A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel

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by Amor Towles, 2016, Viking

This is a lovely book, slow paced and articulate.  It is a story of a nobleman in Russia who is declared a non-person by the Communist Party after the revolution and is sentence to live the rest of his life in a small room in the attic of a hotel where he formerly resided.  He assumes the role of the maître d’ of the hotel and gets on with his life.

The book satirizes the Soviet society but does it tongue-in-cheek and doesn’t stoop to polemics.  The characters are warm and humorous and all of them are really believable.  The best of them, however, is the gentleman himself.  Would only that the world had more individuals like him!

One recommendation for this book, however, is to read it slowly.  I found myself wanting to get on with it and find out what happens next.  Resist that urge as it is best enjoyed at a leisurely pace to savor all it has to offer.4 stars

‘E’ is for Evidence

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by Sue Grafton, 1988, Henry Holt & Company, Inc., New York

This is the first book by Sue Grafton that I have read.  It was in a pile of books that we inherited from my mother-in-law and I picked it up for enjoyment.  By coincidence, Ms. Grafton passed away the week I was reading it and I found out that she was well-regarded as a mystery writer.

The primary character, Kinsey Milhone, is very down to earth and is interesting to follow.  I’m not sure I would like to read multiple novels with her as the main protagonist, but this one was fun.  The other characters were interesting as well and the plot was okay.

All-in-all, an enjoyable book to read as my first experience with a Sue Grafton novel.  I’m not sure I would make a steady diet of her books, however.  3 stars

Deep Blue

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by Randy Wayne White, 2016, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York

This is probably the worst Doc Ford book I have read.  It is very disjointed and hard to follow.  There seems to be no transitions to give the reader the sense of what is going on.  White tries to fill in some of the context after he gets into a new scene, but, for the most part,  leaves the reader to fill in the blanks as to how he got there.

Much of the old Doc Ford persona. the one that depicts him as a biologist with a complex background and interests,  has pretty much disappeared in favor of the ex-CIA hitman who appears to be a clone of Mitch Rap of the Vince Flynn novels.  As such, the complexity that made him so interesting in other novels, is gone in favor of a one-dimensional action man.

His free-thinking buddy, Tomlinson, is no longer as funny as he used to be and often seems out of place at various times in the book.

The rest of the Dinkin’s Bay crowd are there, but they seem to be in the shadows, somehow, and they don’t seem to add much to the book.

The plot of the book which involves the villains is murky at best.  I’m not sure I really understand what was going on, even after finishing the book.

Finally, the passages that, in previous Doc Ford novels, provide enlightenment regarding the history and environment of Florida are totally missing from this book.

I wonder if someone else really wrote this one and White attached his name to it?

Boo! Hiss!1 stars

Red Sparrow: A Novel

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by Jason Matthews, 2013, Scribner

This novel was enjoyable to read and provided a great deal of insight into the various spycraft used by the agents such as the routines used to tail a target which were particularly interesting.  There was also a revelation regarding a school that the Russians used to train young girls in sexual techniques to obtain information.  The techniques themselves were disgusting but the descriptions the author provided had a ring of truth.  Jason Matthews is a former CIA employee and his experience made the novel very realistic.

The characters were well developed but one of the primary characters, Nate Nash, seems to fade into the background toward the end of the book.  It is evident, however, that this is the first book of a trilogy, and I suspect that Nate will re-emerge in the later novels.

The book eventually led to a movie starring Jennifer Lawrence which I looked forward to seeing.  Unfortunately, it got horrible reviews and bombed at the box office.  They must have really messed it up because this book had all the ingredients that should have made for a great movie.  I recommend reading the book but maybe skipping the movie. Too bad.

South of Broad

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by Pat Conroy, 2009, Random House, New York

This is an interesting book about a person growing up in Charleston, South Carolina, and his relationships with other individuals in his life.  It is well-written and provides a sense of living in Charleston.  Some of the passages in the book are actually quite beautiful.

The plot provides a measure of suspense as there is an individual who is intent on killing the main character and all of his friends.

The characters in the novel are interesting, but, with the exception of the main character, tend to be a bit one-dimensional.  The depression, verging on insanity at times, gives the main character some added depth which doesn’t seem to be present in some the others.  The story is told in first-person which allows the reader to become much closer to him.

I enjoyed reading this book very much, and, while it may not be an all-time great literary accomplishment, this enjoyment allowed my to rate the book quite high. 4 stars

To Capture What We Cannot Keep

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by Beatrice Colin, 2016, Flatiron Books, New York

This book is a story about the primary architect of the Eiffel Tower and the building of the tower is the backdrop of the novel.  It is, however, primarily a romance and it keeps a lot of the technical details of the design and construction in the background.

The story is interesting but it sometimes seems to move with glacial speed.2 1/2 stars

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis

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by J. D. Vance, 2016, Harper (Kindle Edition)

This book is very pertinent to what is occurring in the United States today.  Individuals are angry and upset, don’t trust the government, don’t trust the media, and are prone to false news and conspiracy theories.  Vance’s book sheds a lot of light on how the “hillbilly culture” affects how many in the rust belt and Appalachia are affected by this culture.

Vance’s memoir of his life growing up in a dysfunctional hillbilly family with a mother who was untrustworthy, an alcoholic and drug user, and an abuser, illustrates the impacts of this kind of culture.  He was extremely fortunate to have grandparents who provided him with enough stability and belief in him to enable him to escape from his roots.  Unfortunately, the situation he experienced and the subsequent opportunities that opened up are fairly rare.  He is definitely an exception.

My only criticism of the book is that I think Vance suggests that the dysfunction is unique to the hillbilly culture.  I believe that there are similar forces present in many of the other cultures (Black, Hispanic, and even wealthy white families) that are creating similar behaviors.

The book is well-written and easy to follow.  I would recommend this book.3 1/2 stars

The Convivial Codfish

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by Charlotte MacLeod, 1984, Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York

This book is a short murder mystery that takes place in the Boston area.  It has quite a bit of humor and the characters are interesting (albeit somewhat hard to keep track of).  I enjoyed the book but it got a bit bogged down in the middle as the detective interviews all of his suspects. 3 stars

The Association of Small Bombs, a Novel

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by Karen Mahajan, 2016, Penguin Books, New York

This book is about a terrorist bombing in Delhi, India, where two young boys were killed and how it affected the victims, the perpetrator, and their families.

I had a hard time getting into this book as the plot seemed to meander a lot (although it did come together somewhat in the end).  I think I may have lost it with all the Indian place names but I also didn’t connect very well with the characters.  The portrayal of the characters seemed very flat.  It was an interesting subject but I wish the delivery could have been better. 2 1/2 stars

Winter of the World: The Century Trilogy, Book 2

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by Ken Follett, Audiobook narrated by John Lee, 2012, Penguin Audio

I have continued on my quest to listen to all three books in this trilogy.  I am again giving this book a three-star rating although I think it’s a bit better than the first book of the trilogy, World Without End.  This book was about World War II and various families who were impacted by the war whereas the prior book was primarily about World War I.  Perhaps the immediacy of the subject made it a bit better than the first.

I often think of Herman Wouk’s Winds of War and War and Remembrance when I read these books as they are written with the same basic formula: the war, the families, and how they survived through the war.  Wouk’s works are definitely a better effort as they dealt with the internment in concentration camps of some of the family members.  I could feel the stress and impending doom much more in his books than Follett’s.  Follett also throws in a few sex scenes to titillate his readers while Wouk’s were a bit more prudish.

While I can’t really rave about these, they aren’t bad listening, and, I as mentioned, they do refresh the history for me. 3 stars