Book Review: "The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett" by Annie Lyons

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons is one of those books that makes you feel like you're getting a big hug even as you may be tearing up.

Eudora Honeysett is 85 years old. She’s lived alone since her mother died 13 years earlier, and she has only a cantankerous cat to keep her company. She’s very particular of things, including the way people behave, and she doesn’t have friends. That’s just fine with her.

She’s decided she’s ready to die, and has found a clinic in Switzerland to help her reach the end of her life on her own terms. She has to convince them she’s not making this decision lightly or because she’s depressed.

The last thing she’s prepared for is new next-door neighbors, including an irrepressible 10-year-old girl named Rose. Rose takes an immediate interest in Eudora and wants to be friends with her, and before Eudora knows it, this whirlwind and her family—as well as another neighbor—have worked their way into her life.

But while Eudora genuinely enjoys the companionship and Rose’s constant enthusiasm, she’s not going to let anything derail her plans. And she also tries to keep her heart protected after it was damaged by hurt and guilt earlier in life.

This is a wonderfully heartwarming, emotional book, which shifts back and forth between the present and Eudora’s memories of growing up during WWII and her relationships with family and friends that still shape who she is and how she reacts to people and situations.

Yes, we’ve seen this story before. Eudora isn’t quite as curmudgeonly as Ove (of A Man Called Ove) or other similar characters, but there are themes you’ll recognize. However, this didn’t matter one bit to me. This book made me smile and it made me cry a little (something was in my eye, lol), and I enjoyed it a great deal.

William Morrow Books provided me a complimentary copy of The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

Book Review: "Flying the Nest" by Joy Norstrom

Joy Norstrom's newest novel, Flying the Nest, gave me all of the feels!

Since his mother died, Chad’s life hasn’t been going well. His wife left him for another man, and he’s not really blazing much of a trail at work. His main activity has been visiting his Uncle Martin at the Eldernest Assisted Living Lodge.

But make no mistake—Martin is hardly languishing. He’s quite the ladies’ man and has his nephew stopping at the drugstore for various needs each week. Chad wishes some of that confidence would rub off on him, as he can’t seem to work up the nerve to talk to Lila, one of the employees at the ‘Nest.

The ‘Nest is full of colorful personalities, from Rosie, who seems to meddle in everyone’s business yet has secrets of her own; Clara, who wants to be loyal to her stroke-impaired husband but also wants more; Felicity, the haughty resident whose attitude masks unhappiness; and Grant, who needs to hide who he really is for fear of trouble and being treated differently by his friends and fellow residents.

Chad starts discovering that some of his closest friends are the elderly residents at the ‘Nest, and he tries to help everyone through their problems. This isn’t your typical assisted living facility—there’s lots of drama!

The book is narrated by multiple characters and you get to see things from their different perspectives. I really enjoyed most of the characters and their stories. I liked how Chad grew throughout the book as well.

I really loved how much depth Norstrom gave these characters. Too often elderly people in books are viewed as infirm or incapable of “real lives,” but that’s not the case here. From trying to keep control of your life to not giving up on the ideas of sex and companionship, these characters wanted it all, and fought for it.

This was a sometimes-poignant, sometimes-funny book that really hooked me. It’s just one of those good reads that catches you by surprise with all it has to offer.

I was grateful to have been part of the blog tour for Flying the Nest. Kate Rock Book Tours and Joy Norstrom provided me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

Book Review: "Love, Life, and Lucille: Lessons Learned from a Centenarian" by Judy Gaman

Love, Life, and Lucille is a heartwarming story of an extraordinary friendship that feels like a hug in book form.

We never know when our life is going to change. For Judy Gaman, one of those times was when she met Lucille. Judy was looking to talk with centenarians for a book she was writing about aging gracefully, and while she worried what to expect from a 100-year-old woman, Lucille blew every expectation out of the water.

That meeting sparked an incredible relationship. Buoyed by Lucille’s infectious spirit, her unflagging energy, and an enormous capacity for love, the two would at least see each other every Friday, where they would share a love of food at some of Texas’ most notable restaurants, a love of family and faith, and mutual stories of overcoming adversity and heartache.

