Amity and Sorrow by Peggy Riley

“She didn’t know that preparing for the end of the world would make it that much more likely to come.”

Amaranth is the first of the fifty wives of the prophet, and mother of two daughters, Amity and Sorrow.  Sorrow is the eldest and holds a special place at their temple.  She is the oracle, the one who transmits the word of God to the congregation.  Amity is the younger sister, less zealous and sweeter tempered, with a gift for healing.

The children don’t go to school, don’t know their address, don’t know how to read, don’t know anything not decreed by the prophet.  This ignorance is encouraged as a way of keeping the group off the radar of outside society, who might object and attempt to intervene, especially when it comes to the children.

But the prophet’s behavior is increasingly erratic, and a police officer does come knocking at the door.  The ensuing confrontation spins out of control and Amaranth, fearing for their lives, takes a car and flees with her children.

It takes all Amaranth’s courage to leave, and she is haunted by the feeling that the prophet is in pursuit.  She is unused to the outside world, not to mention driving, and soon crashes in the area of Oklahoma known as no man’s land.  There they are offered refuge by Bradley, a struggling farmer, and Dust, his ward.

Amaranth struggles to rebuild a life for her family.  This is a hard task, complicated even more by Sorrow’s fury at being forced to leave the only home she’s ever known.  She is determined to return to what she knows is her rightful place as a religious leader and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve this, no matter the consequences.

The resulting struggle between Amaranth and Sorrow is primal and riveting.  Amity is caught in the middle, which turns out to be a dangerous place.

This is not an easy story, but I found its depiction of life within a cult gripping and memorable.  Peggy Riley’s writing is lean and evocative.  The narrative switches back and forth between the present day and flashbacks of how Amaranth came to join the prophet and what finally made her leave.  The wonder of Amity at the outside world is beautifully conveyed.  The portrait of the world of Amaranth and the prophet gives the reader a taste of a world with few familiar moorings.  A memorable story of faith and redemption.

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Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

Pearl and May Chin are two of the “Beautiful Girls” of Shanghai in the 1930s. They live the life of the fortunate upper class, going from party to party in the evenings.  They are recognized by many because they have posed for calendars, so their beautiful faces are everywhere in Shanghai.  One day their world comes crashing down when they find out that their father has gambled away his fortune.  To get out of debt he has sold them as wives to Chinese men who live in America.  

Lisa See tells the journey of Pearl and May to America and their lives after they arrive in Shanghai Girls.  The journey is long and difficult due to the Japanese invasion of China. The girls lose their mother during this journey and arrive in California alone and devastated.  There they meet their future husbands who are not at all what they expected.  Pearl and May manage to build a life in California despite all that has happened to them.

Dreams of Joy continues the story but focuses on Pearl’s daughter, Joy.  Joy’s childhood in southern California was very different from what her mother experienced in Shanghai. When tragedy strikes the family, she reacts badly and her rebellion takes a drastic and potentially fatal turn.  Joy is convinced that the Communist Revolution in China is a wonderful new experiment and she runs away to China without telling anyone.  Pearl soon follows to try and bring her back. 

Many people were upset at the ending of Shanghai Girls because it really left you hanging.  Happily, the story is now finished so everyone is able to read the whole saga without interruption.  I really enjoyed both books, but was particularly moved by Dreams of Joy.  Joy’s experiences in China during the 1950s were fascinating, although dreadful. I had heard some about the “Great Leap Forward” of the communist government, but I had no idea of the extent of suffering in China at that time.  The book gave me glimpse into a culture I knew little about. 

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Forgotten Country by Catherine Chung

The Korean peninsula has inspired some great novels recently, including The Ginseng Hunter by Jeff Talarigo, a poetic and harrowing portrayal of life on the border between China and North Korea, Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin (previously blogged), and The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson. Each gives varied views from within the Korean culture.

