CBR 13 # 17 In A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

It's one of those books where the "mysterious events of the past" are mysterious only because the narrator isn't telling you about it.  

Leonora, 26 years old is a crime author and lives a solitary and lonely life.  Then, she receives an email from a woman she does not know, inviting her to a "hen party" for a friend she has not spoken to for a long time.  But she goes.  This hen party is for the wedding of Leonora's childhood friend Clare.  A wedding which she was not invited to.  It's held in a modern glass house in the middle on the woods with four other of the bride-to-be's friends.  Of course, there are mysterious happenings, secrets unravelled, and maybe a little murder?  Okay, you know there's a murder since the book opens in the present time then Leonora is in the hospital with injuries and the police have told her that somebody has died.  But she does not remember what happened.  So it goes back and forth between the present time and flashbacks to the hen party events.

You have to suspend a lot of disbelief with these random thrillers/ psychological mysteries with big twists.  But the way the characters act are so far from how a normal person would act that I just can't.  The heroine is, to put it bluntly, a bit pathetic.  She is hung up on the first and only boyfriend that she had when she was 16.  And the main incident that led to her sad life could have been avoided by a single text.  And that's also the incident that led to the whole series of events years later.  And the motivations are so questionable.  She's just not a very compelling lead character to me.

Par for course in these kinds of books, it is thankfully short and quick.  Of course you want to hurry up and find then end to the mystery.  But you know what?  I didn't even care enough to take guesses and try to figure stuff out like I usually do when reading these kinds of books.  It was a bit boring.  I didn't like it.  Oh, and contrary to marketing, it was not scary at all and the woods weren't really a huge part of the story.  Just for a little bit of atmosphere.  It could have happened at a remote farmhouse or something like that.

CBR 13 # 16 Dune by Frank Herbert

Gun to head, if I had to choose a genre of books, it would be epic fantasy or science fiction.  I love the detailed mythologies and extensive worldbuilding that these genres provide.  I also like that most grapple with philosophical and sweeping questions about humanity and good and evil. I guess I've read a lot of the classics of both genres but somehow, I had neglected to read Dune.  Maybe because nobody really introduced me to the genre.  My Aunt and my Dad instilled a love of reading, but these were not the kinds of books they read.  I guess I just started to read sci-fi/fantasy when I somehow picked up Foundation (Asimov) at the used book store.  I finally decided to read the book because of the upcoming adaptation that I am desperate to see on the first day, but will never watch until I've read the book.

In the far off future(?), mankind has spread out to different planets and there is feudalist society where noble families control various fiefdoms under the rule of the Emperor.  There is no advanced calculating technology (computers, A.I.), instead, humans are especially trained to fulfill those functions, in a sort of mystical way.  In this backdrop, Duke Leto Atreides, together with his son Paul and companion Jessica, are assigned by the Emperor to rule of over the planet Arrakis.  Arrakis is a hard and barren place with nothing but endless desert.  But it is also the sole producer of the spice melange --- which seems to be more than a yummy additive to food.  There is of course, a rival House Harkonnen led by the Baron and a mysterious tribe native to Arrakis, the Fremen, who have somehow adapted to the hostile climate of the planet.  There are visions and prophecies, betrayals and death as the story of how Paul Atreides comes to lead the Fremen is told throughout the book.

On a pure appreciation for epic sci fi and/or fantasy level, I was spellbound by the lore and the world that was created by the author.  I wanted to know more about every corner of the world, especially since some features are alluded to and, in fact are pretty important parts of the plot (like the Bene Gesserit) but are not thoroughly explained .  I mean, there are no chapter long digression explaining the history of this place or organization or whatever.  Which, I don't know, is it nerdy of me to want?  But I heard that some parts get more fleshed out on the succeeding books so I'm looking forward to that.

As to the plot, it doesn't take a genius to see there there are some parallels to Arrakis and the Spice to the Middle East and oil.  There are pretty obvious Islamic references.  To my modern sensibilities there is a little bit of discomfort on seeing the white Paul ultimately being elevated to God like status by a Middle Eastern tribe analogue.  I'm not sure I can articulate my discomfort any further than that or if it is warranted or not.  Maybe I'll read more on it to help me crystallize my opinion but that is just my initial reading and unfiltered feeling. Also, it was a bit disturbing how God-like he was and how fanatical his followers were in the end.  I WAS a glad to know that this is precisely the main theme of the next book so I will go on reading.

