No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister—This is, so far, the most creative novel that I’ve read this year. Bauermeister takes us on a journey starting with Alice, a writer who eventually writes a novel, “Theo” loosely based on her family. The following chapters show how her book affects the lives of those exposed to it.

We meet the literary agent, an exhausted new mother who picks out “Theo” from a pile of discarded novels. We meet the artist who uses the book in her found art… And the former actor who rebuilds his life by narrating the audiobook version. We discover a homeless teenager and how “Theo” impacts her life.  And the widower who learns about his wife’s final days through reading “Theo”. And, finally how all these characters come together at the end. Fascinating concept!

My book club is reading this, and we will have a conversation with the author. I can’t wait.

Absolution by Alice McDermott—This is an incredible book that I appreciated on so many levels. Tricia is the young wife of a man involved somehow in the military industrial complex at the onset of the Vietnam War in 1963, when women wore girdles in 100-degree weather. Both she and her husband are stationed in Saigon. She is there as a “helpmeet” for him, but she meets Charlene, a forceful woman who introduces her to her various charities, including dressing Barbies in a Vietnamese costume (ao dai) and selling them to rich Americans.

In many ways Tricia is the naïve opposite twin of Charlene. (Twinning is an important feature in this novel) We know that she is narrating the book to someone while looking back on that era, not only politically but from a feminist perspective and from a Catholic perspective as well. She sees things and learns things in Saigon and eventually becomes a much more mature and well-rounded woman.

But this novel is also about “absolution”. Who should be absolved and who will absolve them? I strongly urge your book club to read this. You will have a fascinating discussion.

Charming Billy by Alice McDermott—(from my column in the Jan 14, 1999, The Sentinel Newspaper).  The plot is simple. Everyone loved Billy Lynch. But he lived and died a soft-spoken, Keats quoting drunk. We first learn about him as his friends and family gather at a Bronx restaurant after his funeral, much as if we were a fly on the wall and listen to the off-handed comments of the people that loved him. And little by little the plot is woven.

We learn about the Irish girl Eva, the love of his life, and his cousin Dennis who told a lie long ago and probably changed Billy’s life. And Maeve, Billy’s wife, who loved him and took care of him, much as she took care of her own father.

As time flips back and forth, it is easy to lose track of the many characters, but McDermott takes care to write lovingly about all of Billy’s friends, in the guise of Dennis’s daughter. Everyone has a place in this story. Everyone has a story to tell. This is a book worth reading.

Long Island by Colm Toibin–When last we heard from Eilis in the novel Brooklyn Spring View from my Office – GET LIT WITH LISA, she was in Ireland trying to decide whether she would return to Brooklyn to her new secret husband. Now 20 years later she is back in Enniscorthy visiting her mother on her 80^th birthday with her two teenaged children. The question is the same, the man is the same, but the circumstances have changed. Her husband, Tony, has damaged their marriage but Jim Farrell is still looking pretty good.

There are secrets in this town, however. Jim and her best friend Nancy (now a widow) are in a serious relationship but for some reason do not disclose it to anyone, including Eilis…which paves the way for Eilis and Jim, who cannot make up his mind.

And the question again is will she stay or will she go and who may go with her? What happens to Nancy? What about Eilis’ mother and her children? And the answer will remain unanswered until almost the end. Taking place mostly in Ennicorthy, we learn about what has happened there since Eilis last visited and even more about Nancy and her family.

As the reader gets more involved in the drama of their lives, it becomes more difficult to put down this wonderful novel. Toibin has a way of stringing us along. And we are enjoying the ride.

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor—No not that Elizabeth Taylor, this is a British writer who has written 12 novels. Mrs. Palfrey was her last and it was included in “The 100 Best Novels” in the Guardian.

Laura Palfrey arrives at the Claremont Hotel, outside of London after her husband dies and her daughter moves to Scotland. She considers it a temporary measure and declares to herself that if she does not like it, she can move.

She meets the other residents who are friendly enough but not serious enough for her. When asks if she has any relatives nearby, she mentions her grandson, Desmond. He works at the British Museum, and it seems to be a point in her favor. When he doesn’t come to visit her and she meets Ludo, a nice young poverty-stricken writer, she strikes a deal with him to impersonate her grandson. She will feed him dinner at the Claremont and impress her new companions, which he does.

Their relationship, Ludo’s other relationships and the Claremont residents become the subject of this dark comedy of manners. On the face of it, Mrs Palfrey is about old age, loneliness and death but there are a lot of other ways to read this book. We see how England is changing in the early 1970s, leaving Mrs. Palfrey and friends behind. We see how many characters have twins, especially Ludo and Desmond, and the way old men are becoming more like women and old women are becoming more like men.

Be careful though, as you read this, especially at my age, as you can easily fall into a depression yourself, much like the Claremont ladies. But the writing is clear with humor and pathos as well. And there is a movie with the same title if you don’t want to read the book. Joan Plowright stars.

OK, so there’s not a lot of laughs this month. It’s too hot to laugh, anyway. Stay cool, have a tall glass of something nearby and finish your book…or start one of my suggestions.