The Left and the Lucky -- Willy Vlautin

Some may consider Willy Vlautin's The Left and the Lucky heartbreaking and bleak, but it is also compassionate, generous, and above all loving. 8 year old Russell, and his neighbor, the 40 something year old house painter Eddie, live in rainy and cold Portland Oregon. Russell's family is a disaster. Eddie is lonely, with a sad backstory. As their lives intertwine, their connection strengthens. Vlautin makes us ask what is a family and what is of value. I cried in the middle of this story, but not at the end. I loved Vlautin's last novel, The Horse, and I give The Left and the Lucky five stars too. 

Down Time -- Andrew Martin

 

Before I read Andrew Martin's novel Down Time, I read an article in The Atlantic that compared the characters to the annoying bunch on Seinfeld. Since I love Seinfeld and have watched the show over and over, the novel intrigued me. Lily Meyer's review was correct; Malcolm, Aaron, Cassandra and Antonia, are all irritating, but also oddly engrossing. 

Down Time is set before, during and after Covid. The foursome are 30 somethings who all have problems. They are all entitled and somewhat obnoxious. Still, somehow Andrew Martin draws you in and keeps you interested in their lives. There is alcoholism, lack of ambition, sexual escapades and ambiguity, and lots of self-absorption. I felt kind of guilty wanting to read about these folks. I didn't really like any of them, but I couldn't put the book down. 

I am perplexed by my reaction to their stories. I know we  have had discussions about unlikeable characters. If anyone else reads this, I'd like to know if you also found yourself following the characters lives with interest, mixed with a feeling of distaste. If so...you might also be a Seinfeld fan.

Here is The Atlantic review: https://www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/03/down-time-andrew-martin-pandemic-novel-review/686455/

Transcription -- Ben Lerner

When I finished Transcription I said to my husband "That was an odd book, odd and interesting." Revolving around time, family, mentors, and technology, Lerner's brief work is dreamlike, and at the same time intellectual. Lerner divides his story into 3 distinct sections. Each could stand as a novella on it's own. I read several interviews with Lerner before I read Transcription, so I knew what to expect. Even so, I was surprised by the somewhat distant tone, and taken in by the love of the characters for their families and for each other. I can understand what all the fuss is about. Lerner makes you think.

The Things We Never Say - Elizabeth Strout

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I read Elizabeth Strout's new novel The Things We Never Say in a whoosh. That is not my normal reading style, but I was swept away. It was not because the story is beautiful, but it is so sad, wry, and spare, that I just couldn't put it down. Artie Dam loves his family, his students, and sailing, although there is something inside of him pulling him down. How low he will go, and how far he will rise is what carries the story along. For me Strout can write introspection like no one else. If bittersweet is your thing, you'll be blown away. 

Whidbey - T Kira Madden

Whidbey by T Kira Madden is a mesmerizing debut novel that is incredibly tough, multi-layered and disturbing. It is a story of child sexual abuse, but also part mystery, and somehow also part madcap. This is a hard book to talk about since the main subject is the ramifications of abuse, but I can say that the weaving together of pain, murder and humor is incredibly masterful. 

Madden, the author, grew up in Boca Raton. The story takes place on Whidbey Island, Washington, and in a mix of bedraggled Florida towns along Lake Okeechobee. The large cast of character are misfits with complex backgrounds and motivations. Madden's portrayals of place and person are deeply descriptive and powerful. I was particularly blown away by a dive bar on Lake O. 

If you can handle the subject matter, you are in for quite a read. I was expecting a mystery, but Whidbey is much, much more.  

Kin -- Tayari Jones

Niecy and Annie are "cradle friends." Two motherless babies that remain friends for their lives. Tayari Jones writes beautifully, and their story is interesting, but it did not captivate me. I was sympathetic to Niecy and Annie's plights and I liked the alternating chapters and the view of Black life in the 1950s and 1960s in Atlanta and the rest of the South, but I was not quite able to connect. The themes of love, friendship and kinship are all moving, and the story pulled on my heartstrings at times, I just wish I was able to feel closer to their inner selves. 

The Rest of Our Lives - Ben Markovits

The Rest of Our Lives is a family story, a road trip novel, and an illness memoir that Ben Markovits pulls together surprisingly well. When Tom takes his daughter Miri to college he veers from his everyday life. One moment he plans on returning home, but then he keeps driving. He has been contemplating leaving his wife, and his job is on pause, so the open road beckons. Heading from Pittsburg to his son's home in Los Angeles, old friends, pickup basketball games and illness find a place on his journey. Markovits has explained how his own experience with cancer shaped this story (see NY Times story https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/books/review/ben-markovits-illness-fiction.html?unlocked_article_code=1.PlA.X7vg.oEZ5z7seTOdJ&smid=url-share), which gives his book an interesting perspective of fiction as memoir. Tom is kind of a nerd, which made this novel surprisingly moving. It's a brief tale with a lot of heart. 

Wild Dark Shore - Charlotte McConaghy

It's been a long time since I read such a page-turner, and when the genre is climate fiction, that is quite the accomplishment. Wild Dark Shore takes place on fictional Shearwater Island, a remote and wild place place not far from Antarctica. The Salt family has been caretaking the island and a seed vault there for several years. As the sea and weather encroach to reclaim the island, the story of the Salt's and those they encounter spirals into a mystery. There is the woman who washes ashore, there are the missing researchers, and there is grief, joy and pain. Mesmerizing...full of the beauty and wrath of nature, and the humanity that clings alongside. 

Evelyn in Transit: David Guterson

A meandering, kind of aimless story, of a misfit and her son, and a Tibetan monk. I loved Snow Falling on Cedars by Guterson, but this is nothing like that. I guess it's a tale of spiritual seeking that could be read as interconnected fables, although the characters made me work at understanding their motivations. There is humor and poignancy to their journeys, which did help carry me along, but on the whole it was somewhat of a slog. 

When the Cranes Fly South - Lisa Ridzén

A quiet Swedish novel of an aged man examining his life as he nears its end. Bo has lost the life he knew as his wife has been afflicted with dementia and now lives in a home. As his days slip away with his caregivers, his dog Sixteen gives him comfort, along with his work friend Ture. His relation with his son Hal is more fraught. On the whole, this was a moving novel of family, aging, love, and friendship.