'One Soldier's War in Chechnya' by Arkady Babchenko

One Soldier’s War in Chechnya, Arkady Babchenko (2)

While the subject of this book is important, I found it very difficult to read. War told from a first-person perspective is always painful, but the writing (or translation) here was confusing such that I struggled to follow the narrative. At times I wasn’t sure where in the timeline we were. The barrage of beatings, starvation and lack of basic needs read worse than a prisoner-of-war tale. The author did mention that he merged some events and people, but overall it was unbelievable at times to think this was happeng. One take-away was that the Soviet army was horribly mis-managed from a military perspective. When beatings and starvations happen to soldiers from their own regiment, one can never imagine a winning scenario.

'The Personal Librarian' by Marie Benedict and Victoria Murray

 

The Personal Librarian, Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray (3.5)

I believe I enjoyed this book more once I finished and realized that the main character existed, survived and even thrived. I now want to find out how and when her secrets were found out. What starts as a story of a young woman, without a college education who is hired to help manage JP Morgan’s collection of famous books. She eventually becomes much more as she goes to Europe and is successful at auctions representing him and obtaining rare books. Throughout her journey she is balancing this new life with a large secret. The authors did a good job in the beginning showing her struggle as the major breadwinner for her family with the new responsibilities and the worry of being discovered. I did feel the book was a little light on how she became so knowledgeable (more than dad’s encouragement) and I wanted to know more about the rare books.

'An Immense World' by Ed Yung

An Immense World, Ed Yong (4.0)

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. I’d say it was eye-opening, but that just underlines the hubris humans have with our favorite sense. It’s easy to forget that virtually every other creature on earth has stronger senses, most of them quite amazing. I enjoyed how in each chapter the author selected a sense (touch, sight, sound, magnetic sensitivity etc.) and illustrated how particular creatures utilized that sense to understand their surroundings. My issue with the second half was the length of examples. I felt it was not as concise with the descriptions and examples which led to information fatigue. As someone in the sciences, I realize if we do ever meet beings from elsewhere, we have very little chance of being able to communicate if we can’t even really understand how the majority of the creatures on earth sense and communicate!

'Sphere' by Michael Crichton

Sphere, Michael Crichton (4.0)

I read this book many years ago but wanted to reread as I had forgotten much. Most of Mr. Crichton’s books are page turners and I have a tendency to read too fast and miss important elements. ‘Sphere’ is certainly that kind of book. Published in 1987, the science holds together well today. I took my time and savored the drama. A group of scientists is called to a crash site in the Pacific Ocean. As the pages turn, you find that it’s not an airplane that has crashed and the government has set up a very detailed plan for the group to investigate the craft while remaining deep in the ocean for many days. The desire to understand what is happening coupled with the claustrophobic nature of being trapped so deep made it very difficult not to tear through the book. Don’t - I recommend going slow and enjoying the journey, if you can!

'The Orphan Train' by Christina Baker Kline

The Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline (3.5)

The background to this story is very interesting – the thousands of orphans from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s who were brought by train from the east coast to the Midwest to be fostered and hopefully adopted. Not surprising, many became basically indentured servants on farms. The author did a lot of research and followed the life of one possible orphan. She managed to balance the reality of the time without it becoming too maudlin. My biggest quibble with this book is how fast it wrapped up. The timeline felt off. 100’s of pages covering late childhood to early adulthood and then in one chapter it was brought up to date.

'The Fraud' by Zadie Smith

The Fraud, Zadie Smith (3.5)

I enjoyed this book – though with some caveats. I love the way Ms. Smith uses words and I was delighted to find out the characters in this book were all real people (figured it out when Charles Dickens enters the scene). The story follows a widow who lives with her husband’s cousin, a hack writer and peer of Dickens. She is a burgeoning abolitionist who follows a real trial of an alleged impersonator of a lost Lord. The trial is riveting as the person is obviously not of the peerage, but the common men and women are convinced (many have compared this to MAGA conspiracies). What I didn’t enjoy about the book was the very long telling of one character’s backstory. Part of it was important to the story, but it really took the reader out of it for too long. I also didn’t appreciate the use of time jumps – these seem to be the trend in current writing – but I found it quite jarring and hard to follow in the beginning. 

'Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy' by Robert H. Frank

Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy, Robert. H. Frank (3.5)

What I liked most about this book was that it gave facts and data to back up what I have always believed. While a book with many interesting points, that made it less enlightening than I had hoped. Mr. Frank does a good job at pointing out how hard work is important, but almost always some luck makes the difference in who succeeds. And that those who do reap the benefits usually downplay that luck and consider their hard work the only factor. This makes it much easier to withhold benefits from others, who appear to have not worked as hard. The whole book reminded me of Anne Richards’ famous quote about George Bush: ‘He was born on third base, but thought he hit a triple’.  Sadly, those who should read this book are the least likely to read it.

'In the Lives of Puppets' by T. J. Klune

In the Lives of Puppets, T.J. Klune (4.0)

I enjoyed this book but was disappointed after reading the afterword by the author. He indicated that he had been forced to make changes to the story by his editors. Unfortunately, knowing that, I can’t help but wonder what would have been different and was left feeling a bit unsatisfied. The book starts as a Pinocchio-like story of family and existence and pivots part-way through to a Wizard of Oz-like story with strange characters and a perilous journey. The overall ideas included were interesting and refreshing, with many touching moments.  I recommend this for all who enjoy unique science fiction, though perhaps skip the afterword.

'Digging to America' by Anne Tyler and 'The Diamond Eye' by Kate Quinn

Digging to America, Anne Tyler (3.5)

It took me awhile to get into this book. At first, I found the characters all quite annoying. The story is of two extended families who meet at the airport as they are picking up their adopted children from Korea. We follow the families over a few years as the two girls grow up and the families stay close. Eventually I can to appreciate the nuanced writing as the story illustrated the feelings of various types of immigrants, though mainly affluent ones. Whether they chose to come to the US, are second generational with strong cultural ties to their family’s original country or were adopted into these families, their feelings were oddly both different and similar. The writing was good, even if I didn’t like the characters.

The Diamond Eye, Kate Quinn (4.0)

I normally don’t read historical fiction as it can reshape my memory with regards to actual history. In this case, I enjoyed reading a fiction story about a real woman sniper in the Russian army during WWII. The main character was interesting and more complex than many of the others. Following history, she did make a propaganda trip to the US. She was part of a group invited by Eleanor Roosevelt with a mission to get US to engage on the Eastern front as an ally of Russia. Kate Quinn once again does a good job bringing to life important women in the war. While WWII has been the setting for many books, her choice of unknown heroes makes the stories fresher. I found the love story elements a bit simplistic, but I was anxious to read it quickly to find out what happens to the Lady Sniper.