47. Book Review: A Sudden Light (2014)

A Sudden Light by Garth Stein

Synopsis

In the summer of 1990, fourteen-year-old Trevor Riddell gets his first glimpse of Riddell House. Built from the spoils of a massive timber fortune, the legendary family mansion is constructed of giant whole trees and is set on a huge estate overlooking Seattle’s Puget Sound. Trevor’s bankrupt parents have begun a trial separation, and his father, Jones Riddell, has brought Trevor to Riddell House with a goal: to join forces with his sister, Serena, dispatch the ailing and elderly Grandpa Samuel to a nursing home, sell off the house and property for development, divide up the profits, and live happily ever after. 

 But as Trevor explores the house’s secret stairways and hidden rooms, he discovers a spirit lingering in Riddell House whose agenda is at odds with the family plan. Only Trevor’s willingness to face the dark past of his forefathers will reveal the key to his family’s future.

Review

I picked this book up on a whim from the library recently without having previously heard anything about this book or even having read this authors very popular previous book.  Which is pretty rare for me these days, usually I read on a recommendation.  I love it when I  randomly choose a book and then  absolutely fall in love with it. It is like winning the reading lottery.

This book was beautiful and eloquent and a definite page turner.  To say it is merely a "ghost story" doesn't do it any justice, but is in fact a ghost story in the best way possible. Ghosts, old dilapidated mansions, abandoned cottages, secret passageways and difficult family dynamics are a few of things that make this book irresistible.  I loved, loved, loved this book!  

In addition to an amazing story the author writes so candidly and tenderly about family and family obligations.  This book was an A+ in my book. I highly recommend it.  It's the perfect snuggle up and read by the fire book.  This would be a really great book club read as well… there are so many great opportunities for discussion.

Other books you may like (that are kind of "ghosty" in the best possible way)…

Her Fearful Symmetry

Thirteenth Tale

Bellman & Black 

46. Book Review: Station Eleven (2014)

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Synopsis

An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity. 

 One snowy night Arthur Leander, a famous actor, has a heart attack onstage during a production of King Lear. Jeevan Chaudhary, a paparazzo-turned-EMT, is in the audience and leaps to his aid. A child actress named Kirsten Raymonde watches in horror as Jeevan performs CPR, pumping Arthur’s chest as the curtain drops, but Arthur is dead. That same night, as Jeevan walks home from the theater, a terrible flu begins to spread. Hospitals are flooded and Jeevan and his brother barricade themselves inside an apartment, watching out the window as cars clog the highways, gunshots ring out, and life disintegrates around them. 

 Fifteen years later, Kirsten is an actress with the Traveling Symphony. Together, this small troupe moves between the settlements of an altered world, performing Shakespeare and music for scattered communities of survivors. Written on their caravan, and tattooed on Kirsten’s arm is a line from Star Trek: “Because survival is insufficient.” But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who digs graves for anyone who dares to leave. 

 Spanning decades, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, this suspenseful, elegiac novel is rife with beauty. As Arthur falls in and out of love, as Jeevan watches the newscasters say their final good-byes, and as Kirsten finds herself caught in the crosshairs of the prophet, we see the strange twists of fate that connect them all. A novel of art, memory, and ambition, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it.

Review

My goodness, everyone is talking about this book it seems!  I was lucky to find it recently at the library and was happy to join in on the conversation.  I find post-apocalypse novels just fascinating and what I love about them is how they seem to re-invent the wheel each time - each post-apocalypse novel does it differently.  This one was stunning.  And scary.

One thing about this book was that I found the characters really hard to keep track of (maybe just me?) but the story was fascinating.  I love to read these books and then think what I would've done or how I would've handled the situation.  Books like these are definite eye-openers.  I always think post-apocalypse books would make great book-club reads too.  So much to discuss!

Other books you may like…

California

The Giver

44. Book Review: We Were Liars (2014)

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Synopsis 

A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth. 

