My very favorite Bossy October reads!
This month my favorite reads were a missing-person camp story in two timelines; literary fiction set in Belfast during The Troubles; literary fiction about two brothers coping with the death of their father; an exploration of fate and mortality; a serial-killer story based on real-life events; and a collection of fantasy stories.
If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think!
And I'd also love to hear: what are some of your recent favorite reads?
01 The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
I loved this summer-camp setting, the slow build of mystery in two timelines, the privilege and working class disparities, the eventual revelations concerning the disappearances of both Van Lear children, and the beautifully wrought tragedy and redemption.
In August 1975, a teenage girl disappears from her Adirondack summer camp.
But the girl isn't just any camper. She's Barbara Van Lear, the daughter of the owners of the camp where many local residents work.
Oddly, her brother Bear, beloved by all who knew him, disappeared fourteen years earlier. He was never found.
A frantic search takes place, and as the locals look for Barbara, various Van Lear secrets come to light. The split between the largely blue-collar area and the privileged Van Lear family is shown to be stark and significant.
I love love love a summer-camp story, and I loved The God of the Woods.
I was intrigued by the mysteries and their layers, which are continually revealed, and while I usually feel more invested in one timeline over another, with The God of the Woods, I was equally interested in both timelines.
Liz Moore is also the author of Long Bright River as well as Heft and The Unseen World.
For my full review of this book, please see The God of the Woods.
02 Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
Kennedy writes poignantly about the Irish Troubles through the point of view of Cushla, a young adult stretching her wings despite her limits--her mother's alcoholism, her father's death, and her small outer Belfast community, where violent Protestant-Catholic tensions are threatening to rule every act, thought, and dream.
Cushla is a young teacher (who also fills in at the family pub) living through growing violence outside of Belfast. Along with her alcoholic mother and her impatient barkeep brother, she grieves the loss of her father while going about her day and living her modest lifestyle.
But Cushla--along with many other citizens--is more and more astounded by the increasing conflict between Catholics and Protestants, and the violent acts stemming from the growing schism.
Kennedy draws the reader into the specific place and time of the story, vividly building the constant undercurrent of tension, the twinges of fear, the devil-may-care affair, the sickening reckonings. This is beautiful and heartbreaking, but Trespasses is never maudlin or too easy. Both the world and the characters' personal lives are complicated, messy, wonderful, and fragile.
I listened to Trespasses as an audiobook.
Click here for my full review of Trespasses.
03 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Intermezzo is one of my favorite Rooney novels yet, exploring complicated families, grief, unconventional relationships, forgiveness, and possibilities that once seemed impossible.
In the wake of their father's death, two brothers reel from the loss in his own way. They clash, hurt each other deeply, and wonder if they can ever reconcile.
The men's methods of coping with their grief often test the line between hopelessness and possibility. Each of their romantic relationships is unconventional, and various players involved struggle to let go of societal expectations in favor or what feels real and meaningful and what makes them happy. Through it all, both Ivan and Peter are repeatedly forced to consider their place in the world and what the future might hold.
But wars are being waged, and Rae quickly figures out that she's not the heroine of the story. She's the villain. And only she can organize the rest of the plotting, dark, moody, sometimes exasperating bad guys (and girls) in an attempt to change all of their futures.
I'm such a greedy reader, it's been a while since I've slowed down to savor a book the way I felt compelled to do while reading Intermezzo. I was invested in the characters and their messy methods of coming to terms with death and with seizing control of their own lives.
The prose in Intermezzo is gorgeous and often feels poetic--in fact, many of the notes in the back matter credit poems as the source of some of the references on these pages.
Rooney is also the author of Normal People, Conversations with Friends, and Beautiful World, Where Are You.
Please click here to see my full review of Intermezzo.
04 Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
I loved this dive into the repercussions of a seemingly psychic woman's predictions of demise for her fellow passengers on a flight. Characters scoff, become resigned, or work to control their futures as they face issues surrounding their mortality.
An elderly woman is causing a major disruption on an airline flight. She's going through the plane as if in a trance, announcing expected ages of and causes of death for each person aboard.
From the overworked dad trying to make it home in time for his daughter's musical, to the mother of two young, crying children, to a spry older couple, to Allegra herself, the Death Lady (as she is later called) announces a prediction of each person's age of and cause of demise.
Here One Moment traces what begins to happen as the first of the Death Lady's predictions seem to come true and each passenger considers the prospect of their own immortality--and for some, what seems to be their imminent death.
Here One Moment tracks many characters' subsequent dilemmas and decision-making, in a few cases delving back into their past to set a stage for current-day events--and building a rich story of the life of the Death Lady herself.
I love a book that considers life and death and inspires me to do the same, and Moriarty shapes each character's path forward in varied ways. They are thoughtful, dismissive, daring, resigned, afraid, negligent, or determined; they defy their prediction, or try to control their fate, or recognize how they most want to live out their days and make new choices.
I listened to Here One Moment as an audiobook.
Please click here for my full review of Here One Moment.
05 Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
Knoll's novel was inspired by real events; Bright Young Women traces a serial killer targeting young women and in the character of Pamela, offers a no-nonsense, brilliant nemesis who won't let up until she brings the criminal to justice.
Jessica Knoll's novel Bright Young Women is inspired by real-life events: the targeting of a sorority by the first "celebrity serial killer" in his final killing spree.
But when the studious, responsible Pamela stays home from a party and investigates a strange noise in the sorority house, she discovers a horrible tragedy--two of her sisters (one, her best friend) are dead and two others are maimed. And in her shock and horror, Pamela spied the culprit as he skulked away.
In Seattle, Tina Cannon is trying to figure out what happened to her dear friend Ruth, who disappeared from a nearby state park. When she hears about the horrifying events in Tallahassee, she becomes convinced that what happened to Ruth is linked to the Florida sorority attack, and she travels to Florida, determined to get to the bottom of the crimes.
I expected the novel to feel more salacious, and I was thankful that it did not. I found it satisfying to read about Pamela's growing contempt for The Defendant, her long-term commitment to prosecuting him, and her mission to find peace for his victims. The friendships and love interests--which were powerful enough to overshadow the book's dysfunctional families and painful relationships--were welcome distractions from the horror at the heart of this story.
I read Bright Young Women for my book club.
For my full review, check out Bright Young Women.
06 Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik
Novik never seems to make a misstep, and the thirteen stories here revisit favorite fictional worlds, delve into never-before-revealed adventures, and offer a glimpse into the author's newest world-building adventure--which I already love.
I love reading Naomi Novik's books without exception. Novik's newest work, Buried Deep, is a collection of thirteen stories that span the worlds of her fantastic novels--and hint at new works to come.
When I read a collection of short stories, I inevitably develop favorites, and while reading Buried Deep I enjoyed all of the stories but particularly loved three.
"After Hours" allowed me to delve back into Novik's Scholomance series, which I adored. I hated for this one to end, because what I actually wanted was the impossible: to read another full-length work taking place in the world of El and Orion.
"Dragons & Decorum" is a glorious mashup of Novik's dragon stories (see my mention of the Temeraire series, below) and Pride and Prejudice, and it made me grin with glee the whole time I read it.
And "The Long Way Round" is a tantalizing peek into Novik's next world, with a savvy, gruff female captain at sea, her beloved, artistic, romantic brother, and a big adventure. I'm already obsessed with this story and can't wait to read the full-length version.
I received a prepublication copy of Buried Deep and Other Stories courtesy of NetGalley and Ballantine.
For my full review, please see Buried Deep.
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