Monthly Book Review: May 2021

Happy Memorial Day! Home of the free because of the brave. 

It's the unofficial start of summer and I am ready for it. I read (listened to) two books this month and both were winners. I hope this is the start of a streak. 

The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary - Tiffy is just out of a relationship and needs to find somewhere to live. Fast. Her choices aren't great based on her budget but chooses what she believes is the lesser of evils, a flat share, where she and her "roommate" occupy the flat (British for apartment) at opposite times as they work alternative schedules. Their main form of communication is via sticky notes which I thought was a fresh spin. The story was a bit predictable and super sweet. One of the most striking themes for me was how Tiffy comes to realize after-the-fact just how emotionally toxic her boyfriend was and how she slowly realizes that she deserves better yet could so easily be sucked back in by his charm. Unfortunately I can relate. 

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins - Lydia and her young son must leave Acapulco due to tragic circumstances. They leave Mexico for a new life in "El Norte", risking life and limb, not knowing if any seeming kindness from a stranger is genuine or an opportunity to be taken advantage of, and meeting other migrants with their own tragedies to escape. I was hooked from the very beginning and didn't want to stop. They ride trains for a significant part of the journey and the writing makes you feel like you are right on top of the train with them. I've since learned there is some controversy about the book where some in the Latinx community feel that their culture is represented as a stereotype and misappropriated. 

TBR List

• Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad
• Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver
• Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris
• Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
• A Wicked Kind of Husband by Mia Vincy
• The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
• How to Have Impossible Conversations by Boghossian/Lindsay

Monthly Book Review: April 2021

Her Last Flight was exactly what I expected from a Beatriz Williams novel - strong, fiercely independent female leads, historical references (Spanish civil war), interesting intersections and a twist you don't expect. Irene is a pilot who disappeared in 1937 at the peak of her fame. Janey is the photojournalist hellbent on telling the story of Irene and her equally famously missing former mentor. Alternating between Janey's discussions with Irene (after she's tracked Irene down in Kauai and blackmailed her to spill the beans) and excerpts from the book she writes as a result, the tension between the two women adds an undercurrent that gives a sense of desperation I found slightly annoying at first, then turned intriguing. 

 

1. What was the artist trying to achieve? Examining love, loss (what might have been) and identity
2. Did he or she succeed? Yes - the love of an emotionally unavailable parent, sacrificing your own hopes for the future for someone else's, charting your own course.
3. Was it worth doing? Yes

I'm halfway through The Flat Share - really need to make a significant dent in my list.

TBR List

• The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary
• American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
• Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad
• Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver
• Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris
• Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
• A Wicked Kind of Husband by Mia Vincy
• The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
• How to Have Impossible Conversations by Boghossian/Lindsay