3 Good Books I Read … and one I put down

I’m finally sharing a few books I’ve read so here are three recent ones I read that I particularly enjoyed plus one I didn’t.

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne. This was one that was chosen by our book club and I’m so glad I read it – what a story. I don’t know that I would have known about it otherwise. Boyne writes such a compelling story. He sets out to allow the reader to first get to know the characters, particularly Cyril Avery, who was an ordinary man and could have been any one of us. As in real life, once the reader becomes involved with his life, you care and need to know how his life moves forward. And, hopefully, this is the link that will take you to the rest of my comments about the book (beneath the publisher’s spiel).

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri. Again another chosen by our book club so I visited our lovely little book shop, Mulberry Bush Bookstore in Qualicum Beach, to order this and the one below. Well written and an important story. As the author has said she was asking the question through this novel, “what does it mean to see?” She has allowed us to see the reality of the immigrant experience; I mean really see it, not just superficially but to understand through Nuri, his wife Afra, their son Sami, Nuri’s cousin and friend Mustafa and his family, as well as those encountered through their journey. I had not realized just how many stops and starts there are on the road to safety, for instance. Definitely recommended. The rest of my comments at Goodreads.

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. This isn’t the first book I’ve ready by this author and so it was no surprise how much I enjoyed it. I’m a bit of a sucker for well told stories of ordinary people under extraordinary circumstances. Odie O’Banion tells this story looking back at his life in 1932 (Minnesota) when he, his older brother, Albert, and their friends, Moses and Emmy embark on a journey after escaping from a terrible situation. It was a beautifully told story about a quest for self, for home, and sorting out faith. From the novel, “Ask me, God’s right here. In the dirt, the rain, the sky, the trees, the apples, the stars in the cottonwoods. In you and me, too. It’s all connected to God. Sure, this is hard work, but it’s good work because it’s part of what connects us to this land, Buck. This beautiful, tender land.”

Okay, so now it’s time for the one book I tried to read, tried to appreciate, and pushed through until I simply had to put it down.

M Train by Patti Smith. Okay, so I was actually looking forward to this book if the majority of reviews are to be taken seriously. But gosh, what a disappointment — for me. I had no idea who she was but reviewers and the publisher’s blurb certainly had me incredibly intrigued to read this memoir. After all they talked about her fluid prose, writer’s craft and artistic creation — all of which certainly grab my interest, not to mention being illustrated with her own Polaroids. Well, sign me up. Upon getting into the book, I admit she has a way with prose most of the time. But I wasn’t expecting this to basically be like reading a few hundred pages of someone’s journal. Not my cup of tea at all. For all the high ratings I was expecting much more than someone’s diary. Boink.

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