'Once Upon a River' by Diane Setterfield

Once Upon a River, Diane Setterfield (3.5)

A unique, interesting book that dances between mysticism and science. My biggest complaint is that it didn’t seem to know what it wanted to be. It is set on a made-up Thames-like river in rural England in the 1800’s. The action begins on a dreary night when a stranger shows up at the local inn with a drowned girl in his arms. Later the girl comes back to life and several parties insist she is their missing daughter/sister. Setterfield has come up with clever ways by which the truth cannot be known and the girl cannot speak. Has the girl come back from the dead? What happened between in the years she was gone? Interesting characters are introduced as the mystery unfolds. I particularly liked the village nurse, who brings a certainty with science. While she continues to find scientific explanations to the unexplained, a few things stay mystic, which I found inconsistent. But the storytelling is good, and many other readers have found this charming. 

'Never Let Me Go' by Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro (4.0)

Similar to ‘Klara and the Sun’, this earlier Ishiguro novel explores the existence and feelings of something outside our current world. Set mostly in what appears to be an upper-class boarding school in rural England, we follow the three main characters into adulthood. There are clues to what makes them unique seeded throughout the story and their quest to understand more becomes the plot. As with his later book, Ishiguro takes an ethical choice based on new technology and examines its effect on society, but even more so on individuals. The movie of the same name is also compelling. Both are best seen and read without knowing more about the main conceit.

'Bullet Train' by Kotaro Isaka

Bullet Train, Kotaro Isaka (2.5)

As the title implies, the story here mainly occurs on a Shinkansen bullet train in Japan. There are numerous hit men and nefarious characters aboard with seemingly different objectives that become more and more intertwined. Oddly the concept of this book was better for me than the actual writing. There were a couple of high points – but they were intermittent and inconsistent. A couple characters would speak or act interestingly, but then would either become boring or be one-dimensional. Throughout the book I wanted to like it more and found it hard to define exactly what was missing. I was really perplexed in hearing that this will be a movie starring Brad Pitt – more perplexed when I heard he was playing a under 30 year-old character. Now that will be acting!

'The Premonition: a Pandemic Story' by Michael Lewis

The Premonition: A Pandemic Story, Michael Lewis (4.0)

I was worried that this book would be ‘too soon’ and lay too much of the blame of our nation’s inadequate COVID response at Trump’s door, which may be true, but not interesting to read. I was pleased that the moral was more interesting. Sadly, it was much more concerning for the future. In reviewing the U.S. federal health care system’s processes and preparation for potential pandemics, Mr. Lewis covers from the CDC to individual County Health Care Officers across several health emergencies. It’s not a spoiler to say the CDC does not come out looking good. The lack of synergy between all the organizations and overall lack of federal leadership is frightening. As with most Michael Lewis’ books, the writing is good, and the pages turn quickly.

'Verity' by Colleen Hoover

Verity, Colleen Hoover (3.0)

While I enjoyed parts of this book, I found it a bit too much like ‘Gone Girl’ (i.e. unreliable narrator). Reading other reviews, the majority quite high, I’m surprised at how many people were flabbergasted by the ending. I found it more interesting to figure out which type of twist the story would take – since there were several possible given the clues. Since it was so dark, I had imagined an even darker ending. The writing was good, and the plot moved along quickly. Sadly, the story is very disturbing on many levels – even the author wrote in the acknowledgements that she did not want her husband or children to read it. If you liked ‘Gone Girl’ or ‘Girl on a Train’, you will definitely enjoy this book- I do consider it somewhat better than both of those.