Redbery Books

I’ve got some reading to do. I have come late to the Nancy Pickard party! If her other books are anything like The Scent of Rain and Lightning I’m sold.

Pickard hits the mark on my scale of features most wanted in a novel: solid characters I care about; believable dialog; perfect descriptions – but not too much; tidy, uncontrived resolutions; all under 400 pages.

Saddle up! Pickard opens the story in present day Kansas where we meet Jody Linder, a young English teacher, whose family has suffered loss. Her family is wealthy, owns land and cattle. Jody’s father is murdered when Jody is three years old, her mother disappears at the same time. Since then, Jody grows and matures into a decent person with the help of her uncles, aunt and grandparents.

When her uncles deliver the news that the man sent to prison for her father’s murder is being released after 23 years, Jody’s life is set upside down. Pickard takes us back to events before, during and immediately after the crime, giving us the whole picture. So, who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? There are so many jumps, twists and turns in this crafted story, I guarantee you’ll put aside all chores just so you can find out what the heck happened on that fateful night. I can tell only you that I neglected yard work, dishes, errands and dinner was late. Okay, and there may have been some early morning scrambling for clean laundry. Go ahead, pick up this book and enjoy! Completed chores are overrated.

This is a dog lovers book – to some extent – but there is much more to the book than dogs. Edgar Sawtelle is born mute and as such, develops a unique relationship with every pup born in his parents’ (Gar and Trudy) dog breeding/training business. Edgar has more than a knack with the pups. He becomes an integral part of the training and general care of the pups. When Edgar reaches a certain age, he is charged with naming each one. (Now THAT would be fun!)

Like all families, the Sawtelles have ups and downs, but they have a better than average family life. This situation changes drastically when Gar’s brother Claude comes back into Gar’s life. We can see an immediate difference in Gar and the family dynamic. Claude disrupts everything. Edgar’s life is altered forever. Gar’s father dies; later, a trusted family friend dies and Edgar runs away to the woods. The last third of the novel follows Edgar as he learns more about life without comforts, learns more about himself and ultimately, learns to trust outsiders again.

If you enjoy The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, pick up Sight Hound by Pam Houston. The only similarity between the books is, of course, dogs, but Houston’s approach to dogs knowing humans will leave you reading late into the night (with a box of tissues). Nothing wrong with that. Sleep is overrated.

A Change of Altitude is set in Kenya in the 1970s. Shreve’s latest tries to follow themes and questions raised in her earlier novels. I was eager to see the picturesque Africa, the home of majestic animals and staggering contrasts. Shreve does not disappoint with her exquisite descriptions of the landscape as well as the excruciating poverty.

Margaret and Patrick are young Americans who come to Kenya so Patrick can research equatorial diseases. When we first meet Margaret and Patrick, they are housed with Diane and Arthur, Brits who offer them a place to stay when Margaret and Arthur are victims of circumstance. Through the course of their stay, Arthur and Diane suggest the Americans join them on a climbing expedition to Mount Kenya.

After a misunderstanding and a subsequent unfortunate accident on the climb (I can’t tell you too much), Margaret and Patrick are once again on their own in a country they know, but not really. Margaret feels a sense of guilt and Patrick becomes distant from the marriage, physically and emotionally, leaving Margaret available to try her hand as a photographer for a newspaper. Their marriage continues to suffer and Shreve shows us that marriage is indeed more complicated than a date night. The ending is not quite as satisfying as I would like, but it’s adequate.

On a personal note: I’ve followed Anita Shreve’s career for some time. Like many of her readers, my first introduction to Shreve was The Pilot’s Wife. This is my favorite Shreve novel. In my opinion, it is her best. Don’t judge me, but I’m like Mel Gibson in the movie Conspiracy Theory and his addiction to The Catcher in the Rye. Every time Mel’s character, Jerry, sees a bookstore, he’s got to pop in and pick up a copy of The Catcher in the Rye. He probably can’t count how many copies he has. Okay, this is me with The Pilot’s Wife. Only, I don’t have that many copies. My joy comes in finding a copy and giving it to someone who has never had the pleasure of reading this great book about marriage, relationships and how we can sometimes be fooled by what we think we know about someone close to us or where we stand in a relationship. It is a superbly drawn book about our willingness to accept unpleasant parts of our lives, our determination to find answers and our attempts to carry on with survival. Excellent, well-thought out, and a quick read.

