An Intimate Portrait of Friendship in "The Ensemble", by Aja Gabel - Book Review

The Ensemble is the perfect debut novel - unique and authentic. Author Aja Gabel brings her musical background to the forefront with the Van Ness Quartet - four musicians who meet, form friendships, struggle, and evolve together. Gabel was herself a musician, playing cello from childhood, so she brings experience with her in writing of these musicians, the music itself, and their emotional struggles. 

We meet the quartet in conservatory, and each have a role in conveying their story throughout the novel. Jana is first violin and the clear leader of the group; Brit, a pretty self-conscious orphan, is second violin; Daniel, who has the least natural talent, is the hardest working of the group on cello; and Henry on viola is the handsome, happy prodigy.  Gabel provides vivid emotional narratives of her characters as they grow up together - through family and personal drama; reliance upon each other; distrust and envy; but always deeply intimate and intertwined.

As the book progresses, her characters mature in different ways, and so does her writing it seems. Her characters’ revelations about themselves and those to whom they are so closely attached become more accurate realizations instead of idealizations, and each member provides an acceptance of other’s successes and flaws alike. They are a cohesive unit that will succeed or fail together, and their futures hinge on the collective mood.

Gabel’s The Ensemble provides us with a different kind of story, and she skillfully succeeds with her first novel.  I’m looking forward to seeing more from her.

Published: 2018
Publisher: Riverhead Books

Vickie’s rating: 4 stars

Extraordinary and Wholly Entertaining: "Five-Carat Soul", by James McBride - Book Review

Somehow I passed over the hype around James McBride and his highly acclaimed The Good Lord Bird. I’m now completely on board the McBride train.  Five-Carat Soul is one of the most unique and charming books I’ve read. I can’t think of a similar style, and I loved it.

Five Carat-Soul is a compilation of stories, several tied together, all told with a strong depth of character and imagination. McBride’s stories are fun, and his characters are both strong and vulnerable in navigating their curious situations. In one series, we are introduced most delightfully to the kids that make up The Five-Carat Soul Bottom Bone band of Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Without affection, they refer to their town as The Bottom, and in The Bottom we get to know Ray-Ray, Goat, Sissie, Blub, and an ensemble of characters with yarns as told from one of their own. It’s a tough town with small kindnesses its greatest currency.

Five-Carat Soul
By James McBride

Abe Lincoln makes a couple of appearances; first as a young orphaned slave’s imagined father, then later as we witness the president in a quite intimate, vulnerable, and deeply human circumstance. “The Christmas Dance" is incredibly authentic and moving - it will make your heart swell. And my favorite collection of related stories just has to be "Mr. P and the Wind”. Here we better understand the Higher Order - the wild animals, here confined to a life in captivity, as related by the king of the jungle himself.  You’ll learn in the author’s note that McBride created these last stories after a disturbing visit to the zoo with his two nephews - what a creative and compelling way to turn something so appalling to them into something so magical. 

McBride is an incredible storyteller - completely unpredictable and original. McBride cleverly and sharply confronts our callousness; and he recognizes our flaws and dreams alike with wisdom and care. His attention, depth, and wit make this a fantastic read.

Published:    2017
Publisher:    Riverhead

Vickie’s rating:     5 stars

"The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls", by Anton DiSclafani - Book Review

It's not easy transitioning into adulthood, and certainly not for a 15-year old southern society young lady in 1930. The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls introduces us to Theodora "Thea" Atwell, narrator of this coming of age novel. Thea has lived an idyllic, autonomous childhood with her parents and twin brother in rural Florida until she becomes the center of a scandal and is sent off to boarding school. 

Thea is angry with her parents for sending her away, but she takes on the challenge of this new, foreign environment with poise. At times she is a youthful spirit, and at others she is wise beyond her years. She must learn to navigate the social strata of wealthy southern girls in this North Carolina landscape. She is a quick study and soon discovers who her allies and adversaries are. She is most at ease when in the riding ring as she expertly commands her steed, evoking the confidence of her youthful roaming at home in Florida.

Thea is a combination of innocence and shame, and author Anton DiSclafani artfully combines these traits into an authentic character. The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls is a well-written book that gives nothing away. It is filled with suggestion, and gives credit to the reader to reach the correct conclusions.

Published: 2013
Publisher: Riverhead Books

Vickie's rating: 3 stars

Wave Your Creative Flag with "Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear", by Elizabeth Gilbert - Book Review

Elizabeth Gilbert’s foray into the world of self-help was an easy transition. She did, after all, write one of the most successful ‘sabbatical’ books of all time in Eat, Pray, Love.

While clichéd at times (what self help book isn’t), Big Magic is really just solid encouragement to any person with creative notions to pursue them in spite of everything. Time constraints? Fear of failure or rejection? Worried it won’t be good enough? All of those be damned. Just do it, she says.

But do it for the right reasons. For you. Do not assume your creativity is going to pay your bills. If it winds up doing so, wonderful. Even though it is more likely it won’t, that shouldn’t stop you.

What most people don’t realize is that Gilbert had three published novels that were well received before she broke the bank with Eat, Pray, Love. It was only after the success of that book that she actually quit her day job.

