Family Pictures, by Jane Green

This was a very enjoyable, thought-provoking book, except for the explicit sexual descriptions (I admit I am a prude). There were some errors in context that were mildly annoying, but I could get past them. I could predict from the blurb what was going to happen, and was just waiting for it to "hit the fan." It did, very explosively, and devastatingly, utterly wrecking the lives of two families. How the women managed to pull themselves and their children out of the pit made interesting reading.

Evergreen, by Belva Plain

Having finished and enjoyed one Belva Plain book, I was eager to read another.

A great family saga, following Anna Friedman from her childhood in a 19th century Polish village through her immigration to America. Anna's life encompasses World Wars I and II, marriage, family, the depression, her husband's successful business, and many tragedies and joys.She lives to see grandchildren and a great granddaughter some fifty-odd years after her arrival.
Ever since her service as a maid in the Werner household, Anna has kept her attraction to the handsome young son of the family to herself, and after an incident several years later, she has even more devastating secrets to keep.

Whispers, by Belva Plain

Whispers and rumors abound, in the home and among friends and neighbors. Lies and cover-ups, to oneself, to children and other family members, to friends and neighbors. Finally, abruptly, and dramatically, it all must come out. A story of domestic violence, told very skillfully. This was not a pleasant book to read, but it kept me enthralled to the end.

Hannah's List, by Debbie Macomber

A sweet romance based on an unusual premise. A young woman dying of cancer leaves a note for Michael, her grieving husband, to be read after her death. In it, she urges him to marry again, and even gives him a list of possible wives: her cousin, her oncology nurse, and a flighty, unpredictable model she met in her work as a buyer. Guess who Michael falls for? It's pretty obvious, even from the book's cover picture. However, as Shakespeare observed, "the course of true love never did run smooth" . The twists, turns, obstacles, and rocks in their path make for an interesting read.

Private Life, by Jane Smiley

This book is a novel about Margaret Mayfield Early's life, spanning the era from 1883, when she was a young girl, to 1942. Her parents remembered vividly the American Civil War, and she lived through the Spanish-American War and World Wars I and II. (To be honest, World War II had just begun when Private Life ends, but Margaret is still strong and healthy.)

At 27 years, Margaret Mayfield is not beautiful nor especially talented. Her younger sisters marry and begin rearing families. It seems that Margaret is destined to remain an old maid - until Captain Andrew Early comes along. He doesn't exactly sweep her off her feet; his interest in her seems amazingly cool and indifferent, but she accepts his proposal. He is of a respectable family; his mother is a friend of her mother and he is always well groomed, and not unattractive. He has written a book concerning his theories of the universe, which has caught everyone's attention. It is only later, much later, that Margaret discovers that he has also caught unfavorable attention from his superiors and others at the university where he taught, and was forced to leave suddenly.

Immediately after their marriage, Andrew and Margaret move to California from Missouri, where Margaret has lived all her life. Taking an interest in her new surroundings, making friends and joining women's groups, Margaret is not homesick or bored. Time passes, and their hopes for a large family of strong, lively sons is thwarted. She grows less enchanted with her husband, as unsettling truths are slowly revealed, and his overbearing personality becomes more pronounced. She finds her time at home alone, when he is at work or engrossed in his projects, are a relief.

Margaret's old friend Dora (her sister's sister-in-law) has remained a busy, single career woman, traveling all over the world as a newspaper reporter. Although it is never expressed overtly, it seems that Margaret is envious of Dora's freedom. Although, actually Margaret is surprisingly free to come and go as she pleases, for a woman of her time. Her husband purchased an automobile, but insisted that she, not he, be the one to learn to drive it. She roams all over her small city and the county, and into San Francisco, observing nature and visiting friends which include a Japanese family and a Russian ex-patriot.

The Prologue and the Epilogue take in place in 1942, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. These sections deal with the aftermath, especially the detainment and internment of Japanese families, Margaret's friends particularly.

Mrs. Miniver, by Jan Struther

A book from the public library, read and reviewed on LibraryThing in January, 2014

Mrs. Miniver is an imaginative and thoughtful woman, a loving wife and mother. This is a gentle and easy reading book with little plot. Each chapter is a different episode of Mrs. Miniver's life, with her thoughts and observations.

Mrs. Miniver was strong in time of war and preparation for war (WW II). She tried to keep things as normal as possible for her children, preparing them without alarming them. She volunteered with First Aid and took in seven refugee children to her country house in Kent. Written with sympathy and humor, and plenty of human interest.

Left Neglected, by Lisa Genova

A book from the public library, read and reviewed in July, 2013

A fascinating fictional account of a woman who suffered from a very real but largely unknown medical condition, Left Neglect. A fast-lane, type A mother of three in a high-powered corporate position is suddenly rendered helpless following an auto accident. The book follows her therapy, her adjustments to her condition, her attempts to resume her former life, interpersonal relationships with her husband, children, and mother, and how she decides to live the rest of her life. I have read Still Alice by this author, and found it fascinating as well. I enjoy well written novels that deal with real issues in a convincing manner. I hope to find more of Lisa Genova's books.

