Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

 

This book is the reason I rarely leave a book unfinished.

I almost gave up on this one.  I was not invested, the storyline and timeline kept changing, leaving characters behind, I could not find the connector.  Because I was not supposed to.  Until literally about halfway in.

Then it was:  Oh, wait, what?  And then:  OOOOoooohhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I read the second half twice as fast as the first half.  Natch.

This story is very complicated, and echoes back to several other novels I have read, one of them very recently, which left me in a bit of deja vu.  Interestingly enough, in the acknowledgements the author lists about a dozen other novels you should read if you liked Sea of Tranquility, and the books I had in mind were on her list.  I won't name them here, as that would be kind of a spoiler.  IYKYK. (And I would add the book Replay by Ken Grimwood, one of the best time travel books I have ever read, outside of Outlander o'course, and 11/22/63 by Stephen King).

I am not going to attempt to give you a plot summary here - get that on Goodreads for what it will be worth for this one.  I do understand from Goodreads Questions that if you read The Glass Hotel first, you will recognize several characters from that book in Sea of Tranquility.  I am hoping that once I go back to The Glass Hotel, I will find out the answer to one main question I felt was left unanswered in a secondary plot about a lesser secondary character (Vincent). Mandel again weaves in Shakespeare, art, a pandemic, and futuristic devices (like she did in Station Eleven).  If you like science fiction, the idea of what life could be like in the future, and coming full circle, this is a great read.  Be patient, I promise it will deliver.  

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

Recommended by the (young) bookseller at Barnes and Noble, this horror fantasy left me wanting something more - not interested in a sequel, but just more in the story. (Although a PREQUEL could be interesting.....) I did not realize it was a horror book - it is more creepy than scary.  Three sisters disappear together and when they are later found, weeks later, they seem different.  They grow up, weird people out, and their dad KNOWS something is off.  What really happened to the girls?  Where'd they go?  Who took them?  Why is there a scar on their necks?  We do get the answers, I didn't like them, especially when flowers start growing in weird places.  Beauty is deceiving seemed to be the theme.  There is of course a twist which I did not see coming, and honestly the story kinda went downhill from there for me.  Good writing and Great character development - I loved Vivi and wanted more of her viewpoint at the end, she kinda faded out.  Very original and a super Dark story, disturbing and weird.  Courtney, you'd love it.  Mom, not so much.  ;-)

Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz

 

I am a huge Dean Koontz fan.  I have read about half of his books (he is prolific!!) and he has his OWN shelf in my library.  Only Diana Gabaldon is also afforded that honor, and we know how I feel about her.  (Right?  If not, I have done something wrong here  #obsessanach).

I found this treasure for a dollar at my local used bookshop, The Book Lady in Monroe NC.  (I moved last year, but don't worry The Book Rack in South Charlotte, I am coming for YOU tomorrow!)  I knew I had read it before - who can forget a name like Punchinello Beezo???  But I could not remember exactly what happened in this story of predictions, life, coincidences, dread, hilarity, and clowns.

That's right.  Clowns.  Don't read this one, Ashley. 

Jimmy Tock is born on a stormy night, the same night his grandfather dies in the same hospital where Jimmy is born.  The same night Punchinello Beezo is born, and the same night Punchinello's father goes on a shooting rampage in that same hospital.  The same night that, before he goes, Jimmy's dying Granddaddy sits up with some astonishing words:  "Five days.  Five Terrible Days."  He then proceeds to shout out five specific dates on which Jimmy will have Terrible Days.

And so the waiting and the dreading begin.

Most of all, though, this is a mad caper of hilarity and punchy dialogue and deadpan jokes.  Koontz is a master at taking something terrifying and making it common and normal and yes, laugh out loud funny.  A wonderfully poignant ending, full circle, and some of the best banter since Doris and Rock.  This is not a horror novel.  It is fast paced and crazy and funny and fun with a super twist near the end.  Yes, there are guns involved, but there is also a library and love and babies - and hope.  I highly recommend this one - no supernatural stuff really, which you can find in many of Koontz's works.  This is a stand alone, and so so good.  Enjoy!

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

What a beautiful and devastating book.

I kept hearing how good this book was, but of course was wary due to the subject matter. It is not a spoiler to say this is about love, family, a mother's fierce love and heavy guilt, and the death of a child. But we learn so much about the family and the times and the WRITING - omgosh y'all, the writing is absolutely beautiful. I felt like I was in Stratford, I could smell the horses and feel the scalding water for laundry and hear the creaks of the stairs.

"A breeze slips invisibly, insistently through the streets, like a burglar seeking an entrance. It plays with the tops of the trees, tipping them one way, then the other. It shivers inside the church bell, making the brass vibrate with a single low note. It ruffles the feathers of the lonely owl, sitting on a rooftop near the church. It trembles a loose casement a few doors along, making the people inside turn over in their beds, their dreams intruded upon by images of shaking bones, of nearing footsteps, of drumming hoofs."

So descriptive and atmospheric and heartfelt! The passages describing the parents' grief in the months after their child's death will tear out your heart. So well done, fractured, real. But I did not cry with this one, although several have said to have Kleenex nearby. I knew it was coming, and that helped. AND, that grief comes more towards the end of the book - there is so much more here than just the death in the story. This is a story of a marriage, of two people who come from dysfunctional families and find their way to, away from, and hopefully back to each other. It is the story of the twin left behind. Of a nameless playwright in England in the late 1500's (yes, THAT playwright) struggling to find his place away from his abusive father and hopeless life. I loved that he remained nameless throughout the novel, because this story was about Agnes, his wife. The one left behind when he goes to London and finally finds the stage. The one who knows things about people, who knows she will have two children and yet births three, who knows the man down the lane will be gone from sickness by the end of the year. The girl from the forest who is the healer. The one who could not save her own child.

I had read The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox several years ago by this author (audio version actually) and did not really like that story, or that ending. THIS book makes me want to be a Maggie O'Farrell completist. Or maybe I will stop with this one - perfection.