Time for Tomes

I've read so many good books lately! In bed, in airports, in my big comfy chair! A few three-sentence reviews:

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward - As a Mississippi native, it's hard for me to read Ward's books sometimes, because they are so true. The family described herein is a heart-breaking knot of relationships, mistakes, stories and needs. For me, this book was about ghosts - the ones who've left us, the ones who haunt us, and the ones we release.

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan - Washington Black, a slave on a sugar plantation in Barbados, escapes to live a different life - one that's by turns terrifying, confusing, adventurous, and enlightening. Black is an artist, a scientist, and a lover before the end of the book, stretching his own idea of himself and his horizons. This book is a deft blend of science and humanity that examines different types of bondage and freedom.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple - Bernadette is already a reclusive, unconventional mother and wife, even before she disappears without a trace. After a series of quirky conflicts and earth-shattering marital news, the groundbreaking, eccentric architect goes missing and is presumed dead. Her plucky daughter, though, refuses to give up on her, powering this epistolary novel through its slow, satisfying reveal.

At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier - Some places are inhospitable to both apple trees and settlers, as Robert Goodenough learns. But his love of apples, and of growing things in general, is an obsession that he can't shake. It leads him all the way to the Pacific Ocean, and deeper into himself, against the backdrop of early America.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah - Oh, how this book made me want to visit Alaska! A soaring tale of love, abuse, and coming home, this book captures the beauty and wildness of the last frontier. Vivid central female characters and lush, evocative writing make this a must-read.

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain - Ok, so I knew Hemingway's flaws, but I never *felt* them as much as I did when I read this book, written from the perspective of his first wife, Hadley Richardson. A time capsule of the Paris arts scene in the 1920s, the book details their relationship, his consuming ambition, and the eventual dissolution of their marriage. By the end, you may feel (as I did) that losing Hadley might have well been Hemingway's chief regret.