Don’t forget to read Resistance by Shreve – another goodie.

We all get into comfortable ruts in our life. Sometimes the ruts last a lifetime and other times the face of the rut changes. Joy Harkness is in what she thinks is the lifetime rut variety. She is a tenured professor in New York City, she has a nice apartment, she’s published a few books. Life is steady. Life is moderately good. She is divorced – has been for several years – and content with that and doesn’t require anything from anyone. She has a few friends (two). Joy realizes abruptly this isn’t exactly what she wanted when an excellent position at another university drops in her lap.

Joy dumps her NYC life, quits her job, sells her apartment ad moves to Massachusetts for an adventure that completely, and I mean COMPLETELY, changes her life. Joy meets a community of people who accept her when she didn’t know she wanted and needed to be accepted. There are huge pitfalls (a rundown house) and mountains (learning that letting people know you can be good) to conquer, but there are also unimaginable rewards. You’ll probably get disgusted with Joy, but remember, she’s a work in progress, just like the rest of us.

Don’t think for one minute you know how Joy’s life is going to turn out. Don’t even entertain the idea that you really know anything. Because you don’t.

Meier shows us we can find strength in ourselves to do what we never dreamed possible, success where we thought we had no skills and happiness when we just let it in.

Loved the writing, the humor (it’s especially good for me when I snort or chortle), the characters (I know these people – you will too) and the infinite possibilities that I was reminded do exist for us all.

Here we have the prequel to The Shadow of the Wind. The Angel’s Game is really only loosely related to The Shadow of the Wind and can definitely be a standalone read. I did not find it as gripping a read as The Shadow of the Wind, but definitely worth my time. Here’s the story. David Martín has a troubled childhood and grows up without a mother (she leaves her family) and his father is distant and physically abusive. His father meets with an accident of fate and David is forced out on his own. He is an apprentice of sorts at a Barcelona newspaper and is recognized as a talented writer. His writing career in place, he is soon writing day and night. He is thrust into a relationship with Andreas Corelli who turns out to be not who he seems to be. We also meet Isabella, a young writer who David takes on as his apprentice. Isabella befriends David. Their relationship is rocky, but it is Isabella who helps him through tough times.

We are also introduced to the Senior (he’s a señor too, but for he is called “Senior”) Sempere, owner of a bookshop, and his son, Junior (see where this is going?) Sempere. It is Senior Sempere who first introduces David to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Rounding out the characters is Cristina, an ethereal woman who eludes David, but remains his first and only real love.

The strange interaction between David and Corelli becomes the central part of the novel and is one that leaves us with questions and speculations. Enjoy – but remember: nothing is as it seems. Expect the unexpected. Find a comfy chair. Plan on a nice, long time with this gem.

If you’ve never read anything by Elisabeth Nunez, treat yourself and pick up one of her novels now. Nunez writes from the Island point of view and usually her characters are displaced somehow, from the Caribbean to the U.S. and the heartache that results.

In Anna In-Between, Anna Sinclair comes to her parents’ island home for a vacation. Anna has made a name for herself in the U.S. as a book editor for an imprint at a prestigious New York City publisher. Coming back to her homeland is no easy task for Anna. Anna is 40, divorced, and is sometimes the case as children become adults, Anna reverts to the child she once was the instant she enters her childhood home.

Anna can see her parents are acting differently and her mother soon reveals she has a large tumor in her breast. She has simply refused to do anything about it. Anna attempts to persuade her to go to the U.S. for treatment and is chastised by both parents for interfering. What follows is a look back to Anna’s childhood, her parents’ values and how they were created and how Anna and her parents’ deal with her mother’s illness. In addition to the dilemma, the usual question of race, class and the clashes between them come to the forefront.

Nunez writes effortlessly, developing characters and true-to-life situations that leave us wanting more. Other notable books by Nunez are Grace and Prospero’s Daughter. While Nunez revisits class struggles often, her method of incorporating them into a story is always innovative.

