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Her Last Flight was exactly what I expected from a Beatriz Williams novel - strong, fiercely independent female leads, historical references (Spanish civil war), interesting intersections and a twist you don't expect.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