This is Happiness by Niall Williams (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019)

A beautiful journey to a kinder time in a gentler country. A coming-of-age story about an Irish boy who goes to live with his grandparents; the story of his change and the change of the county as electricity is introduced. I lived with my grandparents in the country every summer until I was a teen. During that time, electricity and the telephone came to our county in SW Missouri. A marvelous experience. Loved this book.

The Summer of Hate: Charlottesville, USA by Hawes Spencer (University of Virginia Press, 2018)

Normally not my type of book, but I was interested in how a university town like Charlottesville got sucked into alt-right violence. It all began with the city council’s vote to take down a Confederate statue in a public park. The alt-right seized the opportunity to lead a large demonstration that ended with the killing of a bystander by an alt-right driver of a car. Excellently researched book; does not take sides. Well-written, but it jumps around when a straight timeline would have served the story better.

Days in the Caucuses by Banine (Pushkin Press, 2021)

First published in Paris in 1945, this is the memoir of a young Azerbaijani woman at the time of the Russian Revolution and after. She is spoiled and astute, confined by her wealthy Muslim family, yet confident enough to eventually escape the Bolsheviks and make her way to the salons of Paris. An enjoyable and unique read.

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu (Pantheon 2020) National Book Award Winner

This little book packs a powerful wallop. Written in the manner of a screenplay, it delivers a sliver of insight into the underbelly of Hollywood and the stereotyping of Chinese as atmospheric extras. The protagonist is an actor, as were his mother and father. His goal is to achieve a titled role in a television series, rather than that of a rotating extra. The story is funny, sad, and revealing. A good, quick read.

Trio by William Boyd (Knopf, 2021)

One of my favorite writers with a large bibliography to enjoy. This is not his finest book by a long shot, but it is fun and an easy read. Set in Brighton in the 60s – a movie being made, the three protagonists all involved behind the camera. If you have not read other books by Boyd, read him chronologically beginning with A Good Man in Africa. Like many of Boyd’s other books, Trio is being made into a movie.

Swan Song 1945: A Collective Diary of the Last Days of the Third Reich by Walter Kempowski (W. W. Norton & Company, 2015)

At 557 pages, this is a long book, but one that you will read only several pages at a time – more is overwhelming. There are over 1,000 carefully edited first-person accounts about the end of WWII and the fall of the Third Reich. That’s it, no narrative, no storyline, just history at its finest written by those who are living it. For any lover of history, this is an excellent read.

A Pure Heart by Rajia Hassib (Viking, 2019)

Really wanted to like this book about two Egyptian sisters and two different life paths. The scene is the aftermath of the Egyptian spring. One sister, the story-teller, emigrates to New York. The other remains in Cairo and eventually disappears. The solution to the mysterious disappearance is the story and I found it dull.

Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings by Neil Price (Basic Books, 2020)

I loved most of the eight seasons of The Vikings on The History Channel. It stoked my interest in these fascinating explorers who seem to live so modestly today. This book fleshed out all the voids that must be created for the sake of a TV series. What amazed me most was the extent of Viking exploration, trade and settlement. A great read for lovers of history.

Country Dark by Chris Offut (Grove Press, 2018)

Back woods noir set in eastern Kentucky after the Korean War. The protagonist, Tucker, a vet returning with his discharge $400, meets a damsel in distress, saves her, marries her and they produce five children—three of them mildly to acutely disabled. Tucker runs hooch and ends up taking a fall for his boss that will gain Tucker money needed for the children, but land him in jail for a long time. Of course, nothing really goes right. Good, quick read.

Forever Young by Haley Mills (‎Grand Central Publishing, 2021)

Never seen even one Hayley Mills movie, but this book got good reviews and it proved to be a light, easy read. The first quarter of the book about her childhood as a member of a famous theatrical family was well written and informative. The rest of the book about her time with Disney was informative, interesting, but more an expanded bibliography of her career through her 20s. Not too gossipy, but a few good tidbits.

The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu by Tom Lin (Little, Brown and Company, 2021)

Loved this book and did not love this book. It has such possibility – a Chinese gunman in the old West. Raised by a white substitute father figure (who is a gunman), our hero looks Chinese and can blend in with those building the railroad, but he speaks with no accent and he knows “white man ways.” What a sharp contrast to the cookie-cutter Chinese-American media characters of Interior Chinatown. There’s mystical realism, sex, circus performers, and lots of murder to amuse us. But there are also passages of strange flowery writing that do not fit this new genre. Tsu is a new-ish writer and his editor should have had a stronger hand. As usual, there are outlandish events like humans and horses crossing deserts without water or food that just burn my sense of Western American history. I recommend reading it because Lin is an up-and-comer that we should watch.

Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict (Sourcebooks Landmark, 2020)

Remember how we all latched onto The Only Woman in the Room by Benedict several years ago? The fascinating story of Hedy Lamarr, spy, actress, siren, and inventor. Though we were amazed by the story, the writing of Benedict did not captivate us. It’s the same with this novel written around the amazing world of Lady Clementine Churchill. This woman is spectacular, with a randy British family, a difficult husband, even more difficult children, and the intent to make history her own way. I know a lot more about her, but rather than a gripping novel, it read like an entry in the encyclopedia. Need to find a really good book about Clementine Churchill. Don’t waste your time on this one.

Make Russia Great Again by Christopher Buckley (Simon & Schuster, 2019)

Just thinking about Christopher Buckley makes me laugh. He’s such a clever writer. Probably not as cerebral as his father, but more grounded in what pleases his fans. Our protagonist, Herb Nutterman, Trump’s fictional retired manager at several of his golf properties, is called to be Chief-of-Staff because no one can work with the President. Reading about his travails is such fun. Known to the President as “his favorite Jew”, Nutterman ultimately ends up in prison for keeping the world turning through the President’s love affair with all things Russian and Putin. Quick, fun read.

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing (Basic Books, 2015)

Originally published in 1959, it is about the failure of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition led by Sir Ernest Shackleton, in its attempt to cross the Antarctic continent in 1914. A must-read book, thrilling from beginning to end. I could not put it down – and though the expedition failed, everyone who participated succeeded. Coincidentally, a distant relative, William Bakewell, was an able-bodied seaman on the voyage.