There is a lot to love about The Case of the Missing Servant, but the two things I loved the most were: Hall included a glossary of Indian words used throughout the book (thank goodness! – all I really knew was “samosa” and that only because it’s a fried savory delight and therefore in one of my food groups!) and it made me laugh. How thoughtful of the author to educate us AND give us relief from our sometimes daunting lives. We are introduced to Vish Puri, lead detective and founder of “India’s Most Private Investigator’s.” We soon see that while he is an average 50 – plus man with all the issues (overweight, eats all the wrong food and can barely climb a flight of stairs), when he’s on a case, the bad guys better watch out. Puri’s (a.k.a. “Chubby”) client is accused of murdering his maidservant, Mary. Puri has no last name to go on, just, “Mary.” This seems like an insurmountable case and just when he’s getting his teeth into it, someone takes a shot at him while he’s on his rooftop tending his chili plants. In addition, Puri has the reputation of verifying the qualifications of prospective brides and grooms to ensure a good marriage. He is hired by a career military man to check out his granddaughter’s groom. Puri shows us he can definitely multitask. He has help from his operatives: Handbrake, Facecream, Flush and, of course, his lovely wife Rumpi, and his Mummy. Tarquin Hall gives us a huge cast of characters that we can easily keep track of and he uses a writing style that allows us to float along, flipping pages, hurrying to the end. You never once forget how very poor sections of India are, but you also have the opportunity to see a different side of India. Now, Hall is a British journalist, so perhaps he is having a bit of fun at the expense of India’s people; however, he doesn’t minimize the poverty and though he is poking fun, it’s not in a disrespectful way. Pick up The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall if you’re looking for a way to enjoy some time in a faraway land, and try to solve at least a couple of mysteries and laugh. If you don’t laugh out loud at least once, have your funny bone checked immediately.

If you read at all and haven’t seen Dennis Lehane’s name, you must be reading under the porch or something. So, you know his name, but know nothing about his work. Remember the movie, Mystic River? Dennis Lehane wrote the book. Remember Gone, Baby Gone? Yep, Lehane again.

I’ve got three more for you: Shutter Island (soon to be a movie – read the book first, though), Darkness, Take My Hand and The Given Day.

Shutter Island

U.S. Marshalls Teddy Daniels and his partner Chuck Aule are sent to Shutter Island to find an escaped female patient. Shutter Island is home to a hospital for the criminally insane. I simply can’t tell you anything more about the plot because I won’t be able to help myself – I’ll give away the ending without meaning to.

I will give you these guidelines:

1)     Do not read Shutter Island at night.
2)     Do not read Shutter Island with a book light (if you ignored #1).
3)     Do not read Shutter Island if there is any sort of storm raging outside.
4)     Do not read Shutter Island unless you can see every corner of the room you are in and are facing the door.
5)     Do not listen to an audio version of Shutter Island if you aren’t following guidelines 1-5.
6)     Hold on tight!
7)     Enjoy every single word, every single twist, every single breath you take because there won’t be many…

Darkness, Take My Hand

Dennis Lehane uses his recurring characters, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, private investigators who have known each other since childhood. We enter their violent world and are immediately with them as they solve another mystery. Lehane sugarcoats nothing, so be prepared.

Along the way we meet Bubba, a good friend to have, and Kenzie and Gennaro’s Boston Police Department connections. It’s good to have friends on both sides of the law for Kenzie and Gennaro.

In Darkness, Take My Hand, people are dying, but first, a loved one receives a photo of the intended victim. The photos are disturbing and no one puts it together that the person in the photo is going to die.

The relationship between Kenzie, Gennaro and the case becomes apparent and I confess I gasped. I hope you do too. Fasten your seatbelt as you ride with Kenzie and Gennaro through Boston. You will remember or learn for the first time why Dennis Lehane’s books are exceptional.

The Given Day

This latest book by Dennis Lehane, while fiction, sprinkles in all sorts of historical facts and situations you won’t need the History Channel. I don’t normally care for an author who appears to need to dazzle you with all manner of historical facts and notable historical figures. Lehane does such a superlative job of blending historical events and figures with his fictional story I can easily forgive him. And he’s even added baseball. Who could ask for anything more?

In The Given Day we meet the Coughlin family. They basically “run” Boston PD circa 1920. When the Boston PD goes on strike and the city falls apart, everything the Coughlin family thought they held true falls apart.

