Review 616: A Gorgeous Excitement

A Gorgeous Excitement by Cynthia Weiner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Maybe a beach read?

Summer 1986, in New York City. Nina Jacobs, is working various temp jobs before starting college, and hopes to lose her virginity before leaving.

This place of New York City almost becomes a character. Nina meets a new friend in Central Park and they hit it off right away, and she introduces her to cocaine, for a gorgeous excitement. Nina is also dealing with her mentally ill mother, unwanted sexual attention, such as the smarmy hugs the doorman always gives, and yet hoping to snag Gardner as her first. Plus, what's going on with her childhood friends, not feeling so friendly towards her lately.

There is a lot going on in the novel, which kept it interesting.

Short notes here, perhaps more later....

Review 220: Friends from Home

Friends from Home by Lauryn Chamberlain
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



The first few chapters of this book felt like this was going to be a light read with the main character shocked her childhood friend was getting married. Jules/Julie is in New York working in publishing and trying to make her way while Michelle, her friend since age 8, still in Alabama just announced her upcoming wedding. These two friends are on different tracks and the book focus is on friendships and meaning and what happens when the two people seem to want different things in life, or at least at a different pace.

As the book and story develops, there becomes a deeper dive into the meaning of friendships and even touching on love, relationships, and more.

The book will likely appeal more with people in their mid-twenties, particularly women. Yet anyone who reads this book will find themselves giving thoughts to their childhood friends, how their relationship and changed and evolved through the years.


Thanks to Dutton Books/Penguin Group and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 123: The Fortress of Solitude

The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I picked this book up due to the title…seemed appropriate for the times we are living through right now with social distancing, some people are holed up in solitude in their homes. I’m lucky to have another human with me.

The title of this book comes from the comic books, Superman and his Fortress. Comics are one of the underlying themes, as a young boy our main character Dylan Ebdus connects with other young neighbor boys with comics. When Dylan is slightly older he comes across a real life super-hero, who also is homeless and a drunk. He gives Dylan the ring that allowed him to fly as Aeroman.

Music is another theme throughout the book, with Dylan’s best friend Mingus Rude whose dad was a singer, Barrett Rude Junior. Music haunts Dylan when the song by Wild Cherry came out Play that funky music (white boy) came out. The backdrop is Dean Street, in Brooklyn that Ebdus is one of very few white families in the neighborhood. Being thrown into public school he was one of two or three white kids in each school he attended. Yes race is an important theme here too, how could it not. Later when Dylan is an adult he is a music critic.

There were a few quirks to the book, like the characters names were nearly always written out in full, each time. The separation from reality is where I always have difficulty with books. Without going into deep analysis of the book, why it was necessary, I’d like to say instead that it was not, that the book would be better without. Yet it did give the story momentum, occasional purpose, and the book title does call out to the superhero genre.

The book is long, yes overly long for me. I was relieved to finish reading it. There are good parts within, enough that it keep me going. Most of the book is taken with Dylan growing up, and when he became an adult it felt like the book was slipping, not quite as interesting. The final portion does help wrap up the story, closes a few loops. In the end, I'm just happy it's done and over.

READING PROGRESS

March 22, 2020 – Started Reading

March 23, 2020 – 

page 8

 

 1.57% "barely started. this book has been sitting around my bookshelves since 2004 and picked it up, finally, since the title seemed appropriate for the current situation right now. no idea what I'm getting into, other than it's a long book."

March 25, 2020 – 

page 54

 

 10.57%

March 27, 2020 – 

page 76

 

 14.87%

March 28, 2020 – 

page 96

 

 18.79%

March 30, 2020 – 

page 183

 

 35.81%

March 31, 2020 – 

page 197

 

 38.55%

April 1, 2020 – 

page 233

 

 45.6%

April 2, 2020 – 

page 275

 

 53.82%

April 3, 2020 – 

page 300

 

 58.71%

April 5, 2020 – 

page 321

 

 62.82%

April 6, 2020 – 

page 349

 

 68.3%

April 7, 2020 – 

page 366

 

 71.62% "now our main character is an adult, and my enjoyment of the book is lessening."

April 8, 2020 – 

page 393

 

 76.91%

April 9, 2020 – 

page 406

 

 79.45%

April 12, 2020 – 

page 426

 

 83.37%

April 13, 2020 – Finished Reading

Review 59: We Are All Good People Here

We Are All Good People Here by Susan Rebecca White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an enjoyable book that spans two generations.

First we are firmly placed in the South in the early 60’s then slowly go through the years. At some points many years are jumped. The book is about two friends, Daniella and Eve, who meet in college as roommates, and quickly become best friends. We end up in the early 1990's.

Their friendship and lives are shown through the changing of racial prejudice and attitudes. The Vietnam war is important for a while as well. The girls want society to change and as Eve was the most naive about the prevailing situations she also became the most dedicated.

Overall the book was decent, but sometimes I felt it was too ambitious for the scope. There are moments of detail, of specific situations, but they are fleeting and brief, and may not have been the best scenes to highlight. Perhaps I’m someone who enjoys generational novels to be longer and more in depth. This is not the first book that bothered me in this way, seemingly too cursory.

Also, the book has several characters (not just Eve) changing their fundamental beliefs rather easily. It didn’t help me with the believable factor.

The book for me was a solid 3.5 stars, rounded up.


Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review 18: The River

The River by Peter Heller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a wild ride. The book starts out slow enough, but soon you know things are going to go amiss for these two good friends taking a long summer to paddle through lakes and a river to the Hudson Bay. The first major sign is the smell of smoke. After climbing up a tree to get a look they discover there is a massive forest fire that will become a problem for them. Soon after they run into another couple of guys taking it easy, with whiskey and a motor on their small craft. It makes you wonder if the book is going into a deliverance type direction. But it keeps shifting.

That is what surprised me most about this book, it kept shifting like a river might. You suspect on thing is going to happen, or where this going, then it changes. There is definite action and a little suspense, but this is mainly a thoughtful book. With very little dialogue between the two friends, Wynn and Jack, they are both meditative. We get most information from thoughts in their heads.

One problem I did have with the book is the two main characters are hard to differentiate at first, since the book shifts point of view frequently. It's disorientating at times, particularly when you are trying to learn about who is Jack and Wynn. I was a good way in before I really could distinguish their different personalities and backgrounds, which is why the book rating went down slightly for me. Despite that this was a good book. I could see myself reading it again, now that I know the full story. It's one of those books you can re-read. A mark of a good book.


Thanks to Knopf Publishing and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.