SCHATJE'S FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2023

 

Schatje's Favourite Books of 2023

Of the 110 novels I read this year, here are my favourites.  The vast majority were published in 2023.  It’s been a great year of reading!

 

Fiction by Canadians

Since I’m Canadian, I read a lot of novels written by Canadians.  Here’s my baker’s dozen of favourites.

The Adversary by Michael Crummey https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/09/review-of-adversary-by-michael-crummey.html

The Observer by Marina Endicott https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/11/review-of-observer-by-marina-endicott.html

The Good Women of Safe Harbour by Bobbi French https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/04/review-of-good-women-of-safe-harbour-by.html

The Forcing by Paul E. Hardisty https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/02/review-of-forcing-by-paul-e-hardisty.html

Snow Road Station by Elizabeth Hay https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/04/review-of-snow-road-station-by.html

The Story of Us by Catherine Hernandez https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/03/review-of-story-of-us-by-catherine.html

Gin, Turpentine, Pennyroyal, Rue by Christine Higdon https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/09/review-of-gin-turpentine-pennyroyal-rue.html

Rage the Night by Donna Morrissey https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/09/review-of-rage-night-by-donna-morrissey.html

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/06/review-of-berry-pickers-by-amanda-peters.html

The Imposters by Tom Rachman https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/06/revie-of-imposters-by-tom-rachman.html

All the Colour in the World by C S Richardson https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/01/review-of-all-colour-in-world-by-cs.html

Everything There Is by M. G. Vassanji https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/09/review-of-everything-there-is-by-m-g.html

Far Cry by Alissa York https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/02/review-of-far-cry-by-alissa-york-new.html

American Fiction

Here are my “top 5” American novels read in 2023.

Baumgartner by Paul Auster https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/11/review-of-baumgartner-by-paul-auster.html

48 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister by Joyce Carol Oates https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/03/review-of-48-clues-into-disappearance.html

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/11/review-of-tom-lake-by-ann-patchett.html

The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylväinen https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/08/review-of-end-of-drum-time-by-hanna.html

Stealing by Margaret Verble https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/02/review-of-stealing-by-margaret-verble.html

 

Fiction from United Kingdom

These are my “top 10” 2023 books written by authors from either England or Ireland.

All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/12/review-of-all-little-bird-hearts-by.html

Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/04/review-of-old-gods-time-by-sebastian.html

eden by Jim Crace https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/08/review-of-eden-by-jim-crace-new-release.html

The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/11/review-of-wren-wren-by-anne-enright-new.html

The Fascination by Essie Fox https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/07/review-of-fascination-by-essie-fox.html

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/05/review-of-trespasses-by-louise-kennedy.html

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/07/review-of-strange-sally-diamond-by-liz.html

The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/02/review-of-queen-of-dirt-island-by-donal.html

ONE by Eve Smith https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/09/review-of-one-by-eve-smith.html

So Pretty by Ronnie Turner https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/01/review-of-so-pretty-by-ronnie-turner.html

 

International Fiction

These are my “top 5” 2023 books by authors from countries other than Canada, U.S., England or Ireland.

His Favourite Graves by Paul Cleave (New Zealand) https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/11/review-of-his-favourite-graves-by-paul.html

Magma by Thóra Hjōrleifsdóttir (Iceland) https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/05/review-of-magma-by-thora-hjorleifsdottir.html

Someone Like Her by Awais Khan (Pakistan) https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/10/review-of-someone-like-her-by-awais-khan.html

Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius (Sweden) https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/02/review-of-stolen-by-ann-helen.html

Return to Valetto by Dominic Smith (Australia) https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/06/review-of-return-to-valetto-by-dominic.html

 

Favourite Crime Series

I read the latest instalments in some favourite crime series.  Here are my top five.

You Can’t See Me by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/07/review-of-you-cant-see-me-by-eva-bjorg.html - the 4th in the Forbidden Iceland series

The Opposite of Lonely by Doug Johnstone https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/10/review-of-opposite-of-lonely-by-doug.html - the 5th book in the Skelfs series

Killing Moon by Jo Nesbø https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/06/review-of-killing-moon-by-jo-nesb-new.html - the 13th in the Harry Hole series

Dead and Gone by Joanna Schaffhausen https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/08/review-of-dead-and-gone-by-joanna.html - the 3rd in the Detective Annalisa Vega series

White as Snow by Lilja Sigurðardóttir https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/10/review-of-white-as-snow-by-lilja.html - the 3rd in the Árora Investigation series

Review of GULL ISLAND by Anna Porter

 2.5 Stars

This book was a major disappointment.

Jude Bogdan returns to her family’s cottage on a private island in Georgian Bay.  Her mother, who is dealing with encroaching dementia, wants Jude to look for her father’s will after his mysterious disappearance a month earlier.  Besides searching for the will, Jude also scours her memories and looks through old photos for evidence that she was loved.  But all she finds and remembers is a dysfunctional family with a distant mother, a cruel father, a jealous sister, and her mother’s mysterious friend Eve. 

It becomes clear early on that Jude is an unreliable narrator.  She spends most of her time operating in a fog of alcohol so her memories are clouded.  She drinks so much she doesn’t remember how much she drinks and even experiences blackouts.  While at the cottage, she has to contend with solitude, darkness, and wildlife.  The crows and gulls seem hostile, and she keeps hearing strange noises and encountering foul odours.  The reader cannot but wonder what is real and what are just overwrought imaginings or inebriated hallucinations.  Jude even questions her own sanity.

