Greetings all. How is your summer going? Can you believe Thursday is August? Oh my. And unfortunately I’m late with my monthly preview post so I will do that next week. Things have been busy. I’m just now getting back on the blog after I was away last week reffing the junior provincial tennis tournament a couple hours north of us. It was a long week of 10+ hour days. Luckily it’s over now, and I look forward to visiting your blogs soon to see what you’re reading and what’s up in your world.
Have you been watching the Olympics? Crazy to see the triathletes swimming in the Seine. I hope it’s clean enough now. I have enjoyed seeing the pool swimming races and I’m looking forward to the track and field too … and maybe some of the beach volleyball and the cycling road race. I’m game for whatever looks good.
In book news, we had a good discussion last post about the New York Times’ recent list of the Best Books of the 21st Century. You all made astute observations about what you thought about it and what was on the list and how many you’ve read. And now I see that the Booker Prize longlist is out for 2024, which includes six novels by U.S. authors among the 13 titles nominated. Here are the nominees:
Colin Barrett, Wild Houses
Rita Bullwinkel, Headshot
Percival Everett, James
Samantha Harvey, Orbital
Rachel Kushner, Creation Lake
Hisham Matar, My Friends
Claire Messud, This Strange Eventful History
Anne Michaels, Held
Tommy Orange, Wandering Stars
Sarah Perry, Enlightenment
Richard Powers, Playground
Yael van der Wouden, The Safekeep
Charlotte Wood, Stone Yard Devotional
Two of these novels — James and My Friends — were on my summer reading list and still need to be read. Besides those I’m curious about The Safekeep, which explores the legacy of WWII and is about two women in the Dutch countryside in 1961. Hmm, I don’t know too much more about it than that, but it’s said to be good. Though perhaps Percival Everett’s James might be the Booker favorite. What do you think? Which books look good to you on the longlist? The shortlist will be announced on Sept. 16 and the winner in November, so get cracking.
And now I’ll leave you with a couple reviews of books that I finished lately. Coincidentally both novels below feature protagonists who rekindle a love interest/affair from their long ago past. This plot seems to be coming up for me lately — I think I’ve had three books like this — but it’s okay as I seem to be a bit of a sucker for it regardless.
Long Island by Colm Toibin / Scribner / 304 pages / 2024
4 stars. I had recently rewatched the 2015 movie Brooklyn starring Saoirse Ronan so I felt ready to get to the sequel novel. Long Island follows the Irish immigrant Eilis, 20 years later after her marriage to Tony Fiorello, a plumber, along with their two teenage kids, and his large Italian American family of three brothers and parents all living on Long Island in the 1970s.
From the start we learn (along with Eilish) that Tony’s been unfaithful to her and fathered a child with one of his customers and that the baby will be left with them to raise. Eilis is none too pleased and decides to return to Ireland on a trip to visit her 80-year-old mother and to think things over with Tony.
It’s all pretty claustrophobic on Long Island with Tony and his family, so it’s a good thing once the story turns to Ireland where Eilis hasn’t been since she left so many years ago. Back in her hometown, Eilis runs into her old beau from her youth Jim Farrell, a pub owner, whom she left to marry Tony. Still unmarried, Jim has secretly been involved recently with Eilis’s old friend Nancy, a widow who maintains the family chip shop. Nancy has a son and is a good and sympathetic character.
But it comes down to: what will happen amid the old heart strings when Eilis and Jim come across one another. Will they try to go back and rewrite the past … and try to get back together? Or will Nancy be on to that, and Tony still be in the cards for Eilis? You have to meander your way through quite a bit to find out.
The novel seemed slow-going in parts … but otherwise I was into the tale of unfulfilled love, second chances, and new and old places in one’s life. The way it ends it seems like there’s room for more sequels ahead. This was my first Toibin novel, which I listened to as an audiobook performed well by Irish actress Jessie Buckley. There’s various characters in it — family and otherwise — and Jessie captured each one pretty effectively. Eilis’s Irish mother, for example, is quite the character … she’s much more grumpy in the book than in the movie Brooklyn. And I hope she finally settles for having a fridge and washing machine courtesy of Eilis, but I’m not sure she didn’t send them back.
All and all the sequel kept me attentive to what would unfold and how the characters would deal with it. Eilis and Jim delve into a situation with no easy options.
