A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler (2015)

I love reading a book by an author whose work I've loved so in the past. I've not really fallen in love with a Tyler book since The Amateur Marriage (have I even read her others?)  But this one? I love the characters and the complicated family and marital relationships. Just loved. Oh, I'm moving my rating up to love.

One more thing I loved--insights like this:

 "One thing that parents of problem children never said aloud: it was a relief when the children turned out okay, but then what were the parents supposed to do with the anger they'd felt all those years?' (p. 157)

"You wake in the morning, you're feeling fine, but all at once you think, "Something's not right. Something's off somewhere; what is it?" And then you remember that it's your child--whichever one is unhappy." (p. 160)

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer (2013)

I really rather liked this large, semi-sprawling novel about six friends who meet at arts camp in the 1970s and whose lives remain connected through their lives as they take different paths through life.

I loved the look at the complications of long-term friendship and how you can love someone and have mixed feelings about them as well. I thought Wolitzer (a writer I'd never really warmed to before this) did a marvelous job with the wanderings about in time and changing viewpoint from character to character.  Darn solid characterization and relationships. And isn't that cover gorgeous?

While looking online for the cover artist info, I was reminded of the fascinating  piece that Meg Wolitzer wrote last year for the New York Times called The Second Shelf: On the Rules of Literary Fiction for Men and Women which discussed how literary fiction by women authors tends to get dismissed as "women's fiction" and literary fiction by men is held in higher regard.  Much discussion on this topic emerged, and Bookslut, one of the best literary blogs, talked to Wolitzer about it in their interview with her this year.  Fascinating reading!

By the way, cover artist info is surprisingly hard to find online!  I will add the cover artist info as soon as I can get a copy of the book into my actual hands.

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty (2013)

Liane Moriarty is quickly becoming one of my Adored Authors. 

Kirkus Reviews says: "Moriarty may be an edgier, more provocative and bolder successor to Maeve Binchy" and it's true.  I've long felt that Liane Moriarty and Maeve Binchy were long-lost sister writers, setting their stories in Australia and Ireland respectively, but sharing the same amazing characterization and beautifully written relationships, artfully weaving the lives of their characters together and creating wonderfully realistic and insightful novels.

In The Husband's Secret, Cecelia, perfect mother and wife, finds a letter in her attic from her husband saying "to be opened in the case of his death."  Sooooo .... Does she open it? 

In addition, we meet a number of other fascinating characters: Tess, whose husband just confessed to falling in love with Tess's cousin and closest friend, and Rachel, a mother and now grandmother who's still struggling with the murder of her daughter many years ago.  All three of these women's lives are intertwined in complex and delicate ways, and their stories unfold in a most compelling fashion.  Just a fabulous story, beautifully told.

Carry the One by Carol Anshaw (2012)

A strange, meditative, but quite engaging, novel. 

A group of friends and family are involved in a car accident that results in the death of a young girl. This is not a "I Know What You did Last Summer" sort of novel, but more a novel that takes this crucial act as the springboard for following these friends and the paths their lives take after the incident. Explores their work and artistic lives, and their romantic lives as well.

Lovely, with some wonderful writing on life. I loved this quote, as divorced Carmen rejects a man who hasn't even approached her yet:

"The social road ahead looked like a bleak highway, post-apocalyptic, overblown with dust, gray and lifeless except for mutants popping up here and there." 

Grand Opening by Jon Hassler (1987)

This is a lovely, character-rich depiction of small-town life during World War II. A family pursues their dream of moving to a small town in Minnesota to open a grocery store.  Wonderful characters and relationships, and challenging situations.  Complicated and lovely.  For me, Hassler is the male Maeve Binchy, with wonderfully written 'good' characters and just as well-drawn 'bad' characters, who ultimately end up with some comeuppance for their sins.

Family Acts by Louise Shaffer (2007)

Story of an opera house and the family that manages the theater from the mid-1800s to the present day, when two women, unknown to each other, inherit the opera house. An interesting look at theatrical life, and backstage life, as well.

Windfallen by Jojo Moyes (2003)

Although the cover and title seem very pedestrian, this novel is surprisingly delightful.  A sprawling family history centers around an unusual house and its inhabitants on the British coast. Amazing characters and complex relationships. Very Maeve Binchy-like, and that's high praise.

The Grace That Keeps the World by Tom Bailey (1991)

Elegiac, thoughtful tale of a family living in upstate New York, who live off the land and have a great tragedy. The story unfolds through the voices of the family and the townspeople and is a quiet, descriptive story, which also has a strong suspenseful thread due to the big mystery to be revealed at the end.

Maeve Binchy - Adored Author

Maeve Binchy writes sweet, Irish tales people with heaps of memorable characters. Like a big, cozy quilt in book form. I love all of her books, but can't always remember exactly what they were about after reading them.  I adore This Year It Will Be Different: the best Christmas short story collection ever. These stories have a definite edge and are infused with dark humor. Mothers who feel that their hard holiday work goes unappreciated should definitely check this collection out.  Other outstanding Binchy novels include Circle of Friends, Evening Class, Tara Road, and, especially, Night of Rain and Stars, which is set on a Greek island and revolves around four tourists from England, America, Germany and, of course, Ireland. After a tragedy occurs on the island, the four find themselves caught up in island life and reluctant to leave. Love blossoms, family troubles spark and are resolved, colorful island folk add their two cents and the whole novel is just delightful.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck (1952)

CRACKING good read. Forced to read it for book club, but once I started it, I couldn't put it down. The characters are amazing and complex and realistic, and there was a real battle between good and evil. Amazingly written. Held on to the last chapter for a few days because I didn't want it to be over.  Also, a strangely incomplete film that I've been unable to watch.

Three Girls and Their Brother by Theresa Rebeck (2008)

The three girls of the titles are the granddaughters of a famous literary critic who get their picture in the New Yorker and become media sensations. Told first by the brother, then by each of the sisters, it's a wonderful look at family relationships, as well as the culture of celebrity.

The Pretend Wife by Bridget Asher (2009)

 

Novel about a married woman who runs into an old college boyfriend who asks her to pretend to be his wife for his dying mother. 

Although it sounds superficial, the sweet novel tackles some tough issues around relationships and, most interestingly, the woman's relationship with her father and her late mother.