"Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls" by David Sedaris

Synopsis:  This is David Sedaris' latest book, a mixture of fiction and personal essays.  Here, Sedaris recounts the time he purchased a taxidermied owl for his partner, how he keeps a detailed diary of even the most mundane topics, his family quirks, including his father's affinity for Donny Osmond, and much more.

Review:  This book was okay, but definitely not great.  I like Sedaris' personal essays more than I enjoy his fiction and this book had too many fiction short stories for my taste.  I think that David Sedaris has begun to run out of material, which is understandable.  I wouldn't have enough interesting stories from my life for even a handful of essays and Sedaris has written several books, just about the kooky stuff that happens to him.  He is an excellent storyteller and I do enjoy his books, but this one was lackluster and almost redundant.

"Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald" by Therese Anne Fowler

Synopsis:  Seventeen-year-old Southern belle Zelda Sayre meets F. Scott Fizgerald, a young army lieutenant stationed in Alabama, at a country club dance.  She is young and reckless, but Zelda believes Scott when he tells her that he will make a career of writing and that fortune and fame await them.  Despite her father's disapproval, Zelda marries Scott and they begin their life in New York City.  Scott's novel, This Side of Paradise, becomes an instant hit and Zelda and Scott move to Paris where they join the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein.  Things seem so glamorous, between the wild parties, the exciting company, not to mention the drinking, but Zelda soon begins to struggle to find her own identity in a world defined by Scott's success.   

Review:  This novel is a great introduction to the lives of the famous Fitzgeralds.  Fowler most definitely did a lot of research and has accurately portrayed the characters here.  The book delves deeply into the collapse of Scott's marriage to Zelda and into the personal problems they each faced.  I liked it, but felt it moved too slowly through their time together.

Spoilers:  What a sad, sad story.  I think that not knowing much about the Fitzgeralds helped me to enjoy the story more because I'm not sure I would have picked up this book if I had known that their lives were both cut so short, and Zelda's in particular in such a horrendous manner.  I felt bad for both of them throughout this story, Scott for his alcoholism and Zelda for her physical and mental pains and for the fact that she never found a way to really express herself.  I had always imagined them to be such a vivacious young couple, but that part of their lives seemed short compared to the hard times of real anguish.  It was an interesting tale of bad things happening to undeserving people.

"Winter Garden" by Kristin Hannah

Synopsis:  Meredith and Nina are as different as sisters come.  Meredith has devoted her life to her husband and children and to managing the family business while Nina has grown up in wild locales as a photojournalist.  The sisters find themselves home again at the death bed of their beloved father beside their cold and unloving mother, Anya.  Their father's dying wish is that Anya tell her daughters the rest of the Russian fairy tale she used to share with them as children.  As the sisters listen carefully to Anya's story, they begin to see that Anya's fairy tale may hold clues to her own childhod in war-torn Leningrad.

Review:  I liked this book, but I despised Anya.  She is a cold, distant mother to her girls throughout their lives.  Her husband seems to be the only one that she has ever opened up to.  Readers will guess far before Meredith and Nina that Anya's fairy tale is indeed her life story, but can anything really justify a woman who shares no love with her children?  Both girls are struggling with their own intimacy issues because they grew up with a mother that seemed never to care for them.  It's an interesting story about a handful of unlikable people.

Spoilers:  I hated Anya even after her story was told.  What a terrible person.  I did not feel like her sad story justified the cold shoulder she gave her daughters.  I also felt it too contrived that not only did Anya's daughter survive the bomb, but that they all crossed paths with her at such an opportune time.  Almost instantly, Anya has a change of heart and wants to bond with her girls, but if I were her child, it would have been too little too late.  The book had great intentions, but never quite fulfilled its promise.

"Inferno (Robert Langdon #4)" by Dan Brown

Synopsis:  Robert Langdon is back in his fourth Dan Brown novel.  The novel starts with Langdon in a hospital room with no recollection of how he got there or why.  As he begins to look for answers, he finds his clues are related to Dante's most famous work, Inferno.  Langdon races through Europe against a frightening and powerful enemy in this exciting novel.

Review:  I can't review much here without giving something away.  Suffice it to say that this is an excellent book and while it's not quite up to snuff with previous Robert Langdon stories, if you like Dan Brown's previous novels, you are sure to enjoy this one.  

