Best. Thriller. Ever

The Likeness

by Tana French

Genre: Mystery/Psychological Thriller

Sorry, but I cannot do 100 words for this one and do it justice!

Review: This is the second time I have read this book, and it allowed me to see how much of an absolute master of the writing craft Tana French is. Often the thriller or mystery genre is not considered quite as literary as "the literary novel," but everyone who wants to be a writer should read this book.

 The premise of the book itself is amazing--Lexie, a post-grad in English literature, is murdered and found in a famine cottage, not far from her home at Whitethorn Manor. An undercover detective (Cassie Maddox) happens to be her double. Cassie must become Lexie, essentially, and infiltrate her life to find the murderer. The pacing and suspense will leave you breathless. What could be better than that? Maybe the writing itself.

At the sentence level, her writing is astonishing, poetic. You want to read as fast as possible, you HAVE to know what happens, but wait. Stop, pause and re-read a breath-taking description. Upon the second reading (years after the first reading), I noticed the symbolism of the mirror woven throughout--nothing in-your-face, just suggestive and powerful. The second reading also allowed me to notice the social commentary on Dublin and Ireland, the impact of history on the present, including thoughts on the economy and identity. 

Whether French is dissecting the minds of the characters or analyzing the thin lines between morality and immorality or reality and imagination, she delves deeply into what it means to live your life, to choose another life, and how precarious the threads we use to hang on to the people around us really are. Through her writing, French creates unreliable, not completely likable characters and narrators, but you still want to sit with them fireside or in a pub and talk to them forever. 

Movie News: Both In the Woods and The Likeness were acquired. The Likeness is still in development, according to IMDB.

Devotion: A Memoir

Devotion

by Dani Shapiro

Genre: Memoir

Review: On paper, Dani Shapiro has all you could ask for: a healthy son, Jacob, a husband, a writing career, a house in the countryside. Yet she wakes up in the night in a cold panic. Her past, her fears and anxieties, her impossible mother, Jacob's brush with death, haunt her. She cannot find peace in her life. 

Meanwhile, Jacob is asking questions about God. Raised an Orthodox Jew, she approaches and retreats  from the Jewish religion. In Devotion, she vows to approach her core, to meditate, do yoga, explore Judaism and Buddhism.

***If you liked Eat, Pray, Love but longed for more depth and intellect, you will love Devotion.***

Meaningful quote:

"Each of us human, full of longing, reaching out with our whole selves for something impossible to touch. Still, we are reaching, reaching." p.243

After Her

After Her

by Joyce Maynard

Genre: Fiction: Mystery/Thriller

New release!

Review:  After Her is a mystery about two sisters' coming of age in Marin County, with the "Sunset Strangler" haunting the mountain in their backyard. After admiring this well-written novel with compelling characters, a mix of sadness, humor, and tension, I had to read Maynard's other books. 

Rachel is navigating adolescence and changing relationships while trying to help her father, the detective on the case, who is deteriorating from the stress and publicity. The setting on Mt. Tamalpais, stark and beautiful, is almost a character in the novel. Overall, a bit disturbing, but highly recommended. 

Note: It has been awhile since I read much of an author's ouevre all together, and this is a satisfying experience, especially for writers who are interested in how an author's work changes throughout the life and work/life balance. See reviews for The Good Daughters and At Home in the World. 

At Home in the World

At Home in the World

by Joyce Maynard

Readers of her novels will enjoy learning about her  personal journey!

Genre: Memoir

Review: Follow Maynard's journey from eager daughter to precocious young writer to her affair J.D. Salinger. As a college student, she published a piece in New York Times magazine. Salinger approached her through letters, and eventually she lived with him in New Hampshire. Even more compelling than the story of her affair--the struggle Maynard faces as she balances acting as the "voice of her generation" with finding her true voice as a writer and later, as a mother.  Through the process, readers witness Maynard coming-of-age as a person and as a writer. 

Still Writing

Still Writing: 

The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life

by Dani Shapiro

Genre: Non-fiction

Review: Dani Shapiro, memoirist and novelist, shares a little book full of wisdom about writing and life. The title is true to the content of the book. If you plan to live a writing life, you should learn about both the perils and the pleasures. The solitude, uncertainty, and anxiety, as well as the joy of flow, discovery, and delving deeper into yourself and your stories. This is honestly the best writing book I have read since Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. I have a feeling I will keep coming back to many of these quotes...

My favorite quotes from the book:

Act as if…

“Act as if you’re a writer. Sit down and begin. Act as if you might just create something beautiful, and by beautiful I mean something authentic and universal. Don’t wait for anyone to tell you its okay. Take that shimmer and show us our humanity. That’s your job.” p.32

About Reading:

“Fill your ears with the music of good sentences, and when you finally approach the page yourself, that music will carry you. It will remind you that you are part of a vast symphony of writers, that you are not alone in your quest to lay down words…” p. 34

 “It allows the greatest consolation of literature, which is to pierce our separateness, to show us that, in this business of being human, we are not alone.” p.124 

On practice

 “If we are patient, if we place ourselves in the path of possibility, we might just find our own rushing current…Lives are made up of days. Days made up of hours, of minutes, of seconds during which we make choices, and those choices become practice.” p.131

“Why are we writing about this moment, and no other?” p.137

“It is the truest lesson I know about writing—and life—that we must always move in the direction of our own true calling, not anyone else’s.” p.192

The Good Daughters

The Good Daughters

by Joyce Maynard

Two "birthday" sisters grow up in rural New Hampshire, both of their lives tied to the Plank farm in indelible ways

Genre: Literary Fiction

Review: Dana Dickerson, daughter of a painter mother, secretly longs to work the land someday, and Ruth Plank longs to be a painter. Life on a farm in the harshly beautiful landscape of New Hampshire is evoked. Dana and Ruth grow up beside each other in a sense, yet far apart; both feel out of place in their respective families. The story hurtles toward a conclusion that you know is coming, but still shocks, like a Greek tragedy. Maynard weaves the symbolism of strawberry vines, called daughters, throughout the story. The writing is honest, sensory, and emotionally evocative. 

Divergent Trailer!

Who is excited for the film adaptation of Divergent?

Shailene Woodley and Theo James star as Tris and Four.

Watch the movie trailer here:

http://divergentthemovie.com/