Book Report

I seem to space these reviews about every five or six months.  I am just reviewing the books I liked and per usual I actually listen to audio books so I'll rate the narrator as well.  And surprise surprise – there are no Louise Penny books on the list this time.  I took a break after the ninth book in the Three Pines series.  Mainly because there is only one more narrated by Ralph Cosham and I'm not ready to give him up just yet.  

Let's get on with it, shall we?

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine:  A Novel by Gail Honeyman, narrated by Cathleen McCarron:  Eleanor Oliphant actually isn't fine.  She is blunt and completely lacking in social skills.  She leads a very isolated and regimented life that precludes any type of social interaction.  She goes to her mundane job and does her work efficiently without any hope or ambition of advancing her career and spends her weekends eating frozen pizza and polishing off a bottle or two of vodka.   The weekend always includes a phone call with "Mummy," a woman with whom she has a very complicated, unhealthy relationship.  A couple of things happen to shake up Eleanor's carefully isolating routine; she develops a mad crush on a musician she saw in a rare work related outing which prompts to her go on a self improvement campaign in order to win him over, and the hiring of Raymond in the IT department who looks past all her brusqueness and weird mannerisms.  The book is really about the importance of human connections and overcoming a horrific past.   She is tragic and seemingly unlikable but you become invested in her almost immediately and find yourself rooting for her.  The writing is fabulous in how Eleanor's backstory is slowly revealed and you begin to understand why she is the way she is.  And gosh I'm making it sound completely dour but Eleanor is unintentionally hilarious in her dealings with people and situations so it is simultaneously a heartbreaking and very funny read.  Cathleen McCarron perfectly captured both the brilliance and social ineptness of Eleanor.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Heft by Liz Moore, narrated by Kirby Heyborne and Keith Szarabajka:  This novel is similar to the one above in that is the story about a social misfit and the poignant way he slowly forges a series of friendships.  Arthur Opp, the reclusive and obese professor who has not left his home in over a decade and Kel Keller, the son of a former student that enchanted Arthur many years ago come together when Kel's mother contacts Arthur after two decades of silence to ask for his help.  The story is told in alternating views, first Arthur Opp's and then Kel's.  You know right away that they are on a trajectory to meet but the author does a fabulous job of building their individual stories.  The character development is beautifully done and even satellite characters are developed nicely and you become invested in everyone in the book.  So again a story of loneliness and forging your own make-shift family.  Narration was great, especially Keith Szarabajka's intrepretation of the distinguished and dignified Arthur Opp.   ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill, narrated by Christina Moore:  This is a Young Adult fiction which I like to throw into my library on occasion as a palate cleanser of sorts.  The story is of the people of the Protectorate who leave a baby every year as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town.  And every year the witch, Xan, has to go rescue the poor child.  She takes the babies to the other side of the forest and delivers them to welcoming families there.  Along the journey she feeds them starlight but one year she mistakenly feeds a baby girl moonlight which gives her incredible magical powers.  She decides to keep this baby and raise it on her own.   Luna, as the baby is named, is raised with Xan's friends Glerk, the swamp monster and resident poet, and Fyrian, a teeny dragon.   Meanwhile, back at the Protectorate not all is as it seems.   It seems there is more evil there than in the forest.  Very much a fairy tale sort of a book.  Amazon says it is for 4-6 grade readers but I thought there were some pretty dark situations.  It is beautifully written and the language and wording used seems more geared to an older audience and not "dumbed" down to a 4th grade level.  Narration was excellent.  If fact I don't think I would have liked it as much if I had read it myself.  The narration definitely adds depth to the story.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman, narrated by the author:  This gets the best title award.  Marvellous Ways is a ninety year old woman living on a remove creek in 1947 Cornwall.  Hmm.  All the books I've read recently have a main character that lives in isolation.  Wonder what is up with that.  The story has a bit of a mystical bent to it.  It begins with Marvellous Ways waiting for something, but what that something is she isn't sure.  It turns out to the a soldier, returning from the war, that is broken in both body and spirit.  Marvellous tends to him and brings him back to health.  This is a hard one to describe.  The writing is so absolutely beautiful that I would at times get a lost in the words and not quite get the story and would have to go back and re-listen.  The author does a wonderful job of weaving the past and the present and capturing the lives of the main characters.  There are some rather unflinching descriptions of the war that were hard to read/listen to but they do serve to underscore the how and why of the soldier washing up on Marvellous' creek.  Towards the end I wished the story had tightened up a bit.  It seemed to drag in spots.  To sum it up it was one of those books where I would be thinking about certain passages long after I read them but not the story itself.  Narration, always dicey when done by the author, was fabulous.  It really was her story to tell – I don't think anyone else would have done her words justice. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Let me know what you are currently reading and if you recommend anything.  Has anyone read Barbara Kingsolver's latest:  Unsheltered?  The reviews look good and she is a reliable author so I might give that one a go next.