Leaving by Roxana Robinson / Norton / 344 pages / 2024
3.75 stars. I was interested to see where this story would go … about a chance meet-up later in life of two ex-college lovers — Warren and Sarah — who went on to marry others and now have grown children. Warren is still married and has a daughter Katrina, while Sarah, a grandmother, is divorced and has a son and daughter who has kids.
Early in the book, Warren and Sarah start an affair … after seeing each other at the opera in NYC … and rekindle much of what they had together so long ago. They fall in love and start to make plans … but not everyone in their families is happy when things emerge, and there is pressure to break it off.
The story details their work — Sarah is a museum curator and Warren an architect — and their lives with their grown kids, which throws some complexities into the situation. You feel what they’re going thru as they try to navigate their previous families to be together in life. Sarah feels quite real though Warren feels a bit more wooden and tense as he tries to hang onto his adult daughter in their future. It’s like a divorce story that gets a bit ugly. And the story, a bit dark, plays out sort of like the operas both Warren and Sarah enjoy watching. I was interested to see this drama through.
That’s all for now. What about you — have you read these and what did you think?
Hi Susan, I saw the Booker list and put in my order through Libby for three of the books My Friend, Enlightenment and the Safekeep. I liked the plots of these three and they have gotten rave reviews.
Glad you liked Long Island and glad to hear Ellis’ mother is still alive. But I saw the movie and want to keep my good memories of Ellis and Tony and so I probably won’t get around to Long Island.
Hi Kathy, Eilis’s mother is alive and well in the new book. It’s okay if you want to hold onto Tony & Eilis from book 1. It’s not fully clear what will happen at the end of the new book, so I think there will be another. But sadly Tony let us down in book 2.
I agree those three novels you mention for the Booker look good. I have not read any yet … so I will try to get them from the library. Happy August. Hope you’re having a good week.
I’ve had “James” on my TBR list for a while. I need to get my skates on and get it read before the Booker Prize is announced.
Hi Dorothy, I know what you mean. I’ve had a copy of James for a long time too. I hope to get to it in late August. I’ll be curious what you think. Happy reading this month.
It’s good to have you back! I’ve read three of the longlisted Booker novels— James, The Safekeep, and Enlightenment. In addition, I have an ARC for Creation Lake, and Playground was on my radar before this. Enlightenment is my favorite of the bunch, with James close behind. The Safekeep is an acquired taste but quietly devastating; warning: it features a queer love affair with plenty of sex (not the whole book but a good portion of it). I read Long Island too; I rated the original 3.5* and the sequel just 3*. I liked the characters but thought the sequel mediocre. It’s good that your reading is following a trend; I like it when that happens. My reading stalled in July. I read just three days the entire month and reached 20% of Daniel Silva’s latest before putting it aside—not the book’s fault, mind you. 🙂
Hi Carmen, thanks. It feels like I haven’t posted in a long time. Good to hear from you. So glad for your info too … Sounds like I need to read Enlightenment. I will add it on likely for Sept? I had no idea The Safekeep was about that. Oh man I’m glad you told me … Now I’m a bit curious about Creation Lake though it’s over 400 pages, errr. When will you start it? I guess it’s not out till Sept. along with Playground. So much to read. And I’m way behind. I have a Nov PW book I need to finish before getting back to my summer list. I think I might get to James in late Aug. I had to take a break from slavery-type reads after Kindred. I’m sure you are busy there … maybe Sept/Oct will be a good month for Booker stuff. Hope all is well there. You’ve done well to already have read 3 from the longlist. Terrific. And the winner could likely be one of those.
Enlightenment may also be an acquired taste but I enjoyed it immensely. The Safekeep is not about that, but the queer love affair plays a central part in how the story develops. The central thread is the complicity of the Dutch people with the Nazi during the occupation in WWII. It’s a story that makes you think is going in one direction, and suddenly… bam! There’s also queerness in Enlightenment but more on the ‘longing’ side. It’s not the kind of story you gravitate to, though. It has a Gothic vibe, with elements of science interspersed with faith and historical fiction. Read the blurb beforehand if you decide to read it. The slavery theme in James gets graphic to a certain extent but not overwhelmingly so. Its purpose is not to hit you with a hammer on the head but make you think.
