Books Set in Africa: Belgium Congo

The Girl Who Married an Eagle, by Tamar Myers (2013)

I just loved this little novel.  This is actually the fourth book in the Belgium Congo Series.  I inadvertently skipped the third book, but enjoyed the other two.

This novel, like the other two, takes place in the late 1950s on the eve of the Congo's independence from Belgium and is drawn from the author's actual life.  Her parents were missionaries in the Belgium Congo and the author lived there until she was a teenager.  Her family lived among a tribe known for being headhunters.

In this novel, a young girl named Buakane was given in marriage to be the 23 wife of the tribal chief, Chief Eagle.  He had a violent temper and was known to beat his wives.  In addition, according to tradition, when the chief died, his wives were buried alive with his body.  On the day of her marriage, Buakane runs away.  She comes upon a road built by the "whites" and is attacked by hyenas.

Along came Julia Newton, a young fresh-faced and naive college student with romantic dreams of being a missionary in Africa.  She is in for a rude cultural awakening.  She is traveling to the village where she will be working, when her jeep see Buakane.  They bring her to the village where the strict Protestant nurse stitcher her wounds.

The novel goes into great detail about the cultural differences between the whites who have moved in to "save the natives" and the various tribal traditions.

4 Stars

Books Set in Europe: Germany and Austria

The Nazi Officer's Wife, by Edith Hahn Beer (1999)

This is a memoir by a young Jewish woman whose family was from Vienna, Austria, when the Gestapo forced her into a labor camp in the early 1940s.  When she returned to Vienna, she went underground.  A Christian friend helped her by letting her use "lost" identity papers, thus emerging in Munich as Grete Denner.  She met Werner Vetter, a Nazi party member who fell in love with her.  She eventually tells him her secret ~ that she is really Jewish.  He was not concerned and the two married after his divorce to his first wife became final.  Werner had a violent temper and expected his wife to keep their apartment spotless, have dinner ready and be available to him on demand.  Edith readily agreed and adapted to this life to protect her life.

She eventually has a daughter.  Werner wanted a son and is a distant parent.  Eventually, he was drafted and sent to the Eastern front.  He became a Russian prisoner of war.

After the war ended, Edith was able to return to her real identity and procured a job as a judge in Germany.  (She had gone to law school, but was not awarded a degree because she was Jewish.  After the war, she was able to get her credentials and practice law).  She begged the Russians to assist in getting her husband home from the prison camp.  He was thus able to be released, but was unable to adjust to an "overeducated" wife with a well-paying job.  He was violent with her and she eventually divorced him.

The book was an interesting slice of life and survival, but was not particularly well written.

3 Stars

Read:  December 22, 2015

Books Set in the United States: New Hampshire

Lone Wolf, by Jodi Picoult (2012)

I thought this story was rather far-fetched with respect to Luke Warren, who is portrayed to be a wolf biologist who actually lived in the wild with wolves for two years.  That aside, this is a novel about a dysfunctional family (aren't all families dysfunctional?), yet have to deal with a family member who has suffered irreparable brain injury.

The author does a good job at keeping the suspense, as family secrets are not divulged, and the reader is kept guessing as to causes of the family split.

Luke, Georgie, Edward and Cara were a family until Luke's research took him into the wild.  When he returned, he was a changed man.  At age 18, Edward and his father had a fight, ostensibly because Edward revealed to his father that he was gay.  The fight was enough so that Edward suddenly left the family and moved to Thailand where he got a job teaching English.  Luke and Georgie divorced; Georgie remarried and began a new family.  Cara moved in with her father.

One night, Luke and Cara were in a car accident that left Luke permanently brain damaged.  Cara suffers from extreme guilt, thinking that she was the cause of the accident.  When Georgie learns of the accident, she immediately called Edward and asked him to return.

Much of the deals with the ethics of ending a terminal life.  Jodi raises interesting points.  Throughout the novel are passages from Luke, as he discusses the lives of wolves and how they can correspond to human lives.

3 Stars

Read: December 20, 2015

Books Set in the United States: New Hampshire

Handle with Care, by Jodi Picoult (2009)

This novel follows the family of Willow O'Keefe, a young girl born with Type III osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone syndrome.  The novel is told though the eyes of numerous people, including her mother, father, sister, her mother's OB/GYN and her mother's lawyer.  The brittle bone syndrome means that Willow must be extremely careful ~ the slightest movement can and will break her bones.  To care for Willow, her mother Charlotte has become a stay-at-home mother.  Her father Sean, a police officer, works overtime to afford the treatment and other special needs for Willow.