Spoilers:  This book was excellent fun from the first page.  Zobrist makes for a great bad guy here.  The idea of the overpopulation of Earth is an interesting topic.  It's clear Zobrist is a mad man, but who can really argue that we aren't on track to use all of our resources and cause mass extinction on our planet?  Aside for the drawn out escape over the Apotheosis (80 pages worth) this book moved along very quickly and I read it over several days.  I was expecting a twist, and was willing to believe that Jonathan Ferris was also a bad guy, but never saw that Sienna might have been in cahoots with Zobrist, although she did try to do the right thing in the end.  I was also surprised to discover that the bag had dissolved and released its plague before Langdon or anyone could stop it.  Even though the ending was not what I had anticipated, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I can't wait for Robert Langdon's next adventure!   

"The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery

Synopsis:  Renee is a concierge in a ritzy apartment building in the heart of Paris.  She pretends to be what everyone might expect from a concierge:  fat, cross, and obsessed with television.  In reality, she is an autodidact with deep love for art, philosophy, and Japanese film.  Living upstairs is Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius who has tired of this tedious life and plans to commit suicide on her thirteenth birthday.  Paloma and Renee befriend the building's new tenant, a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu, and he helps bring them together. 

Review:  The synopsis above details all of the plot in this book.  All of it.  Burberry's book, originally published in French, must be missing something in the translation.  There is very little plot, action, or much of anything in this book.  It's not an altogether terrible read and it does have its moments, but it waxes philosophical far too often for my taste.  The characters are interesting, but the story is threadbare.

"The Secret Keeper" by Kate Morton

Synopsis:  This exquisite novel begins with sixteen-year-old Laurel Nicolson hidden away in her treehouse, daydreaming.  Laurel witnesses a stranger approach her family home and speak quickly with her mother, Dorothy.  What happens next is so shocking that Laurel vows never to speak of it again.  Fifty years later, Laurel visits her dying mother and decides to look more deeply into the events leading up to that fateful day.  The story jumps between 1941 London, detailing young Dorothy's life during the Blitz, and 2011 as Laurel learns her mother's shocking secrets. 

Review:  I highly recommend this book!  After devouring Kate Morton's magnificent The Forgotten Garden (If you have not read it, what are you waiting for?!) I quickly picked up the somewhat disappointing The Distant Hours, and The House at Riverton.  Morton's books are fairly formulaic, alternating between past and present to solve some mystery, which usually involves conveniently finding someone's journal or stash of letters and old photographs.  The Secret Keeper follows the formula, but was fresh and exciting.  The plot moves quickly and its many twists and turns make for a real page-turner.  I could not put it down!  (In the interest of full disclosure, I was out sick with a high fever during the two days it took me to read this book, so that may or may not have influenced my impression.) 

Spoilers:  Wow, what a book!  As Dorothy's character was developing, I kept finding myself liking her less and less which was such a disappointment.  And then when it turned out that she and Vivien had never been friends and that Dorothy was living an elaborate fantasy, I was worried that things were getting too convoluted for a satisfactory ending, but I was wrong.  The story's twists and turns were excellent, but I admit I never saw the ending coming.  How incredible!  My sole complaint is that Laurel bumping into Jimmy's family was too contrived, but it did add to the conclusion.  

"The Paris Wife" by Paula McLain

Synopsis:  This is the true-to-life story of the love affair between Ernest Hemingway and his wife, Hadley Richardson.  Hadley, an unfashionable 29-year-old woman who'd all but given up on love, and Ernest, a handsome 21-year-old author, fall quickly for each other, marry, and move to Paris.  In Paris, they become involved with the so-called "Lost Generation" including Gertrude Stein, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.  Soon the young couple is swept up in the fast-moving lifestyle of the Jazz Age, while Ernest struggles to write what will become The Sun Also Rises.  Despite their deep connection, Hadley and Ernest find their love put to the ultimate test.

Review:  While I typically love a good historical fiction read, this book lacked substance and heart.  I found Hadley to be a bore and a bit naive.  Ernest, on the other hand, is a very believable character, despite being a bit deplorable.  It was interesting to read about the couple's time in Paris and to see their famous friends come to life.  The downside here is that there are so many characters that I found them difficult to keep straight.  McLain doesn't flesh out each character, assuming perhaps we know a bit about them from history, and it was often confusing.  As Hadley and Ernest's relationship begins to break down, Hadley wonders what went wrong, but she seems hesitant to act, which may just have been a sign on the times where women were prizes, not partners.

Spoilers:  Oh, Hadley, Hadley, Hadley.  How could you let your husband's mistress slip into bed with you and act as if nothing is happening?  Since Ernest Hemingway had four wives, I think it's fair to say that his wandering eye had nothing to do with his wife, but I still got tired of Hadley while reading this book.  This was a sad, sad story. 