But while you would think that Lucille would benefit from the attention being paid her by a woman in her 40s, Judy benefited equally, if not more. Lucille held her up in moments of professional and personal vulnerability, sharing advice, humor, and most importantly, love.

For nearly four years, the two had an immense adventure together, taking them from wig shopping and television interviews to Texas Rangers’ stadium. Reading about this friendship was so inspiring, and definitely made me think about how we connect with others in our lives, the things we should say and don’t.

This was such a wonderful, poignant book, and we are so lucky that Judy was willing to share her memories of such an amazing woman. It honestly reminded me of some lyrics from the song "No Time At All," from the musical Pippin:

Here is a secret I never have told
Maybe you'll understand why
I believe if I refuse to grow old
I can stay young 'til I die

I was fortunate to be part of the blog tour for this book. Kate Rock Book Tours and Judy Gaman provided me a complimentary (and signed!) copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!!

May we all find a Lucille in our lives, and be for them what Judy was for her.

Book Review: "Hieroglyphics" by Jill McCorkle

This was a thought-provoking meditation on the fickleness and the resonance of memory.⁣

⁣ I’ve often remarked at how easily I can remember song lyrics from the 1980s, specific instances or people from my childhood, even what theaters I saw movies at (and with whom) years before, but I can’t remember why I walked into the kitchen or where I put my keys. Those same things would certainly be familiar to the characters of Jill McCorkle’s newest book, Hieroglyphics!

⁣ ⁣ Frank and Lil have moved from Boston to North Carolina, ostensibly to be closer to their daughter. But both also suffer from health problems and are starting to have issues with memory.⁣

⁣ Both Frank and Lil lost a parent tragically when they were young. It’s one of the things that connected them early on. And now the memories of their parents and the emotions around their loss seem fresher than what is currently happening around them. ⁣

⁣ As Lil sorts through papers and other mementos and junk she brought in the move in order to assemble some sort of record for their children of their lives and the decisions they made, Frank becomes more obsessed with visiting his childhood home, determined to find if he left something there years ago, and causing upheaval for Shelley, the woman who lives there, and her young son.⁣ Shelley has her share of issues with memories as well.

⁣ This was a poignant and well-written story, told by multiple narrators. It meandered a bit too much for me at times, but definitely resonated in many ways. I’ve always been a fan of McCorkle’s storytelling ability and her use of language, since her very first books.⁣

⁣ I’m grateful to have been a part of the blog tour for this book. Algonquin Books provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!!⁣

Book Review: "The Story of Arthur Truluv" by Elizabeth Berg

Elizabeth Berg's The Story of Arthur Truluv is like a hug in book form. Sweet, moving, and life-affirming, it makes you long to know, or associate with, people like these characters.

"Arthur thinks that, above all, aging means the abandonment of criticism and the taking on of compassionate acceptance. He sees that as a good trade."

Arthur Moses is 85 years old. Every single day he visits the cemetery where his beloved wife, Nola, is buried. He has lunch with her every day. He wishes he could see her again, or at least get a sign that she knows he's visiting, but it doesn't really matter, because these visits are an important part of his life.

Beyond going to the cemetery, tending to his rose garden, and dealing with the unpredictable affections of his cat, his life tends to be fairly routine, and spent mostly alone, although he and his know-it-all neighbor Lucille will sometimes spend time talking on Lucille's porch. It's not necessarily an eventful existence, but he's not unhappy, and he feels he's doing more than simply biding his time until he is reunited with his wife again.

One day while at the cemetery he meets Maddy, a lonely, introspective, 18-year-old girl who spends time there every day in an effort to escape from school and the bullying and disdain of her fellow classmates. Maddy is touched by Arthur's kindness and generosity, and starts to look forward to seeing him at Nola's grave, and confiding in him things she can't tell anyone else.

"She doesn't exactly know why kids don't like her. She's good-looking enough. She has a sense of humor. She's not dumb. She guesses it's because they can sense how much she needs them. They are like kids in a circle holding sticks, picking on the weak thing. It is in people, to be entertained by cruelty."

