The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz—When is a plot of the story your own and when is it stolen. There is a fine line. In this part literary novel and part thriller and very much plot twister, Jake Bonner is an author, 3 books under his belt and no prospects for the future. At a writer’s program, he meets Evan Parker, a young man with a “sure thing” for a novel. When he tells Jake the plot, Jake unhappily waits for this amazing novel to be published, but it never is. He does some research and finds out that Parker has died. With such a great plot just hanging there, Jake takes it and writes the bestseller that he felt he always had in him. His life becomes what he had envisioned, until he receives an email from someone who seems to know this was not his own plot and threatens to expose him. Jake is determined to find and expose the e-mailer as well. From then on, the plot twists and turns and twists again. (This was taken from my very first blog: What is Lisa Reading?!)
The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz—It’s difficult to write a review of a sequel to a book to which I didn’t reveal the ending. Let’s just say that in The Plot, Jake marries Anna and, in The Sequel, she is now his widow. We’ll just take it from there. His famous book, “The Crib”, has become infamous due to his sudden death and Anna takes full advantage of living the life of a literary widow. She even writes a novel of her own. And life is good, until she receives a letter that his book was not his own…again. How far will she go to track down the sender…and to what lengths. Anna is a portrait of a bad protagonist, and the lengths are long.
As in The Plot, The Sequel is a great sendoff on publishing, writers, and how far a writer will go to get a book published. You must read The Plot first and hopefully The Sequel soon after, before you forget important facts (which I did). And check out the chapter titles to see how many you can identify!
The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar—I won’t say the writing is perfect, but I learned a lot about the life of Vincent Van Gogh through his sister-in-law Johanna Bonger. This is a novel and like historical fiction recently we skip from the present to the past and back again.
Emsley Wilson finds a diary in her late grandmother’s attic. It is the diary of Johanna Bonger, married to Theo Van Gogh, Vincent’s brother. This part of the book is true as is the rest of her diary. It’s a fascinating story of a woman who will not be stopped, while no one else supports her. She is determined to make sure that Van Gogh’s legacy is not forgotten. Before he died, he had sold 1 painting. And through Bonger’s perseverance, well, we all know about Van Gogh. There is even a Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
And as modern-day Emsley reads the diary, trying to discover if she’s related to the Van Gogh family, she is inspired by Johanna’s story and is determined to save her own ailing auction company. Part history, part feminist fiction and part love story, it’s an easy way to learn about Vincent Van Gogh.
The Teacher by Freida McFadden—No doubt you’ve heard of this popular suspense novelist. I chose The Teacher because it was available on audio and it was suggested by a friend.
Eve Bennet is a rather strict math teacher, married to Nate Bennet, a charismatic English teacher who is handsome and very popular with high school girls. They teach in the same high school.
Addie is a 16-year-old, with many issues, including an alcoholic father, now deceased. Her popularity has floundered severely since there are stories of a relationship with a previous teacher. And there is a girl who seems to hate her for no reason. We watch Eve and Addie’s story slowly, and I do mean slowly, take shape. It is only in the second half when Addie’s relationship with Mr. Bennet becomes more interesting and the book becomes more interesting as well. I’m not exposing anything by saying that in the opening chapter, someone is being buried, in the dark.
But the plot twists come fast and if you’re not looking for great literature, or any literature, it’s a quick read and the ending was a surprise.
The Women by Kristin Hannah—Who hasn’t read this bestseller? I hadn’t until my book club chose it and as Hannah pulled me into the story of women nurses serving in the Vietnam War, I had a hard time…putting it down.
Frankie McGrath, a nursing student, decides to follow her brother into the war by serving as a nurse and envisioned her picture on her father’s Hero’s Wall. But like everything she’d planned, life in Vietnam wasn’t anything like she had imagined. And the Hero’s Wall was apparently only reserved for men. But we learn that women can be heroes too. And she was. Along with her soon to be best friends Ethel and Barbara, we learn the day-to-day life in a hospital and MASH unit. Life “in country” shapes Frankie’s life in multiple ways. And as brutal as it was, coming home to a divided country and to parents who were embarrassed by their daughter’s commitment was far worse than being exposed to bombs. These bombs were emotional.
Although Frankie’s romantic life was intense, it was never enough for her to come to terms with her inner voices that wouldn’t allow her to let go of the trauma in her past.
The Women was a thoroughly interesting book that gave the reader a view of the Vietman War era and the part that women played in it. So, if you haven’t read it, read it and discuss it with your friends. You may also want to read Absolution by Alice McDermott, (I wrote about this in Summer in the Burbs are for Reading in the Shade).
That was January: cold, depressing, and now it’s almost done. I’m sure February will be better. Please give me suggestions for uplifting, possibly funny, maybe romantic books.
GET LIT WITH LISA 