First up was Counterfeit, by Kirstin Chen, a New York Times recommendation. Two women who were briefly college roommates reconnect. One feels trapped by marriage and motherhood, the other has transformed into a beautiful grifter. The plot twist was interesting and I loved the slow reveal of the two main characters.
The next was also highly recommended in the Times and on several blogs. The Book of Goose, by Yiyun Li. I kept reading in hopes of catching whatever everyone else raved about, but this was not for me. Just too damned depressing.
Alias Emma, by Ava Glass is the first in a series. Emma is a spy for MI6, and for her first mission has to move a Russian target across London to safety without any backup and with no one to trust. It was a bit predictable but would have been a great airplane book. Good enough that I'll keep an eye out for the second book.
I got lucky and got Lucy by the Sea, by Elizabeth Stroud the day it was released. She reminds me a lot of Anne Tyler: the observations of quiet women, which often strike profoundly. Also, notes of Ellen Gilchrist when she weaves characters from other books into each successive book. Another pandemic novel. I'm trying to think of how many I've read. It seems like most of the characters have been upper/upper middle class like this one (other than the main character in The Fall?) Who's going to write that pandemic novel that tells us about the restaurant workers, or the hotel maids, or others who suddenly had no income?
My favorite book of this bunch was The Colony, by Audrey Magee. An English painter heads to a remote Irish island (redundant, I know) with the hope of becoming the Gauguin of the north. He immediately clashes with a French linguist who is studying Irish speakers. Magee's writing was amazing--a blend of dialogue; stream of consciousness from the artist, from James,the teen aged boy who becomes his assistant and mentee, and Mairead, his mother; and brief news briefs about murders committed by the IRA and the British in Northern Ireland. The artist and linguist argue over colonization while James dreams of going to art school in London. I didn't expect a happy ending, but I wasn't disappointed in the one she gave. I'm surprised this novel didn't make the Booker short list.
I read a bit of a palate cleanser next: The Family Remains, by Lisa Jewell. A quick suspense novel that was intriguing up until the end. I didn't read the first book, so I don't know how these characters were portrayed there, but one character is so deeply twisted that I felt I needed to know more about him before judging the ending. I've added the first book to my list. We'll see if I remember anything about this one when I finally get to it!
Last up, Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World, by Barry Lopez. I'd forgotten what a brilliant writer he is. These essays weren't my favorites, but just the vocabulary expansion did my brain good! And Rebecca Solnit's introduction reminded me how much I love her writing. (Also, it reminded me that her latest book was one someone took from my library sale pile, so I'm annoyed anew.)
