July 2026 in Books

This was a pretty good reading month. Some really strong books (particularly the historical fiction), and a couple of duds. Recaps below:

Pollock's Last Lover: A Novel of Art and Deception - Stephen P. Kiernan - historical fiction - three stars - Gwen, a young associate at an auction house, is assigned the task of verifying if a painting is a genuine (and the last) Pollock painting. It was brought to the auction house by Pollock's last lover Ruth Kligman. I simultaneously enjoyed, and hated this book. I hated Ruth. The book was weird, tried to portray her as very likable and down to earth and in a few pages she becomes someone you hate. I did like Gwen a lot, and I enjoyed reading about how one goes about authenticating things, all the research, etc. Four for Gwen, one and a half for Ruth, two and a half overall, rounded to three.

The Forgotten Midwife - Laura Anthony - historical fiction - five stars - A dual timeline story, although really most of it is in the past. Riley Carmichael is about to get married and her grandmother who has Alzheimer's gives her something in a lucid moment wanting to explain, but then the moment is lost. It leads Riley down a path to discovering who she really is. In Ireland in the 1950s, Margaret Lannigan's life is turned upside down when her sister dies, and she's sent by her family to take her place in becoming a nun. Margaret's story is both horrifying, and hopeful. Really enjoyed this one.

Whistler - Ann Patchett - historical fiction - four stars - Daphne and her husband go to the museum one day, and run into Eddie Triplett, her former stepfather. Eddie played a pivotal role in the her life, and then just disappeared when her mother divorced him. This reunion opens up a floodgate of emotions, repressed memories, and opens the door to a new relationship between the two of them. An exploration of family and friendship. I did enjoy this one, although I felt like it was not as developed as my favorite Patchett books, it sometimes seemed to kind of skim the surface. Still, a very good read.

The Supper Club Saints - Claire Swinarski - fiction - four stars - Cass Simon walked out on her family two years ago to join a 'Mommune'. When the leader is jailed, Cass turns up back home just as her family is getting ready to sell the Supper Club they have owned for generations. The story alternates between present day, and what happened at the Mommune. I enjoyed the characters and the family dynamics, although the whole Mommune thing was a little too out there for me. Decent read.

The Last Good Year: Seven Games That Ended an Era - Damien Cox - non-fiction - four stars - This was my audiobook for the month. It's about the 1993 Toronto Maple Leafs who lost to the Wayne Gretzky Kings in the Stanley Cup Semifinals. Cox weaves details about the players, coaches, owners, etc. in and around the narrative of each of the games. There were definitely some interesting characters involved in the series, not the least of which was King's owner Bruce McNall who would go on to be convicted of fraud and sentenced to 70 months in prison. There was a fair amount of detail in the book, and this is one that I might have enjoyed better reading vs listening to, but still quite interesting.

This Immortal Heart - Jennifer Saint - fiction - three stars - This is the second of Saint's books in a row that was a big let down for me. It's a mythical retelling of Aphrodite's story. I feel like this one and the last books that was just so so (about Hera) are maybe a problem because the character is too well known. There is just too much mythology about the major gods/goddesses, so it is perhaps too hard to  pull off a unique retelling. It seemed at times that Saint was trying too hard to weave in too many of the myths surrounding Aphrodite. On top of that, I feel like Saint tries too hard to give the books a feminist slant. I don't think they need it, and it ends up being distracting. Not sure I'll attempt another of her books for a while.

Daughters of the Sun and Moon - Lisa See - historical fiction - five stars - I am a huge fan of See, and was thrilled for her to be coming out with another book. This did not disappoint. It's about three Chinese women in 1870 Los Angeles living vastly different lives. Dove, the daughter of an imperial scholar who has fallen upon hard times, is sent to LA to be the second wife of a merchant there. Petal, the daughter of peasants, is sold and ends up a prostitute in LA, and Moon, already in LA, is the wife of a physician who treats both Chinese and American patients and has assimilated into American life, helping her husband with his practice. The women come to know one another, and deal with competing gangs/Tongs, as well as significant anti-Chinese sentiment. A really excellent read.

Theo of Golden - Allen Levi - fiction - four stars - Theo comes to the small town of Golden, seemingly randomly. When he enters the local coffee shop, he is drawn to a series of portraits on the wall, of the towns' residents, created by a local artist. Theo decides that he should unite the portraits with their rightful owners, their subjects. He begins to purchase and gift the, slowly getting to know the people in the town, and making an impact on their lives. I enjoyed this book a lot, although it was a bit of a let down based on all the hype about the book. For me it dragged at times, but overall a really good book, and I loved how it was tied up in the end.

The Young Will Remember - Eve J. Chung - historical fiction - five stars - Ellie Chang is a Chinese-American war correspondent during the Korean war. The medical evacuation flight she is on goes down in enemy territory, and she survives after a Korean woman claims her as her long lost daughter. Ellie goes with 'Emma' staying with a Korean pastor and his family. As Ellie tries to make it back to the Americans, bombing intensifies. She and her rescuers make the decision to head south to flee the bombing and give Ellie a chance to get home. I haven't read much about the Korean war, and I really liked the characters. Excellent read.

It's really hard to pick a favorite this month, the five stars were all equally good. Least favorite was Pollock's Last Lover. What have you guys been reading?