June and July Book Reviews
Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson (audiobook) ★★★★☆
I enjoy reading WWII historical fiction, but can get burnt out on this genre because of the graphic scenes, heartbreaking storylines which are often similar enough that I feel like I've already read that book. This was different. Set in Italy, this set it apart right away. But the family-centered setting and overall hopeful tone despite horrendous circumstances, was beautifully told by Robson, put it one cut above many of the recent WWII novels I have read. Likable characters I can root for and plots with enough twists and creativity that they felt entirely different from other books in the genre, I enjoyed this one a lot. Rating: PG (one love scene, but I don't remember it being detailed; mild language in one scene)
A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell (audiobook) ★★★★☆
A biography that reads like fast-paced fiction deserving of a motion picture adaptation (which I think is in the works?). This is a fascinating story of a brave woman who, against all odds (most notably that one leg was amputated after an accident in her earlier years), became a pivotal spy supporting the French Resistance against Nazis during WWII. She was trusted by many with their lives and was a remarkable leader for men and women fighting against the tyranny and brutality during the Occupation of France. From her life as a young woman, brought up in a wealthy family with the expectation that she'd marry well, to her dangerous life as a spy, and finishing up with her life after the war, this biography dives deep into the life of this courageous woman who is little-known until now.Rating: PG to PG-13 (descriptions of violence)
A Place on Earth by Wendell Berry (audiobook) ★★★★☆
I loved Berry's Hannah Coulter and Jayber Crow, so I have been slowly making my way through his other Port Williams novels. This was not quite as memorable as the aforementioned two novels, but it was a moving portrait of two different families who would one day become more connected than they every realized (through Hannah). Pain, loss, joy, and healing are exquisitely painted on the canvas of the slow, seemingly uneventful days in a rural American town during WWII. It is slow-moving and character-driven, the epitome of literary fiction, so don't expect anything jaw-dropping to happen. But I just love dropping into Port Williams and experiencing their way of simple living every once in a while. Though heartbreaking, the powerful descriptions of grief and sorrow were so memorable, because they were so realistic and believable. Rating: G
The Keeper of the Bees by Gene Stratton-Porter (audiobook) ★★★★★
An endearing, wholesome, and memorable story of friendship, healing, and starting over. A wounded WWI veteran begins a new chapter in his life when he is asked to take over the home and bee business of the Bee Master, a beloved beekeeper in the small California coastal town. With an idyllic cliffside cottage and lush gardens, a helpful and friendly neighbor who is like a mother to him, and a middle-grade child who is precocious and hilarious, he finds joy where he thought he'd never experience it again. But mystery follows him when a late night encounter with a desperate woman propels him to help her with a strange but earnest request -- leading to all sorts of new adventures and complications. This was such a fun classic to read. I adored it from start to finish, though the love story portion seemed a bit far-fetched. It ties with The Girl of the Limberlost as my favorite Gene Stratton-Porter novels. Rating: G
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee (audiobook) ★★★★☆
A historical novel set in the early 1900s in Atlanta with a Chinese-American young woman as the protagonist. This was definitely not a plot I have read about yet, so it was fascinating to learn what challenges and racism she experienced that were based on real events. Orphaned seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid by day but secretly has another job: author of a popular newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern ladies called "Dear Miss Sweetie". Her spunky and opinionated character shines through this column and she becomes more brave in "real life", which puts her in dangerous situations as she searches for answers about her parents, who she has been separated from all her life. I enjoyed the historical aspect of the novel, but Jo's prideful attitude sometimes annoyed me. Overall a good read! I didn't realize until after I read it that it is marketed as YA, but it definitely has less angst and drama of contemporary YA and instead, reads like adult historical fiction with a teen protagonist and overall clean content without anything too shocking. Rating: G
A Year in the World: Journeys of a Passionate Traveller by Frances Mayes (audiobook) ★★★☆☆
From the author of Under the Tuscan Sun, Mayes chronicles her travels from her beloved Tuscany, Italy to Spain, Portugal, France, British Isles, Turkey, Greece, South of Italy, and North Africa. It reads like a travel journal, where she blends her own adventurous itinerary details with history of the places she visits. Sometimes the history became a bit tedious and boring for me because I was more interested in her descriptions of the scenery and culture, but it was still a nice way to travel to Europe vicariously. However, some of her commentary seemed elitist and her humor was a bit on the mean side, so I wasn't always a fan. Rating: PG (some historical references to some sketchy, cringe-worthy things that weren't my cup of tea)
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawagushi and translated by Geoffrey Trousselot (audiobook) ★★★★☆