All in all, this is precisely the kind of book that is catnip to me.  I love the specificity of the world, not just Arrakis, but the culture, society and universe and I am excited to read more.  Also, I am so exited for Timotheeee Chalameeet!  And Zendayaaaa (is Chani)!

 

CBR 13 # 15 Tales of A Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

I read in the CBR update emails that Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was up for discussion in the next Zoom call and I jumped into rereading it not only because I was behind on my CBR reading (and this was a sure quick read), but because I love this book!  I was ultimately not able to join the discussion (time zones :( ) but I'm so glad I read it again.  

I loved Are Your There God? when I was in Grade school but I don't remember reading any other Judy Blume books until I read Tiger Eyes, Forever and Summer Sisters when i was in high school.  Then I gave birth to a boy.  Five years later, another one.  The eldest kid was a rule follower.  Logical and practical just like Peter.  Even before the new baby was born, I read a chapter or two at bedtime with the eldest kid, just to prepare him for what being an older brother might be like because being a single mother when I had him, he was a very adult kid and literally gave me no trouble.  When the second kid became a toddler he turned out, God help me, very Fudge-like.   The kuya (older brother in my native language)  was a bit mystified and at a total loss at what to do with the hurricane of mischief that he was living with.  I just reminded him about the book and it seemed to make him cope better.  He even reread the book and all the other sequels, by himself this time.

When the middle child was around 5 years old, eldest child told me, "Mama, you should read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing to my younger brother."  So I did.  

I know this is not really a book review, but this book has such a special place in my family and I am thankful that it helped my kids to understand their life a bit better and approach it in a humorous way.  It is a fun, funny and touching book and most kids will relate to it, whatever part of the world they are from.

But our story is not yet over.  It turns out that it was a good thing I read the book to the second child because 3 years later, I had another boy.  By this time, the second child had matured and turned out to be very much like the eldest child.  And the baby, turned out to be even more Fudge like.  He even lost his two bottom teeth when he fell in the playground (it was also bloody).  Now the second child is the new Peter and we would always laugh about that when the baby was up to some mischief.  .  When the baby turned five years old just this month, the second child told me, "Ma, you should read  Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing to the baby".

CBR 13 # 14 The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

Did I read The Woman in the Window because I wanted to watch an episode of Netflix's Queens Who Like to Watch (with Trixie and Katya) but I couldn't watch it because I hadn't seen the movie, and I couldn't watch the movie because I hadn't read the book?  I will neither confirm nor deny but, YES I DID.  All this just to watch a 10 minute video of my favorite queens.  Was it worth it?  Well, yes but only because Trixie and Katya are so funny and NOT because the book ( or the movie) was good.

Anna is a child therapist who has not been out of her house for 10 months.  In those months, the only people she sees are her therapist, her physical therapist and the guy who rents her basement, who also does errands for her.  She spends her days spying on her neighbors (sometimes with a camera zoom), helping people out on an online forum for agoraphobes, talking to her separated husband on the phone, and a whooolle lot of drinking.  Then a new family moves in next door and Anna makes a connection with Ethan, the teenage son and Jane, his mother.  But something seems wrong with the family, and one day, through her window, Anna sees Jane being stabbed in her house.  Or was she? 

So goes the usual psychological thriller in the vein of The Girl on the Train in which the readers are being led to wonder, is the nice lady drunk/crazy?  Did she really see a crime being committed?  Why not both? I thought this one was convoluted and just had twists for the sake of twists with no genuine emotional or character development.  Of course, the plot, and the twist is improbable, maybe even unbelievable, but I am very willing to suspend disbelief with these kinds of books if the writing, or the characters are good.  I guess Tana French would be the gold standard for me.  This one does not even get to bronze.

Quick read, did not like it.  Did not like the movie either but loved the Trixie and Katya reaction in Queens Who Like to Watch.  Maybe I should have watched that directly without going through all the hoops I went through.

CBR 13 # 13 - Crash by Jerry Spinelli

One night, having had some milk tea right before bed (wrong decision) and also reading The Underground Railroad past bedtime (a good decision), I could not sleep.  I'm not sure why, but my heart was beating too fast and I felt anxious.  Maybe it was the tea.  So I went to the kids' bookshelf and picked up a book I had not yet read to maybe distract me and calm me down.