The Given Day has all the elements needed to make for a gripping novel: corruption, murders, influenza (a little too realistic given the current health issues in today’s headlines) and racism.

While a large part of the novel is set in Boston, Lehane weaves in relevant states where other action takes place, but all roads lead to and from Boston.

There is a large cast, but keeping a scorecard won’t be necessary. I guarantee it will be simple to keep a list in your head of good guys and bad guys. The Given Day is a huge tome, so try to block out a significant amount of time to really have a chance to sink your teeth into it. I don’t recommend reading it in bed, though. You’ll be up all night.

A friend of mine recommended this book to me and let me tell you…WOW! The story is set in a Wisconsin winter at the turn of the last century. The author picked up the idea for the novel from a book he read in the seventies called Wisconsin Death Trip by Michael Lesy. The book chronicles examples of how tough Wisconsin winters can be for those of us who live through them. Admittedly, the book is a bit goulish and not necessary to read to fully appreciate The Reliable Wife. I confess that if the author states that a book influenced him, I’ve got to at least attempt to look it up, pick it up or read the whole darn book! In this case, I paged through Wisconsin Death Trip and that was plenty for me.

Let’s get to A Reliable Wife. Ralph Truitt is a respected, successful businessman. He has improved and grown a family business to the point where he employs most every citizen in the town. He is in his fifties, but still a striking man. He was married in his wilder, younger days, but his first wife is no longer in his life. He decides he needs companionship. He places an ad in an out of town newspaper that Catherine Lamb answers. They exchange letters and pictures and after a reasonable “courtship,” Catherine comes to meet Ralph.

The balance of the story centers around their growing relationship and how both their pasts refuse to let them be happy. I will be surprised if YOU aren’t surprised by the twists and turns in the story.  

I think I’ve mentioned in other installments, I often pick up an unknown book or author if I like the book cover. Belong to Me was such a book. I was trolling through a bookshelf and saw its cover with a line of rubber boots in varying sizes and I was hooked. I have no idea what it was…it just hit me. I love it when I find a treasure.

The first 20 pages or so aren’t riveting, but keep at it. The story is told alternately between a third person POV and first person from Cornelia Brown’s POV. Cornelia and her husband Teo Sandoval move into what might be considered a typical suburban neighborhood. We are soon gripped by every neighbor’s story from Piper Truitt, who Cornelia can’t decide if she likes or not, to Lake and her son Dev, to Elizabeth who is dying from cancer.

There will be lives you are more interested in others, but soon you’ll find all the lives are related. Marissa de los Santos expertly weaves words around characters and situations without sounding as though she’s trying to impress you with her vocabulary. Her storytelling was nicely innovative and fresh. I’ve found another author to add to my To Be Read List.

Abraham Verghese is equally comfortable writing nonfiction and fiction; so much the better for us.

My Own Country

I became interested in Abraham Verghese when I read a nonfiction book, My Own Country, about the development of AIDS in the small town of Johnson City, TN. He is a doctor whose specialty is infectious disease. I was immediately drawn in by his easy writing style. Verghese describes his early cases treating AIDS and how the small town handles such a dangerous disease in their backyard. The book takes place in the mid 1980s when AIDS is known to exist, but definitely not talked about much. Verghese shows a wonderful human side when he immerses himself in his patients’ lives and their families, but never loses sight of the importance of gathering as much clinical information as he can while treating his patients. Unfortunately, his own family life suffers as he tries to make others’ lives better. You will be moved by his desire to serve every patient as well as nurture his own family and keep himself whole.

Cutting for Stone

Earlier this year, Verghese published Cutting for Stone, a novel set mostly in Ethopia, following the lives of Marion and Shiva Stone, twin brothers, born to a nun working as a nurse in a small mission compound. Yes, a nun. Sister Mary Joseph Praise gives birth at the beginning of the novel, though no one seems to know she is pregnant. She dies during childbirth. Are you interested yet? No? Next we meet the doctor who works side by side with Sister Mary Joseph, Thomas Stone. He cannot save Sister Mary Joseph and leaves the compound and the twin babies.

There is much mystery throughout the novel and I enjoyed not knowing what was going to happen next. Who would raise the twin boys? What would their lives be like?

