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 

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

35. Book Review: Big Little Lies (2014)

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Synopsis

Sometimes it’s the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal.  A murder… a tragic accident… or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead. But who did what? 

 Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads: Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?). Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all. 

 Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

Review

This is a classic Liane Moriarty book… and while I loved her two other books (The Husband's Secret & What Alice Forgot) this one fell a little flat for me.  I will say her writing and story style is awesome, I love the mysterious element she adds to her genre - which I would call "smart chick-lit".  I have been in a reading funk lately and that could be why I didn't absolutely love this book.  Mostly I did not really relate to the parents at all. I went into the book hoping that I would since I have children in elementary school as well, and I know how some moms can be chatty/catty.  Mostly the characters seemed full of self loathing and uninspired - or maybe I just took it too seriously when it should have been a "for fun" read.  I would say visit Liane Moriarty's other books first and then try this one. She really is a fantastic storyteller. 

Other books you may like…

The Husband's Secret

A Hundred Summers

34. Book Review: The Steady Running of the Hour (2014)

The Steady Running of the Hour: A Novel

Synopsis 

A QUEST NOVEL and a historical tour de force, The Steady Running of the Hour unravels a tale of passion, legacy, and courage reaching across the twentieth century. 

 In 1924, the English mountaineer Ashley Walsingham dies attempting to summit Mount Everest, leaving his fortune to his former lover, Imogen Soames-Andersson—whom he has not seen in seven years. Ashley’s solicitors search in vain for Imogen, but the estate remains unclaimed. 

 Nearly eighty years later, new information leads the same law firm to Tristan Campbell, a young American who could be the estate’s rightful heir. If Tristan can prove he is Imogen’s descendant, the inheritance will be his. But with only weeks before Ashley’s trust expires, Tristan must hurry to find the evidence he needs. 

 From London archives to Somme battlefields to the Eastfjords of Iceland, Tristan races to piece together the story behind the unclaimed riches: a reckless love affair pursued only days before Ashley’s deployment to the Western Front; a desperate trench battle fought by soldiers whose hope is survival rather than victory; an expedition to the uncharted heights of the world’s tallest mountain. Following a trail of evidence that stretches to the far edge of Europe, Tristan becomes consumed by Ashley and Imogen’s story. But as he draws close to the truth, Tristan realizes he may be seeking something more than an unclaimed fortune.

Review

I absolutely loved this book from the get-go and about half way through I couldn't put the book down at all - I even stayed up until 2am reading one night. I can't remember the last time I did that.  The two stories lines make for a definite page turner and my curiosity about the mystery that the story presents is irresistible.  I would have loved a little more involved ending… the book ended so abruptly!  But regardless this is a gorgeous book and one I won't soon forget.

Other books you may like…

The Signature of All Things: A Novel

Flight Behavior: A Novel

Any book by Kate Morton who is a genius with double story lines like this book!

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