HOW TO MAKE A LIFE by Florence Reiss Kraut 4 stars
Thank you
to the author and She Writes Press for the privilege of reading this novel.
The novel
starts of with a horrific event. In 1905, in Kotovka, Ukraine, a pogrom wipes
out most of the village and all but three members of the family, three of who
were hidden in the root cellar, while above ground, atrocities were being
committed. Huddled, terrified in the root cellar were a mother and her two young
daughters. After waiting several hours, once it became silent outside, she
emerges to a sight that will remain forever behind her eyelids. The
devastation, the horrors are incomprehensible. She is heartbroken but she is
also angry as she and her husband had spoken about leaving before something
like this would happen. They had even prepared by hiding valuables, enough to
take them to America. Now, they are alone. Just the three of them.
Thus begins
the story of a family that will span four generations. We will find that
decisions made far in the past will reach into the future of each new
generation. The mother, now Ida, and her two daughters travel to New York City
to go stay with a cousin. The tenements are a squalid noisy place compared to
the green open spaces, and comfort they knew in the Ukraine, but there is some
comfort as the language and the culture is familiar to the one, they left
behind. The determination and resilience that Ida displays trying to provide
for her daughters is inspiring. The older child becomes responsible for the
younger while the mother works. Family is what is most important. Family must
be protected. We watch the Weissman family as they progress through the years.
We see them grow, fall in love, marry, have children, die and the cycle
continues. Some family members stay in New York, and some descendants travel to
far places. Their journey through life is filled with ups and downs and
throughout the strong family connection is maintained. Not always happily,
often just stoically, resentments surface, bargains are made, there are
decisions made that cause turmoil and unhappiness. But the final message is
family endures. JUNE 8, 2024
THE
FAVORITES by Layne Fargo 3stars
Thank you
to Random House Group and NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this book.
My mom
loved watching figure skating and her all-time favourite was Canada’s
Sweetheart, Barbara Anne Scott (1948 Olympic champion and the only Canadian
Ladies’ single winner of the Gold medal). When the figure skating show came to
the city we were there and when they were on tv we watched. Her passion for the
figure skaters never dwindled and when dancing was added to the figure skating program,
she watched the competitions avidly (more loyal than the most loyal hockey fan)
and now that she is no longer with us, we still hold her close and continue the
tradition.
Reading The
Favourites was fascinating. It made me recall the different scandals and
injustices that prevailed in the real world of figure skating (Harding vs
Kerrigan, Sale and Pelletier losing gold at 2002 Olympics) and the mentality
that prevail for an athlete to win is the only option. The ten-year journey of Katarina
Shaw and Heath Rocha, their love for each other and her obsession to win an
Olympic Gold medal was at times difficult to read. I imagined that the way they
danced on the ice might have had more chemistry than Canadian pairs Tessa
Virtue and Scott Moir (sometimes you had to wonder how the ice did not melt). Imagine
the drive, the struggles, the dedication it took the figure skaters, pairs,
dance, singles, balanced on the thin edge of a blade, to glide so effortlessly
across the ice in their dips, twirls, and jumps.
Fargo did
an incredible job in writing characters that came alive on the page. The
situations Katarina and Heath, and the others, found themselves in and the raw
emotions that they displayed was at time joyous and at others heart wrenching.
The format of interviewing the different people involved in Kat and Heath’s
journey, 10 years later for a documentary was very affective. Seeing all
characters later too, added depth to the story too.
This novel
is for all readers not just for figure skating fans as I am sure ALL athletes
in all the sports must be super focused to meet the challenges, they and others
set for them.
Overall,
this novel is a gold medal winner. JUNE 8, 2024
MAGIC LESSONS by Alice Hoffman 4 stars
Thank you
to the publishers, Simon and Schuster, and NetGalley for the pleasure of
reading this book.