Much of the novel appears to be Verghese’s autobiography, and that’s fine. Cutting for Stone is a novel about family, both biological and adopted. Cutting for Stone was described by one reviewer as an old fashioned novel. I hadn’t thought of that, but perhaps that’s why I was engrossed from the start. The clean storyline, Marion and Shiva, the doctors, nurses and patients of the mission become a part of you as you read. Reading Cutting for Stone will remind you the importance of family, the power of love, the strength of friendship and the cleansing of forgiveness.

Verghese, uses just enough factual political history and medical procedures to sauce up the story (as if it needed it) and I stayed up one night to finish the last 300 pages. The alarm seemed to knock loose some brain cells when it woke me, but the yawns during the day were worth the lost sleep.

Okay, now you’re interested, right?

From my easy chair…  What a roller coaster novel! Dark, dark, but so fast moving and full of adventure, you’re sure a young Clint Eastwood is going to leap out of the pages somewhere. We get a taste of the mob, witness protection, the perils of love and friendship and the outline of some skill sets who knew could be worthwhile?

Peter Brown is a doctor and a mob hit man. No, really, he is. Bazell deftly moves back and forth between the past and present using chapters as dividers. We discover who Brown is and was and how in the world can he possibly survive? The cast of characters is long, well-drawn and uncomplicated enough you won’t need a score card.

Watch out for some scenes that might make you uncomfortable and move over them. You’ll find yourself giggling nervously and the next instant cringing all while you turn the pages quick as you can.

From my easy chair…  Imagine having the perfect life and then having most of it taken it away in a flash. Janie has this life: Two great children (Dylan and Carly) and a husband to wish for and then her husband, Robby is killed while bicycling. Janie’s life careens into a twilight zone we all hope we never experience.

Juliette Fay weaves a story around the people in Janie’s life who she attempts to push away and those who fade out of her life willingly. We expect the ups and downs, but some of the comfort comes from unexpected sources and will leave you shaking your head, crying and laughing.

We meet the parish priest who pops in every Friday at 11 a.m. for tea – he brings his own – and the contractor who refuses to leave Robby’s gift undone.

We all need shelter from the storms and wouldn’t we be fortunate to have the same shelter Janie receives? It’s a satisfying time to watch Janie change over the course of the novel. It will be tough to put down until the end.

From my easy chair… Thirty years ago, Wisconsin writer David Rhodes was on the way to becoming known as a great writer. He had three books published and he was still a young man (The Last Fair Deal Going Down, Easter House, Rock Island Line). A motorcycle accident changed this bright beautiful life. Paralyzed from the waist down, the way back to life and writing seemed long and insurmountable.

Happily, Rhodes is back; Driftless is his first published work in thirty years. Driftless is set in Central Wisconsin and is chock full of memorable people, places, issues (not always with complete resolutions) – all destined to show us that we really never know people and those same people can evolve in ways even they thought impossible.

Rhodes tackles religion, big business, injustice, family and love through characters such as July Montgomery who came to fictional Words, Wisconsin decades earlier; Violet and Olivia Brasso, sisters who surprise each other throughout life; the Shotwells, who have the strength to fight for what they believe in; Jacob Helm and Pastor Winifred Smith who prove that love will find a way; Russell Smith, who shows us that what we’ve always thought we’ve known, isn’t necessarily so; and finally Gail Shotwell who plays and sings, reminding us that music soothes us when nothing else can.

Block out at least an hour for each time you open Driftless and, just to be safe, make sure you have nothing else pressing, because you just might need an hour and a half or so.

The Unnamed is the story of Tim and Jane Farnsworth and their struggle against Tim’s recurring disease. The disease “forces” Tim to walk until he stops, usually when he’s completely exhausted. When that time comes is different every time he walks. Jane is always there to bring him back home. They resort to all sorts of restraints to keep him from walking. When that doesn’t work, Jane outfits a backpack for him with survival items (the disease tends to recur during the coldest part of the year – frostbite is a real issue). Then, the disease miraculously leaves him alone – goes into a remission of sorts. During the remission, Tim continues to build a thriving legal practice as a partner at a prestigious law firm.

The novel’s action begins at the onset of the disease’s second appearance. The back story is delivered through a series of flashbacks. At times it’s difficult to follow: is it the current incident of the disease or the previous incident?