John "Crash" Coogan is a typical boys' boy.  His parents are busy working and the only time his father notices him is when he succeeds in sports.  He is a bit of a dumb jock stereotype.  When Penn Webb moves in next door, he unfortunately turns into a dumb jock bully stereotype.  Penn and his family are a bit strange.  Then, Mike moves in next door and he is an even bigger dumb jock than Crash, and an even bigger bully.  Naturally, Mike becomes Crash's new best friend and Penn is ostracized and occasionally made fun off by the popular, sporty kids.  However, in Seventh Grade, certain circumstances and events cause Crash to re-examine not only his treatment of Penn, but life and his attitude, in general.

I enjoyed previous Spinelli books like Manic McGee and Stargirl and this is sort of the same, I guess.  There is an outsider who becomes an impetus for the protagonist (and sometimes the whole town) to change.  While the previous books have a magical realist feel, this one feels more down to earth, realistic and smaller,  Maybe that's because it's for a younger audience and is shorter.  

I found it interesting that the protagonist in this book is not necessarily the good guy.  Most kids books would have the outsider, the introverted, smart bookworm as the main character.  In another book, Penn Webb would be the main character.  Maybe it's a smart choice because most kids are not going to be the "weird" kid.  Most are just "regular" kids, some even meatheads.  And a main character like that, but showing that they can be all that, but still be able to change for the good to be a kinder person, is pretty great. However, I feel that this one is too much from Crash's perspective.  I am interested in knowing more about Penn and his internal life and not just the pushover good guy as he is seen from Crash's point of view.  

All in all, a pretty good children's' book and yes, I was sable to go to sleep after.

CBR 13 # 12 - The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

"Look outside as you speed through, and you’ll find the true face of America."

I was hesitant to start this book since I had so much trouble with finishing (really, starting) Zone One (from the same author) but I was pleasantly surprised that this immediately got my attention and I found myself compulsively reading it.

 The story us about Cora, a slave in a plantation in Georgia.  Her mother had escaped when she was young and she is an outcast even from her fellow slaves.  The book follows her journey as she escapes from the plantation and rides the underground railroad on her way to freedom, with some stops along the way.

The novel is historical fiction, i guess, but I think it's more alternate history.  Most of the details of slave and plantation life are accurate, but the Underground Railroad is imagined as a real railroad with actual trains.  As an aside, I must admit, when I was a child, not being from the US and only hearing/reading about it in snippets, I DID think at first that the underground railroad was an actual railroad.  In the book, the an actual railroad and trains allows Cora to travel to different states.  In each of these states, she experiences or is witness to the various atrocities perpetuated on black people.  I do not think that in real life they happened during the time period the book is set in, but actual atrocities like the Tuskegee Syphilis studies and the Tulsa Massacre are transported and into the period and Cora made to experience them.  That makes the book pretty admirable as a concept.

Cora is a brave and strong protagonist.  She has a lot of luck, good and bad.  Meets people, loses them.  I really liked the book and I think maybe its am important one.  But I just think it ends abruptly or it leaves me wanting more?  Not just for the end but throughout the whole book.  Maybe that's a testament to how good the concept and the writing is, I keep wanting it to be this epic thousand page book but alas, there was no more to read.  WIll just wait for the release of the mini-series. 

CBR 13 #11 Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The book opens up from the perspective of a boy out on a party with a flighty, superficial and possibly spoiled socialite.  I think this was intentional on the part of the author.  A party girl is not what we expect to be a heroine of a story, much less a horror one.  Noemi Taboada is a lovely heroine. Unusual in that she is smart and strong (as most heroines are) but also flighty, stubborn and a socialite who enjoys going to parties and flirting with boys (which most heroines are not).

Noemi is living the good life in 1950s Mexico.  Sure, going to parties and enjoying life but also trying to find meaning and something that fulfills her, hence constantly shifting disciplines.  Her father convinces her (through a promise of higher education) to check on her close cousin Catalina's  who had been recently married.  Catalina had sent an unhinged letter and was thought to be sick

So she travels to the High Place, the grand mansion owned by the Doyle family, where Cataline lives with her English husband, Virgil and his family.  The family is just the patriarch, Howard Doyle, the aunt, Florence and the nephew Francis.  High Place is in a remote and mountainous region of  Mexico where there used to be silver mined by the Doyle family.  But various tragedies and sicknesses has stopped mine operations and there is now just a poor, sad town and the desolate and damp mansion.

