Review: A Reunion of Ghosts

A REUNION OF GHOSTS by Judith Claire Mitchell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So, like for geese it’s a gaggle; for horses it’s a herd; for bees it’s a swarm. For ghosts it’s a reunion.

Lives pass through a rent-controlled New York City apartment in A Reunion of Ghosts by Judith Claire Mitchell. Three sisters, and then an aunt. Their lives are directly affected by previous generations – I can’t give too many details for spoiler reasons – and the sisters, burdened by what came before them, give it their best try.

Generations pass stuff down to generations, and how the new generations absorb the history, how they work it – or are unable to work it - into their own lives, is the crux of this incredible story.
As the apartment hosts the lives that pass through it, the stories and traumas that pass through it come to life. Linear time doesn’t exist, even when you put together a detailed family tree – because a grandfather’s choices affect the sisters directly. A mother’s coping skills affect the sisters’ coping skills. We pass emotional and spiritual DNA along, without realizing the impact we have on people not yet born.

And the sisters must live with the spirits of their elders. Or must they? Is it a choice? Or is it already written.

This is an engrossing book about the impermanence and subjectivity of our choices. I couldn't put it down!

Review: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I almost never read a book more than once. This will be my third time through Anne Lamott’s inspirational, super-smart, funny, practical, and ethereal writing guide.

From the first page of the introduction, where the author acquaints us with her childhood and her parents (they were all avid readers and her dad was a writer) to the last page of the final chapter, we are taken on a journey into the workings of the creative mind.

Ms. Lamott is as much a teacher as she is a writer. Her gift is that she makes us all feel special. She establishes a personal relationship with each person who reads BIRD BY BIRD, just as I’m sure she does with each of her workshop students. She trusts us with the tiny details of her writing life, and we in turn trust her. She combines the practical (how to find your unique voice) with the creative (how to scan the far corners of your vision to find material) with the daily how-to’s (how to not get sued for libel) to the emotional (how to stay sane through the process of getting published).

Reading BIRD BY BIRD is like luxuriating in a one-on-one therapy session with someone who knows you very well, wants you to succeed, and actually shows you how. Each time I read it, I discover new things I didn’t see in the previous read. It’s kind of magical that way.

Suzann Kale

Review: Gone Girl

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yes, it's a psychological thriller. Yes, you absolutely cannot put it down. And yes, it's perfectly plotted. But more than that (?!), it's a brilliantly written thesis on relationships. "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn gets inside the minds of a husband and wife. Who is to say they are dysfunctional? (They probably are, but...) They are so close that each of their quirks becomes a part of the other's way of seeing the world. I don't want to say too much because of spoiler issues, but "Gone Girl" is a magnifying glass, letting us see the smallest details of the marriage connection.

"The once plentiful herds of magazine writers...

...would continue to be culled— by the Internet, by the recession, by the American public, who would rather watch TV or play video games or electronically inform friends that, like, rain sucks! But there’s no app for a bourbon buzz on a warm day in a cool, dark bar. The world will always want a drink."

Flynn, Gillian (2012-06-05). Gone Girl: A Novel (p. 10). Crown/Archetype. Kindle Edition.

Review: My Name Is Lucy Barton

My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Written in the first person in the form of a memoir, the novel is delicate and deep. The writing style is direct and focused, and most of the time I forgot that this wasn't someone's actual private journal. As Lucy Barton tells her life's story, it's a time in her life when perhaps she is older, more settled and safe, and a successful writer. But most of her focus is on a particular time when she was a young mother and had to spend many weeks in the hospital. Her hospital room looked out over Manhattan and every night she looked at the lights from the Chrysler Building. Her estranged mother came to stay with her during this time, and she and her mother were able to rebuild their relationship.

The novel is about love, really. She details her life as she describes the different people she loved over the years.

Review of THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern

An Enchanted Novel Written by a True Magician

Reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is like being in a lucid dream. A part of you realizes you're reading a book, but mostly you're lost in its depths.

I have to say, be careful where you read this thing. It's totally possible to forget where you are, how to cross a street, how to stir the soup, or whatever it is you are trying to do while reading. The book takes you over. 

But let's marvel at the magician – I mean the writer. How does one even begin to write in the second person, at times the first person, and the third person – all in the present tense? All with a rich, turn-of-the-century feel, an attention to detail, and a story and timelines that run on many levels? With places and settings you can walk through yourself, not just watch the characters walk through it. With characters that are sorcerers and real people, at the same time? 

And even with all this sorcery, the experience feels as smooth as resting your head on a pillow. 

This is a sweet, dreamy read. I was hoping it would never end. 

Added later: 

I'm in heaven. The Night Circus is total joy. I am immersed in the story, carried away by the magic, and lost in the marvelous imagery. 

In her interview with GoodReads, Ms. Morgenstern says she was influenced by Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes . I read it when I was very young, and it's been a part of the unfolding of my life ever since.

The Night Circus will stay with me always, too.

(c) 2015 Suzann Kale

Review of THE SENSE OF AN ENDING by Julian Barnes

I totally could not put this book down. I got so lost in it, the characters became part of my life. It's clever and witty, and also devastatingly sad, all at the same time. Written in the first person in memoir-style, it is above all, surprising. 

THE SENSE OF AN ENDING tells the story of lives that are woven together through both choice and circumstance. 

More review details follow when I get the chance, but I just wanted to get this out there in case anyone was on the fence about whether to read it or not.