When Maddy mentions to Arthur that she is in need of a place to stay, he opens his home to her, paying her a salary for taking care of him and cleaning the house. It isn't long before Lucille, who is coping with her own issues, becomes the third member of an unlikely trio, each trying to find the things they can do on their own, yet they are buoyed by the companionship they never had, or at least haven't had in some time.

Berg did such a wonderful job with this book. These characters have struggles, struggles which at one point threatened to consume them, but they persevered, and discovered how much better life can be when spent with people who care about you, and whom you care about. The Story of Arthur Truluv is a moving example of how the family you choose can often provide more love and security than the family into which you are born.

While the book is predictable, it is just so charming. Arthur seems a little too good to be true sometimes, but Berg gives you glimpses of things his late wife criticized him for, or wished he did differently. The other characters are also memorable and their flaws make them even more human. She so accurately portrays emotions like grief, loneliness, and despair.

"'See, that's what I do. I am the audience. I am the witness. I am the great appreciator, that's what I do and that's all I want to do. I worked for a lot of years. I did a lot of things for a lot of years. Now, well, here I am in the rocking chair, and I don't mind it, Lucille. I don't feel useless. I feel lucky.'"

At least every now and again, it's great to read a book that restores your faith in the goodness of people. With The Story of Arthur Truluv, Elizabeth Berg has given us such a book.

Book Review: "A Ladder to the Sky" by John Boyne

When you get ready to read a book by an author whose two previous books wound up at the top of your year-end best lists (and they're truly among some of the best books you've read, at least in the last decade), you get a little nervous whether lightning will strike thrice, or whether you're putting too much pressure on the book. (I am the one who has preached measured expectations when reading new books by favorite authors, because each new book deserves to be weighed on its own merit, not compared to others the author has written.)

All that being said, John Boyne, author of The Absolutist (see my review) and The Heart's Invisible Furies (see my review), has done it again. He has created an unsympathetic, morally dubious character who is utterly unforgettable, and has slayed me in the process.

Maurice Swift is a handsome young writer with a tremendous amount of ambition, but he lacks the talent to back it up. No matter. When he meets noted novelist Erich Ackermann at a West Berlin hotel in 1988, he immediately recognizes that the older man is attracted to him. Ackermann is desperately lonely, and is energized by Maurice's companionship, so he invites the young man to travel with him around the world to participate in different literary events.

Maurice uses his sex appeal, and the tantalizing promise of giving Ackermann more of him, to encourage the writer to divulge a secret he has long kept hidden from the world, a secret with potentially damaging consequences if it is discovered, despite the fact that it happened when Ackermann was a teenager in the midst of World War II. Maurice realizes this story will be the perfect basis for his first novel, so once he gets what he needs from the man, he's ready to move on—and he doesn't seem to care what it does to Ackermann, or his career.

But once Maurice gets a taste of literary fame, he can't imagine life without it. After an encounter with famed writer Gore Vidal which makes him uncertain of how far his looks can help him succeed, he moves from literary circle to literary circle, from the U.S. to London and all over the world, in search of his next opportunity. And as he moves through his life, the stakes get higher and higher—until there's nothing he won't do for fame—but is a life alone worth the acclaim of success?

Although there are similarities to The Talented Mr. Ripley, A Ladder to the Sky is a novel all its own. Maurice is an utterly amoral character, and as much as you dislike him, you have to admire his cunning, his ambition, his single-minded pursuit of fame. We've seen this story before, but in Boyne's hands the suspense crackles, the longing of those Maurice strings along is tremendously affecting, and you can't wait to see whether he'll get his comeuppance.

Boyne throws some surprising twists into the plot, and takes the story to a different level. He's one of those storytellers that hooks you from the very start, and keeps you engrossed in the plot from start to finish. While his last two novels have remained in my mind because of the way they touched my heart, A Ladder to the Sky will stay in my mind because of Maurice Swift's character and his unbridled ambition.

