Greetings, I hope your September is going well, particularly your reading as there are many notable books out this fall. Just this week the whole hoopla over the arrival of Margaret Atwood’s sequel novel — “The Testaments” — seems to have reached a fevered pitch, with some likening it to the excitement over the arrival of Harper Lee’s 2015 novel “Go Set a Watchman.” I kid you not. Though over-hype can often leave readers feeling disappointed once they get to the book. Will that be the case with Atwood’s novel, or not?
I guess according to one who’s read it, Ron Charles of the Washington Post says that readers looking for a complementary classic of dystopian lit to “The Handmaid’s Tale” may be disappointed … since he says the new one is not nearly as devastating a satire on par with The HT. Instead with this one Atwood is “more focused on creating a brisk thriller than she is on exploring the perversity of systemic repression.” Hmm, still he gives “The Testaments” 4 stars on Goodreads and recently it’s been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. So the question remains: will I wait for my library hold (#261 on the wait list of 70 copies) or just get a copy? I guess I’m not in a great rush, but I hope to get to it fairly soon. Hmm. So while I ponder that, I’ll leave you with a few reviews of what I finished lately.
Wow Helen Phillips’s novel “The Need” is a wild, weird story though much of the writing is quite good, even darkly funny. The protagonist Molly seems to be having a postpartum episode, struggling as a mother of two, with children under age 5. The husband is far away on a trip and she is left with the kids for a week, taking care of them, plus doing her job as a paleobotanist at a Pit, where she’s found some weird artifacts that include a Bible, a coke bottle, and a toy soldier with a tail that don’t make sense being where they are.
Good grief, Molly’s sleep-deprived and anxious about her children and protesters at the Pit. Then an intruder (wearing a deer mask) invades her home, or he seems to. Some of this book …. is like whaaa just happened? It feels like psychoses. It’s surreal and plays with your mind. It also makes you feel like what being a young mother is all about — being barfed on and lactating constantly, being at the behest of your children at all hours of the day and night. Oh early motherhood in fiction never felt so hands on. If you’re looking for a straight up thriller, this is not it. This is something else, speculative and Odd (with a capital O) but eerily thought-provoking too.
I read this on a plane and had to look around and make sure no one was wearing a deer mask anywhere near me. It’s a bit creepy like that.
Synopsis: Karen Dukess’s debut novel “The Last Book Party” is set in the publishing world of 1980’s New York and is a coming-of-age story about a young woman (Eve Rosen) who has literary aspirations and leaves her job as a low level assistant at a publishing house to become a research assistant during the summer to a famed older New Yorker writer living on Cape Cod with his wife.
I think I was lured to this one by the cover and the book publishing aspect of the story. Apparently the author, who began her career in 1980’s NYC and summered at Truro, Cape Cod, like her protagonist, started the book as a memoir but then turned it into a novel, which sort of seemed like that. I found it okay as a light, summer audiobook listen — mainly for the girl’s aspirations as a writer and the publishing scene then, but there are some flaky relationships in the story — and one in particular that she gets involved in over the summer that didn’t pass the eww factor. Towards the end, things come to a head and various secrets are revealed involving the girl and others at a costume book party, making it a bit crazy and sending her reeling — her rosy view of the publishing world being altered by her experiences in its circles.
I guess as a light audiobook story I was okay (3 stars) with “The Last Book Party” more than others have been. I agree it isn’t exactly strong or moving. It shines a light on the book industry and a world of privilege that might entice some but turn off others. It surely isn’t a book set in the MeToo era, so beware.
Last but not least, I finally got to Amor Towles’s praised debut novel “Rules of Civility” that came out in 2011. Gosh who knew I’d be reading so many New York novels this year. Am I drawn to them, or what’s my deal? It doesn’t seem on purpose.
As most know by now, “Rules of Civility” follows the story of three friends (Katey, Eve, and a gentleman they meet at a jazz bar named Tinker Grey) at the end of the Great Depression in NYC. Katey tells the story in first person of her life and adventures in the Big City during 1938, where at first she’s a secretary and then a publisher’s assistant.
There’s a terrible car wreck that changes the lives of these friends. And you’re not sure if one of them will ultimately wind up with Tinker or if they will remain friends — so you press on to find out how their lives will play out. Much of the novel reads like a love letter to Manhattan in that day and age: amid the jazz clubs, the drinks, the possibilities, the excitement, the parties and wealth — where else would you rather be? I liked Katey who seemed smart and witty and there’s some wonderful sentences in this book, although the author likely goes on a bit much at times, when enough is plenty. Still it’s a good story and it even reminded me slightly of Betty Smith’s 1943 classic “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” — maybe just because of the feel of it and the timeframe and setting.
So that’s all for now. But I did want to mention that “The Goldfinch” movie is coming out this weekend and unfortunately a couple of reviews I’ve read have already panned it. Ugh! And here I’m nearing the end of the 784-page novel, which I’ve liked a great deal, and now I hear the movie is a “lifeless adaptation of Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.” Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post says the 2.5 hour-long movie is “overstuffed, overlong and utterly uninvolving.” Yikes, you can’t do this to me. Not now! How could the filmmakers blow it? I will have to see it anyway, so I might as well get the darn popcorn to help it move along.