Of course, things get weird.  Who are Noemi's allies?  What the hell is wrong with Catalina?  Why is Howard Doyle so gross?  Are things really happening or is Noemi going crazy?  At various times in the book I guessed that it was all hallucinations from mold, or that they were vampires, or that it was all a misunderstanding.  The real answer is hella weird but also satisfying.  It is not afraid to delve into the supernatural.

Throughout the book, there are themes of colonialism, eugenics and fetishization of dark bodies.  Noemi is a privileged young lady, no doubt being born rich., but to the white Englishman Howard Doyle, she was still brown and lesser.  It goes hand in hand with how women, even white women are treated as disposable and mere carriers of babies. I found it fascinating that the book shows how rot and stagnation manifests when old money and whiteness is maintained.  Speaking of rot, there is a some gross body horror, not too much but enough for me, thank you, so be warned.

So I really liked it.  The first part is a slow burn but I enjoy how we get to know Noemi.  Like I said, i loved her.  There is also a bit of a subdued love story which I found simultaneously sweet (because I love pale troubled boys) and also uncomfortable and foreboding, especially during the ending. 

CBR 13 # 10 The Other Woman by Sandie Jones

It has been around two weeks since I've finished this book and frankly, its taking me some time to conjure up details of the book.  Not to say that it's bad, maybe just a bit generic?  Even the title and the author name is generic (sorry Sandie Jones) I'm sure I've read a lot of psychological thrillers like this.  You know that ones where the bad guy could be anyone, and there is definitely a *SPOILER ALERT* big twist or some misunderstanding.  This one book just hangs along the with the rest of them and does not really rise above.

Emily met the man of her dreams.  Adam seems to be the perfect man. His brother James is also perfect (maybe too perfect) but his mother Pammie is the mother in law from hell.  And he seems unhealthily attached to her.  But Emily is never really sure that her Pammie is actually being horrible.  Everyone seems to think she is wonderful.  What  is up with all that?

Like I said above, it is a serviceable psychological thriller and it is a function of the genre that they must be compulsively readable, even if just to confirm if your theory is correct.  In that sense, it is a success.  However, I think it fails in giving is a heroine that is fully characterized.  Her characterization is very superficial.  I know nothing of her except that her ex fiance cheated on her and she is super in love with Adam.  And she makes some fairly stupid choices.  But I do appreciate that unlike most books like this, her bestfriends and her family completely believe her, even when her assertions seem paranoid at times.  So that's a plus.  Makes it less frustrating to read. Anyway, it's not bad for what it is, just a bit forgettable.

CBR 13 # 9 No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

Osamu Dazai is an esteemed author of classical Japanese literature, but he was a troubled man in real life.  Like a lot of classical Western authors, he squandered his money on alcohol and prostitutes, and ultimately, died by suicide at a relatively young age.  The tortured genius thing is not just a Western trope, I guess.

This book, his last before his death, is purported to be fiction, but is almost biographical in how the beats of the story reflect his real life.  So maybe it is the truest explanation of who he was or how he saw himself.

The novel follows the life of Obo Yozo, from his boyhood in the countryside to his time in college, and his various self destructive and just plain destructive "adventures".  From a very young age, he has felt like he could not relate to, could not connect with and was deathly afraid of other people.  Of people finding out his real self.  So he covers it up by being a clown, a perfectly amiable person who hides his true self.  His true self, which he sees it is not being completely human.  Or not qualified to be human. The effort of keeping this mask on eventually becomes too much and leads him to spiral, bringing others down with him.

It is an engrossing and interesting book.  The soul baring was at times intense.  Days after having read it, I still find myself parsing out and analysing how I think of it.  What my opinion of the book and the protagonist is.  At times, I find myself empathizing deeply, for who has not put up a mask and felt othered.  I feel so sad for Yozo, and by extension, the author.    But then, I have spent too much of my life associating with damaged men and being collateral damage that I feel anger bubbling up.  So, in the end, I guess it does what good literature is supposed to do.  It makes you feel and think, it challenges, it provokes.

CBR 13 # 8 Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

*WARNING, THERE MIGHT BE SPOILERS.  NOT REALLY MAJOR ONES, BUT IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BEFORE READING THE BOOK, SKIP THE REVIEW 

I read three Lisa Jewell books in succession more than ten years ago.  They just seemed to pop up a lot in my  favourite second hand book store.  From what I remember, they were more or less "chick lit", some twists but mostly focused on romance.  They were light, fast reads, and I liked them but was not totally wowed by them.  But I do remember, that she had the ability to write infuriating characters that you're still interested in.  