NetGalley and Crown Publishing provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "Number One Chinese Restaurant" by Lillian Li

Growing up in the New Jersey suburbs in the mid-1980s, my family ate dinner out nearly every Sunday evening, and more often than not, we ate Chinese food, as did many other families in my town. (I used to joke that there were classmates I saw more regularly at the Chinese restaurant than I did in high school!)

While there were several different Chinese restaurants in our area, and everyone had a favorite, we frequently ate at one particular restaurant, whose owners my parents had known for a number of years. The owner and his wife seemed to have a fascinating relationship, and the high school gossip I was then loved to make up stories about what was going on in their lives, as well as the lives of the other employees. Perhaps those memories were what drew me to Lillian Li's Number One Chinese Restaurant—that, and the fact that Li's book takes place in a suburb of Washington, DC known for its Chinese restaurants.

The Beijing Duck House in Rockville, Maryland, has certainly seen better days, but it's still a favorite among the community's restaurants. The creation of immigrant Bobby Han, the Duck House was once a place where presidents and celebrities dined, but Bobby's death left the restaurant caught between his two sons, the more managerially suited Johnny, and the more impulsive, ambitious Jimmy.

Jimmy has dreams of getting away from his father's legacy and opening a fancier Asian fusion restaurant where he'd never again have to serve the dishes which exhaust and repulse him. But to make his dream possible requires striking a deal with the devil, one who has been on the outskirts of their family for years now, and doesn't know how to take the word "no" for an answer.

When tragedy strikes, it may make the achievement of Jimmy's dreams closer to reality, but it also upends the lives of many others. For longtime employees Nan and Ah-Jack, they are forced to confront the so-called elephant in the room, their friendship/flirtation, and decide whether to pursue something more after 30 years. But if they do, how will this affect Ah-Jack's wife and Nan's rebellious teenage son, Pat?

Pat, a dishwasher at the Duck House since being expelled from high school, is in the midst of a flirtation with Annie, the hostess, who happens to be Jimmy's niece. While Annie has very little love for her father or her family's restaurant, she's not expecting to get pulled into a scheme which threatens to destroy both.

As Jimmy tries to hold on to his dream, he must battle his brother, their seemingly ineffective mother, and the family friend whose menacing presence has always kept everyone on edge. But what does Jimmy really want? Is it making a name for himself, or continuing to bask in the spotlight his father built all these years ago.

There's a lot going on in this book, with no shortage of melodrama, family dysfunction, angst, and even a little crime for good measure. While the different situations the characters find themselves in certainly have potential, they never really grabbed my interest as I had hoped. I don't know if there was too much to digest (no pun intended) all at once, or if it was more that the characters weren't particularly sympathetic, but I felt that the plot really dragged, and never picked up much steam.

If you like stories of family dynamics, you might enjoy this one. The one thing I truly appreciated about this book is that Li didn't spend too much time dwelling on the food, so I didn't get as hungry as I often do when reading books about restaurants and cooks!

NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "How to Stop Time" by Matt Haig

"If you saw me, you would probably think I was about forty, but you would be very wrong. I am old — old in the way that a tree, or a quahog clam, or a Renaissance painting is old."

Because of a rare medical condition, Tom Hazard has been alive since the 1500s. Born into a wealthy French family, he has traveled all over the world, assumed many different identities, and led a life characterized by adventure, trauma, emotion, and loneliness. Tom has performed with Shakespeare, explored with Captain Cook, shared a cocktail with F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, and experienced the drastic changes the world has undergone through the centuries.

Even though he has seen incredible things, what Tom wants more than anything is a normal life. He had that once, back in Shakespeare's time, when he met a woman and fell in love, but as his unchanging appearance caught the notice of suspicious and fearful townspeople, he had to leave that life behind. Yet he's never stopped thinking of her and wishing things were different, that he was different.

"So, don't think of me as a sexy vampire, stuck for ever at peak virility. Though I have to say it can feel like you are stuck for ever when, according to your appearance, only a decade passes between the death of Napoleon and the first man on the moon."