Now Catherine Chung has written an engrossing story of two sisters born in South Korea, who come with their parents to Michigan as young girls, grow up, and move out into their own lives. There are family secrets between the sisters and between parents and children, which create tension as the story unfolds. Janie, the elder sister, was cautioned to protect Hannah when she was born because sisters can “disappear” (one family secret) and she takes this seriously. Hannah, studying in Chicago, suddenly goes missing and Janie and parents panic.

Eventually Janie traces Hannah to California and informs her that their father is ill, Mom and Dad have sold their home and are returning to Korea for treatment, but Hannah needn’t come: she isn’t needed. Older sister is very conflicted about telling this untruth, but wants revenge for the pain Hannah has put them all through. Meanwhile Hannah has her own painful secret from childhood which she thinks Janie knows about but has ignored.

In Korea, the beloved father receives alternative treatment, seems to improve, and Janie learns more about her parents and why they left Korea from the stream of visiting family and friends. When Hannah arrives, an uneasy truce settles over the sisters as they and their mother disbelievingly watch their father slowly dying. I found this novel beautifully written with spare prose and enlightening cultural details.

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The Legacy by Katherine Webb

The description of this book sounds somewhat familiar: two sisters return to the family estate and confront the past. However, the book is unique and well written.

There are two storylines to the novel. In one, two sisters return to the stately home in the English countryside that was left to them by their Grandmother. The sisters had spent happy summers there until a tragic accident twenty three years ago, after which their cousin Henry disappeared without a trace. Erica hopes to find some resolution for the family while sorting through her grandmother’s things. Everything changed after the accident, yet Erica was too young to know what had really happened. And her sister has been troubled ever since, including recently attempting suicide.

The other part of the novel tells the story of their Great- Grandmother’s life at the turn of the century. Caroline was the only heiress of a wealthy New York family. Caroline decided on the spur of the moment to marry a man and leave her New York home to live on his cattle farm in Oklahoma. Nothing in her privileged upbringing prepared her for this kind of life. She was not prepared for the work, or worse, the isolation of living so far from any other families. Her only company was the local Native Americans who helped on the farm. Still, she is happy with her new husband until the tragedy that affects her and her descendants. How she ended up in England is only part of the mystery.

The novel alternates between the two stories and I found both to be compelling. Whenever I switched storylines I felt I was torn away from one, but then I became just as engrossed with the other. Fans of Rebecca or The House at Riverton will enjoy this first book by a talented new author.

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Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indridason

Another example of the terrific crime novels coming out of the Scandnavian area (although strictly speaking, Iceland only sort of counts as Scandinavia). Detective Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson is called to the scene of some new home construction because a human bone, a rib, was found at the site. Because the site may have historical significance, a team of archaeologists is also summoned to aid in the excavation.

Erlendur calls in his chief detectives, Sigurdur, Oli & Elinborg to assist in the case and now they all must work with the archaeologists and geologists to undercover the rest of the skeleton. Meanwhile, Erlendur’s personal life is in shambles, his ex-wife Halldora refuses to even speak with him. His daughter, Eva Lind, has left the cryptic message “help me” on his cellphone. His son, Sindri, is out of the country and is of no assistance.

While following the lead of some of Eva Lind’s  friends, he discovers that his daughter has just miscarried her unborn daughter and is found bleeding and in a comatose state, near a hospital. After he gets her to the hospital and the doctors stabilize Eva, Erlendur realizes that it may be touch and go as to whether or not his daughter will survive. And yet, he must go back to the excavation site to help determine if the bone found is a part of a murder victim … and are we dealing with a recent murder or one from a half century before?

There are clues that his team must try to follow, and the trail seems to be leading back in history. If it is a murder, it may have occurred decades before. The author has cleverly woven the story of the present with the story of the past. At first it is a bit confusing, but as you begin to understand, the author fills in the past so that it can fit into the present and resolve the mystery.

The author lives in Reykjavik, Iceland, and has won a Glass Key Award for Best Nordic Crime Novel for both his earlier book Jar City and for Silence of the Grave, which also won the Gold Dagger Award. This is a truly fascinating read and I intend to go back and read the first in the series, Jar City.