Hoffman had
written this book, Magic Lessons, I believe, to lend clarity and understanding
to the curse that follows the Owen women in her books Practical Magic and The
Rules of Magic. In Magic Lessons, we return to the very beginning. It begins in the 17th century
Essex England with Hannah Owen and the abandoned child she finds and names
Maria. Hannah practices right-hand magic. She is a healer, who lives in a
lovely cottage deep in the woods, and she helps all those who come to her door
in the dark of the night. It is a time of witch hunts in England as man is
often afraid and hates what he cannot understand. Hannah recognizes that Maria
has the gift and instructs the child all she knows. Hannah cautions Maria that to practice magic
she must always remember that what she does will return threefold, to always
love someone who will love you back and that every act depends on a payment. As
time passes, she is visited her natural mother. Rebecca Lockland. Throughout
time there are those that are afraid and destroy what they do not understand
and that was Rebecca Lockland’s husband. It is he, in a rage, who nailed Hannah
to the door and set fire to the cottage. After this tragedy Maria swears, she
will never see another woman burn. Rebecca Lockland takes Maria to her manor
and shows her left-hand magic. Rebecca is about self, her wants, her wishes and
does not care what it takes to achieve them. The one and only thing that
Rebecca cares about is a thief an actor and Maria’s father. He in turn cares
about himself and Rebecca. The child, Maria is dispensable. Time, we find flows
in a line and in circles and it twists and turns from Essex England to Dutch
Curacao to Salem Massachusetts to Manhattan New York and back to Salem. There
is much that happens in this novel, and much is revealed. Maria has a daughter
who is father by the man from Salem, whom Maria though she loved and that he
loved her in return. In Salem, the witch hunt frenzy is in full swing, and her
daughter’s father is in the midst of all it as magistrate condemning witches to
their death. Maria is tried as a witch and as she is about to hang, she invokes
the Owen curse.
Alice
Hoffman deftly creates a story that flows into the present and the books that
came before and everything Owen’s is clearer. It is always important, as Maria
discovers, to love is the only answer.
This review
is also posted on Goodreads.
KILLING MOON by Jo Nesbo 4 stars
When I
requested this novel from Penguin Random House Canada and NetGallery I was
drawn to the book by its synopsis. I enjoy reading suspense/thrillers and this
book delivered on both counts. What I
had not realized that it was book 13 in the Harry Hole detective series. As The
Killing Moon was my first novel by Jo Nesbo it was not long before I knew it
was not the book to start with. There were connections between the characters
that I was missing, like why Harry felt and the choices he made.
Harry Hole
was a down and out detective from Oslo living in an alcoholic haze in Los
Angles when he is drawn back to Oslo to help his friend, to find a missing girl
and solve a murder. The story is well written, and it is full of twists and turns,
and it keeps the reader guessing right to the end. It was also horrific;
chilling and it was much more gruesome than I had anticipated. Enough so, to
give me nightmares from the well written imagery and scenes in the novel.
This novel
is just too dark for me. If you are not bothered by cannibalism and acts of
violence, then this may be the book for you.
This review
is posted on Goodreads and on Amazon.ca JUNE 16, 2024
THE SCHOOL OF MIRRORS by Eva Stachniak 4 stars
I received a
copy of this book to read courtesy of Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley.
Whilst, I am appreciative of this, the opinion given is my own.
Set in
1793, Louis XV’s France, into the French Revolution and ends in Year III of the
new Republic. The author very obviously researched this time and did a fabulous
job of weaving snippets of history into her story. One piece of history that I
found interesting is the birthing machine that Madame du Coudray brought to
Versailles to show Louis XV how the machine works and to have him deliver a
baby (doll). The machine was able to show different type of births. Lous being
so impressed made her the King’s Midwife. He also financed her travel
throughout France to teach peasant women to become midwives.
The School of
Mirrors (love the book title as it is a play on Versailles mirrored hall)
weaves the story of young lower-class girls who brought to Deer Park, in the
village of Versailles, for his pleasure. One such girl is Veronique; she
captures the king’s interest, and all goes well until she becomes pregnant.