And things are complicated by the fact that we are given only Jude’s point of view:  we are privy only to her version of events and her perception of what is happening.  In the present, she never interacts with anyone; only in flashbacks is there any direct dialogue.  Since no one else is present, the reader has no way of gauging the accuracy of Jude’s reactions to what she sees and hears.  Jude’s narration often goes in circles as she returns to objects or events, but the reader is left to try and determine if these repetitions have deeper meaning or implications. 

I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters.  They are all unlikeable.  Mother never hugged Jude; her sister Gina saw her son William only as a burden; and Father can only be described as a monster.  Actually Murray Bogdan is almost a cartoon villain; he’s unfeeling, self-centred, and emotionally and physically abusive.  He’s involved in unsavoury business dealings and enjoys killing animals.  Of course, everything we learn about him is through Jude so the reader must be cautious of her vilifications.

Jude discovers some facts about her past and her family members while she is at the cottage.  I don’t know whether these discoveries were intended to be shocking, but they’re not.  What she learns about her birth, Scoop’s death, William’s death, and her father’s illegal business transactions are obvious almost from the beginning.

The one surprise is the ending.  It is abrupt and will undoubtedly leave the reader confused.  I understand what Jude did and why, but . . . there are many unanswered questions.  Normally, I’d go back and re-read the book to see what clues I’d missed, but I was so bored while reading it that I am not going to repeat the drudgery.

I cannot recommend this book.  It’s very slow.  Jude is frightened by noises she hears, and I assume these are supposed to create suspense.  I found, however, that because they are mentioned so often, they just become annoying.  Maybe if I were to read it while alone on a remote island I might have a different reaction. 

Review of COLD SNAP by Maureen Jennings

 2 Stars

I decided to read this third installment of the Paradise Café Mysteries.  I know a fourth book is planned for next year, but this will be the last one I read.

It is December 1936.  As foreshadowed in November Rain, Charlotte Frayne’s boss, has brought a Jewish refugee from Germany to Canada.  Charlotte has been asked to help protect that man, Stephen Lucas, who has documents that could supposedly change the government’s attitude to Nazi Germany.  There are people who are trying to prevent that information from being passed on. 

As in the previous books, there is a second case.  Charlotte’s estranged mother Moira reappears; she asks her daughter to find a son, Charlotte’s half-brother, whom she gave up for adoption two decades earlier.  Of course the two cases converge, again in a very contrived way.  What are the chances that for the third time in months, Charlotte is tasked with two cases simultaneously and they connect as in the previous two instances?!

This book is repetitious in other ways as well.  There are several meetings held at the Paradise café where a pattern emerges:  Cal’s daily menu is described; Pearl, the waitress, makes some caustic comments; and there is a disagreement between Hilliard and Wilf as to the entertainment being planned.  Again, Charlotte is co-opted by the police to take notes at interviews.  Then Detective-Inspector Jack Murdoch shares significant findings with her and even asks her to accompany the police to a potentially dangerous arrest.  Police would never involve civilians like this. 

I was really irked by the repeated delays.  Characters don’t share information, stating that they will do so at a later time.  Then Charlotte wants to share with others, but always seems to be out of time.  People whom Charlotte interviews, like Sister Ambrose and Mrs. Stafford, have only a few minutes to spare so Charlotte has to return a second time. 

And then there are the inconsistencies.  On page 258, Charlotte makes notes of a conversation and lists the four people in attendance.  Then, on page 266, Pearl bursts into the room calling for Hilliard, yet he is not one of the four present and there’s no indication he came in at any point.  On page 144, Mrs. Stafford states unequivocally that she would never show anyone the content of a resident’s box without his consent, but then, on page 295, she does exactly that?  Where was the editor? 

This series has deteriorated.  The first book, Heat Wave, offered some interesting historical information, but this one contains nothing new.  The plots in the second and third books follow the pattern established in the first.  Such formulaic plotting with unrealistic events has little interest for me.

Review of STILL LIFE by Louise Penny

 3 Stars

This is the first in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series.  It seemed time to get to this series after my husband and I watched Three Pines on Netflix and recently visited Knowlton, the town in the Eastern Townships in Quebec where the author lives.

Jane Neal, a well-respected, retired teacher and artist, is found dead, killed by an arrow.  Was it a hunting accident?  Or is there some connection to the fact that her first submitted painting was accepted for a local exhibition?  The impossibly charming village of Three Pines doesn’t have a police force so Gamache from the Sûreté du Québec is sent to investigate. 

Much of the book focuses on introducing the villagers:  artists Clara and Peter Morrow; poet Ruth Zardo; therapist/bookshop owner Myrna Landers; and Olivier Brulé and Gabri Dubeau, a gay couple who own a bistro and bed-and-breakfast.  They seem a cosmopolitan group.  I assume these characters will be regulars in successive books.  Of course, we also become acquainted with Gamache’s team, especially his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir and rookie Yvette Nichol. 

Armand is definitely likeable.  My problem is that he is almost flawless.  A soft-spoken mentor, he’s well-read, wise and introspective.  He has keen powers of observation and a gift for listening.  He is deeply empathetic and has a vast reserve of patience.  He is so principled that he’ll accept a suspension rather than arrest someone he believes is innocent.  What makes him less than perfect is that he does make errors but, of course, he acknowledges his mistakes and tries to learn from them. 

The characterization of some characters is problematic in that they’re almost cardboard characters.  Yolande, the self-absorbed social climber, has no redeeming qualities.  The other character who is unbelievable is Yvette Nichol.  I understand that as the daughter of immigrants she feels a lot of pressure to succeed, but she is so incompetent it is difficult to believe she ever received any training.  In addition, she is rude, self-absorbed, arrogant, and petulant.  And she’s so dense and oblivious that she doesn’t understand the message in the mirror about looking at the problem?!

