The Friend by Sigrid Nunez

Maybe I missed something about this book? People seemed to really love it. I really liked parts of it. Those are the parts actually about the book’s purpose or claim: a woman’s best friend and mentor dies; as a result, she inherits his dog while coping with grief. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some great writing and I think I’ll check out some of Nunez’s other novels. But there’s a lot of meandering. The phrase “losing the plot” literally applies to this book. I’d say it could be broken into two novellas – one about writing (and the difficult life of a writer), and one about the dog.

Gwenamon says: Decent, but quite a hodgepodge

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

I think rereading “The Handmaid’s Tale” made me dislike this novel even more. It’s unbelievable that this won a “joint” Booker prize, and shows how the publishing machine and Atwood’s rank must have so much clout. I would have tossed this book aside, if it weren’t for (parts of) Aunt Lydia’s tale and the fact that I was reading this book for book club. “The Testaments” pales so in comparison to its lofty predecessor. “The Handmaid’s Tale” is literature. This is young adult pulp fiction. I’ll avoid spoilers and just say there are so many gaping holes in the plot. So many. And the tone of the two teenagers’ testaments is painful.

Gwenamon says: Too neat, predictable, and illogical. So disappointing!

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

I was hesitant to re-read this novel since I remembered it fondly from its debut in my late teens. But I decided to at least try again, before I read “The Testaments.” And full disclaimer – I’m not an Atwood fan. This novel is incredible – the tone, the pacing, the subtlety, the tight plot. What a dystopian vision. I was sad for it to end.

Gwenamon says: A marvel

There There by Tommy Orange

This novel.  It’s so well told. Each chapter introduces and weaves characters together in a a multigenerational story that’s tethered by each of them making their way to the Big Oakland Powwow. “There There” is about identity, culture, substances, fear, love, violence, hope, family, and reckoning.

Gwenamon says: Well done

The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham

This novel is about unambitious Barrett who can’t find love and sees a vision in the park one night. He lives with his older brother, Tyler, a tired musician who is hitting a wall whenever he tries writing a wedding song for his dying girlfriend, Beth. The three of them live together in Brooklyn. There’s little plot and lots of meandering days in this novel. It’s lack lustre except for Cunningham’s beautiful writing. But even that didn’t redeem this novel for me.

Gwenamon says: Meh

Private Citizens by Tony Tulathimutte

This is a(n often brutal) satire about four young college graduates living in San Francisco. It’s cleverly written and a few times I honestly did laugh out loud. However, I’d say the language and self-awareness goes over-the-top during Linda’s diatribes. Some of those I just had to skim. It’s pretty impressive that Tulathimutte seems to work every supposed millennial influence, concern, or criticism into this novel.

Gwenamon says: Well done and having lived in SF, I loved the conjuring up of its neighbourhoods

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

John Carreyrou uncovers the story of Standford dropout’s, CEO Elizabeth Holmes’, multibillion startup – Theranos. It was built on smoke and mirrors, and endorsed by big-name investors. Carreyrou writes of Holmes’ sociopath duplicity in promising to revolutionize the medical industry with easier and quicker blood tests, while raising billions of dollars with technology which didn’t work. The book doesn’t discuss Holmes’ comeuppance – probably in order to get the story out in time. She’s still awaiting trial.

Gwenamon says: A quick, easy read that that’s kind of unsatisfying because of where it ends

The Impossible Lives of Greta Walls by Andrew Sean Greer

Greta tries a treatment to jolt her out of a deep depression brought on by her dear twin brother’s, Felix’s, death. The treatment’s effects take her between her own time (1985) and two others – 1918 and 1941. She has to confront different issues, choices, and social mores while getting another chance to listen to her heart.

Gwenamon says: Decent and a quick read

The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers

Oh this book. It’s told from Private Bartle’s perspective both during and after the Iraq war about being powerlessly caught up in the war machine with his buddy, Private Murphy. I was moved by this novel which is quite beautifully written. Some people have criticized that it’s confusing and jumps around, but although I found that, I read it as purposeful given the enormity of the topic – the cost of war.

Gwenamon says: Yes!

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

This is Kya’s story. She’s known to the locals as Marsh Girl, having survived on her own in the marsh for years, where only the seagulls are her friends. But she does forge a few key relationships and even finds love. And she also becomes suspected of murder. Although the plot is pretty unbelievable and quite predictable, the beautiful writing superseded all of that for me. I couldn’t put this book down.

Gwenamon says: Unbelievable plot, but wonderful writing