Inspiring summer reads
As we head into the summer months, I am so excited to recommend a selection of books for inspiring reading! The following are a collection of recent titles that I have really enjoyed and would happily read again!
American Dirt
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins has hit the bestseller list after being promoted on Oprah’s Book Club. A fictional story of a mother and young son fleeing Mexico for the United States, this novel will have you on the edge of your seat. Not a book I would typically pick up, I could not put it down!
American Dirt provides an insightful perspective on the dangers of the drug cartels in Mexico and the constant danger of life for ordinary people. After one of these cartels massacres Lydia Perez’s family, she must flee northwards with her eight-year-old son Luca to escape from the cartel that now seeks the only living members of the family. This journey requires riding on the top of La Bestia, the train that travels north, while evading capture from any of the cartel members or other challenges they face along the way. A heart-thumping read!
Idaho
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich tells the fictional story of the second wife of a man with early Alzheimer’s. At the start of the book, we don’t know what happened to the first wife but as the story continues we discover a tragic incident that happened to the couple’s two children. No spoilers here but if you are looking for a poetic, lyrical thought-provoking read, pick up Idaho. While it has themes of suspense and crime, the novel is far from a crime novel. Instead, it is an exploration of love, sorrow, forgiveness, and understanding. Ruskovich’s debut novel is beautifully written and leaves you at the end with the realisation that neither literature nor life often give us all the answers we seek.
The Dutch House
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett gives us the story of two siblings who are trying to make sense of their past. Not able to let things go, and therefore not able to live without that baggage of resentment, their story is a reminder that our own pasts and histories can either be a starting point on a journey or a boulder on our shoulder that we feel obligated to crumble under. Very well-written and a beautiful look at the bond between siblings.
This is Happiness
This is Happiness by Niall Williams may well be the first Irish novel I have read that I truly enjoyed and that did not hit me over the head with dark suffering. The plot is simple: It is the 1970s and electricity is finally coming to the small village of Faha in Co. Clare. Completely fictional and yet so realistic, the sense of place, characters, and ups and downs of their lives are utterly charming and highly amusing. Williams has a beautiful way of writing where each sentence is exquisitely descriptive without losing that sense of –oh yes, that’s just what it is—feeling!
Rules of Civility / A Gentleman in Moscow
Amor Towles has written two novels, Rules of Civility and A Gentleman in Moscow. Both were delicious. The first is set in 1930s High Society New York and the second is Russia starting in the 1920s. While wildly different from each other, you can expect to find in both a real sense of place, a strong “voice”, and very likeable characters. I am waiting for his third novel to arrive in October 2021!
Ordinary Grace
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger had been recommended to me by a few friends. While on the shelf it looked just like a book I would gravitate to (akin to Peace like a River by Leif Enger, The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig, Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner), it was actually very different from any of these books. And different specifically in terms of its mood. Rather than the uplifting, Go West Young Man!, optimistic reads that the others are, this one was a dark, unsettling story of a family’s tragedy. Part mystery, part coming of age, it reminded me of the movie “Stand By Me” which is actually based on Stephen King’s The Body (I haven’t read the book, only seen the movie!). Definitely worth reading but be ready for a constant sense of discomfort as you wait for one more bad thing to happen!
Alice Forgot
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. I read this book by accident! After stumbling across it and giving it a quick read, I remembered a friend had recommended it years before. Hilarious and tear-jerking at different moments, What Alice Forgot tells the story of Alice who, after hitting her head at the gym, suffers memory loss. She wakes up and thinks she is in her life 10 years ago: happily married, expecting their first child, comfortable in her own skin, a little bit of a pushover, only to have to relearn the now reality of her life. She is in the middle of a divorce, has three children, and has become an ambitious, put-together, socially conscious woman. The novel brings us to a crossroads of Alice deciding who she really is and answering how she changed so radically. A story that helps you to re-evaluate mistakes and express gratitude for small joys; one that asks you—are you sure you want to do that? Are you sure you think that? A very easy, breezy read that asks deep questions.