Book Blog: September and October 2023
Well goodness — September and October passed in a flash, including two weeks in Europe on a family vacation(!), so I decided to combine these months together from a book blog perspective so I could finish my trip recap post as well. Time on planes and resting in hotel rooms makes for some good reading time, and with a larger set of books — 26 in all! — , here are my favorite reads of the fall.
Fiction
The Marriage Portrait (Maggie O’Farrell): This book was *phenomenal* and I couldn’t put it down! Daughter of a duke, Lucrezia is forced to be married very young (at fifteen) to another duke to cement alliances in Italy. Told in alternating chapters from the current day to the past, as a reader we’re trying to determine why Lucrezia’s life is in danger and how she could possibly escape it. The plot twists continue to the end. O’Farrell is a master of this genre.
Pyramid (Henning Mankell): So you might be tired of seeing me fan-girl over Wallender, but… WOW! Wallender short stories were much better than I anticipated, and they lead up to the very moment when the series begins in Book 1. I have appreciated Wallander’s character arc, and I loved learning about the cases and people that shaped him, as well as how he related to his wife, daughter, and father before we are introduced to him. Mankell is such an absorbing writer, even in short form!
Summer Sisters (Judy Blume): How in the world did I miss this Judy Blume book? It follows the story of best friends Victoria (Vix) and Caitlin as they spend summers together in Martha’s Vineyard, a lifetime away from Vix’s family. As time continues, Vix continues to mature but Caitlin is a classic summer child, never really settling down and never really finding happiness. The book opens with Caitlin asking Vix to attend her wedding, so from go we are curious as to what drove them apart. This is Blume at her best, but certainly an adult novel and not for kids.
The Book of Lost Names (Kristin Harmel): I literally couldn’t put down this book because it was so invigorating and exciting (and it didn’t hurt that it was set in Paris and I was reading it in Paris!). It follows a young Jewish woman named Eva who has to flee Paris in 1942 because of the Nazi occupation. What started as a chance to escape turned into a calling — forging documents, primarily for Jewish children who needed to escape to Switzerland. Based on true stories of brave citizens, it’s impossible not to root for the French Resistance, even though you know the odds are against them.
The Thursday Murder Club (Richard Osman): This was a super-sweet English country mystery set in a retirement community and chock-full of quirky British characters. As many other reviewers have noted, it is a cute, easy-to-read mystery, and I suppose I am a bit more forgiving as Osman needs to introduce all of the characters for what has already become a 4-book series. I appreciated that there was enough motion to keep me going, but I do wish the pace at the beginning matched the faster pace at the end. All in all, I’m looking forward to continuing this series to see what the Thursday Murder Club members do next!
Non-Fiction
Being Mortal (Atul Gawande): This is one of the most impactful non-fiction books I’ve ever read, at once uplifting and heart-wrenching to consider. Dr. Gawande brings to light the challenges of the dying and how our modern model of medicine — prolong life at all costs, keep trying treatments — might not serve everyone. Throughout the book we follow his father’s story, a personal journey of supporting his family through diagnosis and the aftermath. These are the hardest possible conversations to have, this book, like When Breath Becomes Air, should be required reading to expand our hearts and prepare us to face these challenges — in ourselves or others — with deep compassion and care.
Inside Qatar (John Mcmanus): This book was fascinating and dug deeper than some of the mass media narratives about Qatar during the World Cup. McManus immerses himself in Doha and surrounds, learning about this society that isn’t what it seems. Because of class, gender, and race segregation, he works hard to gather perspectives (almost all male save a few female domestic workers) that lay out a country that is exploitative of most foreigners (only 11% of the people are Qatari, and Qatari citizenship is virtually impossible to gain if you’re not born into a Qatari family), consumes the most energy per capita in the world, and is lost in a fog of oil wealth. Even though the chapters were relatively episodic, this book read very quickly and it was quite a treat to read.
So now that we’re in the best month of the year (*cough* birthday month *cough*), I’m excited for more reading curled up with Sergio and Astrix and a strong end to the reading year!
Cheers, S