Those like Tom are watched over by a group called the Albatross Society, which protects them and ensures they keep their longevity a secret from the general public. The shadowy head of the society, Hendrich, controls Tom and calls in favors to move him to place to place every eight years (since that is about the period of time before people notice he doesn't seem to grow any older). But Hendrich has his own ulterior motives, and his own methods of ensuring Tom and his brethren are kept in check. And the one major rule Hendrich has impressed upon Tom for many years now? Never fall in love.

Tom's latest persona is as a history teacher in London, a place that stirs old memories for him, memories of love and loss. But when he meets a beautiful French teacher who seems to think she's seen him before, he starts to wonder whether the rules to which he's adhered are truly worth it. What good is living for hundreds of years if you have to do so alone, without letting anyone get close to you? But Hendrich will stop at nothing, will use everything and anyone to ensure his charges comply with his rules.

This is a fascinating, beautiful, moving book about love, loss, loneliness, and adventure. How to Stop Time shifts between Tom's current life and the different persona he assumed throughout the years. It's both a rollicking adventure through time and a love story through time, populated with fascinating characters and events.

Matt Haig is a tremendous storyteller, and I found this book so creative, poignant, and enjoyable. It gets a little slow at times, but for the most part it's just such a beautiful story. Obviously, some suspension of disbelief is necessary for a story like this, but at its core, it's a book that explores universal themes. Definitely a winner.

NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "Millard Salter's Last Day" by Jacob M. Appel

Today is Millard Salter's 75th birthday. He has a pretty full day planned—a busy day as a psychiatrist at New York's St. Dymphna's Hospital, lunch with his seemingly unambitious, 43-year-old son Lysander, and a visit to the grave of his second wife Isabelle, whose death he's still mourning. He has promised to help his current flame, Delilah, take care of an important task, and then he plans to end the day by killing himself.

Millard isn't sick or depressed or frail. But he knows all too well the indignities and infirmities that old age can bring, and he's determined to exit before his quality of life is impacted by any of them. He also doesn't want to be a burden to his children, nor does he want people to chronicle or lament his eventual decline.

He's trying to get everything in his life as settled as possible so his death doesn't cause a lot of disruption. He has divested himself of most of his patients and tied up as many loose ends as he can. But the course of life, even when you're planning to end your life, never runs smoothly—Millard encounters frustrated bureaucrats, power-hungry colleagues, depressed patients, a fiercely loyal employee, and a student looking for a recommendation. Oh, and there's a lynx on the loose at the hospital. Luckily, Millard's sly sense of humor helps him take everything in stride.

As Millard goes through the day, he realizes he won't leave this world without some regrets, but he tries to make things right where he can, so he can end his life feeling reasonably satisfied with how things will be after his death. And as he reminisces about his childhood, his marriages, and his career, he sees how much everything has changed, and he doesn't want to feel like a dinosaur.

This was a really interesting concept on which to build a book. Millard is a complex character—he definitely cares about his family and his patients but he's not above some mostly good-natured ribbing of his colleagues. Given the book's plot, this could have veered into either maudlin or treacly territory, and to Jacob Appel's credit it really didn't. You could see as the book unfolded that this was a man who was proud of his life and his accomplishments, but didn't want to linger too long.

Appel is a fantastic writer—he's written some fantastic short story collections I've absolutely devoured—Einstein's Beach House, Coulrophobia & Fata Morgana, and Miracles and Conundrums of the Secondary Planets. His writing is always characterized by a healthy balance of quirk and heart, and both are on display here. I just felt this book meandered a little too much—some of Millard's pranks and reminiscences went on a bit too long, and so many subplots, supporting characters, and odd situations were shoehorned into the book that I felt it distracted from the story at the book's core.

One other caveat, which may be a positive or a negative one for you: the book's marketing blurb mentions A Man Called Ove, and while Millard may have his cranky moments, I don't think he's quite the curmudgeon that Ove was. So don't go into this book expecting that, or don't steer away from this book because you feared that.

Millard Salter's Last Day isn't perfect, but it's tremendously thought-provoking and well-written, with an immensely vivid main character. I think it's a great book club selection, because it could be the source of some fascinating conversation. And as always, Appel demonstrates his talent as a storyteller.

NetGalley and Gallery Books provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!