Good to know … all of this, and each one sounds pretty good. It helps to know this info going into these books ahead of time. I hope to read a few of the Booker ones before November. I’m glad I finished the Booker winner from last year … quite an eye-opener. If you get into Creation Lake … let me know if you like it.
I can’t believe it’s already August! I’ve been watching the Olympics…never seem to be able to catch the diving. They must show it super early in the morning. But I’ve been loving all the equestrian events. And the swimming and gymnastics, too. 😀 Hope you have a relaxing weekend.
Hi Lark, it’s excellent that you’ve seen the equestrian events. I have yet to catch those. I need to catch more during the day …. as they seem to cut a lot of the night coverage … which drives me a bit crazy. I’ve seen mostly swimming so far but am looking forward to track and field. I think this weekend will be relaxing yea! Enjoy yours.
I wonder if this is the most American authors to be nominated for the Booker Prize in one year. I’ve been seeing a few comments from the other side of the Atlantic kind of bemoaning the decision to open up the prize to Americans.
I’m hoping to get to all thirteen of the books eventually with a much earlier start than I made on the nominees last year. There seem to be quite a few surprises on the list, kind of like last year, too. There were two DNFs on last year’s list for me, and I suspect that’s going to happen again this year. Should be fun no matter what happens.
I’ve had my eye on the new one by Colm Toibin novel for a while but kind of thought it would turn out to be on the slow side…looks like that may be the case from what you say.
Hi Sam, yeah the Toibin novel is slow in places … but it’s not lengthy so you can get through it. See what you think.
I’m glad you’ll be reading & covering all the Booker nominees again. It’s always great to see your feedback on the books. You were right about last year’s Prophet Song being on top of the heap. It was good.
And I guess they continue not to like the Americans in the Booker Prize. I say the more the merrier … but I can understand their gripes. Looking forward to your reviews of the nominees. Cheers.
Those are indeed some long days with the tournaments. Fun but exhausting i imagine 🙂
I’ve not read any of the Booker Prize titles but I do have Long Island on my list. Number 8 on the library hold list for the Kindle version. It was on my summer readng list but I don’t think it will make it before August is out. Excellent review you wrote.
Thanks Tina, I’m glad I got to the Toibin novel. It’s sort of a romance you could say and about the past. See what you think. Maybe you’ll get it in September.
The tournaments were exhausting. So I’m glad to be back at home. I need a peaceful weekend of reading and yard work. I hope you’re staying out of the heat. And I hope Tropical Storm Debbie doesn’t do damage to your area. Stay safe with Loki.
I looked into all the books on the Booker Long List and there are a few I would try if I had a copy, especially Orbital.
I got a copy of Brooklyn by Colm Toibin at last year’s book sale so when I read that, I will see if I want to read the sequel. Leaving by Roxana Robinson does sound interesting. Not sure if I would like it but willing to give it a try someday.
No Olympics watching for me, but I have been following the women’s gymnastics via the New York Times, etc.
Hi Tracy, yes Orbital looks quite different and worth checking out. I think I will try to read a few of the Booker longlist before the winner announcement. And Orbital is one of the shorter books on the list.
I’ll be curious what you think of the Brooklyn novel. The movie was quite well done.
The American women are still a powerhouse in women’s gymnastics and even the men placed this time around. Hope all is well in S.B. I’m keeping an eye on the wildfires … as I’m visiting my dad in SoCal later this month.
All is well in Santa Barbara, since our smallish fire (38,000 acres) nearby was contained. The conditions for fire here are still bad, so I hope we get through the summer with no more scares. In 1990, a fire that lasted only one night came down from the Santa Ynez Mountains above Santa Barbara, jumped Highway 101, and burned hundreds of homes. It came close enough that we could see the flames and were told to evacuate. Very scary. So I always take any fire seriously. I was worried that you were close to a big fire in Canada.
I am glad to hear you will be visiting your father.
Good to know you are okay there … and the wildfire is contained. I’m sure the 1990 fire was sheer terror to come that close. It is scary with the dry conditions. We had a tragic fire up in the mountains 3.5 hours away that burned part of the town of Jasper. You might have heard it on the news in July. Everyone was evacuated … it was scary and people were stunned that it burned. The town is still closed. Quite a few fires are still going to the northwest of us in the forests. We get the smoke on some days with the wind. Fingers crossed the fires don’t get worse – here, Calif and elsewhere.
