Book Review: "Eleven Numbers" by Lee Child

When I picked up this story by Lee Child, the last thing I expected was math. At least I didn’t have to solve any equations!

Nathan is a mathematician and a university professor. He’s well known in his field, but mathematicians aren’t quite celebrity material. So needless to say he’s tremendously surprised when he gets a call from the White House, telling him that his help is needed.

“He was a very able mathematician. But there were fifty others in the world just as good. Maybe a hundred. His publication history was competitive. He had contributed to all the important journals. But so had fifty others. Maybe a hundred. His debut had been his PhD thesis. Groundbreaking, really, but in a field no one was interested in. Nothing about him stood out.”

He is flown to a meeting at the National Security Agency—a meeting attended by a famous mathematician and the President of the United States, as well as two intelligence officers. When Nathan is shown a series of 11 equations, he determines that they are part of a computer security algorithm. The correct numerical sequence is a powerful tool: it controls access to Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

The person who created the algorithm is a famed Russian mathematician. The President and his security team want Nathan to meet this man to try and get feel for which of the 11 equations will allow them the access they need. So they get Nathan an invitation to attend a mathematics conference in Russia, and he should be able to meet the man. But nothing goes quite like expected.⁣

This was very different than anything else of Lee Child’s that I’ve read. There were more twists than I was expecting, but it was a little dry. Or maybe it’s my phobia about math…

Book Review: "City of Night Birds" by Juhea Kim

There’s something about making art—theater, dance, music, visual art, etc.—that provokes such strong emotions. That’s probably why artists are such rich sources of inspiration and drama, which make them perfect muses for fiction.

“The true cost of accomplishing something you want with your whole being is that the moment you get it, you realize that it’s not enough.”

Natalia, a prima ballerina, returns to St. Petersburg in 2019, two years after an accident disrupted her career. She is invited to dance again, something she both looks forward to and fears.

Being back in St. Petersburg evokes many memories for Natalia. She dreamed of being a ballerina since she was young, and achieved tremendous success, but at the same time, she also experienced rejection, loneliness, pain, and estrangement from her mother. And while she may be past her physical prime, she is determined to give an unforgettable performance.

She is reminded of Alexander, the talented dancer with whom she created magic—both creatively and emotionally. She also is reunited with Dmitri, the mercurial, spiteful genius who caused her a great deal of anguish and self-doubt.

This is a very introspective, slow-moving story, but I found it dramatic and utterly fascinating. It shifts back and forth through time, from Natalia’s childhood to the present, and follows both her career and her personal life. I loved the behind-the-scenes look at the cutthroat world of Russian ballet, and while at times I wished the pacing would speed up, I’ll definitely be thinking about this one for a while.

Book Review: "Heart of Gold" by Ariel Atwater

It’s Olympic season—I can’t pass up a gymnastics romance, can I? This was a really sweet story, and apparently the first book in a trilogy.

Danny is an American gymnast, known as much for his super-friendly personality as his gymnastic skills and his California good looks. His ultimate goal is to win an Olympic medal, but he really enjoys making friends with the athletes from other countries, and believes good sportsmanship and encouragement goes a long way.

Sasha also aspires to win medals, but being a Russian gymnast comes with a different kind of pressure. He goes to the 2012 games as an alternate. When his best friend Kirill overhears Danny’s effusive excitement and congratulations, he lashes out and makes fun of him. Sasha goes to apologize to Danny on Kirill’s behalf, and it ignites a friendship between the two.

The book follows both Danny and Sasha through different international competitions. While Danny is always gregarious, Sasha is more reserved. Both feel a strong connection, and they start to realize their feelings are becoming romantic and sexual, but neither has ever been with a guy before. And while this could have implications for both, Sasha lives in a country where it’s dangerous to be gay, and he doesn’t want to get kicked off the team.

I found myself smiling a lot during this book, and I was so glad there wasn’t any real drama to be had. Sasha and Danny are both characters I rooted for, and I look forward to seeing what comes next for them.

Book Review: "Lights All Night Long" by Lydia Fitzpatrick

Brooding yet hopeful, Lydia Fitzpatrick's debut novel, Lights All Night Long, is a gripping story about family, envy, and being caught between loyalty and the desire to make a better life for yourself. It is tremendously atmospheric, which is no mean feat considering the book really takes place in two completely separate places—Russia and Louisiana.

Ilya is 15 years old and lives in a small town in Russia with his mother, grandmother, and his older brother, Vladimir, whom he idolizes. Vladimir is a bit of a ne'er-do-well, more content to chase girls and commit petty crimes than go to school, but he knows Ilya is the smart one. The two dream of one day leaving their bleak surroundings for America, a country they only know through pirated VCR movies from the 1990s.