What Alice Forgot, by Liane Moriarty

(Mine was not an audio book; it was a paperback, but looks like this.)

An amazing book dealing with a familiar subject, amnesia, in a new way. Alice was exercising at the gym and fell, hitting her head on the hard tile floor. When she woke, ten years of her life had been erased from her memory. The ten years during which her three children were born and her marriage fell apart. How does she begin to deal with a new life that she does not even recognize? A fascinating story, kept me interested and eager to see what happens.

I thought this might be a sequel (although written by another author) of Still Alice, by Lisa Genova. Strange that it's another woman named Alice, in a different country, of a different age, with amnesia instead of dementia - but an Alice with a memory deficiency.

Her Father's House, by Belva Plain

Read, reviewed, and released in April, 2015

Interesting reading, an exciting tale about love gone wrong. An aspiring lawyer meets an attractive young woman, falls in love, and they marry. Then they learn that they are not suited for one another; she likes the fast life whereas he longs for a quieter, more conventional way of living. At her suggestion, they divorce, but not before she learns that she is pregnant.

The rest of the book tells of his decision to kidnap his daughter after a near disaster, and of his efforts to hide away in the country under an assumed name, with a new identity and a new life. However, he is eventually discovered, as we knew he must be.
I found it ironic that the things he most despised in his former wife, her lies and deception, became the way he lived for many years, hiding in the country.

I had some problems with this book. What did she see in him, why did she pursue him? Why was she so eager to marry him? His philosophy of life was no secret to her. Also, it seems to me that he could have proven that the child was endangered, having been taken to an adult party with excessive drinking and drug use, and put into a car with a drunken, speeding driver. Oh, well, it did make for an exciting tale.

A Sudden Change of Heart, by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Read in September, 2014, reviewed and released later

I read this while I was at a rehab facility following knee surgery, a couple of months ago. I wasn't able to write a review at the time, and I have forgotten most of it by now, but I did enjoy it. It concerned family relationships, marriage, lifelong friendship, and also the theft of art by the Nazis during World War II.

A Gift from Brittany, by Marjorie Price |

A wonderful book that I won't soon forget. A mostly gentle memoir of an American artist's life in the French country and her close friendship with an older peasant woman who offers kindness and wisdom.

Spoiler alert: Warning, Don't scroll down if you don't want to know too much.










also deals with a controlling spouse and domestic violence

Still Alice, by Lisa Genova

Read and reviewed in September, 2012, released later

I read this very quickly; I couldn't put it down!
A very moving and disturbing fictional account of a brilliant woman, a Harvard professor in psychology, who suddenly begins having serious memory lapses. She is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's Disease, and her rapid decline in spite of medication is frightening to herself and to her family, but sadly, later only her husband is distressed.

A Thousand Days in Venice, by Marlena de Blasi

Read and reviewed in May, 2012, given to another Bookcrosser

This caught my eye, perhaps because I am currently reading Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes and I have Italy on my mind. I hope it will be better than the usual "romance."

******************
It was better, much better and a book that I thoroughly enjoyed! The true story of a whirlwind romance, marriage and happy-ever-after between an American woman and an Italian man.

Raney, by Clyde Edgerton

Book image courtesy of Google.com

Read, reviewed, and released in May, 2006

It was a very quick read, light-hearted, gentle and funny. I wish some of the characters had been more fully developed, especially "Mama." I liked her.

Here are a couple of excerpts that I particularly enjoyed:

On the death of Raney's beloved Uncle Nate, "It was all a shock. There was this giant black hole in my life. And it couldn't hit me all at once. It was like a hourglass was holding things back."

On Raney's and Charles' marital difficulties: "Sometimes I think life is a bed of rose thorns."

One thing that took some getting used to, even for this south Alabamian, was Raney's North Carolina southern accent. I never could get used to her use of "won't" for the past tense, until I substituted "weren't" (even if it wasn't grammatically correct; I'm used to hearing ungrammatical speech). For example: "It won't Mel Tillis...It won't a Mel Tillis record." equals, "It weren't Mel Tillis..." meaning, "It wasn't Mel Tillis..."

Julie and Julia : 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, by Julie Powell

Read, reviewed, and released October-December, 2009

I enjoyed this story, and reading about all Julie's adventures, and misadventures, and how she overcame all obstacles, and perservered to accomplish her goal. I enjoyed reading about her blog, and her followers, and her growing fame. Being the prude I am, I did not particularly enjoy all the "f-words" and other words and expressions that were beyond my comfort zone. It was a good story, though, as I said, and I'd like to see the movie. I was relieved to hear that, as a PG-13 rated movie, it does not have much "cussing."

Click here for more reviews by other Bookcrossers.