The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife

Publishers Weekly offers this summary and recommendation of Anna Johnston's debut novel: "Johnston debuts with a sweet story of mistaken identity and second chances. The narrative begins with a failed rescue attempt, as impoverished widower Fred Fife tries to help a nonresponsive man, who turns out to be nursing home resident Bernard Greer, away from a river's edge. After Bernard falls into the river and is carried out of sight, a harried nursing home employee ushers Fred, who looks just like Bernard, back to the home. Because Bernard exhibited signs of dementia, nobody believes Fred's insistence that he doesn't belong there, and when Bernard's body is discovered with Fred's wallet, which fell into the river during the botched rescue attempt, he's identified by the police as Fred. After Fred's initial resistance, he settles into the relative comfort of the home, befriending fellow resident Albert, who, in his dementia, believes Fred is his brother. When Bernard's estranged daughter, Hannah, appears at the nursing home, Fred, who always longed for children and deeply misses his late wife, decides to lean into his lie to offer Hannah a happy and supportive version of the man who abandoned her. Johnston places the painful realities of grief and aging alongside Fred's puckish antics and lands a convincingly hopeful ending. The result is a triumphant last act story." Similarly, Library Journal describes the book as "a heartwarming story about growing old, grief and learning to navigate life's many challenges." And Booklist concludes their review with similar sentiments: "This touching narrative explores themes of community, family, and the redemptive power of new beginnings, illustrating the impact of past choices and the potential for personal transformation."

I found the book almost too sweet for my taste. I didn't dislike the book but it never really engaged me either.  

Dear Committee Members

This epistolary novel by Julie Schumacher is a snarky send up of academia at a small college. Jay Fitger is a professor of English and creative writing who shares his candid views of students--present and former, colleagues, the administration, and his ex-wife among others. 

Library Journal offers this summary: "Jason Fitger, professor of English at a small liberal arts college, is experiencing the death of the humanities in higher education. While his colleagues in the "money making" departments have all the perks imaginable, his department has suffered budget cuts and staff eliminations. Fitger's own writing languishes in the face of relentless interruptions, from writing letters of recommendation for students to commenting on departmental activities to seeking work for his last remaining grad student. Also included in the story is his lively correspondence with his ex-wife and his ex-girlfriend, both of whom also work on campus. In his copious correspondence, he is not afraid to state his mind, even when it's not appropriate to do so... Sadly, Schumacher... has nailed the state of higher education exactly. She has done so with humor and wit, using this one-sided correspondence to tell a larger story. " 

 Kirkus describes our letter writer as "a caustic, frustrated and cautiously hopeful English professor named Jason Fitger. He's a former literary wunderkind who parodied his own writing teacher in a successful first novel called Stain 20 years ago and has since parlayed three unsuccessful follow-ups into a tenured position at a small liberal arts college."  They close their review with "It’s an unusual form for comedy, but it works. "Truth is stranger than fiction in this acid satire of the academic doldrums. Publishers Weekly calls Fitger "a man who exudes both humor and heart."    The New York Times calls the book "terrific" and "hilarious." NPR closes their review with "Like the best works of farce, academic or otherwise, Dear Committee Members deftly mixes comedy with social criticism and righteous outrage. By the end, you may well find yourself laughing so hard it hurts."

This is a light read that will resonate with anyone who has experienced the politics and personalities of academia.   

Curtain Call

This is an oldie but goody--revived by Vintage Books in 2015--that takes place between World Wars I and II in 1936 London. A rising star of the stage, actress Nina Land, has embarked on an affair with a married man, Stephen Wyley, who is the portrait painter  in demand with high society. Quite by accident, Nina interrupts ann attempted murder by a serial killer and unwittingly put a target on her back. Through various social contacts, Nina re-encounters the intended victim, Madeleine Farewell and they collaborate on providing the police a drawing of the potential killer. The brassy larger-than-life theatre critic, Jimmy Erskine, plays an outsized role in epitomizing the moral ambiguity of the age, keeping his life as a homosexual a secret even while constantly flirting with imprisonment through his "recklessly promiscuous" behavior. (The Independent). His talented secretary Tom Tunner is keeping his own secret about his epilepsy as he doesn't want to be  defined by his disease. Madeleine and Tom cross paths and begin a friendship, based on the shared secret of Tom's health and the not shared secret of Madeleine's life as an escort. The Author's Note says that he didn't want the who done it to dominate the story, but rather let the characters he created weave their way toward a conclusion. The New York Times concurs with this approach by saying that "This is a novel that would work as a character study alone — Quinn is that good — but it also happens to be a terrifically satisfying whodunit." The reviewer goes on to effuse "I cannot recommend “Curtain Call” highly enough. As a story, as a mystery, as a visit to between-the-wars London. Basically, drop everything you’re doing and read it." The Guardian calls this a "faultless murder mystery" and goes on to provide a lengthier summary of the characters and storyline. The Independent describes "Quinn's refined narrative voice ... as crisp, melodious and sure-footed..." and closes by saying the book is "a beautifully written, absorbing work of historical fiction."