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Juliet by Anne Fortier

Anne Fortier’s debut novel combines the diverse elements of history, romance, travel and dangerous adventure into one brilliantly told tale. Parallel narratives tell the story of a contemporary young woman and a tragic love story that occurs in medieval Italy.

After the untimely death of their parents in Italy, infant twins Julie and Janice Jacobs are reared in Virginia by their doting great Aunt Rose and her faithful and ever present man servant Umberto.  Though identical twins, Julie and Janice are opposites in temperament, personality and interests. Their relationship is cantankerous and marred by constant bickering.

Reunited at Aunt Rose’s funeral, their animosity increases when Julie discovers her inheritance is only a key to a safety deposit box in Siena Italy. Flighty, fashionable and promiscuous Janice has inherited all of Aunt Rose’s extensive estate.  Julie is left heartbroken and destitute by this turn of events.   Unbeknownst to Julie, that key leads her on an adventure which unveils the root of her family’s obsession with Romeo and Juliette.

The reader is transported to Siena, Italy during the 1300’s, where life is brimming with violence, superstition and family vendettas.  Julie’s quest for a lost treasure is entwined with this past, placing her in mortal danger.

Fortier engages her reader with alternating chapters that interweave the modern story of Julie and her ancestor Giulietta Tolomei.  Fortier’s writing vividly portrays both time periods of Italy, her well drawn characters come to life for the reader and the suspenseful plot keeps you turning pages.

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The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

Many of you know of Janet L.’s persuasive powers when it comes to recommending a book.  Well she worked her magic on me with The House at Riverton and I never regretted it.

While I’ve not enjoyed Kate Morton’s sophomore and junior efforts as much, her debut novel struck a chord with me and generated the same feelings I had when watching (not reading) Remains of the Day and Gosford Park — that behind-the-scenes look into the country homes of early 19th century England, that angle you can only get from the staff’s point of view.  For me, the appeal of books set from this perspective is that, even in a novel, you get the unvarnished truth of the story, not the façade that the people who live in these grand homes present to the world.  In The House at Riverton, the story begins in the present, with the now 98-year-old Grace being asked by a film director to recall her experiences working as a maid in the 1920s, specifically about the suicide of a young poet that occurred in the very house that Grace worked in from the age of 14.

Grace decides this is her opportunity to tell the truth about that suicide and the fallout it created in the aristocratic family she worked for, for so many years.  Told in a series of flashbacks, this book will keep you turning the pages as the secrets are revealed against a beautifully descriptive backdrop that stretches from the Edwardian period to post-World War I England.

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Also see: our previous blog posts about Kate Morton’s books.

The Body in the Gazebo by Katherine Hall Page

For those of you who don’t know me, my favorite genre is mystery. And one of my favorite authors, in that genre, is Katherine Hall Page.

This traditional mystery series is set in the picturesque New England town of Aleford, Massachusetts and features amateur sleuth and caterer Faith Fairchild. Faith is the daughter of a minister and is married to Reverend Tom Fairchild. We first meet Faith as a young wife and mother in The Body in the Belfry. Fast forward a number of years to The Body in the Gazebo.

Pix Miller, Faith’s best friend reluctantly leaves for South Carolina to meet her son’s future in-laws. In her absence Faith has agreed to watch over Pix’s ailing octogenarian mother, Ursula.  Knowing Faith’s ability to solve mysteries, Ursula slowly reveals the story of an unsolved crime that occurred in the summer of 1929 on Nantucket Island. This is a story with a family secret Ursula does not yet want to share with her daughter Pix.

Meanwhile, it is discovered that church funds are missing from an account which only Tom has access. Tom and Faith work together to clear Tom’s name before his reputation is ruined. When Faith’s assistant Niki unburdens her secret, Faith is soon “sick with secrets”.

The reader is never lost as the author skillfully shifts between the two time periods and the voices of Faith and Ursula. I most enjoyed reading about Ursula’s life during the 1920s and the following Depression era.

