Queenmaker by India Edghill - I really enjoyed this historical fiction about King David's first wife, Michal, daughter of King Saul. In this story, told in first person by Michal, she is a good friend to friend to David's mistress Bathsheba, the mother of the next king, Solomon. Having no children of her own, Michal takes a liking to Solomon and helps maneuver him into the kingship. I'm no biblical scholar, so I could enjoy this story entirely on its own merits - and I did. I'd like to read other novels by India Edghill based on Old Testament women.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, read by George Newbern. Ove (a Swedish name, as the book was originally written in Swedish, pronounced Oo-vah) is a rule-following curmudgeon - at least at the beginning of the book. Reminds me of my dad - or my husband, who also hates BMWs (albeit for a different reason). A funny book that's also a little sad. Ove lost his wife of about 40 years rather suddenly, and six months later his job, and tries to commit suicide multiple times in different ways throughout the book. Each time, though, some incident with his neighbors interrupts him. These are interspersed with Ove's backstory, which shows the reader how he became the man he is at the beginning of the book - and at the end. Voice and film actor George Newbern is a marvelous narrator whose droll reading made me laugh. Liked this so much that I've checked out the audio version of another of Fredrik Backman's books as well as two of his novellas.
Souvenir by Therese Fowler - realistic fiction, advance reader edition - This one wasn't so clearly marked as an ARE, so it sat on my TBR shelf for a while. Meg Powell and Carson McKay are neighbors who fall in love as teens, only to have Meg marry her boss Brian (who can forgive her father's overdue mortgage payments) after a wedding-eve last fling with Carson. About 17 years later, Meg is an obstetrician with an almost-16 daughter Savannah, and Carson is a successful musician about to be married to a woman nearly half his age. You can probably guess where some of this is going.
The story is told from the viewpoints of Meg, Carson, and Savannah. Savannah's I could do without, as she does some typical stupid-teen stuff, but it's necessary to the plot. The big part of the story is Meg's recent diagnosis of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), and her desire to admit her mistakes, leave something for her daughter, yet die the way she wants to go. That part did make me think.
Queen of the Sea by Dylan Meconis - graphic novel, historical fiction, early reviewer - I'm not a graphic novel aficionado, but I really liked this book. Loosely based on the rivalry between Queen Elizabeth I and her older half-sister Queen Mary I of England, it's historical fiction nevertheless because of its depiction of life in the sixteenth century. I especially appreciated all the information about everyday matters in a convent (particularly the observation of the Canonical Hours), saints, embroidery stitches, and playing chess. Dylan Meconis' mixed media illustrations, most in earth and sea tones but some in bright colors, are appealing, as is the heroine, the orphan Margaret. The ending signals a sequel to come, and I'd gladly read all 394 (or more) pages of that as well.
Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter, by Kate Clifford Larson, read by Bernadette Dunne. Biography, audiobook. Probably more about Rosemary's parents than Rosemary, whose mental disabilities may have been due to a nurse pushing her back into the birth canal for two hours until a doctor finally arrived for her home birth in 1918. Father Joe was apparently the one who approved her lobotomy in 1941 - he didn't research it enough and came across as having it done because Rosemary's behavior was becoming a potential problem for her brothers' political futures. Mother Rose rarely visited her institutionalized daughter and often passed off care of her nine children to take vacations instead. Bernadette Dunne does a good job reading the audiobook, but the print or electronic version is better because it includes photographs of Rosemary, as well as author Kate Clifford Larson's note (which explains her interest in Rosemary - she has a son with a mental illness), extensive endnotes, and an index.
Now What? A Math Tale by Robie H. Harris - This is a cute picture book introducing three-dimensional shapes though a story of a puppy making a bed out of building blocks. The illustrations were done in pencil and colored digitally, although the wooden blocks look like photographs. Disappointing because the subtitle made me think it would have more meat to it, but it's really aimed at preschoolers.
And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman - novella (76 pages), realistic fiction - sweet, sad short story about an aging grandfather losing his memories, and his wanting to share them with and say goodbye to his grandson while he still can. I liked this one and will hang on to it for a bit to share with my son when he next visits.
The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman - novella (65 pages), realistic fiction - I checked this as well as And Every Morning... out from the library after reading A Man Called Ove, since I liked that book so much. I read this after And Every Morning and was disappointed. A fable (because there's a moral) set at Christmas Eve, about a successful man dying from cancer and his regrets about not spending more time with his son. There's a supernatural aspect to it that ties in with the title. Did not like this as well as the previous two books.
My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman, read by Joan Walker - gave up halfway through. Reader is terrible on the voices of 7-year-old Elsa and her grandmother - screechy! Elsa is way too knowledgeable even for a precocious child. The fantasy and fairy-tale aspects (too much Harry Potter and X-Men) were wearing, and I found myself skipping over many of those, and yet still very little had happened halfway though the book. So I quit listening. I did place a hold on the print version; not sure if I will finish the book or not.
© Amanda Pape - 2019
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