 

Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone

Benjamin Stevenson has set out to create a very twisty murder mystery that would adhere to Ronald Knox's "10 Commandments of Detective Fiction"(1929) written in the Golden Age of mystery writers. 

The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow.

All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.

Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.

No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.

No Chinaman must figure in the story.

No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.

The detective must not himself commit the crime.

The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced for the inspection of the reader.

The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind; his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.

Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.

 

Our narrator, Ernest Cunningham ("call me Ern"), is an author of "how to" books for aspiring writers and is also trying to solve the murder while explaining his writing process which endeavors to stick to the rules. Ern's Aunt Katherine has arranged a family reunion in an Australian ski resort for this very dysfunctional family: mother Audrey, step-father Marcelo, step-sister Sophia, brother Michael, brother Jeremy (deceased?), Katherine's husband Andy, Michael's wife Lucy, Ern's wife Erin. When an unidentified man turns up dead in very bizarre fashion, Ern begins his search for the killer. Along the way, he reveals how his family members have caused the deaths of other people. Three years ago, Michael "asked Ernie to dispose of a corpse that turned out not to be quite dead yet" (Publishers Weekly). Ern subsequenly testified against his brother who went to jail. but is now being released--hence one of the major rifts in the family dynamics. 

Reviews have been largely positive with Publishers Weekly calling the book "exceptionally clever and amusing " and concluding "Stevenson carries off this tour de force with all the aplomb of a master magician who conducts his tricks in plain view." The Washington Post's Maureen Corrigan praises "Stevenson not only “plays fair,” he plays the mystery game very, very well." Kirkus delivers a more modest review closing with "This book and its author are cleverer than you and want you to know it."

The Keeper

This is the 3rd installment of Tana French's "Cal Hooper" series; see my posts for the previous two books  for more background (The Searcher and The Hunter).  A young woman who is engaged to the son of Ardnakelty's wealthiest man apparently kills herself by drinking anti-freeze and then drowning in the river. The concensus is that she committed suicide but the rumors swirl about why she would have done that. Cal and Lena are reluctantly dragged into trying to find an answer because of Trey's obsession with the incident. As usual, the pacing is slow but beautifully written and you will be carried along by the maturing Trey and the town's dynamics for keeping secrets. 

Library Journal gushes "French is an expert at writing suspense and depicting the stifling tensions of small towns, and her final book in the Cal Hooper trilogy ...brings Cal's story to a pulse-pounding conclusion." Publishers Weekly rightly calls the novel "atmospheric" and I agree with their assessment "Though the serpentine final 100 pages are nail-biting, this will be best enjoyed by readers already familiar with Ardnakelty and its quirky cast of characters." Kirkus says it is "great crime fiction." 

How to Read a Book

This book by Monica Wood is a heart-warming story of mistakes and recoveries and the enormous impact of kindness. Here is Booklist's summary and review: 

"Every Friday, for 2 hours, 12 incarcerated women gather to discuss books with Harriet, a retired English teacher whom they affectionately refer to as Bookie. Violet is one of these 12 women, a 22-year-old who is released after serving 2 years for a drunk-driving accident that left a kindergarten teacher dead. Feeling lost and adrift as she attempts to establish a life for herself in Portland, Violet decides to buy the book she never got to finish in the book club and runs into Harriet at the bookstore. Their chance encounter takes a somewhat dramatic turn when the store's handyman (and the husband of the woman who died in the car crash) sees them and seemingly lunges at Violet. But this initial interaction turns into something much more meaningful as an unlikely friendship forms among them. Told with compassion and empathy, Wood's... tender novel explores the ways people can surprise themselves and others. A deeply humane and touching novel; highly recommended..."

A more comprehensive summary of the story is here at SuperSummary. 

Publishers Weekly was less flattering as they called the book "simplistic" and "predictable"; whereas Kirkus gushes "A finely wrought story, beautifully told, with deeply memorable characters." I really liked the book but decide for yourself.   

Winter Garden

 

This book by Kristin Hannah is a story within a story. The framing story is about a dysfunctional family in which the mother, Anya, has never shown any love or affection to her two daughters, Meredith and Nina, except for telling them occasional fairy tales late at night. The girls' father was the one who loved them demonstrably, but early on in the book he dies and leaves the family floundering. He made the girls promise to get to know their mother better. Meredith runs the family's apple orchards while thanklessly taking care of her octogenarian mother. As a consequence, she has no time for her husband and the marriage threatens to fall apart. Nina is a photo journalist traveling the world and rarely coming home, but when she does, she attacks  her sister for putting their mother into a rehab center where she will get more consistent care and be safe. The mother is showing signs of possible dementia and Meredith is simply overwhelmed with her responsibilities. She is also furious with Nina for never helping or being present to share the burdens of the family business. The historical story, couched initially as a fairy tale, is extracted from their mother due to Nina's insistence as she promised her dying father. It is the story of a woman and her two children during the siege of Leningrad during WWII.Both stories are painful reading and way too long. There is redemption at the end, but it seems far fetched to have transformed these unlikable main characters in such a short time.  Kirkus agrees with me of the on this point, noting that it is "a manipulative and contrived ending...Hannah... sabotages a worthy effort with an overly neat resolution." Publishers Weekly felt differently, saying "Readers will find it hard not to laugh a little and cry a little more as mother and daughters reach out to each other just in the nick of time."