The mystery itself is fairly simple and predictable.  Clues are sprinkled throughout, the biggest being the title.  The author obviously has an interest in human nature and psychology, though I found the murderer’s motive is rather weak.  The pace is slow; only one scene towards the end has any real action.  There is also a paucity of suspense.

Some plot elements are weak.  Characters who are suspects are allowed to uncover potential evidence and aren’t even supervised while doing so?  The explanation for how the murderer lured Jane makes little sense.  We are told she trusted him completely, but this can’t be true given what impels him to kill Jane. 

There are some awkward stylistic elements.  The perspective jumps among characters within scenes; this approach feels clunky.  I also dislike the evasive tactic of being told that something has been found or realized but not being told what that is until later.  I guess this is intended to create suspense but I just find it annoying. 

Despite its flaws, I found the book a pleasant companion on morning walks.  Anyone looking forward to a comfortable, unchallenging book set in a charming village full of quirky residents would enjoy it.  I have been told by several people who have devoured the entire series that the books improve in quality so I’ve already downloaded the next novel in the series. 

Review of A PECULIAR CASE by Ginette Guy Mayer

 2 Stars

I’ve been reading the Paradise Café mystery series because Maureen Jennings was the featured author of SD&G Reads, a library program in my area which encourages all residents across Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry counties to read the same title before coming together for an evening with the author.  This series, set in the 1930s in Toronto, features a female private investigator.  Then I learned that there is a local author, Ginette Guy Mayer, who has also written a series of mysteries featuring a female investigator; the three books are also set in the 1930s but in Cornwall, Ontario.

Elizabeth Grant is a middle-aged widow who has opened a private investigations firm using a male persona, François Lefebvre.  She is hired by Albert Drew, a customs officer from Morrisburg, to find Josephine Smith, an antiquarian.  Drew gave her a rare book, a 1548 prayer book which purportedly belonged to Mary Queen of Scots, to determine its value.  Smith has been making excuses for not returning the book and Drew fears she has absconded with it.  Elizabeth agrees to take the case which ends up having links to the Fenians, a secret society of Irish patriots. 

From the beginning, I had difficulty with the premise.  In the prologue, the reader learns that Drew basically stole the book; he tells his friend Ernest Lawson that, “’I am cooked if caught.’”  A private investigator would be hired by a thief to track down an item he stole?  Lawson is a lawyer who is supposedly helping Drew, though the nature of his help is never clarified.  He, also in danger of being found out, agrees to the hiring of a P.I.? 

There are other events that have scant regard for credibility.  Smith is missing and then just appears so Elizabeth can follow her?  Elizabeth conveniently finds a bill of lading in a wastebasket when that piece of paper would have been needed by the owner?  Sometimes things are mentioned that are irrelevant but seem thrown in to confuse.  For instance, what is the purpose of the “discarded draft of a letter . . . asking for boxes to be shipped back to Cornwall’?  Other cases are added to the narrative for little apparent reason; these are left to Elizabeth’s nephew to investigate.  But it’s annoying when these cases are just dropped:  a question asked about a case on page 47 is never answered, even when the case is closed on page 51. 

I found myself confused more than once.  One minute Elizabeth works in a typing pool and the next she is working directly with a lawyer.  Instead of taking orders from his secretary, she has lunch with the lawyer himself “to go over what needed to be done”?  This lawyer doesn’t even know what his job is.  He tells Elizabeth, “’Canada is ideally positioned to provide intelligence to the British.  And that . . . is our role.’”  Then, one page later, the reader is told the lawyer’s job “was to see if any dealings and intelligence findings broke any laws of the country.”  Then, sentences later, he receives a telegram from an operative in Omaha, Nebraska, and decides the Department of Justice must “’move our contact out of the States’”? This lawyer is conducting intelligence operations?  And he shares sensitive information with Elizabeth at the end of her temporary placement in his office?

The book needs major editing.  There are comma splices on almost every page.  Verb tense is frequently misused.  Question marks are used when a statement is not actually interrogatory.  Paragraphs are indented, so why are there extra spaces between them?  Dialogue is very confusing:  it is often difficult to determine who is speaking because of unnecessary spacing and indentations.  There are some phrases which appear to be anachronisms.  (Chapter 17 with its switch to Josephine Smith’s point of view is also jarring.)

There is no doubt that the author is a history buff.  People interested in local history will find a great deal of it in the novel.  The problem is that there are several instances of information dumps.  Much of the first chapter is historical information about Cornwall.  There are even pages of photos included at the end of the book.

This book, at 121 pages, is short.  Even that length is more than necessary because there are irrelevant scenes.  For example, what is the purpose of the meeting at The Cornwall Club?  The community’s response to the downtown fire has no connection to the plot.  Is it really necessary to detail Elizabeth’s shopping for a car?  There is an obvious attempt to emphasize the perception of women’s roles in the 1930s, but the conversations on the topic could be more subtle and nuanced.

There are two other novels in the Elizabeth Grant series:  The Gale and The Literary Thread.  I will not be reading them.  This book lacks the suspense and intrigue I expect in a mystery, and the need for judicious revising and editing makes reading it a chore. 

Review of ALL THE LITTLE BIRD-HEARTS by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow (New Release)

 4 Stars

This book came to my attention when it was longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize.  With its unique perspective, it made for a good read.

