I read seven books in September.
At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier
We’ve probably all heard the story of
‘Johnny Appleseed’ who scattered pips across America that grew into wonderful
orchards seemingly without any further human intervention. But it turns out
that growing apples is a great skill, that different kinds can be crossed to
produce a different flavour/texture – and that drinking too much cider can have
very dire consquences.
Once again Tracy Chevalier has chosen a
fascinating subject to passionately pursue. Her (fictional) main character, Robert, moves on
from the apple trees of his childhood to finding giant sequoias (even being
involved in transporting some to Wales – this really happened ).
The research does rather overwhelm the story and I would
have liked to follow Robert’s sister Martha too – but I do love learning
something new in whatever form it takes and while I appreciated trees before
I read this I’m definitely going to be hugging them now.
Twins,and what they tell us about who we are by Lawrence
Wright
Yes, a bit of a random title for me – part
psychology, part medical. When I read (and loved) Liane Moriarty’s novel Three Wishes, which is about triplets,
she mentioned this book in her acknowledgements. So I thought I would read it,
as a writing friend once pointed out to me that I am fond of having multiple
births in my stories – lots of twins and the beginnings of a novel with triplets.
Really don’t know why I do that … I’m trying to stop.
But I loved these stories
about twins who were separated at birth (sometimes in the past, horrifically,
deliberately separated as a scientific experiment) and who turned out to not only
have eg the same mannerisms but who married wives with the same name, or who turned
up to be reunited with their twin wearing the same colour and style of dress. About
nature and nurture basically – absolutely fascinating. And the medical bit was
too (did you know that twins can have different fathers?) … book now passed on
to a young relative who has started midwifery training.
X by Sue Grafton
Bought in the wonderful Barter Books in
Alnwick. This is the third last in this series about Californian private
investigator Kinsey Milhone, which I have been blitz-reading over the last few
months. This isn’t one of the best, a bit of a pot-boiler, and really it’s a
follow-on story from W is for Wasted
– so don’t make this the book you start your reading of the series. Otherwise
you could start anywhere because the books, all 26 of them (I’ve still to read
Y and Z is not out yet), are set in an unspecified year around the mid 1980s.
In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume
I’ve never read Judy Blume’s YA books –
actually I’m not sure they were called that when they were first published, I
think she probably invented the genre. But a friend passed this ‘for adult
readers’ book on and I was intrigued to read it. It’s set in 1951 and based on
a real series of tragic accidents that happened over one year in suburban New
Jersey, where JB grew up. There are many wonderful characters, perhaps too many
– some merited a whole book of their own. It’s a very interesting period to
read about – I’ve read lots of fiction and non-fiction of post-war,
still-food-rationed Britain when everything seemed rather gray and dreary, but
America is the land of plenty; there are technological advances and women’s
lives are changing.
Christmas Under the Stars by Karen Swan
I’ve been meaning reading to read Karen
Swan for a while – her covers look so enticing. But I was sadly disappointed. Four friends – two young couples – in the Canadian Rockies, an
accident happens, and the book is about the fall-out. Great setting, great
premise. But I didn’t like any of the four of characters – they simply didn't ring true for me – and one of them turns
out to be so unhinged they seem to have strayed in from a different genre. And the
title is a swiz – there are date headings throughout the book and it skips from
24 December to the 26th! There are good reviews
online for this, KS’s eleventh novel, but there are also readers who think it
not a patch on earlier titles. So maybe I’ll give her another go. Maybe.
Single, Carefree, Mellow by Katherine Heiny
Read on Kindle. Short stories, some about the same
characters, all single women and (the irony is deliberate) not awfully
carefree or mellow. Loved, loved the
characters, the settings and the dry humour. The New York Times described her writing as ‘Cheever mixed with
Ephron’. That mix makes a very successful marriage …
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny
Read on Kindle. When I finished her short stories I rushed
out to buy KH’s novel (well, I downloaded and started reading it immediately).
I don’t know when I’ve last read a book with such lifelike characters – they
jumped straight off the page and I loved them all, yes, even the origami
obsessives ...
There’s not much in the way of plot but who
cares – this is a fly-on-the-wall, laugh-out-loud look at the 15-year marriage
of Graham and Audra. He was previously married to ice-queen, humourless Elspeth.
One of those people who light up a room, Audra could not be more different. She
is much younger than Graham and he loves that she’s so gregarious and can talk
to anyone – and does, at great length and speed, without
filtering her thoughts (although he winces when the people sitting in front of
them at a church wedding overhear her telling him some very (very) intimate information about the bride).
Graham and Audra have a son, Matthew, who
has Aspergers, something they take in their stride although it’s not always
easy. And sometimes Audra can be too friendly and hospitable, filling their
house with waifs and strays, which is when Graham thinks nostalgically of the
ordered, peaceful life he had with Elspeth
Throw in the New York setting as a bonus
and I was completely hooked by this warm, funny and wonderfully written book.
