Review: The Whisper Man

The Whisper Man by Alex North
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Won paperback Advanced Reading Copy of this book through Goodreads Giveaway. Was excited to receive and even more excited to read.

Absolutely loved this book. Riveting. Great character builds. Well done, well laid out. Several twists I did not see coming, which is a rarity in the crime-thriller genre. A finely written, well-developed story that will keep you 'til the last page. A good solid read.

If you read and enjoyed Stephen King's The Outsider, you will love this one. A strong writer with a refreshing vibrancy. Have added him to my "Authors to follow" list and will be looking for his next book! Highly recommended. (p.s. cannot wait to see the film!!)

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Review: The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

Listened to AUDIOBOOK on Scribd - Actual rating: 5/5
https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/281644087/The-Life-We-Bury#

AWARDS for this book (he has others for his other ventures):
- Anthony Awards Best First Novel nominee (2015)
- Barry Awards Best Novel winner (2015)
- Edgar Awards Best First Novel nominee (2015)

(NOTE: This author is NOT on Goodreads. The copy of the book on Goodreads is NOT a licensed copy. Please purchase a LICENSED printing or listen to a LICENSED audiobook. I despise copyright infringers!)

okay...I have only a few minutes to write this so let me try to sum it up. I believe....no, I KNOW...I have found a new author to add to my list of favorite contemporary writers. I have a love of all things Anne Rice and Wiley Cash as well as several in my top 10 (Ron Rash, Carolyn Parkhurst, Kristin Hannah, Harlan Coben, Tatiana de Rosnay, and a few others...and, of course, Stephen King, John Saul, and Dean Koontz), but it is rare that one shoots up almost to the upper echelons of the list so quickly.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Zach Villa and was riveted by his reading. This book is a work of art. The story is compelling. The characters feel palpable and corporeal.

...but the core of my enthusiasm is Eskens skill with the pen (or keyboard, depending on his writing technique). The ease with which he writes coupled with the absolutely tangible, visceral descriptions of the landscape, the scenes, the action, but mostly the emotions and thoughts of the primary character are just beautiful. The description of the developing and changing relationships between Joe and Jeremy, Joe and Lyla, Joe and his mother, Joe and Carl are exquisitely told. Without giving spoilers, the scene b/w Joe and Lyla, as the relationship changes, is one of the most eloquent tellings of such an experience I have ever read.

Do yourself a favor and read this book or give it a listen here on Scribd. You will not regret experiencing Zach Villas reading. I will be looking to read or listen to other works by Allen Eskens as well as listen to books narrated by Zach in the future.

...and I suspect Allen Eskens will soon be occupying space on my "shelf of faves" in printed form very very soon!

Thank you, Scribd, for including this in your collection and for whatever combination of likes/saves put it on my radar. I am forever grateful.

Happy reading!

p.s. Oh and (again, no spoilers), the box from Virgil at the end of the book = ALL. THE. TEARS. (keep tissues at hand)

Review: The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Listened to AUDIOBOOK on Scribd - Actual rating: 3.5

I wasn't sure, initially, how I was going to like it but I ended up really enjoying it and relating very well to both CeeCee/Eve and Corrinne. Well read/narrated. A sweet, enjoyable book that makes you think about both sides of what seems to be an easily answered moral question that you come to realize isn't so easily answered. A book about the depths of love and the true depth and power of forgiveness. I am a Diane Chamberlain fan now.

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Review: The Witch Elm

The Witch Elm by Tana French
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

DNF. Finally had to abandon this book at about the halfway mark. It took me took long to get to that point, trudging through the text. I was incredibly intrigued with the story and where it was headed, but the sheer length of it was reading like drudgery and I just wasn't feeling terribly connected to the characters. I may revisit it at another time as I still want to finish but I just was in a place that I needed something that moved with a more compelling pace. Moving to my dnf-resume shelf.

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Review: The Round House

The Round House by Louise Erdrich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dark. Powerful. Beautifully written.

This was a selection for my favorite book club, Open Canon Book Club. I was not familiar with this author but have added her to my "must read" list for her other works.

This story will impact you. The imagery it invokes will be scored into your memory banks. The character development is beautifully done. You don't necessarily become familiar with each character's back story, but you will develop a picture of their character, the type of life they've lead, and how parts of their story have brought them to where they are.

Highly recommend reading this and other works by this author.

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Review: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Disturbing, powerful story, well told. Not an easy read due to the racially charged language and incidents but they are central to the telling of the story. The writing speaks a dark truth of circumstance and environment. Definitely a story with impact and will not easily be forgotten. My first Tom Franklin read. Looking forward to reading his other works.

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REVIEW: Mary Shelly (film; 2017)

I know the rating on IMDB is only 6.4 but I absolutely loved it. Elle Fanning's performance was stupendous, as was the rest of this young but talented cast.

Beautiful telling giving the insight into the relationships that brought about the pain she channeled into this writing.

One of my favorite books of all time. They did a spectacular job of portraying it's inspiration and how it all came to life for her. Better than any telling I've seen as yet.

