Just an OK month of reading this month. I got bogged down with a bunch of three star books middle-to-end of the month, but in terms of genres I thought this was a pretty balanced month, a little bit of lots of different things. Full recaps are below:
The Diamond Eye - Kate Quinn - historical fiction - four stars - Based on the life of Mila Pavlichenko, a Russian sniper during WWII. With over 300 kills she becomes famous and is sent to the U.S. on a goodwill tour of sorts to try and encourage the U.S. to enter into the war. I really enjoyed the parts about Mila's life and how she became a sniper. Those are interspersed with the details of her tour in the U.S. and another sniper who is trying to assassinate FDR and pin the crime on Mila. The U.S. based story just was not as compelling to me, and the the book dragged a bit which is why it's four rather than five stars. In light of current events, I found the book interesting in that Mila is Ukrainian (from Kyiv), but staunchly Russian.
Kaikeyi - Vaishnavi Patel - fiction - five stars - I really loved this one. It's a retelling of a Hindu story from the Ramayana. I've really not read much in the way of Hindu folklore/mythology, but I imagine this is similar to retellings such as Circe, The Witch's Heart, etc. I really loved the character of Kaikeyi, the third wife to Dasharasha, who is a warrior and diplomat. She works together with her fellow wives to improve the lot of women and others in her kingdom, but cannot prevent war and turmoil in the next generation. This was a really rich retelling, great character development, and just well done. Hoping that there will be many more books from this author.
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood - fiction - five stars - I read this years ago, I think while in high school, but I wanted to read the recent sequel, so I thought I would refresh my memory beforehand. It's the story of Offred, who lives in a time when the U.S. as we know it is no longer. The president was assassinated, Congress as well, there have been nuclear accidents, goods are hard to come by, radical fundamentalists have taken hold of the government. In addition to all this, the populations is in dire straits as birth rates have fallen dramatically, sterility and infant mortality are high. As a result, the powers that be create the roll of handmaid, women whose sole purpose is to serve as incubators for others' children. The women are known to be able to reproduce (they have children who have been taken away and been given to more desirable parents), but have been designated as handmaids because they had children out of wedlock, were second wives, etc. It's an imagining of society turned on it's head. Extremely thought provoking, highly recommend.
Unlikely Animals - Annie Hartnett - fiction - three stars - Emma Starling is returning home because her father is dying. He's also hallucinating that he sees a deceased town leader and animals everywhere. Emma meanwhile has not lived up to her potential. She used to have a 'healing touch' that could cure people of minor injuries/aches and pains. She went to California for college an was supposed to start medical school, but she basically froze and never showed up. She returns to a family in shambles and tries to find her way in town. Thrown in is the commentary of the deceased in town - from the graveyard they comment upon events happening in and around town. This just never really took off for me. I never connected with the characters, it all seemed kind of haphazard and thrown together. Not my favorite.
The Brilliance of Stars (Jack and Ivy, #1) - J'nell Ciesielski - historical fiction - three stars - Picked this one off the hold shelf as it looked interesting, but it was a bit of a dud for me. Probably closer to 2 1/2 stars. Philip and Ivy are orphans living on the streets in Washington DC. They happen upon Jack, who is an agent for Talon, an agency dedicated to making sure right wins out in the world. They are taken in by Talon, trained, and being to help with the work. In particular, they are after Balaur Tsar, a Russian arms dealer who has invented a terrible weapon that must be destroyed at all costs. Just too much happening here. The author was channeling Marvel comics (she admits as much) and the idea of super soldier thrown in with the rest of it was just over the top for me. It seemed almost like two books, orphans taken in and happy ending, and then science fictioney action story. Meh.
The Red Widow: The Scandal that Shook Paris and the Woman Behind it All - non-fiction - three stars -My non-fiction book for the month which I also pulled off the new books shelf at the library. It's about Meg, married to a less than average artist, who desires to socialize and be part of circles in society greater than her lot. She is able to fashion this life for herself by essentially becoming a high end courtesan. The rich (during the Belle Epoque) period commission or purchase a piece of her husband's work, and she eventually grants them a liaison, or affair. She beds much of Paris high society, including the president, Faure, before scandal. Her husband and mother are murdered in her home and she of course is a suspect. It's an interesting story, but the book was hard to finish. The first part, about her upbringing and how she established herself in society was really interesting, but the latter part, after the murders, her arrest, and trial really dragged for me. I confess that I skimmed a lot of the last part of the book as I wanted to see what happened, but was bored by much of the text. Just OK.
City of the Dead (City Spies Book 4) - James Ponti - juvenile fiction - five stars - Another great City Spies book. In this episode the kids are trying to prevent/thwart a hack of a number of public institutions in London. The trail leads them to Egypt. I felt like in this book the team worked a lot collectively, but apart in teams to tackle multiple threats/suspects at the same time. There was also a twist in the emergence of Mother's son, and a bit of a mystery that leaves you wondering about what will happen next. Love this series.
Least favorite book this month was
The Brilliance of Stars, and favorite by far was
Kaikeyi. Right now I'm reading my classic for March,
My Antonia. Next up are a Harold Fry sequel,
Maureen, and
Black Cake. Would love to know what you have been reading!