I liked other books by Hannah much more, especially The Nightingale.

The Hunter

This is the 2nd installment in Tana French's "Cal Hooper" series.  See my post on The Searcher for quick background on the main character. It's been about 2 years since the events of the first book and Cal and Lena are now officially an item in the small Irish village of Ardnakelty where Cal is restoring a run down cottage and teaching a local teenager, Trey (short for Theresa), how to be a carpenter so she'll have future possibilities outside the townland. In other words, things are going well until Trey's long absent father swans back into town towing a London "millionaire" who claims to have information about gold depositss on the local area. Of course the pair are planning to scam the village inhabitants of "investment" money when planted gold is "found" and Trey is more than willing to help in the scheme to get revenge for the death of her older brother and the way the village has treated her family for years. Suddenly everthing the three have been working toward is at risk. Cal and Lena want to protect Trey at any cost, especially when she finds the money man dead on a mountain road. Tray has other ideas and is heedless of the potential consequences of her actions. the book is a slow start but a tense wind-up at the end. French''s writing and characters are worth the time it takes to reach the climax. 

Publishers Weekly calls this a "slow burn sequel" that is a "cut above similar fare." Booklist gushes "French's characterizations are brilliant, as always," and says the book is "masterfully written." Kirkus closes their review with this: "The book abounds in local color and lively dialogue. An absorbing crime yarn."

The Coroner

This is the debut entry in Jennifer Graeser Dornbush's "The Coroner's Daughter" mystery series. It is a decent although fairly predictable plot. Dr. Emily Hartford, a surgical resident in Chicago is called home when she learns that her estranged father has had a heart attack. Here's the plot summary and lukewarm recommendation from Kirkus : When Dr. Emily Hartford learns of her father's heart attack, she leaves her promising Chicago surgical career and new fiance, Brandon, to return home only to be pulled into a murder investigation led by her old high school sweetheart.Emily had abruptly left Freeport, Michigan, as a teenager after her mother's death. She felt that her father, Freeport's medical examiner, either couldn't or wouldn't tell her the truth behind the death. And although she had left a note for her boyfriend, Nick, who is now the sheriff in Freeport, he never found it. Now, shortly after arriving to take care of her father, Emily gets pulled into the case of Julie Dobson, a state senator's daughter. Julie was a brilliant horsewoman with a promising career until she was found thrown from her horse, dead from a head wound. Standing in for her father, Emily does Julie's autopsy, and when signs point to murder, both Nick and Emily struggle to find the truth. Meanwhile, Emily weighs her feelings for the almost too-perfect Brandon against her rekindled feelings for Nick, a quandary whose outcome the reader will never doubt. Although we are repeatedly told of Emily's many struggles, the reader is held at an emotional distance by prose that is adequate but not polished. Too, the use of "gonna," "wanna," and "gotta" may be phonetic depictions of how people speak, but its constant use in print is annoying. If Dornbush will trust her own ability to convey insights via actions instead of explanations, readers might want to find out what happens next in the obviously planned sequel."

If you like Patricia Cornwell but want something less grisly, this should fill the bill. I did find the lack of good editing very annoying, however.  

 

My Friends

This novel by Fredrik Backman is certainly touching in some ways but none of the characters really engaged me. The Washington Post calls it "an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a stranger's life twenty-five years later." 

Kirkus summarizes the plot as follows: "Never in her wildest dreams would foster kid Louisa dream of meeting C. Jat, the famous painter of The One of the Sea, which depicts a group of young teens on a pier on a hot summer’s day. But in Backman’s latest, that’s just what happens—an unexpected (but not unbelievable) set of circumstances causes their paths to collide right before the dying 39-year-old artist’s departure from the world. One of his final acts is to bequeath that painting to Louisa, who has endured a string of violent foster homes since her mother abandoned her as a child. Selling the painting will change her life—but can she do it? Before deciding, she accompanies Ted, one of the artist’s close friends and one of the young teens captured in that celebrated painting, on a train journey to take the artist’s ashes to his hometown. She wants to know all about the painting, which launched Jat’s career at age 14, and the circle of beloved friends who inspired it."And they close their review with this praise: "The novel is humorous, poignant, and always life-affirming, even when describing the bleakness of the teens’ early lives. ...A tender and moving portrait about the transcendent power of art and friendship."

Publishers Weekly gushes that "The author is at the top of his game." I have to admit that I only read the first and last thirds of the book.