It is 1988 in England’s Lake District.  Sunday Forrester is a neurodivergent single mother living with her 16-year-old daughter Dolly.  She works in the plant nursery owned by her former in-laws.  Sunday and Dolly’s lives are upturned when Vita and Rollo rent the house next door.  Sunday has difficulty with social interactions but is happy in her encounters with Vita because she seems to accept Sunday as she is.  And Dolly, an impressionable teenager, is attracted to the excitement and glamour of Vita and Rollo’s lives, qualities not found in her staid life with her mother.  But all is not as it seems.

Though an official diagnosis is not given, Sunday, the narrator, seems to be on the autism spectrum.  She is a creature of habit; change really disturbs her so she strives for a life of consistent routine.  I loved her comment that “[Dolly] is all that I have loved more than adherence to my routines.”  She also tries to avoid sensory overload:  “I was born with this intolerance of noise and light, and an accompanying greed for touch and smell” so “I want my choices narrowed so that they do not become overwhelming.”

Sunday is very self-aware.  She knows how her behaviour is different and considered odd:  “Facial expressions typically tell me nothing more than what is said” and “it takes time and considerable effort for me to adjust my conversation or focus” and “I naturally speak in a monotone.”  To help herself in social situations, Sunday has virtually memorized an etiquette book from the 1950s. 

With her exuberant personality, the exotic, free-spirited Vita is Sunday’s foil.  Vita is glamourous, confident, and unpredictable, all things that Sunday is not.  Like almost everyone, Sunday is dazzled and captivated by Vita.  But Vita, lacking the ability to understand people’s motives and intentions, is an unreliable narrator, as she admits:  “the details I am drawn to are often secondary, and these often mislead.”  As a result, Sunday’s descriptions of Vita mean something different to the reader.  Statements like “[Vita] seemed entirely without curiosity or concern” and her having “a profound lack of interest in pleasing people” though she “had an unimaginable desire for company” and “needed constant attention” suggest that Vita is a narcissist.  And only later does Sunday see that Vita is manipulative:  “I had not properly understood, then, that people could be played like instruments to produce whatever sound you demanded of them.” 

As soon as Vita appears, I experienced a sense of unease which grew into a sense of foreboding.  Vita is so self-absorbed and has such a sense of entitlement that it seems she must have a hidden agenda, especially once she starts paying particular attention to Dolly.  Knowing that her daughter is so important in Sunday’s life, I could only fear Vita’s intentions.  I suspected she would have no difficulty blithely taking anything belonging to someone else if she wanted it.

This growing menace is emphasized by Sunday’s foreshadowing.  She is narrating her story from the future looking back at the summer of 1988 so she often makes comments like she would still like to hear Vita’s posh accent, “even at the very end” and “Vita was extravagant and theatrical in all her expressions, and I appreciated that then.”  Sunday hints that she came to realize that Vita’s “appearance of naturalness was, in fact, a construct.”   Even Rollo is described as “solid and sweet as he seemed then.”

I loved seeing Sunday’s growth.  She comes to see Vita as shallow and self-centred.  For so much of her life, Sunday has suppressed her natural reactions to appear more “normal” but at the end she no longer holds on “to the compulsions and tics inside; these must be expressed to become feelings. . . . I no longer resist the urges to tap, to touch, or to wave my hands, . . . but allow them instead to travel through me uninterrupted.”  And she knows that though she may have difficulty expressing her feelings, she feels more deeply than those with little bird-hearts (like Vita, Sunday’s ex-husband, and Dolly’s paternal grandparents) who are capable of only a “superficiality of feeling.”  Her love for Dolly is a “solitary devotion without asking for reciprocation.”  She concludes, “my love for her remains constant; it is as fat as a beloved pet and receives the same frequent attention.  It is more, certainly, than conjuring polite and pleasing lies for onlookers.”  Vita is all artifice but Sunday is a genuinely loving person. 

One element that bothered me is the repetition.  The weekly dinners with Vita and Rollo follow a pattern.  Sunday’s repeated references to Sicilian folk tales and constant phonetic pronunciations mimicking Vita’s accent become tedious.  Yet this repetition is appropriate to the narrator who finds comfort in it.  The reader’s impatience actually reflects the impatience Sunday would see regularly in people who thought her strange. 

The book is not action-packed or fast paced.  But I found it engaging.  And it feels authentic in its depiction of the thought processes of someone on the autism spectrum.  For me, the novel was a quiet but compelling read.

Note:  I received an eARC from the publisher.

Review of NOVEMBER RAIN by Maureen Jennings

 3 Stars

This is the second Paradise Café Mystery, after Heat Wave (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/09/review-of-heat-wave-by-maureen-jennings.html).  I needed a quick read so I decided to check in on Charlotte Frayne.

It is November of 1936 in Toronto.  Charlotte, a private investigator, is hired by Mrs. Jessop to determine if her son Gerald really did commit suicide.  A badly disfigured World War I vet, he is found dead and with a suicide note, but his mother refuses to believe he would have killed himself.  On the same day, Charlotte is hired by Saul Rosenthal to infiltrate his garment factory because he suspects communist agitators are fomenting labour unrest at his company.  The murder of the supervisor on Charlotte’s first day at the factory gets her seconded by the police into their investigation. 

As in the first book in the series, the plot is slow with little suspense and intrigue.  The novel covers only a few days and everything gets nicely wrapped up in the end.  The two cases end up being connected and that really irked me.  It’s one of so many coincidences.  In fact, it’s Charlotte’s happening to see people together that helps her make connections between the cases.  It’s not great sleuthing that solves the cases – just luck. 