Throughout the progress of the novel, Tim, Jane and their daughter Becka struggle to hold on to something positive in a life that is spiraling out of control. What works and doesn’t work and how they cope is what makes The Unnamed out of the ordinary. Tim is a successful attorney, but during times when he's afflicted, Tim makes grievous errors in cases he’s responsible for and attempts to repair the damage. Jane tires of waiting for his phone call and yet, she cannot forget the good times in the marriage. Becka must do what children often do – pick up the pieces and move on. It is only when an ironic turn of events occurs that Tim, Jane and Becka truly come to grips with what it means to be a family.

The Unnamed is one of the more unique novels I’ve read in a long time. Not a particularly fast read, but one that will keep you hoping for a good outcome for the characters. You’ll think about long after you close the cover.

From my easy chair… No matter what your political views are, this novel will make you feel, it will make you think. Into the Beautiful North chronicles Nayeli and her friends as they enter the U.S. illegally and attempt to bring back Mexican “soldiers” to save their village from banditos. There are only very young and very old men left in their village, Tres Camarones. Well, and there’s Tacho, the gay owner of a taco bar called The Fallen Hand. Nayeli has watched The Magnificent Seven too often and thinks that if she can only find seven Mexicans from the U.S. to come back and fight off the banditos infesting her village, all will be well again. The quest is part Don Quixote, part Bill and Ted and part horrible reality. Filled with all the terror from today’s headlines, Urrea captures our hearts and minds as he shows the power of friendship, love and hope. You’ll be cheering Nayeli and her friends from the moment they leave Mexico until the end of the novel. Along the way you’ll meet Irma, Nayeli’s aunt, border agents of all types and kind folks who make life smoother for the friends. Urrea’s beginning pages are uneven in tone: is he poking fun, being sarcastic – you’re not really certain. Plunge past the first 25 or so pages to get to the meat of the novel. It’s worth the trouble. For more Urrea, don’t miss his earlier novel, In Search of Snow.

I am not a short story fan. I write them, but the only short stories I’ve read and loved are Stephen King’s. I can now add Jill McCorkle’s name to this tiny, elite list. Of the 11 stories, I guarantee you will love at least eight or nine of them and really like the remaining offerings. I couldn’t put the book down – which is one of the beauties of short stories: you can read one, put the book down, pick it up again and not have to readjust yourself to the plot. I’ll be surprised if you can do that here.  When I finished the eleventh story, I sighed and paged through the book again to check the marked passages to laugh or cry as needed. It’s wonderfully rare when an author has the talent to render this emotion in readers.  So get ready – my favorites include:  Going Away Shoes (daughter cares for elderly mother – you’ll need tissues) / Midnight Clear (newly divorced mom gets life advice from the plumber – you’ll need tissues because you’ll be laughing so hard) / PS (divorced woman writes a letter to her marriage counselor – more tissues for crying and laughing needs) / Magic Words (several women try to come to terms with the lives they’ve been given – you’ll find yourself somewhere in this story) / Intervention (woman remembers where her life really is – most meaningful to women married more than 20 years) / Me and Big Foot (single woman designs her dream man – come on, we’ve all done it)

All the women in Going Away Shoes are looking for love – needing love – and dealing with life. 

If you’ve never read McCorkle, do it now – if she’s an old friend, open the door and welcome her in again. Have a drink of choice and maybe a snack – you’ll be unavailable for distractions until you run out of pages.

I’m always pleased when someone from Wisconsin gets recognition as a writer. Jane Hamilton has definitely “made good” as a writer. The Book of Ruth, A Map of the World, The Short History of a Prince, Disobedience and When Madeline Was Young are Hamilton’s other offerings. Laura Rider’s Masterpiece may have difficulty standing up to Hamilton’s other work. Billed as a farce on marriage Hamilton’s latest just doesn’t do it for me. The story of Laura and Charlie Rider is set in Hamilton’s familiar southern Wisconsin setting where the Riders own a nursery. The Riders have been married for several years and have come up against the usual issues of long time married couples. The physical portion of the their lives has changed and they both have developed interests outside of their marriage. Charlie handles his duties of the nursery. Laura secretly fantasizes about being a writer. Laura weaves in her fantasies of a friendship with a celebrity and her desire to write a romance novel into Charlie’s relationship with radio talk show host Jenna Faroli. Laura begins intercepting emails from Jenna to Charlie, composing replies to Jenna that are not really anything like what Charlie would have written. Laura Rider’s Masterpiece spends the majority of the novel on the Charlie/Jenna relationship with a smattering of the consequences to Charlie and Laura’s relationship. Jenna is caught in the crossfire. We can see Hamilton’s strong writing evident; however, there are times when what she is trying to show us falls short. Or, we sense that Hamilton is trying to be humorous and it fails. There is a tying up of loose ends in the final pages that wasn’t exactly what is expected and perhaps the most interesting piece in the novel. If you are a diehard Jane Hamilton fan, or a fan of farcical work, give Laura Rider’s Masterpiece a whirl.

