Heart the Lover - Lily King

If you have memories of college romance and the way those early moments of youthful love can impact the rest of your life, then Heart the Lover will speak to you like it spoke to me. The college scenes of Sam, Yash and Casey (who is nicknamed Jordan by these two), are moving, sweet and believable. You can see the dinghy college rooms, the rumpled beds, the books all over the floor. As they mature and their personalities solidify, the pull of their college experiences shapes their future decisions. At times their actions gave me pause, but I was swept along by this story of friendship, creativity, and eventually forgiveness. 

The Doorman - Chris Pavone

The Doorman is kind of a thriller, but it is more a view of a classic old New York doorman building and the wealthy who reside there. Described as a pulse-pounding novel of class, privilege, sex, and murder, to me it was more of a character study of the mixed bag of owners at The Bohemia whose lives intertwine in uncomfortable ways. There is a mystery at the core, but it was more fun to read it as a view of New York privilege, coupled with the lives of those working at the building and the backdrop of New York today. A fast, fun, read. 

Mercy - Joan Silber

In the three Joan Silber novels I've read she links together the lives of her character through thin threads that connect one to the other. In Mercy, some of the links are unexpected, but each life works both as a piece of the larger whole and as an individual tale. Starting with Ivan and a drug induced mishap gone awry, each character has regrets, but each is also enmeshed in a full life. Mercy is a facile book that swiftly carries you from one story to the next. While I may not have been always moved by each character, I certainly stayed interested. If non-linear is your thing, give Mercy a try.  

Bitter Sweet - Hattie Williams

Not my usual thing, but not a bad read. Charlie, a young woman working in publishing, becomes involved with Richard, a much older, successful author. Much angst ensues. Charlie is a little too innocent for my taste, Richard a little too entitled. But, Charlie does have some depth, and it was her insights into her own behavior that kept me reading. It's not really frothy, but if you like coming of age, May-December romance novels, this could be your thing. 

So Far Gone - Jess Walter

 

An entertaining quick read. Although there is a some violence, I thought of this novel as one of happenstance. As troubles pile up on Rhys Kinnick, who has been living off the grid in the woods for seven years, the fact that he has been out of touch for so long catches up with him. In the search for his daughter, he realized that he may have been mistaken. You can never really forget your family. 

The Lover -- Marguerite Duras

A year for classics. Another book I read because it was recommended by my mom. I am surprised. Something this dark is not her usual type of read. Set in Vietnam in the 1920's, the autobiographical story of a French family, is told as a remembrance of the author. The novel centers around the affair Duras has as a 15 year old girl with a wealthy Chinese son of a businessman. Her family is poor, her mother psychologically damaged, and her two brothers are sketchy and complicated. Vietnam is a difficult place to be young, poor, and white. There is a lot of pain to go around here. 

Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf

I  remember reading Mrs. Dalloway when I was in college and loving the story. Now, 100 years after publication, Virginia Woolf's masterpiece is still an affirmation of life. As Clarissa Dalloway's day unfolds, the sounds, smells, and atmosphere of London washes over her. The many characters entering the story, some related to Clarissa and her impending party, and others acting out their own sad tales on the periphery, all teem with energy and tension. It amazed me how much sensation of living Woolf could squeeze into this single, swirling day. I loved it again. 

Heartwood - Amity Gaige

 

A quick missing person mystery set in Maine on the Appalachian Trail. When Sparrow, or Valerie Gillis, disappears while hiking the trail, it is assumed she'll be located soon. But, as the search goes on for days, we get to know not only Valerie, but those looking for her, those missing her, those who hiked along side her, and those who are conjecturing as to her whereabouts. Beverly, the Game Warden, leads the search; while her parents and partner await her return. In the background, Lena is communicating online with a young man who may know her whereabouts from her room at an assisted living facility. I was in the mood for a mystery, and this fit the bill.

The Emperor of Gladness - Ocean Vuong

The Emperor of Gladness is a compelling and intriguing novel that is kind of a magical realism mix of an emotional young man, a woman with dementia, a crew at a fast food restaurant, immigrants, a failing Connecticut town, and poor people.  Hai, the main character, is a naturally sweet, but a very unsettled guy. Drugs, family, college, and depression, keep him permanently on edge. The rest of the cast are also charming, although off-kilter. Vuong's writing is poetic and at times dreamy...to me, the language occasionally seemed to ask for more attention then the story when it reached for image over plot. On the whole, the story made me feel a little sad for how many people can easily get lost in our world.

You Can Never Die -- Harry Bliss

I love daily cartoons, and I really love Harry Bliss's daily cartoon, Bliss, and I am very fond of his dog Penny who is depicted in many of them. So, when I saw he had written a graphic memoir about the death of  his dog, I had to pick up a copy. Or course, being a memoir, You Can Never Die is about more then Penny. Bliss had a rough childhood, and dabbled with drugs, and his parents are more than a handful, but he draws beautifully. His memoir may be a little self-indulgent and slightly smug, but it's also sweet, honest and revealing. If you'd like to get inside the mind of a famous cartoonist and illustrator (New Yorker cartoonist, Steve Marin collaborator, picture book author, teacher and more), give it a whirl.