When an exchange program between the refinery in Ilya's town and an energy company in a small Louisiana town is created, Ilya's teacher knows there is only one student deserving of a chance to go to America, and it is him. Ilya is excited to finally go to America but is sad about leaving his brother behind, and Vladimir is torn between jealousy and wanting the best for Ilya. But the America that greets Ilya is very different than he imagined, and he's not quite sure what to make of his cheerful, religious host family, although they want him to feel comfortable.

Ilya tries to settle in and make the most of this new opportunity, but he can't stop worrying about Vladimir, who was arrested just before Ilya left for America, after he confessed to the brutal murder of three young women. Ilya knows there's no way that his brother could be a murderer, although he did fall prey to a powerful and dangerous new drug that started holding many in their town in its thrall. His mother wants him to forget about Vladimir and concentrate on building a better life, but he can't give up on a brother who taught him so much—good and bad—and with whom he dreamed of coming to America.

When Sadie, the oldest daughter of his host family, begins taking an interest in him, Ilya shares his worries about his brother and his suspicions that somehow Vladimir is taking the fall for someone else. The two of them begin to dig deeper into the facts and the innuendo surrounding the murders and the events leading up to Vladimir's confession, while at the same time, Sadie shares with Ilya some powerful secrets of her own.

Lights All Night Long shifts between Ilya's life in Louisiana and the year leading up to when he went to America. You see how Vladimir changed once Ilya was tapped to be the exchange student, how Vladimir wanted the chance for himself despite never having made the effort, yet he also was proud of his brother. Ilya's desperation to find the truth leads to painful discoveries, but ultimately, hope that he can save his brother from the things that might do him harm.

While I felt like the book took a while to really get moving, in the end I really enjoyed this story. It was definitely more of a mystery than I had anticipated, which is fine, and I thought the story would concentrate more on Ilya's life in Louisiana than recounting the past, but it all worked for me, mainly because Fitzpatrick is a terrific storyteller. As I mentioned earlier, she was able to vividly capture both the chill of Ilya's Russian town and the heat of the Louisiana bayou, and she deftly captured Ilya's experience adjusting to life in America.

It's often hard to realize how lucky we are when we're confronted with a crisis at the same time. Lights All Night Long is a moving story of the sacrifices we make for those we love, sacrifices which go unnoticed until it might be too late. With this book, Fitzpatrick proves that she's definitely an author to follow in the future to see what she does next.

Book Review: "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles

This really was a special book, one which at times felt almost magical.

Count Alexander Rostov was always a man who enjoyed the finer things in life. He was always nattily dressed, participating in intelligent conversation, enjoying fine food and drink, and the company of erudite and beautiful people. Rostov lived in grand fashion in Moscow's Hotel Metropol, a hotel just across the street from the Kremlin, and he thrived on being a part of the buzz that passed through its doors and around its bustling neighborhood.

In 1922, he was sentenced to a lifetime of house arrest at the Metropol, although the Bolshevik tribunal that issued the sentence wasn't simply content with allowing him to continue living in grandeur—they reduced his living quarters to one small room in the hotel belfry. But while no longer being able to step outside the hotel doors, and having to cram most of one's cherished possessions and family heirlooms into one tiny room might bring a lesser man to his knees, Rostov is (mostly) unbowed. He doesn't allow himself to miss a step of his usual routine, and it isn't long before he realizes how a life lived within one building can be just as full of excitement as one lived all over the world.

"...if a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them."

While Russia and the world are experiencing events which cause major upheaval, Rostov doesn't miss out on it all. He can take the country's temperature, of sorts, by studying the behavior of the hotel guests, its managers, and its employees. While many may have written him off as a frivolous dandy, it's not long before many realize the Count's worth is far greater despite his diminished circumstances. He quickly is woven into the fabric of all of the hotel's goings-on, sometimes openly, sometimes secretly, and forms relationships that have ripples in the outside world, even as he realizes that the world he once knew and loved has changed.

"For the times do, in fact, change. They change relentlessly. Inevitably. Inventively. And as they change, they set into bright relief not only outmoded honorifics and hunting horns, but silver summoners and mother-of-pearl opera glasses and all manner of carefully crafted things that have outlived their usefulness."

Spanning several decades, A Gentleman in Moscow is rich with emotion, social commentary, humor, even Russian history. As he did in Rules Of Civility, which also was a fantastic book (see my review), Amor Towles both reveres and satirizes the world in which this book takes place, but the love he has for his characters is a beacon above it all.

While at times the book got a little too detailed with the workings of Russian government, poetry, and Bolshevik history, it always quickly got itself back on track and brought me back into the book's heart. These characters were so special, so fascinating, and Towles' storytelling was so vivid, I almost could see the scenes playing out in front of my eyes as I read them. And honestly, Count Rostov is a character worthy of being put up on a pedestal like other unforgettable ones.

I was a little late to the party on reading this, but I'm so glad I did, and I'm glad it lived up to the praise so many others have bestowed upon it. If you like novels with social commentary, satire, history, and a huge dollop of heart, pick up A Gentleman in Moscow. You'll marvel at it, and even want more.