 We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. Read it. And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

Review

There is something about young adult that always draws me in. I suppose it is the allure of a quick read.  But don't just buzz through this book.  The ending demands that you pay attention throughout.  Or if you did buzz through like me, re-read it.  I guarantee you will want to!

Great YA book here… I highly recommend!

Other books you may like…

The Fever: A Novel

The Fault in Our Stars

42. Book Review: The Secret History (2014)

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Synopsis

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill.

Review

Right away I have to say that I don't think the book had anything to do with the publishers synopsis above. Or I missed it some how? I was a little hesitant to read this after already reading a Donna Tartt book this year.  The Goldfinch was long and a little on the heavy side so I had reservations about getting into another similar book.  

Let me just say, the weird synopsis and The Goldfinch aside - this book was outstanding!  I can't believe this book isn't more 'mainstream' to be honest.  It's brilliant and so addicting.  I loved and hated the characters.  Richard was a brilliant narrator. The scenery was stunning and I never wanted the story to end.  This has instantly shot to one of my all time favorite books and definitely one of my favorites this year for sure. Get this book, read it… be swept away by the drama and tight knit cast of characters.

Also, if you have read this, don't you think it would make a brilliant movie!?

Other books you may like…

The Goldfinch: A Novel 

The Catcher in the Rye

32. Book Review: The Shadow of the Wind (2014)

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Synopsis

Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julián Carax. But when he sets out to find the author’s other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets--an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.

Review

Let's start with the bad and get to the good about this book… this book took me forever to read and as a "quick reader" it caught me off guard a bit. The first half of the book was slow moving and with a lot of names and characters to keep straight (a character chart would have been very helpful!).  But that is the only bad about this book.  The mystery was well played out and parts of it were fun to guess. The writing is absolutely stunning, creating gorgeous dialogue and inner dialogue with the characters and a rich setting in which the mystery took place.  I would recommend this book, but with the caveat that the beginning is slow so you have to be able to stick to it.  

I love books about books… so in that regard this story did not let me down.  Mysterious libraries, old abandoned mansions, love letters, plenty of twists and turns and unrequited love make for a great read.  This would be a great winter or fall read… curl up on a cold and cloudy day and become absorbed into Daniel's world.

Other books you may like…

The Book Thief  

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore: A Novel

30. Book Review: The Dinner (2014)

The Dinner by Herman Koch

Synopsis

An internationally bestselling phenomenon: the darkly suspenseful, highly controversial tale of two families struggling to make the hardest decision of their lives—all over the course of one meal. 

 It's a summer's evening in Amsterdam, and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant for dinner. Between mouthfuls of food and over the scrapings of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of polite discourse. But behind the empty words, terrible things need to be said, and with every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened. 

 Each couple has a fifteen-year-old son. The two boys are united by their accountability for a single horrific act; an act that has triggered a police investigation and shattered the comfortable, insulated worlds of their families. As the dinner reaches its culinary climax, the conversation finally touches on their children. As civility and friendship disintegrate, each couple show just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love. 

 Skewering everything from parenting values to pretentious menus to political convictions, this novel reveals the dark side of genteel society and asks what each of us would do in the face of unimaginable tragedy.

Review

Oh, how to review a book like this? I kind of knew I wasn't going to like it when the description said "dark" but I also wanted to take a risk and maybe surprise myself and like it.  But I didn't really like it.  It was a little too dark for me and "dark" novels aren't really a genre I get excited about.  So I took a risk and while I didn't absolutely abhor this book, I probably wouldn't recommend it to a friend.  It's just not my style.  That being said it was a thought provoking read and a well constructed story that left you guessing until the end. If you like a little "dark" in your novel you will probably enjoy this book - it hasn't gained in popularity for no reason.  There are definitely those that like this type of book.  I'm just not so much one of them. As an aside, for some reason reminded me of the "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" series - not sure why.  Maybe European writers or their translated books gift off that certain aura.

Other books you may like…
Gone Girl: A Novel
The Husband's Secret (my review here)
Before I Go To Sleep: A Novel