As in the previous book, the plotting is so obvious.  Characters that are not needed, like Mr. Gilmore and Hilliard, are given an excuse to travel.  Why, for instance, does Charlotte go the café just after being hired on the two cases?  The visit serves no purpose except to have her witness two women arguing, two women she will encounter again, of course.  What is also problematic is how the police treat her as a colleague.  Because various police officers conveniently have the flu, she is co-opted to attend questionings?  She admits to “a rather ambiguous position in terms of officialdom.”  No kidding!  And what’s with all the obviously Jewish names like Klein and Cohen?  Mr. Rosenthal is identified as Jewish, yet Mr. Klein is a Methodist?

In Heat Wave, I appreciated the historical aspects.  In a second book, however, it just seems repetitious.  Nothing new is added, except the reference to blue park benches which were reserved for veterans, a warning to passersby that a veteran sitting on the bench might be disfigured.

There is currently one more book in the series, Cold Snap, and a fourth one, March Roars, is set to be released in 2024.  I might turn to the next installment when I need another unchallenging read.  Maybe I keep hoping the books will get better, or maybe I just enjoy being critical and picking out the flaws. 

BOOK SUGGESTIONS FOR CHRISTMAS GIFTS

Another tradition at this time of year is my writing an article for my hometown newspaper, The Madawaska Valley Current, recommending books for Christmas gifts.  The article can be found at https://madvalleycurrent.com/2023/12/06/book-suggestions-for-christmas-gifts/ but I've also reproduced it here.

Book Suggestions for Christmas Gifts 

One of my traditions during the Christmas season is to read or listen to Stuart McLean’s Christmas stories.  “Dave Cooks the Turkey” is a favourite, but I recommend all of them.  If you’re looking for other books for winter reading or for gifting to book lovers or yourself, here are some titles to consider. 

 

The Adversary by Michael Crummey

This novel is for those who enjoy books with suspenseful plots and memorable characters.  At its heart is the conflict between Abe Strapp and Widow Caines, owners of the largest mercantile firms in an isolated outport in northern Newfoundland.  They despise each other and are relentless in their fight for dominance in the North Atlantic fishery.   The outport residents, besides being plagued by storms, marauding privateers, disease, and hunger, often end up becoming unwitting pawns in the schemes of the adversaries.  Crummey’s examination of power and corruption is a masterpiece.

 

Rage the Night by Donna Morrissey

This book, also set in Newfoundland, combines fiction and non-fiction.  Roan, a young man searching for his father, ends up aboard a ship heading to the sealing grounds for the spring hunt.  This ship, the Newfoundland, was involved in one of the worst marine disasters in the province’s history.  Not just a tale of adventure, the novel excels in its portrayal of the sealers.  They speak in distinctive accents, but it’s their supportive fellowship, resilience, and humour that stand out.  Lovers of historical fiction will find much to like. 

Cold as Hell by Lilja Sigurðardóttir

For crime fiction readers, I recommend the Áróra Investigations series set in Iceland.  Cold as Hell is the first in the series featuring Áróra Jónsdóttir, a financial investigator.   Her older sister has disappeared so Áróra joins forces with Daníel Hansson, a police officer, to find Ísafold.  At the same time, Áróra meets a man whom she discovers may be guilty of fraud so she opts to also investigate his financial dealings.  It’s an enjoyable, fast-paced read which will inevitably lead to readers picking up Red as Blood and White as Snow, the next two books. 

 

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

This book is for those who like psychological suspense.  For years, Sally Diamond was told by her adoptive father that she is emotionally disconnected and socially deficient.  Certainly she finds people confusing and conversation awkward because she can’t read social cues.  When she is 42, her father dies.  Forced to connect with the outside world after having lived in virtual isolation outside a small Irish village, she faces quite an adjustment.  Sally has always found it strange that she doesn’t remember anything from her childhood before the age of 7 when she was adopted.  There is an intense sense of unease as she learns more about her past.  (A similar psychologically suspenseful novel, also with a narrator on the autism spectrum, is All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow.)

 

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

For readers who prefer quiet, reflective novels, this one has much to offer.  Lara and her husband Joe own a cherry orchard in Michigan.  Because of the pandemic lockdown, their three daughters, all in their twenties, are home and helping to bring in the harvest.  To help pass the hours of grueling work, the girls beg their mother to tell the story of her relationship with a famous actor.  The three young women learn much about both their mother and the actor they’ve admired.  The book has a life-affirming message about beauty and gratitude. 

 

Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry

Another book which emphasizes the beauty of love, family, and friendship is this gem set in the mid-1990s in Ireland.  The protagonist, Tom Kettle, is a retired police detective living on the coast south of Dublin.  One day former colleagues appear on his doorstep to ask for help in the re-opening of a cold case.  This encounter forces Tom to revisit the past, memories of which he has suppressed.  This novel is for people who like unreliable narrators: Tom’s mind veers into fantasy, a dream-world so lifelike that it’s difficult to separate his imaginings from reality.  His memories are unstable and the reader is left wondering which of his thoughts can be trusted.  This book is sometimes heart-wrenchingly sad, but it is also amusing in parts.

 

Gin, Turpentine, Pennyroyal, Rue by Christine Higdon

Another wonderful example of Canadian historical fiction is this book which focuses on the lives of four sisters living in Vancouver in 1922.  The novel is excellent at describing the realities of life, especially for women, at the beginning of the 20^th century.  It examines a number of serious and important issues as characters search for love and justice and acceptance and equality and identity, but in a manner that engages the reader with both heart-warming and heart-breaking episodes.  Though set one hundred years in the past, the book is so relevant to the present because it touches on social issues that are still a concern.  If you end up enjoying this title, pick up The Very Marrow of Our Bones which can almost be viewed as a sequel. 