Madame de Pompadour and the King’s valet arrange for Veronique to have care
until the child (a girl) is born. Veronique receives a dowry and is married to
a merchant. Strangers raise the child Marie-Louise. Reading about Marie-Louise
growing up is my favourite part of the book. She is a survivor; she learns to
depend on herself, and she is curious with a great imagination. Marie-Louise is
sent to live with a midwife, and it is here, with the woman that she eventually
calls Aunt Margot, she found her calling. Marie-Louise trains as a midwife and
becomes an accredited midwife. As years progress, Marie – Louise marries and
has a son. France is facing turbulent times. It is time of the guillotine. It
is a time to be cautious, to stay beneath the radar, to distance oneself from
royalty, and try and just survive. It is during this time that Marie-Louise
takes responsibility for a woman that she eventually learns is her mother.
Eva
Stachniak created a historical novel that pulls at the strings and keeps the
reader’s attention. Do give this book a try. JUNE 20, 2024
STANDING IN
THE SHADOWS by Peter Robinson
I was given
the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book by Penguin Random House
Canada and NetGalley. Thank you.
This is the
first novel that I have read by this author, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is
last book in a series, but it readily stood on its own. The characters were
well formed, and I did not feel as though not knowing their previous history
mattered to this story. Knowing the history may have added more depth to the
story but, not knowing did not distract from it either. The book had two
timelines going on simultaneously. It begins on November 28,1980 when a
university student, Nick Hartley, returns to his house and finds a murder
investigation taking place. Then we fast forward, 39 years to November 24,
2019, when a skeleton is discovered in a field during an archaeological dig for
Roman artifacts. The skeleton is not from Roman times and DS Banks and his team
is called in to investigate. This back-and-forth investigation continues
throughout the book. I must admit I found the current year’s investigation more
interesting. I really was not very fond of the Nick Harley character from the
1980s. I enjoyed meeting Detective Superintendent, getting to know his choice
of music and the food he enjoyed and a little of his personal life. He seems to
a genuine character, realistically portrayed with a good team gathered around
him. The clues along the way are not obvious, the various aspects of trying to
identify the skeleton, the science techniques used were interesting and added
to the story. The tenacity of Bank’s team, their police work and their
instincts culminate in a murder solved. Respectable job everyone. JUNE 29, 2024
THE ALCHEMIST OF ALEPPO BY MARIE K. SAVAGE 4stars
The Alchemist of Aleppo was an intriguing read. It makes one
think, and ask questions about love, soul mates, life and immortality. I was
swept away, caught in the maelstrom of a family's history throughout the ages
and cycles of life.
Is it possible? I do not know, but I do know this, I kept reading until the
novel was finished and I knew what happened. Better yet, it still has me
thinking. I loved this book so much I recommended it to the readers in my life.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read
this delightful book. January 1, 2025
THE IVORY BONES: The Lewis Chessman Murders by Sara Winokur 3 ½ stars
I found this book to be a fascinating read. I enjoyed
learning about the history of Iceland, its culture and a tiny bit of its
language through the interactions of the characters and from an old diary of a
young girl kidnapped from its shores by Barbary pirates in 1627. Iceland sounds like such a beautiful place,
although it can be very cold and forbidding.
What appealed is how this far past and a murder(s) committed
in the present are connected. The author was genius in weaving a story that
captures the imagination and connects
the present to the past through the skill of Brynja Palsdottir, a forensic
geneticist . The only times it bogged down for me, is when the ‘science’ became
too detailed, (it interrupted the flow, and the mentions of the despicable
things her parents (especially her father) did without explanation, to me, were
distractions. I still want to know what the parents did. But it captured and
kept my attention, and that is what a
good story does.
Thank you to NetGalley and Briarstone Press for this advance
copy. JANUARY 8, 2025