After all these years of not keeping up with her work, I was surprised to find that she seemed to have branched off to a more thriller/suspense/mystery genre.   Those kinds of books with twists that got ubiquitous after the success of Gone Girl.

15-year old Ellie was a golden girl, with the perfect boyfriend.  Favored by her mother, with a bright future ahead of her.  Then she disappears..  Ten years later, her mother Lauren,is living an unsatisfying life, divorced, barely having a relationship with her two remaining children and still desperately wanting to know what happened to her beloved girl.  Then Ellie's body is finally found.  This seems to Lauren some measure of closure and opers her up to a handsome single father she meets at a coffee.  She is the happiest she has ever been in 10 years.  Until she meets his 9 year old daughter.  Who looks exactly like Ellie.  What happens next is the unravelling of the mystery of what happened to Ellie.  But along the way, our protagonists learns some things about herself, her grief, and her family.

Like all the other Lisa Jewell books I've read, this sure is a page turner.  She also still knows how to write annoying and flawed but ultimately relatable characters.

The twists and crimes are dark, but they somehow have a lighter feel.  It just didn't seem as grim and dark as say a Gillian Flynn or Tana French book. There is a little bit of Lovely Bones feel.  I liked that the family relationship was a big part of the resolution of the book.  As a thriller, it was not really that thrilling.  It was more of a mystery.  Unfortunately, I could make out the twists pretty early on, but that did not really damp my enjoyment too much.  It is quick and engrossing read.

CBR 13 # 7 Beautiful Things by Hunter Biden

 I was not going to read this book, but then I heard Hunter Biden on WTF being interviewed by Marc Maron and I was.. intrigued.  They talked about his book of course, but some details were unclear to me and I felt that the timeline would be better understood (by me) when read.  But what really caught my attention was Maron saying that he was concerned or worried about Hunter still.  You could just feel Maron liking, relating to, and being very worried about him.  So, read the book, I did. 

The first part of the book relates, from Hunter's viewpoint, the well known tragedies of the Biden family.  The accident that took his mother and sister's life, which he barely remembers.  And Beau's death, which he can never forget.  This part, no matter if you've heard the story before, will make you cry.  Well, it made me cry.  

Then Hunter gives some background into his early life and marriage.  It is filled with the warning signs of addiction.  In early days, it was alcohol.  He was in and out of rehab.  Then the perilous descent when he got addicted to crack.  This story is grimy and harrowing.  And if you have ever loved someone with an addiction, very triggering.  His years long bender finally ends when he meets and falls in love with his present wife.

The writing is serviceable, the timeline was cleared up for me.  Hunter offers in this book a confession, or explanations.  To how he became a board member of Burisima, how he got together with Hallie, and other questionable things.  He is defensive about his qualificationsm at times angry.  I am left unsure of how to feel about him as person.  I am unsure about the sustainability of his sobriety.  But of this, I am sure.  His love for his brother was true.  And Joe Biden is a loving father.

CBR 13 # 6 - Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

 

In Oklahoma during the1920s, oil was pouring out from the ground and the Osage were being killed. Especially the wealthy ones.  The book follows events of how the Osage tribe were driven out of their homes, settled in Oklahoma, and became the richest tribe.  Then it moves on to how many of them were systematically, yes, systematically, killed for their oil wealth.  Then the ensuing investigation and how it tied to the founding of the FBI by J. Edgar Hoover.

The book primarily focuses on the cases related to Mollie Burkhart and her family, as well as Henry Roan.  But it also provides a good historical background on the Osage tribe and how they came to own so much oil rich land.  There is a lot of Western color with the oil barons, cattle rustlers, bootleggers, bank robbers and sheriffs.  It also gives an overview of how the case of the Osage killings were instrumental in the birth and success of the FBI.  On the FBI side, the main character and one of the few good white men in the book is Tom White, who was assigned to the Osage murder cases and was instrumental in bringing the perpetrators (some of them) to justice.

The book was infuriating to read and I wasn't so sure I could finish it at first.  It was hard to read how colonialism and white supremacy led to so much oppression, both through legal and illegal means.  Maybe it is my country's history of being colonized by basically everybody that leads me to empathize so much, or maybe I'm just a normal non shitty human being.  In any case, the first part of the book made my blood pressure rise.  The last part, on the other hand, when it moves to the present time and the author connects with the descendants of the victims, brought me to tears.