 

The Observer by Marina Endicott

This is a slow-paced book, but I recommend it for its realistic depiction of the struggles of RCMP officers and their partners in small rural communities.  The setting is the 1990s in northern Alberta.  Julia, the narrator, has paused her career to move with her partner Hardy to a small town where he has his first posting.  Life is not easy for either Hardy or Julia.  Hardy works long hours and is often exhausted physically and emotionally by what he witnesses on a regular basis, whereas Julia, a city girl, has to learn the customs of a small town where she knows no one.  The author’s husband was an RCMP officer so she is familiar with her subject matter.    

 

More detailed reviews of all these titles - and hundreds more - can be found on my blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/). 

 

                               Happy Holidays!   Happy Reading!                             

Review of WHERE ROSES NEVER DIE by Gunnar Staalesen

 3 Stars

This is the next book in the Varg Veum series following We Shall Inherit the Wind.  In my review of that book, I predicted that difficulties would lie ahead for the protagonist.  I was not wrong.

Three years after the loss Varg experiences in We Shall Inherit the Wind, he has become an alcoholic.  As he conducts his next investigation, he struggles with the siren call of aquavit.  His case is the disappearance of 3-year-old Mette Misvær twenty-five years earlier, in 1977.  Her mother Maja wants Varg to find out what happened to her daughter who went missing from the sandpit outside her home, one of five houses in a small housing co-op. 

Varg is very methodical.  He spends his time interviewing people, first focusing on the other four families living in the co-op.  A lot of characters are introduced in a short span of time so it is difficult sometimes to remember who is who and the connections among characters.  Of course Varg always manages to extract information that allows him to move forward.  Mette disappeared without a trace, and the police never solved the case, but Varg does of course.

The incompetent police trope is annoying, especially because Varg solves more than one case.  A recent jewelry heist has more than one connection to the people who were Maja and Mette’s neighbours.  All these connections stretch credibility. 

I can understand a mother wanting answers to what happened to a missing child, but considering the many secrets Maja has, it’s surprising that she hired a private investigator.  Varg uncovers many secrets and lies, many of which involve Maja.

I found parts of the book to be predictable.  From the beginning, I guessed Maja’s secret which added to her guilt.  And when a certain character was introduced, I immediately heard alarm bells and guessed much of the ending.  I read to the end to discover the other details which are not obvious. 

I think I’ll return to this series at a later date; in the meantime, I’ll begin listening to a Canadian series I’ve been meaning to read.

Review of LAND OF SNOW AND ASHES by Petra Rautiainen

 3.5 Stars

This is the third book I’ve read this year about the Sámi people.  Earlier I read Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/02/review-of-stolen-by-ann-helen.html) and The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylväinen (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2023/08/review-of-end-of-drum-time-by-hanna.html).  This novel focuses on the crimes committed against the Sámi people by both the Nazis and the Finnish government in the 1940s.

There are two timelines.  One is 1944 when Finland was aligned with Nazi Germany and allowed Hitler’s forces to fight against Stalin in the north of the country, though it was about to sign a peace treaty with Russia that required Finland to eject all German troops from its territory.  During this period, Väinö Remes, a Finnish interpreter/guard in a Nazi-run detention camp in the Lapland town of Inari, keeps a diary in which he records what he witnesses.

The second timeline begins in 1947.  Inkeri Lindqvist, a photographer and journalist, comes to northern Finland to write about the reconstruction, but she is also there to determine what happened to her husband Kaarlo who was a prisoner-of-war held by the Nazis.  Inkeri ends up with a tenant named Olavi Heiskanen who is mentioned in Remes’s journal.  Is there a connection?  Does he know what happened to Kaarlo? 

The treatment of the Sámi is a focus.  The Nazis “had been taught that these primitive northern hunter-gatherer peoples were a relic, the genetic dregs left behind by human civilization, that they were defined as an evolutionary anomaly caused by the prevailing environmental circumstances.”  So the Sámi are treated as subhuman:  Remes writes that “the Nazis have forcibly expropriated most of the herding cooperatives’ reindeer, which is presumably one reason why relations between the Nazis and the local communities here have begun to fray.”  When the Germans retreated from Lapland, they sought to destroy as much infrastructure as possible, burning down entire villages; Inkeri is told about women and children killed and villages “pillaged, burnt, destroyed . . . Ash hovered above the bodies.”

The Finnish government also exploited the Sámi.  For instance, they aided expropriation of the reindeer.  When Remes arrives at Inari, the commander of the camp asks him if he believes in a Greater Finland and the primacy of the Finnish race, and the translator answers, “’It is imperative that we eradicate all foreign elements from among our Finnish brethren across the border so that our peoples may be properly educated and become upstanding citizens of a Greater Finland.’” 

Inkeri comes across a group of men in the school taking measurements and photographs of children.  Piera, a Sámi elder, tells her, “’It’s happened before, back in 1920.  Kajava [a Finnish doctor and racial researcher] sent his quacks up here to measure our skulls.  Stripped us all naked, they did, and took pictures from the front and the back.  They even photographed our eyeballs, dug up the graves on Inarinsaari and took the skulls away. . . . Seems the bastards are back.’”  Some cursory research led me to some of Yrjö Kajava’s writings: "Only by comparing all these many different characteristics (proportions of the head and body, the color of the hair and eyes) can one form an idea of the ideal type that is characteristic of a certain race or ideal type."  This certainly sounds like eugenics to me.