Instead of being a tortured artist, Gilbert wants you to pursue your creativity to completion as you would a love affair. Finishing your creative project is the key, and all it needs to be is good enough. Since there is no “arts emergency” and you won’t be stoned to death for your creativity, what is the worst that can happen? It doesn’t become a colossal commercial success? So what? Your creativity should be pursued for YOU, not for others, and you shouldn’t even have others in mind when you’re doing it.  

She weaves great anecdotal stories from her own experiences and those of other artists in between her advice. She uses catchy phrases like “rejecting the cult of artistic martyrdom” and “the song of the disciplined half ass” to bring her points home.  She’s both storyteller and teacher.

This is a quick, easy read and a good kick in the pants for anyone who just can’t quite figure out how to channel their own artistic ideas. So, with Gilbert’s blessing, go out and be creative! Quit making excuses and don’t set expectations. Do it because you want to and because it makes you feel good.

Published: 2015
Publisher: Riverhead Books

Elizabeth's rating: 4 stars

A Rather Familiar Family in "The Vacationers", by Emma Straub - Book Review

Author Emma Straub writes of the quintessential New York family.  In The Vacationers, the Post family travel to the island of Mallorca, off the coast of Spain for two weeks to celebrate Jim and Franny’s thirty-fifth wedding anniversary.

Fourteen days of family togetherness….what could possibly go wrong??

Daughter, Sylvia, fresh out of high school, would much rather be with friends in the City or on her iPad. Bobby, the prodigal son returned, brings along his cougar girlfriend (whom no one likes) and a bucket full of problems. Charles, Franny’s dearest friend, tags along, at Franny’s urging, with his husband, Lawrence, much to Jim’s chagrin. Oh, and the couple of the hour? There is most definitely trouble in paradise.

Everything and nothing happens during the two weeks. Relationships deepen and dissipate, alliances shift, and bonds emerge in unexpected places. Straub masters the microcosm of the Post family’s dysfunction while allowing the reader to bask in the beauty of the Spanish isle.

At the end of the day, the Posts aren’t so different than any other family; their lives are full of laughs, heartbreaks, resentments, and tenderness. But also, a whole lot of love that ultimately carries them through the rough spots.

The Vacationers is the perfect vacation read.

Published:  2014
Publisher:   Riverhead Books

Elizabeth's rating: 4 stars

A Train to Miss? "The Girl on the Train", by Paula Hawkins - Book Review

I know I’m late so here is my nutshell review for those of you who also missed the train (pun intended):

The Girl on the Train
By Paula Hawkins

Engaging mystery; incredibly depressing, unlikeable characters. Can’t say that the former compensates for the latter.

Open at your own risk……

Published:  2015
Publisher: Riverhead Books/Penguin

Elizabeth's rating: 2 ½ stars

"God'll Cut You Down: The Tangled Tale of a White Supremacist, a Black Hustler, a Murder, and How I Lost a Year in Mississippi", by John Safran - Book Review

A long, complicated title for a similarly long, complicated book. I read about God’ll Cut You Down in Garden & Gun magazine, one geared specifically to Southerners, and had to get it.

Author John Safran, a Jewish Australian documentarian, pursued the story because he had spent time with murdered white supremacist, Richard Barrett. Why Safran knew Barrett is a titillating story on its own and is explained in the book.

The title sets the scene. Barrett’s partially charred body is found in a field in front of his house with multiple stab wounds. Vincent McGee, a young black man who had been in trouble more than out, is the suspect. Why? Well, in addition to being the last person to be with Barrett, he confessed. The twist? It might have been self-defense.

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Deceit, Love, and Decades of Mystery at "The Rocks", by Peter Nichols - Book Review

Author Peter Nichols has written a wonderful novel that takes us to the coast of Spain with vivid, intertwined characters, romance, secrets, and deception.  Nichols weaves a unique story in The Rocks that is captivating and hard to put down. He methodically leads us back through time as the deftly structured story is slowly revealed.

The Rocks: A Novel
By Peter Nichols

We begin with Lulu and Gerald who once had a relationship, but have not spoken in over fifty years despite living in the same Spanish town. They hold a secret to their disdain that remains a mystery until the end. While unfolding the lives of Lulu, Gerald, their children and those around them, Nichols’ setting is a beautiful seaside resort called "The Rocks", which Lulu has run since the 1950’s. The Rocks attracts a colorful cast of English expats - a reformed criminal, failed writer, and other regulars all loyal to Lulu and her welcoming hospitality. The retreat is a sexually charged place where friends and family come for comfort and escape, with the resort’s bar at its vortex for meals, chess, conversation, and lots of misbehavior. 

Also central to the narrative are the children of Lulu and Gerald - Luc and Aegina respectively. Their separate dramas and shared thorny past provide another layer of tension and provides its own mystery, divulged over decades. Their parents and their own unusual relationship contributes to the dark, decades long family saga.

The characters in The Rocks are loved and scorned, but Nichols makes it so alluring I could sense the ocean breezes, walks through the lemon groves, and feel of a boat at sea. Nichols doesn’t deliver his story on a silver platter - he makes us think about the facts presented and leaves it to us to put the pieces together with great anticipation as he reveals the past to us. The Rocks is an intelligent, romantic, disturbing page turner - very high on my summer favorites list.

Published: 2015
Publisher: Riverhead Books

Vickie’s rating: 4 stars