...and to have it come from such young talents gives me hope that her writing won't be forgotten and dismissed as some series of Hollywood tales. That a new generation will see the depth and intensity of the truth behind the story.

Mary Shelley
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3906082/

REVIEW: A Study of Psychology, Ethics, and Morality via Three Identical Strangers

I remember this story all over the news growing up. It fascinated me and had a lot to do with me pursuing my degree in psychology so I was intrigued to see what happened after the initial reunion years... but it takes a dark turn that is heartbreaking, disturbing, maddening, angering.

My focus of study was always what drives human behavior - nature vs nurture, the effects of abuse/neglect/home life during childhood years, addictions, depression, OCD, anxiety, forensics, serial killers, cult followings, racism, semitism/Holocaust, apartheid, etc. - as well as ethics.

Despite how incredibly valuable these nature vs nurture, multiple birth/parenting studies are from a scientific perspective, there is always the questions of intrusion, unintentional, or, at the very least, unrecognized bias due to manipulation of environment to outright insertion of the researcher directly into the study... and, most importantly, of science and morality.

This entire story is unconscionable...the mental gymnastics of those who participated in the orchestration of it, in justifying or excusing their own complicity, duplicity...

If you haven't watched it, it is riveting and powerful but upsetting and disturbing. It has reignited, yet again, all those things that drove my studies so many years ago. We know much more as a result of these of studies but at what a tragic, horrible cost.

I completely blame those involved in their separation so very young with such planned, nefarious purpose for what happened to them as children, in their teen years, and as adults. The damage done by their separation displayed itself dramatically even when they were toddlers (especially in retrospect)..and they owe them explanations and complete access to these studies. Apologies (which they will never receive) don't even begin to touch what they did. I cannot shake the repetitive phrase "by design" as the latter portion of the story is unveiled and knowing those records were deliberately sealed until the youngest of the victimized children are all deceased.

CNN did a beautiful job with this piece (not at all surprising)... and I've had Pulitzer prize winner Lawrence Wright's work on my TBR list for ages. I especially want to read his book "Twins" (as well as the one on Al Qeuda that won him that Pulitzer).

I have to add... this story is made devastatingly more powerful and disturbing in light of the separation of migrant children from their parents and siblings at the US/Mexican border and even beyond, leaving them with little to zero knowledge of their background (depending on age) along with the inherent, devastating initial trauma of their separation and the twisted fabrications and factual distortions used to justify those actions.

It's a shame ... this aspect of human nature.

Three Identical Strangers
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7664504/

Review: Calypso

Calypso by David Sedaris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finished this in 2018 but never updated on Goodreads/posted a review.

This was my first foray into the world and writing of David Sedaris. After listening to his interviews on NPR and hearing him read excerpts from this book, I was so excited to dive into his world. Charming, witty, effervescent, and moving, it is all I had heard his writing to be.

The old adage of "I laughed, I cried..." is so true for this book. I truly laughed out loud throughout this book and caught myself anywhere from a lump in my throat to full actual tears a few times as well.

I am so glad to finally have delved into the literary world of Mr. Sedaris...and I have a LOT of catching up to do!

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Review: The Winter Soldier

The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Actual rating: 4.5

So...I wrote this review and was almost finished when my browser decided to crash. I can't reproduce the original review but I'll try to revisit what I had written.

I spent a couple of months on the waiting list for this book and was so excited when it was my turn. I had heard so much about it and so many comparisons to Doctor Zhivago. My personal take upon finishing? I would peg it as a cross between Doctor Zhivago, Cold Mountain, The Way We Were, and...I'm still struggling for something I just can't place.

The writing is eloquent, the language gorgeous. The imagery of the land, the period, the clothing, the people, the lives are so vivid you can honestly see them. You can practically feel the coldness of the air and smell the snow falling to blanket the ground.

What struck me most is the intimacy. It is rare to feel so close to a character. I don't mean connect. I don't mean identify. I mean physically feel so close. It is almost as though you are a witness, standing literally by their side watching as they struggle to care for their patients, as they face their own insecurities and vulnerabilities. You feel almost as if you are trespassing on their private moments, able to witness what passes between the characters as if you are somehow connected to them mentally, emotionally.

It took me a long time to get through this, by no fault of the story, the author, the language. I just tackled it after a touch life obstacle. I wish I could've delved into it in a more timely fashion to truly savor the flow and the beauty of it in one fell swoop instead of so broken up...but I cannot recommend it enough.

I will close with this. I have only read 2 other books that ended like this. The story unfolds and you are living their lives alongside them. As you near the ending, you are not quite sure where it's going to go. You suspect you do and you keep looking at how many pages you have left and wondering how it will wind down in those final pages...until you reach the last 3 pages, when your heart will swell...and falter...and be crushed...and fill so full the tears fall. When I closed the book, I wanted nothing more than to sit in a corner and cry out all the emotion, good and bad. It is an ending...and a story...I will truly never forget.

...and when someone decides to turn it into a film, I will be standing at the front of the line, praying they keep true to the story and waiting to treasure every minute of it.

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