After Willow suffers broken bones while on vacation Disney World, her parents are initially arrested on grounds of child abuse.  Her parents seek out a lawyer to sue the bark, but end up discussing a lawsuit against the OB/GYN on grounds of malpractice for a wrongful birth.  The theory being that if they had known earlier that the fetus Charlotte was carrying, they may never have carried Willow to term.  They are told that if they win, they will have sufficient funds to care for Willow throughout her life.  Filing suit, however, means that Charlotte will be pitted against Piper, who, in addition to being her doctor, was also her closest friend.

The novel traces the medical ethics of and personal morality in the case of a disabled child.  In addition, it explores the impact of such a child has on other family members.  Sean is opposed to abortion and knows that that option was not truly an option.  He opts out of the lawsuit and defects to the defense.  This leads to a separation between Charlotte and Sean.

Willow's older sister, Amelia, feels neglected by all the attention given to Willow.  She develops bulimia and starts cutting herself to make her self feel.  All of this is done in secret and her parents are unaware of how the attention to Willow affects Amelia.  No one considered how the wrongful birth suit would impact Willow.  She feels somehow the cause of the split between her parents.

Jodi Picoult did a lot of research into both the disease and the ethics surrounding a wrongful birth lawsuit.

5 Stars

Read: December 12, 2015

Books Set in the United States: North Carolina

The Perfect Son, by Barbara Claypole White (2015)

This is a novel about a young teen-aged boy with Tourette's Syndrome.  He is the only child of Felix and Ella Fitxwilliam.  Felix is the child of a brutal father who terrorized him as a child.  He vows to be different from his father, but has a perfectionist personality disorder.  He has left childrearing to his wife.

When Ella suffers a heart attack at age 47, the same age that her mother was when she died of a heart attack, Felix's life, as well as that of his son, Harry, is turned upside down.  Suddenly, Felix must cope with dealing with his son.  Harry is a straight-A student and Felix wants him to attend Harvard.  Harry has other ideas, however, but has difficulty communicating with his distant father.

This book was well written until the ending, when it seemed to fall apart.

4 Stars

Read:  November 29, 2015

Books Set in Asia: Syria

The Sandcastle Girls, by Chris Bohjalian (2012)

This novel tells of the Armenian genocide during World War I as told through the eyes of a young American woman, Elizabeth, who went to Syria in 1915 intent on assisting in the hospitals.  There she meets a young widow, Arman, who is Armenian engineer.  He lost his wife and baby daughter in the slaughter.  Elizabeth writes of conditions in Aleppo where many of the Armenian refugees pass through.  Arman joins the British Army and experiences the horrors of the war in Gallipoli.

Interspersed throughout the novel is the adult granddaughter of Elizabeth and Arman who becomes interested in her family history and tracks down her grandmother's writings.

Read: November 26, 2015

5 Stars

Books Set in the United States: Tennessee

The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II, by Denise Kiernan (2013)

Read: November 14, 2015

4 Stars

Books Set in the United States: Alabama

Go Set a Watchman, by Harper Lee (2015)


Read: November 7, 2015

2 Stars

Books Set in Europe: England

The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins (2015)

This is a fascinating murder mystery / suspense novel, told in three voices.  First, there is Rachel, the alcoholic who rides the train into London each day.  She creates lives for a young couple she sees along the route.  Only later, she meets the couple and learns their lives are not as romantic as she imagined.

Then there is Anna, the new wife of Rachel's former husband.  Anna fears the drunken Rachel and believes that Rachel is constantly coming around to harass Anna and her family.

Finally, there is Megan, the young wife who has gone missing.  She is the young woman that Rachel observed on her train ride each day.

Read: October 11, 2015

5 Stars.

Books Set in the United States: New Jersey

In the Unlikely Event, by Judy Blume (2015)

This is a novel about the events that occurred in Elizabeth, New Jersey in the 1950s when there were three plane crashes in the space of three months, beginning in December 1951 and the final crash in  February 1952.  The novel follows a young 15-year old girl and how the accidents impacted her life.  I enjoyed this book, but it fell apart near the end.