It is a really good book.  Necessary if you are an American.  On another note, I am excited to watch the upcoming film based on the book.

 

CBR 13 # 5 Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

 

In this post-apocalyptic novel, there is not single earth shattering apocalyptic event.  Instead, there is just a gradual breakdown of society brought about by climate change, corporate greed and social inequality (all interrelated anyway).    Lauren Olamina is a relatively privileged teenager living in a small walled enclave.  She's privileged in that she has a home, her father still has a job with a salary, and she knows how to read and write.  This is not much, but compared to the thousands, or maybe millions of homeless poor outside a few walled enclaves, this is a lot.  Their community is small and there are some unlikeable characters, but they are close and have not yet succumbed to the barbarism, looting and killing outside the walls.  Lauren's father is a preacher, a professor and the leader of their community.  She has a stop mother and little brothers, a boyfriend, and friends.  But she has some ideas that go beyond the confines of their walls, and a debilitating condition that she keeps secret, and that makes her different.

The novel has a before and after.  Before is the setting up of the world, and the preparations leading up to the destruction of Lauren's community.  The after is Lauren's  and some other survivors' travels to find a safe haven.  A running theme towards the whole journey, from the before and the after, is Lauren's development of a religion that she hopes will guide them into making a life on the destroyed earth, and take their descendants to the stars.

It has been quite a while since I last read a book until 4AM.  Age and eye problems prevented me from doing that.  But this one, I could not put down.  There are a lot of ideas and events that seem to be applicable of prescient to American society these days.  There is certainly a lot of commentary on the black experience.  But not being from there, i don't feel I'm very qualified to talk about it.  I think I learned a lot, and it offered a good perspective.  On the other hand, the story also works purely as a post-apocalyptic adventure, a genre that I am very partial to.  It is very dark and there is a lot of death and some gore.   Considering how much of a post-apocalyptic, speculative fiction fan I am, I am ashamed to admit that this is my first Octavia Butler read. I am excited to read the sequel and all her other books.  Suggestions as to the next one?

CBR # 4 - The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan (aks The Fug Girls)

I think I have mentioned in numerous comment diversions and facebook threads that I came to Pajiba by way of  GoFugYourself (by way of thefashionspot, by way fansofrealitytv by way of watching america's next top model on youtube).  Needless to say, I have  a soft spot for The Fug Girls.  I don't read the blog anymore because I can't with the interface, but I have read some of their books, which are breezy, light and fun (as far as I can remember them).

The Heir Affair is the sequel to their 2015 book The Royal We.  That book was a quite transparent Will and Kate fantasy with Kate as an American, and a lot more down to earth.  My problem when reading book two, was that I had read The Royal We 5 years ago, and my memory is not it.  So, I had forgotten the specifics of the ending and the side characters, which made it a bit frustrating for me at first.  But the book is not high literary fiction, so things do get explained and recaps are done so it wasn't really THAT confusing.  

This book starts with Will and Kate (not their book names, but whatever) running away from the Harry (the heir's younger brother)-Kate related scandal.  But the Queen is sick (or so they say), so they come back to face the music, and their royal duties. 

The book was long and kinda meandering, but not in a totally bad way.  There was no sense of urgency to the plot and it understandably focuses less on romance.  I think this is because they are already married and it has been established that they love each other and are in it for the long haul.  So the story is more about coming to terms with their life and dealing with frayed interpersonal relationships, especially between the couple and Harry.  Like I said, it's not a bad thing.  I find these long reads covering long periods of time strangely comforting.  But there are a few plot twists and choices that made me go WHAAAT.  There is definitely some soap opera stuff going on. Plus, I can't with Kate.  He's your husband's brother and you know he loves you, NO, you aren't allowed to have a "special" relationship with him!  I don't care if you love him as a friend.  All interactions should purely be within the sister-in-law realm.  Ugh.

Another struggle I have is that these characters are so obviously patterned after the real royals, at least in the initial book, that all the stuff going on with their real versions sort of intrude a little bit with my enjoyment of reading the book.  But, it is an enjoyable and soapy read.  Not world changing and a bit too wish fulfillment-y sometimes for my personal taste but overall worth your time if you're into this kinda thing.  

