Books Set in Europe; Paris, France

The Perfect Nanny, by Leila Sliming (2016)

Read: October 26, 2024

3 Stars

Books Set in North America; United States, New York

Too Much and Never Enough, by Mary Trump (2020)

An eye-opening look into the Trump family.  Donald Trump was a cruel bully from childhood.88

Read: October 24, 2024

4 Stars

Books Set in North America; Indiana, United States

A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them, by Timothy Egan (2023)

Read: September 29, 2024

5 Stars

Books Set in Europe, Paris, France

The Perfumist of Paris, by Alka Joshi (2023)

Read:  September 26, 2024

4 Stars

This is the third book in the Jaipur Series.

The Henna Artist: Read February 6, 2021 and August 27, 2024

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur: Read September 8, 2024

The Perfumist of Paris: Read September 26, 2024

Books Set in North America, Mississippi, United States

The Girls in the Stilt House, by Kelly Mustian (2021)

Read:  September 18, 2024

4 Stars

Books Set in North America, United States, Georgia

The Twelve-Mile Straight, by Eleanor Henderson (2017)

Read: September 14, 2024

4 Stars

Books Set in Asia: Jaipur and Shimla, India

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, by Alka Joshi (2021)

Read: September 8, 2024

5 Stars

This is the second book in the Jaipur Series.

The Henna Artist: Read February 6, 2021 and August 27, 2024

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur: Read September 8, 2024

Books Set in Asia: Tehran, Iran

The Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali (2024)

Read: September 3, 2024

5 Stars

Books Set in North America: Baltimore, Maryland United States of America

Behind You Is the Sea, by Susan Mauddi Darraj (2024)

Read: August 31, 2024

5 Stars

Books Set in Asia: Israel

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy, by Nathan Thrall (2023)

Nathan Thrall is a Jewish-American journalist based in Jerusalem.  This book describes a bus accident in which a bus-load of young Palestinian kindergarteners were killed or severely injured.  The accident occurred at or near a check point between Jerusalem and the West Bank.

The accident occurred during a strong rain storm.  The bus was driven by an inexperienced driver and the bus itself was old and in very bad condition.  The bus had been involved in several prior accidents.  The author, however, opts to use very inflammatory language in describing the accident and portrays the Israelis as the evil villains who bear the bulk of the responsibility for the accident.  Because the accident occurred at a check point in Area C, response vehicles were slow to arrive.  The author blames the Israelis for this slow response.

It was a tragic accident, but there were many other factors contributing to the accident.

Read: August 29, 2024

Books Set in Asia: Jaipur, India

The Henna Artist, by Alka Joshi (2020)

 

At age 17, Lakshmi Shastri left her abusive husband and set off to fend for herself.  She had been forced into an arranged marriage at age 15.  As was the custom, she moved into her husband’s home.  She had a loving relationship with her mother-in-law who taught her traditional herbal medicine.  Her husband, however, beat her often, thus, she felt she had to leave him to save her life.

 

Thirteen years later, she was living in Jaipur, a city in northern India, where she was a successful henna artist.  Life was good.  She cast herself as a young widow and set up business as a henna artist.  She had learned the trade while living in Agra with “pleasure” women.  In Jaipur, she had many high-caste clients and was earning enough money to build herself a home.  Her intricate designs provided her with top dollar fees.  She had visions of contacting her parents and having them live with her.

 

The husband of one of her clients had many mistresses.  Lakshmi supplemented her income selling him and others herbal sachets that would make babies disappear.

 

One day, out of the blue, her estranged husband appeared at her doorstep with a young girl in tow.  Shortly after Lakshmi left her husband, her parents had another child, Radha.  Lakshmi had no idea that she had a younger sister, who had been deemed the Bad Luck Girl in her hometown.  These unexpected visitors have the potential to turn Laskhmi’s life upside down.

 

I enjoyed this book.  It showed a small slice of life in India in the 1950s and the struggles a woman had while trying to live on her own.  The novel’s ending, however, was a bit too pat.  Everything was all resolved in an amicable way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I first read this book in 2021.  I re-read it in August 2024 after going to a talk by the author, Alka Joshi.  The author was very gracious and gave us insight in life in India post-independence.  The author's mother was in an arranged marriage and had no say in how her life would be.  Lakshmi, main character of this book, had choices.  The novel was deliberately set in 1955 because that was the first year that women could legally obtain a divorce.  I re-read this book with fresh eyes.  I liked it as much the second time as I did the first time.

