Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
351 pages

What’s it about?
 This book is written as an oral history of a fictitious rock band in the 1970's.  Billy Dunne is the lead singer and undisputed head of The Six- an up and coming rock band.  Daisy Jones is a wild child with talented singing voice and a desire to do things her own way.  When a producer decides to pair the band with Daisy Jones- a legend is made.  

What did it make me think about?
 The 1970"s!  I came of age in the 70's and just enjoyed this love story wrapped up in a drugged filled,  rock n' roll package.

Should I read it?
 After reading Milkman I was so ready to just enjoy a book.   ​Daisy Jones & The Six was like the perfect anecdote.  It reads like an interview from lots of different perspectives.  It just flies by.   Very enjoyable- not necessarily thought provoking, but just so much fun!  By the way- it is basically a good old-fashioned love story.

Quote-
​"You have to have one person in your life that you know would never do anything to steer you wrong.  They may disagree with you.  They could even break your heart, from time to time.  But you have to have one person, at least, who you know will always tell you the truth."

If you like this try-
Life Among Giants by Bill Roorbach
​Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
The Nix by Nathan Hill
Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson

8 stars

Milkman by Anna Burns
348 pages

What’s it about?
 This very unusual novel takes place in an unnamed city, with unnamed characters, and an unnamed war going on.  The author is from Belfast and it does not take long to realize that the main character, "middle sister", is living in the Belfast of the 1970's.  Middle sister is a bit of an oddity.  She steers clear of most people and is often seen walking through town while reading old novels.   She suddenly becomes "interesting" when a known local paramilitary hero named "Milkman" begins to show interest in her.  The sudden attention threatens her relationships and her own world view.

What did it make me think about?
 This is a novel about living in a war zone.   How one young woman chooses to remove herself emotionally from her family, her community, and even from herself to keep life bearable.  "At the time, age eighteen, having been brought up in a hair-trigger society where the ground rules were- if no physically violent touch was being laid upon you , and no outright verbal insults were being leveled at you, and no taunting looks in the vicinity either, then nothing was happening, so how could you be under attack from something that wasn't there?  At eighteen I had no proper understanding of the ways that constituted encroachment."

Should I read it?
 Milkman won the Man Booker Prize in 2018.  I should have known it would be difficult.  It was difficult!  I can't say it was without merit but it wandered around and around and had SO many words....  It was just a drudge to get through.  Having said that- it is a novel with a point of view and something to say.  I liked middle sister and was somewhat interested in her story- but it just crawled along.

Quote-
The truth was dawning on me of how terrifying it was not to be numb, but to be aware, to have facts, be present, be adult."

If you like this try-
Driftless by David Rhodes
The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner
Open City by Teju Cole
Census by Jesse Ball

6 stars

Bridge of Clay by Marcus Zusak
534 pages

What’s it about?
 The five Dunbar boys are living on their own with a wide range of pets and very little supervision.  Matthew is barely old enough to serve as guardian to the other four boys and chaos and order seem to exist in equal measures.  
Towards the beginning of the book Matthew writes,
"Let me tell you about our brother.  
The fourth Dunbar boy named Clay.
Everything happened to him.
We were all changed through him."
And so we are introduced to Clay.  The heart of the book. This novel is about a family being held together by stories, love, and loyalty.  

What did it make me think about?
 This is a story of family- specifically a story of brothers.   I will miss the Dunbar boys!  They may be some of my favorite literary characters of late.  I must add that although "The Book Thief" was a young adult book- this selection is not!

Should I read it?
 OK- so this is one long, big, hot-mess of an extraordinary book.  This one will not be for the faint of heart.  You have to be willing to sacrifice to make it through this book and then you will be richly rewarded.  Markus Zusak is a beautiful, brilliant writer and although I am not sure exactly what this book is- it touched my heart and I would highly recommend it to anyone willing to put in the effort!

Quote-
"People got it ​wrong.  
​They thought it was Penny's dash and our father leaving that made what we were- and sure, it definitely made us rowdier and harder and hardier, and gave us a sense of fight- but it isn't what made us tough.  No, in the beginning it was something more.  
It was the wooden, the upright.
​The piano."