In all her books Katherine Hall Page includes recipes for the mouth-watering meals Faith prepares. You can find more of these recipes in Page’s Agatha-nominated cookbook Have Faith in Your Kitchen.

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

Seven minutes after midnight, Christopher John Francis Boone found a dead dog outside of Mrs. Shears’ house.  Someone had stabbed the animal with a garden fork.  Since Christopher’s teacher had encouraged him to write a story, he decides to write a murder mystery about the death of the dog.  Christopher’s book documents his own investigations into the dog’s death; he could never write about something that didn’t actually happen.  Despite his father’s command that he “stay out of other people’s business,” he sets out to detect who killed the dog—and ends up uncovering a host of family secrets in the process.

Christopher has autism.  The entire novel is told in his voice in a stream-of-consciousness style which gradually reveals the details of his life to the reader.  The book examines the challenges that Christopher faces because of his disability, the tensions in his family and relationships, and also the beauty of his world and his unique and brilliant perspective on life.  This is all captured in the framework of Christopher’s murder mystery.

Mark Haddon, who has worked with children on the autism spectrum, crafts the story masterfully, drawing the reader in immediately and keeping him or her captivated for every page.  Although stream of consciousness can often be a challenge for authors to write well, Haddon articulates the style perfectly.  Christopher’s voice is believable and clear, and his experiences range from humorous to heartbreaking.  The book is not long, which is good, because once you start reading, you will not be able to put it down!

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Kings of the Earth by Jon Clinch

You know, I am really, really tired of lazy book blurbs lounging around on the back of my novels.  For example, the word “Faulkneresque” often shows up in review snippets pertaining to Clinch’s latest novel.  But, to me it seems as though any time a writer strays from a standard linear plot progression and/or invokes regional dialect/stream-of-consciousness/monologue-of-the-mentally-ill in lieu of omniscient narration he or she is automatically compared to William Faulkner.

Poppycock.

I find it annoying when reviewers do this, because often the comparison is only marginal and has almost nothing to do with the actual style of a writer.  It would be like saying, “habanero peppers are like carrots: they are both crunchy and orange!”  I question whether the reviewer has even bothered to do more than skim the book.  “An unflinching, deceptively simple tour-de-force written in Faulkneresque prose.”

Ugh.

But, okay.  This novel really does bear some similarities to Faulkner, both superficial ones (each chapter is narrated by a different person, one of those persons is mentally retarded) and stylistic ones (visceral descriptions of rural life and a narrative tone that engenders a kind of detachment in the reader).  It’s also very, very good, and if you are of a certain writerly disposition you will feel intense jealousy at the ease with which Clinch switches narrators and conjures the dairyfarm landscape of upstate New York.

This novel is loosely based on actual events, and as was the case with Let the Great World Spin, you can view a documentary (Brother’s Keeper) if you want the true story.  I watched the film after I read the novel, so I can say with certainty that it doesn’t matter if you watch the film at all; the novel stands firm on its own.

Three brothers live and work on a dilapidated dairy farm in Madison County, New York.  One morning, two wake up to discover that the third has died in the night.  This hardly seems unusual, as the brothers are senescent and deeply weathered from a lifetime of farming.  Neighbors, family, and paramedics are notified; but, surprisingly, the coroner’s report indicates the possibility of murder.  This is especially strange, as the brothers have lived, worked, and slept (literally) side-by-side since childhood.  An investigation ensues, and the brothers’ story unfolds.

The epigraph is a quote from a Tom Waits tune (“Murder in the Red Barn”). So, not surprisingly, this book reads like a very long Waits song.⁺⁺ Gritty boots, a grimy barn, old buckets, a boarded-up jakes.  A yard guarded by whittled windmills carved by a grizzled simpleton.  A rusted bus full of turkeys, an old red rooster, a skittish mule.  That sort of thing.

Read it!

⁺⁺Speaking of this novel’s musical qualities, this book even has a playlist, as made by the author.