 

Read:  February 6, 2021

Read: August 27, 2024

 

4 Stars

Books Set in North America, Cuba

Hotel Cuba, by Aaron Hamburger

Read: July 26, 2024

3.5 Stars

Books Set in Europe and Asia; Poland and Israel

Once We Were Home, by Jennifer Rosner (2023)

Read: July 15, 2024

4 Stars

Books Set in South America, Argentina

Stranger in the Desert, by Jordan Salama (2024)

The author, Jordan Salama, seeks to learn more about his family history after finding a notebook his grandfather had compiled called Historia Antigua.  Although living in New York, Jordan’s family roots were Sephardic, Syrian, and Argentinian, which in South American were referred to as turco.  Turco referred to the fact that many people immigrated to South America pre-World War I when much of the middle east was under Ottoman control.

Jordan knew that his father’s family had immigrated to Argentina in the 1920s and that his great-grandfather was a traveling salesman.  Many first-generation immigrants to Argentina during this period became traveling salesmen.  The local population in the more remote areas of Argentina relied on the salesmen to bring them supplies.

So, Jordan traveled to Argentina to search for traces of his family.  His grandfather still had family and a few contacts in Buenos Aires, so Jordan started his trek there.  After spending time with his extended family in Buenos Aires, Jordan set out for the Andes hoping to follow the trail of his great-grandfather.  He meets many people along the way and as he goes, he realized what a melting pot his Sephardic Jewish background blends in, and is influenced by, the surrounding cultures.

I loved reading about Jordan’s travels and the people he met along his search.

Read: July 9, 2024

5 Stars

Books Set in North America, United States

Grey Mountain, by John Grisham

Read: June 13, 2024

3 Stars

Books Set in Asia and North America: China, Taiwan and the United States

Peach Blossom Spring, by Melissa Fu (2022)

 

This novel of China spans from 1938 to roughly 2000 and follows three generations of the Dao family.  This is a novel of survival and strength throughout many adversities.  The novel begins with Meilin, a young widow with a young son, Renshu.  Meilin’s husband, Xiaowen, had gone missing in the second Sino-Japanese War between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan as a part of World War II.  Longwei, Xiaowen’s older brother, returned and promised to take care of Meilin and Renshu.  Because of the War, Meilin must constantly be on the move to stay away from the fighting.  Her most precious treasure is a scroll with a long, painted narrative.  She takes out the scroll and reads the stories to her son.  Ultimately, Meilin and Renshu escape to Taiwan and are befriended by another young mother with young children.  There are references to the political disputes between mainland China and Taiwan ~ which adds to Meilin’s worries.

 

The next portion of the novel focuses on Renshu.  He is a good student and is offered a scholarship to study in the United States.  Once in the United States, he is told to “Americanize” his name, and becomes known as Henry Dao.  His struggle is that of an immigrant to the United States.  He falls in love and marries an American woman and together they raise a daughter, Lily.  The final portion of the novel focuses on Lily and her struggles as a mixed-race child.  She is curious about her Chinese culture, but her father pushes her away and is not supportive.

 

Although the author said that the book is fiction, I can help but believe that she drew a great deal of the incidents in the novel from her family background.

 

Read:  May 27, 2024

 

4 Stars

Books Set in North America; Louisiana United States

First Lie Wins, by Ashley Elston (2024)

This suspense thriller is narrated by a con woman calling herself Evie Porter who works for a mysterious man known only as “Mr. Smith.”  She is sent out around the South to find dirt on others.  The novel opens when she moves in with her latest mark, Ryan Sumner, who lives in a fictious small town in Southern Louisiana near the Texas border.

Although initially Evie was supposed to investigate Ryan’s mysterious side business, she soon finds herself falling in love with him.  One day Evie meets a woman calling herself Lucca Marino, which is Evie actual name.  Lucca is impersonating Evie and providing all the details of Evie’s actual life.  Soon after their meeting, the fake Lucca is killed in a car accident.

The plot goes back and forth in time as the layers of Evie’s life are slowly peeled back.  We learn of other jobs Evie has done for Mr. Smith and how these jobs impacted her life.  Evie realizes that some of the jobs she is assigned are actual jobs, but others are test of her loyalty to Mr. Smith.

When Evie is accused of murder and an arrest warrant is issued, she realized that Mr. Smith is testing her, possibly for a final time.  She must trust her instincts to take steps to protect herself, all the while considering who she can trust.

I have been reading some rather heavy books over the past few months.  This was just the ticket for a light and fast read.  Plus, the references to and about Louisiana were fun.  The suspense was sufficient to keep my attention.  A fun book.