"Honolulu" by Alan Brennert

Synopsis:  This is a sweeping historical fiction novel about a young girl born in Korea in the 1897.  She is nicknamed "Regret" by her parents, reflecting their disappointment in the birth of a daughter.  Regret is a curious girl who wants an education, but her father will not allow it.  When Regret hears of an opportunity to leave Korea for the beautiful island of Honolulu as a picture bride, she severs ties with her family and boards a ship headed for Hawaii.  Things in Honolulu with her new husband are definitely not as she expected and, renaming herself Jin, she sets out to make a life of her own despite the odds.  Along the way, she meets colorful characters and makes many lifelong friends.

Review:  This is an entertaining read for historical fictions fans.  The book deftly mixes historical figures into a fictional tale.  Honolulu was a much different place at the turn of the century than it is 100 years later and there is something to learn here for everyone.  Brennert brings Jin alive and readers will root for her through all her hardships.  The friends she makes along her journey are an enjoyable addition to Jin's story.  I liked this book, but I would recommend reading Brennert's Molokai if you have a choice between the two.

Spoilers:  I had not heard of Korean picture brides before reading this book and was saddened by all that they were falsely promised.  The life Jin was expected to live on the plantation with an abusive husband was tragic.  I was glad she was able to escape and make a new life for herself full of people who loved and supported her.  I really enjoyed how much of this book was made of real figures from history, many of whom I had never heard of before. 

"The Kitchen House" by Kathleen Grissom

Synopsis:  Seven-year-old Lavinia is orphaned while aboard a ship from Ireland.  Upon her arrival in the states, Lavinia is taken to live and work with the slaves on a tobacco plantation.  Despite her white skin, Lavinia becomes close with her surrogate slave family.  The story follows young Lavinia into adulthood, where she finds herself struggling to define her place in white society while maintaining ties to her beloved black family.

Review:  This book had promise (I couldn't put it down until I got halfway through), but it got so bogged down in its own melodrama, that it started to feel more like a soap opera.  Lavinia is the narrator for the better part of the book, but she is childish and naive to a fault and is cause of much of the heartache that this book is centered around (and, trust me, there is a lot of heartache here).  The characters that we are meant to love, namely those living and working in the kitchen house, are fleshed out nicely and readers will easily come to care for them.  However, the antagonists in the story are very flat characters.  They are solely bad people with bad thoughts whom  I could not relate to.  I've heard this book referred to as "realistic" and while I don't doubt that these awful things happened during slavery, I felt like this story was a compilation of the worst of the worst.

Spoilers:  This book was a rough one for me.  I like my literature to be a little more escapist and I tend to try to avoid books with themes on rape, incest, physical and emotional abuse, etc.  I felt bad for Lavinia at first, but quickly grew tired of her naivete.  There were too many instances in this book where one character could have prevented a horrible outcome for another.  I wished so dearly that Belle had made it clear to Lavinia why Will was coming to visit so that Lavinia never would have married Marshall.  I was disappointed that the book started with a grisly hanging and while I was glad that it wasn't Belle was was hanged, it was almost worse to find out it was Mama Mae.  What a heartbreaking book. 

"Peace Like a River" by Leif Enger

Synopsis:  This touching story of eleven-year-old Reuben Land and his family begins in Minnesota in the 1960's.  The Land family's lives are disrupted when two schoolyard bullies seek retribution against Reuben's widowed father, Jeremiah, who stumbled upon them and stopped them mid-assault.  Reuben's older brother, Davy, takes it upon himself to protect his family and shoots the bullies dead when they return to make trouble.  Reuben is the only witness to the crime and, despite wanting to clear his brother's name, gives a fairly incriminating account of events.  Realizing his chances at freedom are slim, Davy breaks out of jail and plans to live life on the lam.  Reuben, his father, and his precocious younger sister, Swede, load into an Airstream trailer and travel through the frozen Badlands of the Dakotas in search of Davy.  This poetic debut novel is a a tale of family, love, loyalty, romance, faith, and of miracles.  

Review:  I absolutely loved this remarkable book.  This is a heartwarming tale of family devotion, but also a study of the price of doing the right thing.  Did Davy do the right thing by protecting his family or is there no good excuse for a violent act like the one he committed?  Should Reuben tell the truth and condemn his brother or lie and condemn himself?  Jeremiah's strong faith guides many of the family's choices.  This is an interesting book that raises many important questions.  The characters are realistic and even the moments of unexplainable magic in the story are believable as seen through young Reuben's eyes.  Readers will fall in love with the Land family and will be anxious to see the story through to its end.  It's a great adventure story about what happens when familial bonds and loyalties are tested.  If you read this book for no other reason than the beautiful prose (Enger could write about paint drying and make it into a masterpiece, I'm certain), then you'll be satisfied.