Much of what is described about the treatment of the Sámi reminded me of Canada’s treatment of its indigenous peoples.  The housing of Sámi children certainly made me think of residential schools in Canada.  Inkeri learns that “the children only see their parents twice a year . . . [so] the bonds between the children and their families and traditions become weaker over time.”  A new church is being built for Laplanders but Piera has issues with it:  “’you can’t sing hymns in Sámi in Finnish churches neither.  And I know for a fact it’ll be forbidden in this church too.  One word of Sámi is one too many.’”  Piera is upset about the loss of Sámi culture:  “’We used to be able to teach our children about our own way of life, how to live in the fells and hunt for food, to take only what you need and no more; how to see where the fowl have made their nests if you wanted to hunt them.’”  Obviously the Finnish government’s attempts to assimilate the Sámi continued after World War II. 

The book also provides an interesting perspective:  that of people who did not always agree with what was happening but had little choice.  Remes supports the Greater Finland agenda but he is uncomfortable with some of what he sees, especially prisoners going missing at night.  He is not the only one who later has to come to terms with what he did.  Inkeri is warned not to judge people too harshly for their actions during the war:  “’None of us knows the limits of our endurance, we don’t know when or how we will break.  But everybody breaks eventually.  It’s just a question of time.’” 

The mystery as to what happened to Kaarlo is not solved quickly.  Only towards the end do the revelations come.  The reader actually knows what happened because of the diary entries; Inkeri learns only some of what happened to her husband.  I was pleased that my guess as to Olavi’s involvement was confirmed; of course there are clues in his behaviour and interests. 

I know little of Finland’s history and so wish that I had read the Translator’s Afterword first.  It explains that for the Finns the war had three separate components.  I wish I had known about these separate conflicts before I read the novel.  I would have been less confused at times.  A map would also have been helpful. 

Though I found it difficult to like and connect to the main characters, I liked the book for its history lesson.  I learned about World War II events from the Finnish context, especially the destruction and subsequent reconstruction of Lapland.  Because of its subject matter, the novel is not an easy read, but it is certainly a worthwhile one. 

Review of THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT by Marianne Cronin

 3 Stars

A patient in Glasgow’s Princess Royal Hospital, 17-year-old Lenni Petersson is terminally ill with an unspecified illness.  While awaiting her death, she becomes friends with a number of people.  One of them is Father Arthur, the hospital chaplain, who is nearing retirement.  Through the art therapy program in the hospital, she meets 83-year-old Margot Macrae who has life-threatening heart disease. 

The two women, whose ages add up to 100 years, decide to collaborate on 100 works of art to represent their combined century of life:  “It isn’t enough to have been a particle in the great extant of existence.  I want, we want more.  We want for people to know us, to know our story, to know who we are and who we will be.  And after we’re gone, to know who we were.”  Since Margot is the much better artist, she does most of the artwork whereas Lenni keeps a written record of their stories.

Chapters alternate between Lenni and Margot in chronological order.  Since Margot has lived a fairly long life, we learn a lot about her past:  her life has been full of both love and heartbreak.  Since Margot has lived 66 more years than Lenni, we learn much more about the older woman.  The problem is that her backstory dominates and Lenni’s past is only vaguely outlined.

In an interview included at the end of the novel, the author stated that “friendship is probably is the most important theme of the book.”  Certainly the narrative emphasizes that friendship can be found in the most unexpected of places.  I looked forward to reading about an intergenerational friendship, but the friendship between the protagonists is not really developed.  We don’t see the development of their relationship, as we do in Lenni’s friendship with Father Arthur and New Nurse.  Instead we are told that a friendship develops and the two go on to tell each other stories from their lives.  Hearing stories is not the same as having heartfelt conversations that develop connections. 

I enjoyed the interactions between Lenni and Father Arthur.  She is irreverent, inquisitive, and straight-forward.  She is witty and sarcastic.  He is caring, compassionate, and sensitive.  It is difficult not to like them so the bond the two form is understandable.  The relationship I had difficulty with is the one between Margot and Meena which receives a lot of attention.  I understand that Margot sees Meena as a free spirit, something she wishes she could be, but Meena just seems self-centred.  And if she’s such a rebel willing to engage in criminal escapades and willing to have an unorthodox relationship with The Professor, why is she so reticent to even discuss things with Margot?

While reading this novel, more than once I thought of the phrase, “If you love someone, set them free.”  Humphrey does that and so do Lenni and Margot at different times with different people.  Of course, the second part of the quote is important too:  “If they come back, they’re yours; if they don’t, they never were.”

This tear-jerker with its life –affirming message (life is possible even in the most inhospitable conditions) will appeal to many readers.  I didn’t hate the book, but I found it rather superficial.  I always check out any discussion questions at the back of a book.  The fact that 8 of the 20 questions (40%) refer only to the reader’s experiences and do not require any analysis of the book suggests there is really not much to analyze.  There are no answers to life’s – or Lenni’s – difficult questions, and the themes are not especially profound. 

Review of THE MYSTERY GUEST by Nita Prose (New Release)

 4 Stars

People who enjoyed The Maid will enjoy the return of Molly Gray in this sequel.

Molly is now 29 and has been promoted to Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel.  Because of her obsessiveness about cleanliness and returning things to “a state of perfection,” and her devotion to duty, she excels at her job.  There is a great deal of excitement about the opening of the hotel’s tearoom:  its first event is the appearance of a world-famous mystery writer, J. D. Grimthorpe, who is scheduled to make a major announcement.  But just as he takes the podium, he drops dead after ingesting poisoned tea.  Detective Stark, who suspected Molly of murder in The Maid, reappears to investigate.  Various suspects are considered, including Lily, the newest maid-in-training whom Molly insisted on being hired. 

