The High Mountains of Portugal: A Novel by Yann Martel

A special thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved Life of Pi, and like that story, The High Mountains of Portugal was very hard to get into however, I did like this book more than Beatrice and Virgil. 

This novel is made up of three separate narratives, all of which are connected and come full circle in the last story which takes the reader back to Portugal. The first story takes place in the early 1900s. Tomás sets out on a quest that takes him from Lisbon to the High Mountains of Portugal by one of the first motor cars. The second story takes place thirty-five years later. A pathologist is visited by his wife who juxtaposes the novels of Agatha Christie to Bible verses and then is possibly murdered when she leaves his office. He is then visited by a lady who bring him the body of her dead husband in a suitcase and wants and autopsy performed on him. And finally, fifty years later we meet Senator Peter Tovy of Ottawa who is grieving the death of his own beloved wife. Peter, on a whim, rescues a chimpanzee from a primate research facility in Oklahoma. He takes the chimp to Portugal, home to his ancestral village and this is where all three stories weave together. 

In true Martel fashion, the story has themes of love and loss, a strong animal presence, and almost a fable-like quality. His writing is beautiful, but at times too complex, especially in the beginning. I'm glad I finished the book, but I really had to push through the first story to do so.

A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copleton

A special thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This incredibly moving page-turner set in present day and 1945, was one I couldn't easily put down.  Described as being in the same vein as Memoirs of a Geisha and The Piano, this debut novel is a heart-wrenching story of love, loss, hope and forgiveness, against a historical backstory equally as heartbreaking.

Amaterasu Takahashi opens her door to a badly scarred man who claims to be her grandson that perished in the bombing of Nagasaki along with his mother/her daughter Yuko, nearly forty years earlier.  He brings with him a collection of sealed letters that drag Ama back to her memories in Japan that she tried to forget when she and her husband fled to America.  Each chapter reveals more of her past life, the life of her daughter, their mutual love affair, and the death of her daughter and grandson, Hideo.

I would have given the novel five stars, but at times, it was hard to determine which character was telling the story with Ama and her daughter - perhaps this was done on purpose since they shared the same antagonist.

The Scam (Fox and O'Hare, #4) by Janet Evanovich

A special thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Being a Stephanie Plum fan, I was really looking forward to reading this book.  Okay, so I didn't read the others in the series, but have since skimmed through them.  This series is a bit of a train wreck...  Evanovich's previous series were a breeze to read and so much fun!  Not this book/series.  We all need mindless reads from time to time, which is what I thought when I picked this book for review.  This really didn't work for me, is it because it is co-authored?  Is it because she takes some potshots at Canadians?  Maybe.  I think I will stick with books in my usual vein and leave the Evanovich series alone - my reading list is too long to waste my time on mediocre books.

Ghostly: A Collection of Ghost Stories by Audrey Niffenegger

A special thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Audrey Niffenegger's earlier work so I thought this one would be a slam-dunk.  Who doesn't love a good ghost story?

The collection is a bit on the ecclecic side, ranging from modern day to classic with a twist of contemporary.  The stories are more on the traditional side of a ghost story versus the creepy kind that keep you up at night.  All-in-all, a fun read, perfect for this time of year.  I do wish the author had included more of her work because I think her writing speaks for itself.  That being said, I enjoyed her introductions to each story and the illustrations, they were a perfect companion to the featured stories.

My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

A special thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Olive Kitteridge, and I enjoyed this book as well (as much as you can). It did send me on a slow journey, and left me a bit sad. Lucy Barton is recovering from surgery, and her husband is caring for the children so her estranged mother comes to keep her company. Lucy came from an impoverished upbringing that lacked not only in money, but in experience, culture, love, and attention. With her mother's appearance at the hospital, we are given a glimpse into Lucy's childhood, and her difficult past. According to Lucy she is a successful writer, who is married with children.

I find that this book speaks to the reader on a different level, it is more about the nuances and what is left unsaid. I highly recommend this story of a girl whose life may or may not be a fictional account—after all, Lucy is a writer. 

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ELIZABETH STROUT is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge; the #1 New York Times bestseller My Name Is Lucy Barton; The Burgess Boys, and New York Times bestseller; Abide with Me. She has also been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize in England. Her short stories have been published in a number of magazines, including The New Yorker and O: The Oprah Magazine.

Strout lives in New York City.

Thirteen Ways of Looking by Colum McCann

A special thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been meaning to read Let the Great World Spin since purchasing it years ago and have yet to get around to it.  After binging on Thirteen Ways of Looking, I'm putting Let the Great World Spin back to the top of the heap on my nightstand.  Short stories are not usually something I pick up, and honestly, I requested the book not realizing this was a novella and short story compilation.  McCann has such a gift with language and writing, I highly recommend picking up this collection that is framed by notes from the author.  You won't be disappointed!

Thirteen Ways of Looking

This novella is so rich, I wanted it to be a full-fledged book!  I was instantly drawn in and devoured every page of this mystery.  McCann's character development is outstanding.  The story draws heavily on culture/literary references, daunting to some, but really worked with the character.  

The reader is introduced to varying perspectives from the main character's, the security camera footage, and the detectives'.  I am not familiar with the Wallace Stevens poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" that is quoted at the beginning of each section and forms the basis of the title, so it may be a bit lost on me, but I understand the symbolism.  I don't want to give anything away, there is closure to the story, but he does leave the reader hanging.  

What Time Is It Now, Where You Are?

A writer walks through the steps of creating a story.  McCann tells us what the writer imagines it would be like for an American female soldier station in Afghanistan on New Year's Eve waiting to call her lover.  He writes all of his questions, his though process while creating the story.  It was so effective and so vivid, and yet so short.  

Sh'khol

This story was my least favourite.  A mom and her mentally disabled son are vacationing on the coast of Ireland and the son disappears.  I can't put my finger on what I didn't like about the story, it certainly wasn't the writing, as a reader, you can feel the anguish of the mother, but maybe it was the subject itself. 

Treaty

This story about an aging nun that confronts the man who tortured and raped her 37 years prior when she learns that he alive and well and is a posing as something completely opposite to what she experienced.  This story was so intense, well-written, and raw.