CBR 13 # 3 My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

From the first few paragraphs, the book instantly catches your attention.  I don't think it is a spoiler to say that our narrator's sister,is indeed a serial killer. The book opens with Ayoola calling Korede for help in cleaning up a mess -- a bloody mess.  They are sisters living in Lagos, Nigeria.  Our narrator is Korede, she is ordinary looking, fastidious and methodical. A hard worker.  She works as a nurse and is efficient but unfriendly.  In fact, her only confidante is a patient who is in a coma.  Ayoola, on the other hand, is beautiful, confident and manipulative.  She seemingly does nothing but collect boyfriends - and then eventually kill them.  Korede's bond with her sister leaves her with no choice but to clean up her messes, both literal and metaphorical.  Until Ayoola sets her sights on a doctor in Korede's hospital -- who Korede may be in love with.

It is a bit weird to say, since the subject is so dark, that the book was really quite enjoyable, and a quick read.  It is on the short side, page count wise, but aside from that, it is very readable and has its thrills.  This is not to say that it was all easy breezy.  There was an attempt to plumb the origins of Ayoola's (and Korede's lesser) dysfunctions, looking into their shared family trauma in particular, and Nigeria's patriarchal society in general.

I also enjoyed the opportunity to read about a setting that isn't usually used in fiction.  I have not had the opportunity to travel a whole lot outside my country and reading books set in far away (for me) places satiates that itch a bit for me.  It was rural Ireland in the last book I read ( The Searcher by Tana French) and now, Lagos, Nigeria.  

The ending was... a choice.  But I guess, that was the only choice that Korede thought she could make.

CBR 13 # 2 - The Searcher by Tana French

 In 2020, I was super excited to read a Tana French book I found in my (virtual) bookshelf that I thought I had not yet read.  To my disappointment, it was just one of her (in my opinion) lesser novels, that now, a mere one year later, I have forgotten the ending to again.  This time, I made sure that this wasn't a repeat.  EIther way, I'm sure that this would have been a memorable book because it is the most different from all other books I've read from her.

Instead of being set in the Dublin Murder Squad universe, this one is set in a far more rural place, and the main character is not Irish.  He is American.  Retired AMERICAN detective Cal Hooper moves to rural Ireland and spends his days repairing his dilapidated farmhouse, fishing, taking walks, and talking to his nosy neighbors.  Until he meets a kid (Trey) that would reel him back into a life, a calling that he was trying to leave behind. So Cal is one of those archetypal troubled detectives whose relationship was ruined because of work. He is a bit of boomer (though actually Gen X in age), but inherently kind with a strong moral code.  

I enjoyed the mystery itself, although it was not really that hard to figure it out.  The story moved slowly and I quite enjoyed that.  I enjoyed getting to know the side characters and the little town.  I particularly liked fierce little Trey and felt so sad for them by the end.  The book had some things to say about the poison that infects "charming" small towns where young people are leaving and moving up takes so much effort.  

All in all, this was an interesting and different sort of story from French's usual Murder Club mysteries.  I quite liked this one and I'm excited that I have one more stand-alone book by her that I haven't read yet. 

CBR 13 # 1 Piranesi

Piranesi lives in a house with many halls, with an Ocean trapped within. There are infinite statues, and birds and fish, and the remains of 13 people who had previously lived there. He lives in isolation save for the Other, who named him and spends one hour, twice a week with him, to talk of his scientific observations. The House is the only place Piransi knows, and he has lived there from the beginning of time. But the arrival of 16, as in the 16th person, would reveal that the Other, the House and even himself, are not what they seem.

The first few pages were a struggle for me. I have been in a years long reading funk (COVID anxiety and my stupid eyes) and I was reading the book trying to make and accurate map of the world in my mind, and it was tripping me up. Finally, I just let the peculiar language and descriptions wash over, to form a nebulous sense of the place, which, I found,  made itself clearer as I read further.

It would do a disservice to those who had not yet read the book to write more of the plot into this review, but that is not to say that the plot is the best thing about it. This book is so different from Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell (the author's first novel, which I also enjoyed immensely).  The first book was quite long, charming and wryly funny. Piranesi is slight, almost a novella.  It is narrated by Piranesi, through his detailed journals, and his writing is odd and formal but also dreamy, especially in the first part.  You will be taken in by his ingenuity, innocence and innate goodness.

I read the book as a meditation on isolation and loneliness, and the exquisite peace it sometimes brings.  But no matter the strength of the pull of isolation, the stronger need to connect with other people always wins out.  I really, really loved this book, and to be honest, I did not expect to be crying by the end, but I was.