What about you — have you read these novels mentioned, and if so, what did you think?
You have got me interested in The Need. I didn’t read the earlier book but she always seems to get noticed for being weird. I like weird, usually. I picked up my copy of Testament today from the bookstore where I used to work. I think Atwood is like Toni Morrison in her later years. She has trouble getting rave reviews but I always like every book she writes. I thought Rules of Civility was an absorbing read. I really liked those girls! And I don’t care what any critic says, I will see The Goldfinch in the theater and I will like it! Last weekend I saw the Linda Ronstadt documentary, The Sound of My Voice. I wasn’t expecting much but it got to me, big time, seeing her and all my early musical heroines and heroes and listening to her sing!
Wow Judy – where did you find the Ronstadt movie playing? I’d love to see it but it’s hard to find things here. Man she had a voice and she sure was on top in southern Cal for many years. I’ll likely have to get the Atwood book instead of waiting for the library copy b/c she’s speaking here at the end of the month, which was Sold Out in an hour. I think you could read The Need in an afternoon — it’s short & snappy. The author is pretty weird but as long as she has a slight sense of humor, it’s acceptable! Enjoy.
I’m intrigued by your description of the need. Yours is not the first so-so review I’ve read of The Last Book Party so I think I’ll skip it.
Hi Kathy: Yeah The Need is different but interesting too. The Last Book Party is so-so, but it kept my attention as an audiobook. Enjoy your week.
Yikes! I hadn’t read any early reviews of The Goldfinch. That’s really disappointing, but that happens so often with book adaptations.
I’m sort of on the fence about reading The Testaments or not. It’s been so long since I read Handmaid’s Tale, that I feel like I need to reread it first and unless I start hearing amazing things about The Testaments, I might just forget the whole thing.
Your three reviews, I completely agree with!
Thanks Susie, I tried to make these reviews short and snappy. A lot comes from whatever first impressions I jot down about them on Goodreads. I’m very bummed to hear about The Goldfinch movie, but I will likely see it. I understand your view about The Testaments but perhaps you dont need to revisit The HT. It might be okay as a standalone thriller type. We will see.
The Need sounds good; it makes me want to read it. I haven’t read The Handmaid’s Tale, reason why, though tempted, don’t want to go ahead and read The Testaments. Rules of Civility sounds good too. I like the glitz of NYC in the 1930s; it puts me in mind of Scott Fitzgerald. I haven’t read anything by Amor Towles yet; maybe one of these days when I get over reading Netgalley ARCs and make it to at least 80% books reviewed. I’m still reading The Water Dancer. Getting to the last stretch. Boy, has he taken his sweet time with that one. I thought it would be a breezy read but far from it.
Hi Carmen: thanks for the news & warning about The Water Dancer. Whenever I get to it : I’ll be aptly prepared for a long haul. I’m way behind on ARC’s (ugh) such as Inland and A Door in the Earth b/c I picked up The Goldfinch in August which is pretty fabulous but long. The book Rules of Civility is pretty reminiscent of Fitzgerald b/c of the Tinker Grey character & jazz clubs. You’re right there. And I’m thinking maybe The Testaments could be read as a standalone. I’m sure a lot people’s memories about the first one are foggy so she probably took that into account. I’m hoping.
The Water Dancer is not long at all; it’s just 416 pages, but it has felt dense, to me at least. 🙂
Okay gotcha. Dense is often not a good trait for me to contend with.
I will probably eventually read The Testaments eventually. I might want to reread The Handmaid’s Tale first though.
The Need sounds like it might be interesting. I like offbeat and mysterious. It really sounds creative.
Hi Brian: Yeah I think The Need is creative & different — I’m still wondering about it. The HT and the new one should be an interesting comparison but I’m sure they’ll be different in various ways.
So many recognizable titles in this post and yet… here I sit, still stuck in this slog of a book club read, The Bridge on the Drina. Gawd!! Put me out of my misery, please! I can’t read anything else while reading this one it just doesn’t mesh well. And the new King book is out so I am physically in pain over it. I may ditch this book. I hate to do it with club books but gawd, I am dying.
Hi Ti, sounds quite painful. I don’t know this book. How did your book club come to pick it? Is it a terrible slog? Maybe just get the gist of it and go to the meeting. There’s too much else to read right now.
I hope I am not disappointed in The Testaments, but sequels can be lackluster. Sigh.
I love the look of The Need and The Last Book Party. I added them to my list.
Thanks for sharing…and for visiting my blog. Enjoy your week.
Thanks Laurel. I’m remaining optimistic about The Testaments but I haven’t picked it up just yet. You might like the other two books. Enjoy.
Yes, the hype around The Testaments is the kiss of death for the book, I think. Nothing can live up to the expectations.
In a way, I am not surprised that the movie of The Goldfinch is being panned. I might have been alone in this opinion, but it never really struck me as something that would make a good movie…a mini-series maybe, but even so, it never struck me as particularly cinematic.
Yeah Jane, much of The Goldfinch seems an interior kind of story that’s better via a book. Still there are adventures to it that could’ve been made good on film yet it seems they sort of blew it. I actually plan to see it today — one day after I finished the book … though long movies aren’t really for me. As for The Testaments, I will temper my expectations.