bethreadsandnaps's reviews
2525 reviews

 

Anna Johnston’s debut THE BORROWED LIFE OF FREDERICK FIFE is joyful and triumphant. Granted, the premise is unique and maybe a little over the top, but it definitely proves its point that older adults aren’t seen as they should be.

Fred is 82 and down on his luck after losing his wife a decade prior and falling on hard financial times, and he stumbles upon a dead body that looks like himself in a wheelchair. The dead body falls into the river, and Frederick is presumed to be the wheelchair’s occupant Bernard and taken back to Bernard’s nursing home. This case of mistaken identity leads Fred to have endearing moments with several of the nursing home residents, including a man with dementia who thinks Fred is his own brother who passed away many decades ago. Fred’s charm also impacts the staff. 

Fred’s wife Dawn couldn’t keep a pregnancy and he regrets never being a father, so when he finds out Bernard has been estranged from his adult daughter for over 30 years, Fred’s goal is to mend that relationship and possibly learn what it’s like to be a father. 

It’s really difficult for a novel to navigate humor, being endearing, a touch of sadness without too much sentimentality. There is a lot to love here when with some more developed side characters than I’m used to and wanting the best for all of these characters, especially Fred and Bernard’s daughter. 

I think fans of REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES and THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY will enjoy this novel. Solid writing with memorable characters. This debut novel will publish September 10, 2024, and is well worth your time. 

3.5 stars

I was super impressed by Richard Chizmar's CHASING THE BOOGEYMAN, but his latest MEMORIALS (publishing October 22, 2024) didn't land as successfully with me. 

The premise of this novel was so interesting. Three college students (Billy the narrator, Melody, and Troy) embark on a week-long trip in western Pennsylvania in May of 1983 documenting roadside memorials, including a memorial dedicated to one of the filmmaker's own parents, for a class project. They see strange symbols on these memorials, and people act oddly toward them during their travels, creating an unsettled feeling throughout most of the novel. 

PROs
1. Great premise
2. Feeling slightly unsettled (what's going on?) throughout most of the novel 
3. Lots of dialogue - allows the reader to be in the novel 
4. Documentary filming set apart in different font
5. Would be a good movie

PRO and CON
1. Liked how it incorporated racism toward Troy but it had a 2020s sensibility to it that pulls you out of the 1983 setting. 

CONs
1. Reads young adult instead of as an older narrator reflecting on 1983 self
2. A lot of repetition in the middle with different roadside memorial scenes, dragged down the pacing A LOT
3. Didn't buy into one of the big scenes at the end
4. Not as many 1983 vibes as I wanted 

I found this to be a decent read due to its premise and some more novel inclusions into the narrative, but I didn't find this to be as compelling as other works by this author. 

This is such a pandemic project. A memoir in essays about her travels fused with writing, feminism, her failed relationships, and perseverance. It was fine. A bit navel-gazey, and perhaps it was me not being in the right mood to read her pandemic project. 

3.5 stars

Darcy Clipper’s husband Seth has left her for skydiver Bianca, and she moves home to Murbridge, Massachusetts to be with her parents. But her parents have left for a trial run in Arizona. So Darcy is left to her own devices, living off her mother’s Y2K supply of canned food and reading the local community board. And it slowly draws her out of her self-imposed exile as she becomes more involved in the community. Found family and all of that. 

My main problem with this novel is that Darcy’s characterization isn’t very consistent. Initially she’s of course depressed because she was blindsided by the demise of her marriage. How this plays out is that she becomes agoraphobic and doesn’t leave the house. Then one day she’s helping to find lost pets, and then she’s cured! The beginning of the novel implies that she is on the spectrum and is awkward. Well, once she leaves the house, all is solved on that front too! It’s just not realistic. 

Still, this has a fun found family element with some quirkiness, similar to Clare Pooley.

3.75 stars

It was a great opportunity to learn more about Shakespeare's wife Agnes and their children Susanna, Judith, and Hamnet. O'Farrell intentionally doesn't name William Shakespeare or ever reveal too much about him in order to keep the focus on the other family members. 

