately in need of a job. He get a job at a sleepy little book store. It's unclear how the bookstore sustains itself considering the small number of patrons who shop there.

However, he discovers that things are not quite as they seem. Clay begins to investigate, enlisting the help of two friends. A childhood friends who happens to a billionaire. A new girlfriend who happens to be a technology genius working at Google. Add to that a secret society and lots and lots of books and you have the making of a fun and fanciful tale.

I was intrigued by the start of the book - a character trying to find his way in life, a mysterious bookstore, the hint of intrigue, lots and lots of books, and technology. In the middle, I wasn't so sure because the setup was complete, but the adventure hadn't really started yet. And then the adventure began. My ultimate reaction was a little bit of Harry Potter meets Jimmy Neutron.

All Woman and Springtime

Title:  All Woman and Springtime

Author:  Brandon W. Jones

Publication Information:  Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Workman Publishing. 2012.  381 pages.

Book Source:  I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. The book came as a paperback copy.

Favorite Quote:  "The enemy, she decided was not the communist or the imperialist, but the lack of understanding between them. If one has to be right, then one has to be wrong, in a polarized world. Yes and no. But between the yes and no there is an infinite range of possibilities, a full spectrum of maybe. If you are stuck in either/or, then you are missing the infinite."

All Woman and Springtime is the story of two friends Gyong-Ho and Il-Sun. The two meet as young girls in an orphanage in North Korea. Both are learning to live with the devastation their young lives have already seen. Both are very different, and yet are drawn to each other. A friendship flourishes as they grow up.

As they become young women, their life choices start to diverge. Yet, the friendship lasts and continues to sustain them. As a result of circumstances and choices, they are sold into the sex trade in South Korea. Life leads them through dismal circumstances, yet somehow always together.

The book is a very sad story of the girls' life under the North Korean regime and unfortunately, gets even sadder as they leave that regime for what they think will be a better life. Along the way, they meet people who befriend them and people who betray them.

As such, this book has all the making of a beautiful read - sympathetic characters, a sad situation, and a world issue that deserves attention. Unfortunately, something about the book kept me from an emotional connection with the book. Perhaps the writing style. Perhaps elements of the story that I felt unnecessary. I am not really sure. I am almost tempted to reread it to see what it was that prevented the book from reaching that point, but I probably won't. It was an okay read, but not one that pulled me in completely and held me. 

The Dinner

Title:  The Dinner

Author:  Herman Koch

Publication Information:  Hogarth, Crown Publishing Group, Random House Inc. 2012. 248 pages.

Book Source:  I read this book based on reading the publicity for it. The book came as an ebook edition from the library.

Favorite Quote:  "If I had to give a definition of happiness, it would be this:  happiness needs nothing but itself; it doesn't have to be validated. 'Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way' is the opening sentence of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. All I could hope to add is that unhappy families .... can never get by on their own. The more validators, the merrier. Unhappiness loves company. Unhappiness can't stand silence - especially not the uneasy silence that settles in when it is all alone."

The Dinner takes place over the course of one evening - one dinner shared among two couples. Serge and Babette. Paul and Claire. Over the course of the dinner, much is revealed about the dynamics of the two couples and about the relationship of brothers Serge and Paul. Both couples have children, and the dinner revolves around an event involving their fifteen year old sons.

The book is written as a first person narrative with Paul as the narrator. The setting is Amsterdam. The central issue is that the two couples' sons have committed a senseless act that has serious legal ramifications. The two couples differ in their approach to this issue. For the bulk of the book, they dance around the issue and parry back and forth over the dinner.

The conversation brings out serious issues in the relationships between the two brothers. One suffers from mental illness that causes violent bursts of temper. The other is submerged in political machinations and election maneuverings. The two wives bring their own perspectives and agendas.

I found the book disturbing and difficult to read. The characters are not likable. The parental approach to the trouble the boys have caused is disturbing. The first person narrative makes the book more difficult; perhaps, a different perspective or different narrators might have added more depth to the story. Overall, this is one dinner I wish I had skipped.