Read: May 11, 2024

4 Stars

Books Set in North America, New York City and New England

Nine Tenths of the Law, by Claudia Hagadus Long (2020)

This novel follows two sisters, children of a Holocaust survivor, who search for a menorah that had once belonged to their mother before it was stolen by the Nazis.  After seeing a special exhibit on Judaic art in a New York museum, Zara believes that the menorah was one of the pieces exhibited.  She and her sister Lilly take steps to track down the putative owner.

After contacting the museum director about the piece, the menorah suddenly disappears.  Zara and Lilly continued their search but find themselves trapped in a dangerous scheme that involves fraud and murder.

Although many pieces of Judaic art were stolen by the Nazis during World War II, the sisters’ attempt to recover a piece that they believed to be a family heirloom were too far-fetched for my taste.

2 Stars

Read: May 4, 2024

Books Set in Asia, India

The Daughters of Madurai, by Rajasree Variyar (2023)

This novel is about a mother and daughter relationship, but mostly focuses on the mother’s life growing up poor in Madurai, India.  The story takes place in the present (daughter’s story) and in the 1990s (mother’s life).

Janani, the mother was born into a poor family in a lower caste.  After being married young in an arranged marriage, Janani was sent away from her family to live with her husband and his family.  As a new wife, she was basically her new family’s servant.  She lives in a culture that does not value girls.  Her first baby is a girl, which Janani is “allowed” to keep, but her subsequent daughters are taken from her and killed.  Janani struggles with her loss, as well as being trapped in a loveless marriage with a cruel mother-in-law.  It sounds cliché, but as written, Janani’s life comes alive.

Jump to present day, and Janani is married and living in Australia with her husband and children, including Nila, her now-adult daughter.  Janani has never shared her past with her children.  When her father-in-law- is dying, Janani and the family return to India to see him.  The trip sparks memories of the past, which slowly reveals itself.

I found this book somewhat difficult to read due to the names and nicknames of the characters.

Read:  April 1, 2024

3 Stars

Books Set in North America, New England

Something Wild, by Hanna Halperin (2021)

This novel is about domestic violence.

Sisters Tanya and Nessa Bloom are horrified to discover that their mother is in an abusive relationship with their stepfather.  Although their mother, Lorraine, has been with Jesse for over 16 years, the sisters haven’t lived at home for years.  When their mother and stepfather decide to move from Boston to rural New Hampshire, the sisters go to help with the move.

Almost as soon as the sisters arrive to help their mother, Jesse attempts to strangle Lorraine.  He is so violent that Lorraine is left with two bloodshot eyes.  Tanya, who works in the District Attorney’s Office in Boston, encourages her mother to file a restraining order against Jesse.  She does but fails to provide sufficient information in the form to give the judge cause to sign an order.  Jesse promises to reform, and even go to couple’s therapy with Lorraine.  Although Tanya fears the worst, Lorraine agrees to take Jesse back, because she loves him and believes that he can reform.

It was very well written, although a subplot involving the sisters as teenages seems a bit misplaced.

Read:  March 10, 2024

4 Stars

Books Set in Europe, England

The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe, by Angela Kelley (2019)

This book was written by the dresser to Queen Elizabeth II.  Kelley describes various outfits she designed for the Queen, as well as how outfits are chosen for the various occasions and duties of the Queen.  It was mildly interesting.

Read: February 2, 2024

Books Set in Europe, Poland

A Meal in Winter, by Hubert, Mingarelli (2012), translated from the French by Sam Taylor

Read: January 26, 2024

4 Stars

Books Set in North America, Baton Rouge and Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

A Flicker in the Dark, by Stacy Willingham (2022)

A Flicker in the Dark is a thriller narrated by Chloe Davis, a psychologist from the small bayou town of Breaux Bridge, but now living and working in Baton Rouge.  When she was a young girl, her life was shattered when her father, Dick Davis, convicted of the murder of several teenaged girls.  Chloe was the one who turned her father into the police, an act that follows her where ever she goes.

Now as the twentieth anniversary of her father’s conviction and incarceration, more teenaged girls go missing.  Chloe is haunted by memories of the past with the news of more missing girls.  She is further troubled when Aaron Jansen, a reporter for the New York Times, approaches her for an interview for an anniversary story about the original murders.

Due to her past, Chloe has had a hard maintaining long-term relationships, so when she meets Daniel Briggs, he seems to be her savior.  She withholds telling him the full story of her childhood and her infamous father, however.  Daniel’s sister also vanished twenty years earlier and Chloe wonders if there may be a link to the earlier murders.

I picked up this book solely because it takes place in Baton Rouge and Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.  The author description of the bayous and marshes of Louisiana in a way that the reader feels the humidity and moss covered trees.  It was a very quick read and was filled with twists and turns.