I enjoyed the books by Messud and Orange — I really love both books by Tommy Orange. Past experience is that I generally dislike the winners of the Booker. So don’t bet on these two!
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Hi Mae, good to know. I have read Orange’s first book … but I haven’t read Messud yet. Glad you liked them. I liked Prophet Song and it won the Booker last year … so we will see what happens this year. Happy reading.
I also have James on my TBR shelf and am looking forward to reading it soon.
I love the Olympics and have been enjoying gymnastics, swimming, water polo, the triathlon, and now track and field is starting up. My lucky brother is in Paris with tickets to a bunch of events.
Hi Helen, great to hear your brother is at the Olympics, that’s awesome. I am loving watching it as well. So many good sports going on … I’m trying to follow the action. From what I’ve seen, it’s been pretty spectacular.
Good to hear you plan to read James sometime soon. I might pick up towards the end of August … so we will see what we think of it. Happy reading.
Reffing junior provincial tennis tournaments is not something I hear about every day, and no, I have not read any of those books mentioned in your post.
Hi Jinjer, well the reffing for a week was not easy. 10 to 13 hour days on the court … so my feet were not good by the end. I’ve had to rest for a week after, lol. But I’m better now. Hope all is well in L.A. Stay cool.
Your photo is beautiful!
I’ll be checking out those books.
I hope you have a great week!
Thanks Vicki. The sunset photo makes me feel peaceful. Hope all is well there. Glad you stopped by.
I haven’t read any of the Booker nominees although suspect my book group will insist on James at some point.
I am looking forward to Long Island at some point in August.
My reading has definitely slowed since the Olympics began. I enjoy watching nearly every sport although it is hard to avoid spoilers with the time difference. I suspect some of my staff working from home are just watching tv but there’s nothing I can do about it.
Hi Constance, I agree I’m having trouble not finding out about the results of the Olympics before watching them. I try to avoid seeing the news but the results seem everywhere. Still I’ve been watching anyway.
I’ll be curious what you think of the Toibin sequel. I hope to pick up James at the end of August. So far I haven’t read any of the Booker books either.
Enjoy your reading …
The only book I’ve read from the Booker longlist so far is James. I definitely plan to read Playground when I am able to get a copy of it.
I’ve planned to read Long Island, but I’ve gotten distracted by reading other things right now.
The Olympics, with the Paris setting, are my favorite Olympics ever.
Hi Deb, I agree the Olympics with the Paris setting has been excellent … even the bike road race finished at the Eiffel Tower. I’ve enjoyed watching the events.
See what you think of Long Island. It seems to leave open the door for more sequels. Hmm. I’ll have to see what Playground is about … I hope to pick up James at the end of the month. The Booker list looks pretty good. Enjoy your reading.
I’m saving James to see if I can get my book club to read it with me.
I’m glad that you’re enjoying the Olympics, too!
Hi Joy, the Olympics have been great … and team USA has done well. It’s been fun to watch.
It seems James would be a great book club read. Have a great week.
I’m always surprised when the Booker longlist is released so early… you’d think I’d have that figured out by now! James was a favorite, I’ve got the Messud on my kindle but may not get to it until later this fall, and we’ll see how long it takes for library hold of The Safekeep to come in.
Leaving sounds interesting, but I never got a chance to read it before returning to the library. Good idea to rewatch Brooklyn before reading Long Island. I’ll probably do that, too, instead of rereading the book.
We haven’t watched nearly as much of the Olympics as I’d like, but there’s still time. Beautiful photo!
Thanks JoAnn. The photo is peaceful. I wasnt expecting the longlist so early either, but now I have time to read a few before November. I think I’ll pick up James late this month. The movie Brooklyn is still good … I rewatched it and liked it again. It’s poignant and touching. See what you think of Long Island.
Have a great week.
I’ve mostly caught highlight reels on Facebook for the Olympics – love the gymnastics peeps! I wish they had baton twirling in the Olympics. Some really talented athletes with beautiful routines. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Becki, thanks for dropping by. I’ve been enjoying the Olympics (mostly at night) … and have liked the gymnastics … the aerial routines on the bars and floor have been amazing. Baton twirling would be interesting to see. Have a great week.
