July 2023 in Books

Some really good books this month, and lots of historical fiction.  Here are the recaps:

The Covenant of Water - Abraham Verghese - historical fiction - five stars - A very long, but very good book about a family in South India who suffer from a strange curse.  Every generation at least one individual dies by drowning.  I loved the scope of the book, it's quite sprawling with several storylines and characters that eventually come together in the end.  The characters are wonderful.  Some very flawed, but still you are rooting for them.  As they grow and leave home, they are inevitably drawn back to their family and roots.  Verghese provides wonderful detail and context.  This one will take you a while to finish, but it is worth it.

Clytemnestra - Costanza Casati.- fiction - five stars - I've read a lot of these mythical retellings in the last year, and I wasn't quite sure if I was ready for another, but I was.  Clytemnestra, like so many mythical women, is a pawn.  She finds great love, suffers great loss, and plots great revenge.  Casati really brought her to life.  I loved the character, her strength and conviction and focus.  The book doesn't end with Clytemnestra's death.  It leaves her at a point where she's accomplished much, and starting a new life.  I've wondered since I read this how the author would have portrayed her later years,  If you like mythology, this is a good one.

The Air Raid Book Club - Annie Lyons - historical fiction - five stars - I really enjoyed Lyons' previous book, The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett, so I was excited to try another book from her.  This one is quite different, although the protagonist in each is an older woman.  In this book, Gertie Bingham, who lost her husband Harry a couple years ago, is struggling to cope with the loss.  The Binghams owned a bookstore, and Gertie is having a difficult time continuing on as everything reminds her of Harry.  It's 1938, and when her friend asks if she would host a child from the Kindertransport she is torn, but agrees.  Enter Hedy.  They have a difficult time adjusting to one another, but eventually grow to love and depend on one another.  Hedy helps fill Gertie's need for a family and vice versa.  She also helps to breath new life into the bookstore.  Really loved it.

The Lost Wife - Susanna Moore - historical fiction - four stars - In 1855, Sarah Britton runs away from her husband and child.  She goes to Minnesota to find a childhood friend only to discover when she arrives that her friend has passed away.  Sarah assesses her situation, and marries the local doctor.  Fast forward a few years.  Her husband is now the doctor at an Indian agency, and they have two children.  Sarah makes friends with the local Sioux.  When the government does not provide the annual subsidy (agreed to in the treaties), the Sioux revolt.  Many settlers are killed and Sarah and her children are captured, although treated well because of her previous relationship with them.  Eventually they are returned to her husband, but she is shunned and whispers follow her due to her privileged treatment while in captivity.  Based on actual events, this was a really interesting read.

The Seamstress of Sardinia - Bianca Pitzorno - historical fiction - four stars - This was a quick easy read.  It's about a Sardinian seamstress.  There were many in the 1900s.  They would come to your house to sew whether sheets and other linens, or clothing.  The seamstress in question goes to live with her grandmother when she is young after the death of her parents.  When her grandmother dies several years later, she has learned enough to be able to continue and eke out a living on her own.  The book is a series of anecdotes about clients and circumstances she encounters.  The stories are based on those told to the author from relatives who were once in the trade.  I enjoyed the interesting characters and scenarios and the glimpse into life at that time.  Enjoyable read.

More About Boy Tales of Childhood - Roald Dahl - autobiography - four stars - After reading Going Solo last month, I picked this one up at the library.  This is the first part of Dahl's autobiography and talks about his growing up years.  I enjoyed this one, but not as much as Going Solo.  This book was a little more of a memoir, with select stories from his growing up as opposed to a more chronological and wholesale autobiography.  Some of the stories were definitely more interesting than others, but I did like how the book included little notes and tidbits that tied his life's story to his books and characters.  Definitely still worth the read.

Go Tell It on the Mountain - James Baldwin - fiction - three stars - This was my classic for the month.  It was just so so.  The events in the book take place in one day, but you get many years of history as several of the characters think back over their lives and you hear about their history.  A fourteen year old named John is the protagonist.  He is the stepson of a Pentecostal preacher and lives with her family in Harlem.  It's 1935, and he struggles with his identity, a desire to be good, but an inner rage.  At a prayer meeting he has a personal and spiritual awakening during which other family members reflect upon how they got to where they are.  Those stories were interesting, but the storyline itself really wasn't there...other than the self discovery which was not that compelling to me.  Just OK.

My favorite book this month was definitely The Covenant of Water.  It was definitely a tome, but such a good story.  I'm currently finishing up The Great Reclamation, and I have a whole pile of holds from the library that just showed up, so I'm not quite sure what I'm reading next, but I will need to step up the pace!  Would love to hear what you have read recently.