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What I've been reading: Books No. 45-46
Sep. 18th, 2019 02:01 pmBook No. 45 was "The Little Friend" by Donna Tartt. This book is shelved with mysteries at my library, and I think the mislabeling it as a mystery has lead to some of the negative reviews I've seen on GoodReads. It is NOT a typical mystery with clues and a satisfying conclusion. Maybe a psychological thriller, but not a detective novel. I had already read two other novels by Donna Tartt so I knew what I was getting into. I really, really liked this story a great deal. If I have anything negative to say at all, it's that she gets into some "Southern grotesque" archetypes in a few places and there are a few places where the writing isn't quite as fresh as in others. But over all, I was sucked into this story and into the world of Harriet and her little friend Hely. There's a scene about at the half-way point that is highly suspenseful and tense but also incredibly hilarious, and I was shaking with laughter, though the scene ends on a somber note. This book isn't really a "Whodunit" about who killed Harriet's brother Robin but more about the harm that is done to a whole family when there's a death that is unresolved and children are left untethered when their parents can't quite cope. With the caveat that you must not go into reading this expecting it to be a "whodunit," I recommend this highly.
Book No. 46 was "The Falling Woman" by Pat Murphy. I've had a couple Pat Murphy books on my "to read" list for a while. I like classic sci-fi by women with a feminist sensibility, and I knew her books would fit that description. My husband read several by her and recommended this one and "The City Not Long After" to me. I really liked "The Falling Woman." The premise is that Elizabeth Butler is such a good archaeologist because she can literally see into the past. But when younger, she thought being different meant she was crazy, and she tried to escape by suicide, and later by abandoning her husband and daughter. Later in life, Elizabeth's daughter, Diane, shows up on a dig. Around the same time, Elizabeth finds that one of the people from the past that she can see can also see HER. And Diane is beginning to think she takes after her mother more than she ever thought she did.
This book didn't go exactly where I thought it would go, but that's okay! I like to be surprised. The best parts of this were that Murphy obviously knows the Yucatan area she's writing about along with ancient Mayan culture and their ideas about calendars and which gods rule which days. One of the blurbs for the book calls her prose "understated but precise." I actually found it a little clunky from time to time. There's one character who is described by two different characters in almost the same phrase, for instance. But that is one of my few criticisms. Overall, I really liked this book and would recommend it. I'm eager to read more by her, probably "City" next.
( The other books I've read so far this year: )
Book No. 46 was "The Falling Woman" by Pat Murphy. I've had a couple Pat Murphy books on my "to read" list for a while. I like classic sci-fi by women with a feminist sensibility, and I knew her books would fit that description. My husband read several by her and recommended this one and "The City Not Long After" to me. I really liked "The Falling Woman." The premise is that Elizabeth Butler is such a good archaeologist because she can literally see into the past. But when younger, she thought being different meant she was crazy, and she tried to escape by suicide, and later by abandoning her husband and daughter. Later in life, Elizabeth's daughter, Diane, shows up on a dig. Around the same time, Elizabeth finds that one of the people from the past that she can see can also see HER. And Diane is beginning to think she takes after her mother more than she ever thought she did.
This book didn't go exactly where I thought it would go, but that's okay! I like to be surprised. The best parts of this were that Murphy obviously knows the Yucatan area she's writing about along with ancient Mayan culture and their ideas about calendars and which gods rule which days. One of the blurbs for the book calls her prose "understated but precise." I actually found it a little clunky from time to time. There's one character who is described by two different characters in almost the same phrase, for instance. But that is one of my few criticisms. Overall, I really liked this book and would recommend it. I'm eager to read more by her, probably "City" next.
( The other books I've read so far this year: )