John Updike The last couple of segments have highlighted authors who have recently died and this is the last in my look at these authors. John Updike may not be everyone’s cup of words, but he really should be given a chance. I remember reading him in college – yes, it was a while ago but he was all the rage. Updike’s series on Rabbit Redux (Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit Is Rich; Rabbit At Rest; and Rabbit Remembered) made him a much spoken name in the literary world. My favorites were not in the Rabbit Redux series, but A Month of Sundays (one of a series on suburban life) and The Witches of Eastwick (his nod to female readers). He always wrote thought provoking novels, but he was also a poet, multiple award winner (including two Pulitzer Prizes for fiction and two National Book Awards), essayist and literary critic. His contemporaries were Philip Roth and Tom Wolfe. This trio was never known for writing cheery snippets, but more about the state of life and tribulations. Looking for something to read that is not a “beach read” but more of a “sitting in front of the fire on a dreary afternoon read”? Pick up a John Updike novel. As I’ve said with other authors: start at the beginning of Updike’s work. You’ll see a progression, a growth and see why he’s considered one of the great literary writers. A John Updike Sampler: Rabbit, Run / Rabbit Redux  / Rabbit Is Rich / Rabbit At Rest / Rabbit Remembered / Couples / A Month of Sundays / The Witches of Eastwick / The Widows of Eastwick / Marry Me: A Romance / The Coup / In The Beauty of the Lilies / Villages / Terrorist / Collected Poems: 1953-1993 / Buchanan Dying (play) / Self Consciousness (memoir)

The last year has been rough on the writing world. We’ve lost Tony Hillerman, Michael Crichton and John Updike. Now, you may not have known, liked or read these brilliant writing gents, but it’s high time you tasted them. For now, we’ll take a look at Tony Hillerman’s work. Hillerman is known for his Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee mysteries set in Navajo country in the southwest United States . I recommend reading his books in order because you see the growth, the aging and the overall changes of Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.. Leaphorn (elder) and Chee (younger) are part of the Tribal Police. Leaphorn is the senior officer when Chee joins him solving crimes on the reservation from shape shifting murderers to shamans gone wrong. Leaphorn is the more straitlaced of the two officers and believes in the evidence. Chee’s character believes in the mystical side of Navajo culture and how that ties in with the evidence. They are a great complement to each other. Tony Hillerman’s character development includes tempting each of the protagonists with graft and involvement with strong women. Leaphorn and Chee never lose their humanness, their ability to be tempted, but never forgetting what is right and what is wrong. I have read Tony Hillerman and listened to him read by George Guidall who seems to be the reader of choice for Hillerman’s novels. Read or listen to Hillerman, but do try his books. They are suitable for young adults too – violence is behind the scenes and not right on the page. Even if reading mysteries isn’t your usual book, give Hillerman a try. There won’t be nightmares, but I guarantee there will be sleepless nights because you’ll just have to see how it all ends. "Don't forget to check out the PBS productions of Hillerman's work starring Wes Stoudi as Leaphorn and Adam Beach as Jim Chee. Grab your drink of choice and popcorn before sitting down - you'll not want to move until the end."

Tony Hillerman’s Books

Seldom Disappointed (memoir)

Leaphorn and Chee novels: The Blessing Way / Dance Hall of the Dead / Listening Woman / People of Darkness / The Dark Wind / The Ghostway / Skinwalkers / A Thief of Time / Talking God / Coyote Waits / Sacred Clowns / The Fallen Man / The First Eagle / Hunting Badger / The Wailing Wind / The Sinister Pig / Skelton Man / The Shapeshifter