Though J. D. Grimthorpe is a mysterious figure – I couldn’t help but think of J. D. Salinger – Molly’s thoughts reveal something important:  “I knew so much about the man who’d written [The Maid in the Mansion].  I knew a lot about the book itself as well.”  Interspersed amongst the sections about the investigation are flashbacks to Molly’s childhood visits to the Grimthorpes and their mansion where Gran worked as a maid.

As in the previous novel, much of the appeal of the book is the character of Molly.  She has not changed in that she remains honest, unfailingly polite, and hard working.  Her social awkwardness also remains, although she seems more adept at reading emotions and social cues.  Her maturity shows in her awareness of both her weaknesses (not noticing what is obvious to others) and strengths (being attuned to what others ignore).  She is a charming amateur sleuth in the vein of Flavia de Luce.

Molly’s reminiscences about the past are most interesting.  The reader learns more about Molly’s childhood; her experiences at school are especially heart-breaking.  We also discover more about Gran, the woman who raised Molly.  Gran is a woman whom the reader cannot but admire.  Her sayings serve to guide Molly.  Sometimes Molly’s constant repetition of these nuggets of wisdom becomes annoying, but of course routine and repetition are keys to how Molly functions in the world. 

Of course, Molly’s memories also serve another purpose:  they hold the clues to why Grimthorpe was murdered.  Because she was only ten years old when she visited the mansion and because she understood things in a very literal way, she was not able to interpret the meaning and significance of what she observed and heard.  The reader may understand things Molly does not, but will s/he ignore things Molly does not?  Certainly the clues are there from the beginning.

This cozy mystery is a quick, entertaining read with both sad and silly moments.  Sequels do not have the freshness of the originals, but this sequel is quite good.  Molly is an endearing character so it’s fun to spend some time in her company.  As she was taught by Gran, Molly focuses on the positive, and some escapist reading that ends with a positive message is just what we need in these dark days. 

Note:  I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Review of TOM LAKE by Ann Patchett

  4 Stars

This reflective novel highlights Patchett’s storytelling skills.  I loved it.

Lara and her husband Joe own a cherry orchard in Michigan.  Because of the pandemic lockdown, their three daughters are home and helping to bring in the harvest.  To help pass the hours of grueling work, the girls beg their mother to tell the story of her relationship with Peter Duke, a famous actor.  Slowly Lara tells them of her short career as an actress and her romance with Duke when she was 24 and starring as Emily in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in a summer stock theatre in Tom Lake. 

Though all three daughters have bought into the mythology of Duke, they have very different personalities.  Emily, 26, has studied horticulture and has decided she will take over the family business; she has a fiery temperament.  Maisie, 24, is studying to be a veterinarian; her pragmatism is what stands out.  Nell, 22, is studying drama in hopes of becoming an actress; she is very intuitive, always anticipating what comes next in her mother’s story. 

The three young women think that they know their mother, but as Lara narrates her backstory, they come to see her not just as a loving and protective mother but as a complex human being who had a very different life when she was their age.  They come to understand that she had desires like they do, but that she also has experienced loss.  Of course, their views of Duke also change:  he’s not just the handsome and charismatic world-famous actor they have read about and seen in films. 

Initially, the daughters expect that their mother regrets giving up a glamourous life as an actress.  Lara, however, has no such regrets:  “’You wake up one day and you don’t want the carnival anymore.  In fact, you can’t even believe you did that.’”  She even confides, “’it doesn’t feel anything like regret.  It feels like I just missed getting hit by a train.’”  I love her comment, “’Look at [the beauty of the trees]!  Look at the three of you.  You think my life would have been better spent making commercials for lobster rolls?’” 

The daughters also think that their mother’s romance with Duke was such a pivotal event that they can only wonder “’How do you ever get over someone like that?’”  But Lara seldom thinks about Duke.  She sees the summer of 1988 as her coming-of-age season, a summer that taught her a great deal.  Though “most of those lessons I would have gladly done without,” she realizes that it also brought her Joe, the farm, and three daughters.  She was betrayed and wounded, but she has left any sorrow or anger behind.  I love her statement that “The past need not be so all-encompassing that it renders us incapable of making egg salad.”

Lara concludes, “There is no explaining this simple truth about life:  you will forget much of it.  The painful things you were certain you’d never be able to let go?  Now you’re not entirely sure when they happened, while the thrilling parts, the heart-stopping joys, splintered and scattered and became something else.  Memories are then replaced by different joys and larger sorrows, and unbelievably, those things also get knocked aside as well.”  I certainly agree with her comment that “we remember the people we hurt so much more clearly than the people who hurt us.”

The play Our Town, which was central to Lara’s life as an actress, has as its theme the idea that people do not appreciate what life has to offer.  It is the ordinary things in life that often go unnoticed that are the most important.  Lara has taken this lesson to heart.  She is content with her life in the present; she is grateful for her life.  Beauty and suffering exist together:  they are living through a pandemic, “this unparalleled disaster,” that has overturned their lives, but she also thinks of this as “the happiest time of my life [because] Joe and I are here on this farm, our three girls grown and gone and then returned, all of us working together to take the cherries off the trees.”

The passage of time is inevitable, as are loss, suffering, and death, but there is beauty in even the most ordinary of lives and loves.  This life-affirming message is timely and it is delivered in a beautiful story told in beautiful prose - a tale of gratitude for which to be grateful.