Read:  January 25, 2024

4.5 Stars

Books Set in North America; Manhattan, New York

The Real Mrs. Tobias, by Sally Koslow (2022)

 

Meet Veronika Tobias, the matriarch.  She is a psychologist.  Meet Mel, her daughter-in-law, a psychotherapist.  Meet Birdie, Mel’s daughter-in-law.  Birdie is a mid-westerner and an aspiring writer who gave up her dreams to follow her husband to live in New York City.  Three women, all known as Mrs. Tobias.

 

Birdie and Micah married young and now have a young daughter, Alice.  Micah has yet to grow up and become a responsible adult.  Instead of joining his grandfather’s and father’s thriving clothing store, he operates a operates a food truck that sells, of all things, mashed potatoes.  Driving home after an evening of drinking, Mel accidently hit something, but didn’t know whether it was a person, animal, or object.  He didn’t see anyone, so continued home and never reported the incident to the police.  At the family’s weekly Shabbat dinner, he reports the incident, who urge him to own up to his actions.  

 

This sets up the scene for exploring family relationships.  Veronika and Mel can assist other people with their problems in their professional life, but struggle with their own family problems.  As the meddling mothers-in-law try to help Micah and Birdie, the younger Tobias’ must come to their own solution to their troubles.

 

This was a delightful novel, told through the eyes of each of the three women.  I would have rated this book a 5, but for Alice.  I found the dialogue with the three-year-old Alice to be totally unbelievable in an otherwise lovely book about family and love.

 

Read: January 8, 2024

4 Stars

Books Set in Europe: Lisbon, Portugal and Lyon, France

The Librarian Spy, by Madeline Martin (2022)

During World War II, Portugal was ostensibly neutral country.  Interestingly, the country’s newsstands sold newspapers and magazines from various European countries, including Germany.  Warring countries sent their intelligence officers to Portugal to scour magazines and newspapers to glean information on the enemy.  The Interdepartmental Committee for the Acquisition of Foreign Publications (IDC) was created in the United States for gathering such documentations.  The United States Library of Congress sent a contingency of its librarians to Lisbon to gather publications to collect and copy foreign publications.  

 

This has all the making of an interesting angle on stories about World War II.  Sadly, The Librarian Spy, by Madeline Martin is not that book.  I know I am in the minority on this, but this book just didn’t live up to its hype.

 

The novel follows two women: Ava Harper, an American librarian working in the Library of Congress, and Elaine, a French woman in Lyon, hoping to join the Resistance.  Elaine is the more interesting of the two.  After her husband joined the Resistance, she began working as a printing apprentice and distributes an underground newspaper that contains information about the War.

 

Ava was recruited by the United States military to go to Portugal to gather information newspapers then microfilm them to send to intelligence officers.  She is supposedly intellectual and an avid reader.  To emphasize this point, the author has Ava make numerous references to pieces of literature, and notes that she carries her copy of Little Women everywhere she goes.  She apparently received little training for this job, and her naivety is annoying.

 

This book did not depict the actual horrors and fears of living in Europe during Nazi-occupation.  I would classify this novel as being for young adults.  It is probably something I would have enjoyed in 7^th grade.

 

Read: January 5, 2024

2.5 Stars

Books Set in Europe: England and France

The Armor of Light, by Ken Follett (2023)

The Armor of Light covers the life of villagers in Kingsbridge from 1792 to 1824 during the Napoleonic Wars.  The novel touches upon political events in England and Europe, as well as the beginning of the industrial revolution.

The novel opens when Sally Clitheroe’s husband is killed while working for the Earl.  The Earl is hard-hearted and refused to compensate Sally for her loss.  Sally, known as Sal, and her young son must come to terms with losing their main breadmaker

The mill in the village is known for its clothmaking and the Spinning Jenny is a new invention that slowly is making its way into Kingsbridge.  The mill workers, however, fear that this new contraption will put them all out of work and fight the new technology.  In 1799, the aristocrat’s pass the Combination Act, which makes it a crime for workers to criticize their employers.  If they revolt, they are subject to criminal penalty, including the prospect of hanging.

Meanwhile, the French Revolution has disposed of the monarchy, and English ruling class fears revolution may come to England.  The Napoleonic Wars are erupting in Europe.  The English working class who violate the Combination Act can avoid penalty by joining the army as it fights against Napoleon’s advancements throughout the Continent.

The book is long – over 700 pages, but it is a fast read.  The characters are well developed, and the reader becomes involved in their lives and loves.  This novel by Ken Follett did not disappoint.

Read: January 1, 2024

4.5 Stars