The writing is a bit overdone for me in some places; however, it was an enjoyable reading experience for what it was.  

4.5 stars

Really enjoyed this one! The author addresses quite a bit of subjects in this memoir in essays (marriage struggles, alcoholism, dogs, parenting, anxiety and people pleasing, tennis, finding a dress for a Hollywood event, etc.), and I enjoy her tone immensely. I’ve read a couple of her novels, but this was my first non-fiction from her. I really need to dive into her backlist non-fiction!

The vast majority of these essays are super short (half a page). I’ve read a few of his Sean of the South columns, and I liked those. I thought this would be a compilation of his best essays. Instead, they are schmaltzy (with an awww shucks, I’m from the south mentality), forced, and just not what I’m looking for. Here is an example that I think exemplifies what you’ll get with this collection. 

“The truth is, Mary was overdue for a new computer. Her last machine was a khaki-colored relic from ‘91 that still needed frequent oil changes. The old thing had no modem, but it did have a mouse. The little guy had built a nest right inside the hard drive.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Jodi Picoult delivers a powerful takedown of Shakespeare with her feminist storytelling in BY ANY OTHER NAME, publishing August 20, 2024. 

In this dual timeline novel, the modern timeline has budding playwright Melina ravaged by critic Jasper Tolle and when she finds Jasper will be the judge for the play about Emilia Bassone, her roommate Andre drunkenly submits the play under “Mel” (male) and Andre becomes Mel while Melina becomes his assistant Andrea. 

In the past timeline, the reader follows Emilia through her life: husbands, true love, a child, pregnancy loss, poems, plays, and how Shakespeare may have been a broker instead of a playwright, with her actually (potentially) penning some of his most famous plays. 

I thought this was a great concept, and I really appreciated all of her research and the great author’s note! I think the author may have spent so much time researching that both strands of the story (Emilia’s and Melina’s) felt incomplete. It’s not due to length. This novel is very long. It didn’t have Picoult’s normal propulsiveness, and I didn’t feel very invested in either Melina or Emilia. 

Emilia was an Italian Jew in the late 1500s, and I wanted to learn more about what that was like, but the reader doesn’t get anything about that beyond childhood. As a child, her family hid their culture. Did she abandon her Jewish culture or still practice it in adulthood? The narrative didn’t say. 

Emilia experienced many losses throughout her life but also met two great loves - one personal and one professional. 

Like Picoult usually does, there is a theme (men taking or getting credit for women’s accomplishments), and it can be heavy-handed when it comes through in both sides of the narratives. But it’s very true to life. 

Melina was tougher to get to know, and it really felt like the author started to run out of steam and jumped forward in time to hurriedly wrap up that arc. The romance was forced and that whole plot line didn’t really work for me. 

Well-researched but not as compelling of characters as a reader might expect. 

#byanyothername  #jodipicoult  #netgalley #netgalleyreview

4.25 stars

I really enjoyed the main character in this novel. Gil is a professor and has a lot of insecurities and jealousy of his sister, who married into wealth. When his sister and brother-in-law die and leave him their 17 year old son Matthew, he’s conflicted. When Matthew was younger, there was an incident between him and Gil’s younger daughter that Gil hasn’t gotten past. But taking care of Matthew until he’s 18 adds some needed money to their household. The author is razor sharp in character creation and raising suspicion. 

Toward 60% - 80% the plot really slowed down. 

3.25 stars

Housesitter Emma is lolling her days away reading ebooks with her dog at her feet on Washington State Strand Beach. After she leaves a 1 star review, the author gets increasingly hostile, and then he comes after her in a prolonged game of cat and mouse. 

The premise of this novel is fantastic and has leaked into other novels in other genres, namely rom coms. Emma rarely leaves the house, and besides reading her only hobby is playing hangman with an older man 1/4 MILE down the road via telescope. Ummm, well, that’s kind of crazy. And, yes, things get crazier. The reader hears from another narrator, and then there is a book within a book concept. 

As the novel continued, it got so over the top that I wasn’t creeped out by it. Just wanted it to be over, and some details revealed in the second act connected the dots but weren’t talked about until the third act.

Trigger: dog in jeopardy