Read: September 29, 2015

4 Stars

Books Set in the Middle East: Israel

The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East, by Sandy Tolan (2006)

This book purports to be the unlikely friendship between an Arab man, Bashir, and a Jewish woman, Dalia, and a house in Israel that had belonged Bashir's family before the creation of the State of Israel.  After the creation of the State of Israel, Dalia's family lived in the house.  As young adults, the two meet, when Bashir went to visit his family home.

The book made me very angry because it presented a one-sided view of the history of the State of Israel.  Even the words chosen, such as calling Israeli's "settlers" shows bias.  Nearly all Israelis depicted in the book, with the exception of Dalia and her husband, come off as being bad and uncompassionate

Read:  September 26, 2015

2 Stars

Books Set in the United States: Tennessee

An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green (2006)

I picked up this book at the library because I wanted to see what all this talk about John Green was.  This book is designed for young adults.  It was actually very funny and probably does discuss issues that teenager think about.  At the title indicates, the hero of the story, Colin Singleton, was dumped by 19 girls, all with the name Katherine.  Of course, these "girlfriends" begin when Colin is a very young boy, and some of the Katherines simply stated they were his girlfriend, then hours later dumped him.

It was a fun read and I may read another John Green book.

3 Stars

Books Set in Europe: Sweden

The Ice Princess, by Camilla Lackberg (2009)

Mystery story.

4 Stars

Books Set in Europe: France and Germany

All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr (2014)

I am probably one of the few people who did not absolutely love this novel.  I found it too choppy.  Each chapter was only a few pages long and the story line jumped between Marie-Laure, a young blind French girl and Werner, a young German soldier.

3 stars

Books Set in the United States: Florida and Texas

The Astronaut Wives Club, by Lily Koppel (2013)

Interesting look into life in the 1950s and 60s, for women, especially the wives of the initial astronauts.  


3 Stars

Read:  July 10, 2015

Books Set in Asia: India

East of the Sun, by Julia Gregson (2007)

2 Stars

Read: June 29, 2015

Books Set in the United States: Pennsylvania

Plain Truth, by Jodi Picoult (2000)

3 Stars

Read:  June 6, 2015

Books Set in Asia: Yemen

Henna House, by Nomi Eve (2014)

This novel traces the story of Adela Damari, a Yemenite Jew, from her childhood in rural Yeman in the 1920s and 1930s to her move to Israel under Operation On Wings of Eagles. 

5 Stars

Read: May 31, 2015

Books Set in the United States: New Hampshire

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, by Joel Dicker (2012)

I just loved, loved, loved this novel.  It is a mystery/thriller with so many twists and turns.

What really happened to 15-year old Nola Kellergan on August 30, 1975?  And how is the writer Harry Quebert involved in her disappearance?

Thirty-three years after Nola's disappearance, up-and-coming young writer Marcus Goldman visited the quiet little town of Somerset, New Hampshire to get inspiration from his mentor, Harry Quebert.  Marcus' hope for quiet inspiration, however, are interrupted when Nola's body is found buried in the garden on Quebert's property and Quebert is accused of her murder.

There are so many interesting characters living in this small New Hampshire town, each with an interest in keeping Nola's murder unsolved.  I couldn't put this book down!


5 Stars

Read: May 23, 2015

Books Set in Asia: Shanghai

The Lost and Forgotten Language of Shanghai, by Ruiyan Xu (2010)

Li Jing was a happily married man with a young son and a very successful financial business.  While enjoying a meal with his father in a grand hotel, there is a sudden gas explosion that destroyed the building.  A shard from the explosion pieces his head, leaving him unable to speak Chinese.

Li Jing had spent his formative years in the United States, so while he is no longer able to speak Chinese, his English is pushed to the forefront.  His wife and child, however, cannot understand him. The family hires Rosalyn Neal, a young American neurologist, to help him regain his language skills.  Rosalyn, however, speaks no Chinese, so cannot communicate with Meiling, Li Jing's wife, or Pang Pang, Li Jing's son.

Rosalyn and Li Jing spend hours together and form a bond that seems to fracture his marriage with Meiling.

3 Stars

Read: May 16, 2015

Books Set in the United States: Mississippi

Sycamore Row, by John Grisham (2013)

3 Stars

Read: April 3, 2015

Books Set in Europe: World War II

Winter of the World, by Ken Follett (2012)

This is the second book in the Century Trilogy.

4 Stars

Read:  March 17, 2015

Book I: 

Fall of Giants, by Ken Follett was read August 3, 2011