If you like this try-
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
Beartown by Frederik Backman

8 1/2 stars

November Road by Lou Berney
299 pages

What’s it about?
 It is 1963 and JFK has just been assassinated in Dallas.  Frank Guidry might know a little too much and is on the run from the mob.  Along the way he meets Charlotte and her two young daughters.  Charlotte has decided to leave her alcoholic husband and make her way to California.  When car trouble leaves Charlotte and the girls stranded- Frank jumps in to help.  After all the mob is looking for a single man on the run....  

What did it make me think about?
 This made me think of what a tumultuous time the 1960's were.  Some ways of life were coming to an end, and yet it was a new beginning for many.  

Should I read it?
This was a good book- mainly because Charlotte was such a strong character.  I thought the book portrayed a changing era very well.  I really enjoyed "The Long and Far Away Gone" by Lou Berney and was not disappointed in this book.  Be aware it is a quick read!

Quote-
"'Do you think people can change?' Charlotte said.
The question took him by surprise. 'Change?'
​'Who they are,' she said.  'Their character, I suppose. How they act, what they believe.  After years of being one sort of person can you just decide to become a different sort?' "

8 stars

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
460 pages

What’s it about?
 This novel begins over a 100 years ago and takes place along the banks of the Thames river in England.  The story begins when a badly injured man wanders into a rural Inn with a 4 year-old girl in his arms.  He immediately collapses and the owners and patrons of the Inn take charge of the girl.  She seems to have drowned in the river and is thought dead.  The local nurse arrives and also believes the child to be dead.  While sitting with the body she is surprised to find a pulse reemerging in the child.  Stories abound and three different families come forward to lay claim to the young girl who was dead and lived again.  The mystery of the young girl who died and returned to life is the heart of this story.  

What did it make me think about?
 This novel is about stories- the ones we hand down as well as the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of our world. 

Should I read it?
 So I really enjoyed Diane Setterfield's previous book "The Thirteenth Tale" and was expecting an easy, quick read.  This book was not that!  The first half of the book was pretty slow.  It sets up all that happens in the second half of the book, but it takes a long time to get there.  The book has great characters and the setting is wonderful.  The river is almost a character in itself.  I am not sure how to review this one. I did enjoy it but it was also easy to put down for the first 200 pages.  If you have patience this one will reward you.

Quote-
​​"It was a solstice night, the longest night of the year.  For weeks the days had been shrinking, first gradually, then precipitously, so that it was now dark by mid-afternoon.  As is well-known, when the moon hours lengthen, human beings come adrift from the regularity of their mechanical clocks.  They nod at noon, dream in waking hours, open their eyes wide to the pitch-black night.  It is a time fo magic.  And as the borders between night and day stretch to their thinnest, so too do the borders between worlds.  Dreams and  stories merge with lived experience, the dead the the living brush against each other in their comings and goings, and the past and the present touch and overlap.  Unexpected things happen."

If you like this try-
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His yeats of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
​Circe by Madeline Miller
The Buried Giant by Kazoo Ishiguro
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

7 1/2 stars

The Paragon Hotel by Lindsay Faye
414 pages

What’s it about?
This book takes place in 1921 and goes back and forth between New York City and Portland, Oregon.  In New York City Alice James is a burgeoning mafioso. When things go bad she flees to Portland to recover from a bullet wound and hide.  She lands at The Paragon Hotel.  The Paragon is an all black establishment- in a city that bans blacks from living.

What did it make me think about?
This book of historical fiction shines a spotlight on Oregon’s racist beginnings.  Having been born in Portland I found this slice of history fascinating. It explains Oregon’s two different faces- progressive on one hand and very conservative on the other.  Who knew that Oregon had a law  banning black people from living in the state?  Who knew that the KKK has been active there?  

Should I read it?
This book tells two different stories simultaneously and I much preferred the Oregon story to the Little Italy story.  Others might feel differently.  On the positive side- it was nice to see female characters not portrayed as helpless. On the negative- sometimes the dialogue was a little too glib for me.  As a whole it is a book has some flaws, but it was interesting and the plot moves along.  This book will appeal to fans of historical fiction.
​
Quote-
“ I know what the KKK means in the south, and it makes me sick. But around here, there are hardly any blacks to begin with, you understand. The clan is a political rally and tool and a charitable club. It’s all America first with them – promoting jobs for hard-working protestants over Orientals and Catholic immigrants, protesting Jew banking, defending motherhood and maidenhood. Fundraisers, not lunch mobs.”

If you liked this try-
​Lazaretto by Diane McKinney-Whetstone
​Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford
Varina by Charles Frazier
The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers

​7 1/2 stars
​