This was an entirely different genre than I am used to... and it was a fun experience! There is a mysterious cafe in a basement somewhere in Tokyo, home to the urban legend of time travel. Four cafe patrons have very specific reasons for wanting to go back in time, even though they understand the non-bending rules, namely that nothing they do while traveling back in time can change the present and they have to stay in one specific chair in the cafe the whole time. Most importantly, while in the past, they have to drink their coffee before it gets cold. Otherwise, something very bad will happen. With so many restrictions and seemingly meaningless results, why would someone want to try it out? The answers surprised and endeared me to this creative book, leading to a great conversation with my husband about whether we'd every want to go back in time with these rules. Rating: G
The Usborne Introduction to Art by Rosie Dickins & Mari Griffith ★★★★★
Although marketed towards middle-graders and up, this was a perfect dose of art history for me. I wanted to get a concise overview without tedious timelines, vocabulary that would be over my head, or just way too many details. This beautiful book delivered exactly what I wanted and I learned so much. It was a springboard for me to check out a few more art books from the library on specific artists I already love as well as new ones I discovered. The details about different painting techniques, from Van Gogh's thick strokes with gobs of paint still on the canvas, to the intricate strokes by Renaissance artists who used brushes with only a few hairs so that they could make the painting as lifelike and flawless as possible. This was a great introduction with just enough information and large photos to illuminate the text with examples of the art discussed without being overwhelming. Rated: PG (a few paintings included partial nudity, but they were small in scale)
The Women in Black by Madeleine St. John ★★★★☆
This was a lighthearted book set in a fancy department store in Sydney, Australia in the 1950s. Four very different women work in Ladies Cocktail Frocks and adjacent hoity-toity Model Gowns section, and their friendships and rivalries are humorously explored in this novel. The shifting perspectives between the four women (the chapters alternate character perspectives), as well as a variety of supporting characters, flowed well in the book and helped the story progress in an amusing way. Each of the main characters had something likable about them, even though they all had definite flaws as well. It was a fun, witty read about a much simpler time, especially in a totally new setting (Australia). It was funny to see certain words spelled differently that I am used to seeing as in the American English language. Rated: PG (a few references to sex, but very subtle)
A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War by Joseph Loconte (audiobook) ★★★★☆
A fascinating historical nonfiction about C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein's experiences in WWI and how it later influenced their writing and Christian faith. I highly respect both authors, but after this book, that respect skyrocketed even more. Their books, both novels and nonfiction, weren't just creative word-building and skillful writing, but also a response to a lot of the humanistic philosophies (such as Freud) and culture (increasingly atheist) that resulted from disillusioned and war-battered British people dealing with life after such a vicious war that left many wondering what life was really about. Tolkien and Lewis used the fantastical worlds of Narnia and Middle Earth to argue that good can defeat evil, there is always hope amidst despair, and (contrary to modern hero tropes who summon some inner strength) we all need help outside of ourselves (Gandalf, Aslan... God!) to fulfill our destiny. It started off a little slow for me because of the tedious details of the European history leading up to WWI that was hard to understand at times, but picked up after the first (very long) chapter and was a great read from then on. Rated: PG (some graphic explanations of war)
The Most Beautiful Walk in the World by John Baxter (audiobook) ★★★☆☆
I was looking for a memoir to transport me back to the idyllic streets of Paris and this title grabbed my attention. It is written by a wealthy author (an American who moved to Paris) who became a walking tour guide for rich tourists, so it definitely had a bit of an elitist feel to it that was off-setting and didn't offer a lot of touristy ideas that I would ever be interested in due to cost as well as lack of interest (like buying a Matisse painting or dining at a luxurious restaurant). It was also filled with a ton of history and random trivia on the American authors who lived in Paris during the 1920s, specifically Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald as well as artists like Picasso who were obviously talented, but led pretty scandalous lives (in which he went into great detail). It was less about the actual walks in Paris and more about the famous artists and authors who walked the streets, which was interesting overall, but not what I was hoping to get out of the book. I ended up checking out a children's picture book called A Walk In Paris by Salvatore Rubbino and that was exactly what I wanted to bring back nostalgia and charm of Paris' streets to my imagination and memory. Rating: PG-13 (lots of details about drug use and sexual exploits of artists and authors that was often cringe-worthy)
Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections On The Gentle Art of Learning by Karen Andreola ★★★★☆
Rating: G
Comments
Post a Comment
I love to hear your thoughts!
Elle Alice