Beautiful photo of the red sky! I need to make a point to get out to the bluff and catch the sunset more often. It doesn’t set until after 8:30 and by then I’m winding down for the night.
I haven’t been watching the Olympics other than what little clips I spot on Instagram. I did see the triathletes swimming in the Seine. Crazy!!
I have the audio of James, but don’t know when I’ll get to it. I’ve been reading/listening to a lot of lighter novels this summer. I also have a copy of Long Island, but want to re-watch Brooklyn in order to refresh my memory of the story.
How’s the smoke up there? Any fires near you? Keeping my fingers crossed that the smoky skies begin to clear in September when we head to the Tetons.
Hi Lesley, yeah we’ve had some smoke off and on depending on the wind … all from many fires to the north and west of us. Did you hear about part of the town of Jasper burning? I think you went thru there right? The Icefields Parkway and the National Park near Jasper remain closed due to fire. Yikes. It’s a sad thing.
Maybe it’ll be better in September. The Tetons will be great. Weren’t there also fires in Oregon? Ugh. I think we might get some rain this week though … which would be good for the ground.
Your reading seems good this summer. Long Island was a tad slow but then it comes on. I’ll be flying to Palm Springs in about two weeks to see my Dad in Redlands … now that’ll be hot. Enjoy your Cove.
Yes, I saw the news (and some video) about Jasper. You’re right. We were there last summer, and spent a few days camping just outside of town. It’s very sad that so many business and homes were lost to the fire. And yes, there are several fires in Oregon this summer, too. I’m keeping an eye on a couple since they’re near where we have to travel on our way to the Tetons in September. Ugh. I hope you have a good trip to Redlands. It will definitely be hot there! Maybe you can spend some time at the beach…
Yeah Albertans are pretty gutted by the Jasper news. It is sad & stunning that that much was lost to the fire. Glad you weren’t there this year. Goodness.
It is a bit coincidental that my Dad climbed to the top of the Tetons with a couple of friends in the 1950s. A couple of years ago, we found his name on the ledger on the mountain they use to keep track of ascents. Crazy right?
Anyways, I hope you two have a great time there. And I’ll be taking my Dad to the beach … on the weekends once I’m there. Maybe see my brother from Pasadena.
Beautiful photo! Reffing those tennis tournaments sounds like a lot of work! Long Island sounds messy, but interesting. I don’t know if I could patch things up if my husband fathered a child with another woman. I hope Eilis really thinks about staying with him. Hope you have a wonderful week!
Hi Rachel, thanks. We’ve had a few good sunsets lately. Reffing the tennis was tough — I was tired out after a week of that, but now I can rest, yea.
The marriage of Tony & Eilis hits some major roadblocks in Long Island … and the ending is a bit ambiguous but it might not bode well … for the next installment. Hope you have a great week. Enjoy your new grandbaby.
Thanks for sharing the Booker longlist. I hadn’t seen it yet. I’m excited to read the Tommy Orange book. I’ve heard great things about it. I hope you have a good August!
Hi AJ: thanks. August is passing by already. I’ll be curious to hear what you think of Orange’s novel. I read his first one but not his second yet. The longlist seems pretty strong. Check it out. I hope to read a few. Cheers. Enjoy your week.
I liked Long Island very much, having come to it before I read Brooklyn, so I think I was at a disadvantage. I found the mood so somber; of course, given the circumstances how could it be otherwise? But the pervasive feeling I had was one of passivity. As you say, Toibin may be leaving room for sequels, yet I also think it is one of the characters’ flaws. Several of them seem to victim to it. Why doesn’t Eilish fight her husband, or fight for her lover? She just removes herself in both instances. I am still thinking about her actions/inactions.
Hi Bellezza, you make good points. I guess the passivity is why some readers didn’t care for Long Island. She does tell her husband he can’t raise the child at their home and he seems to know where she stands on what he did. But with all of his family in Long Island – who aren’t always great to her – it feels claustrophobic and I’m glad she removes herself to Ireland (to see her mother) but then to take up with the bartender again after decades – seems a bit crazy, especially since he’s engaged. I guess it’s a story you wonder about afterwards. You’re right, each character is flawed. We’ll see if more sequels follow. thx for your input.