'The Daughter of Time' by Josephine Tey

The Daughter of Time, Josephine Tey (4.0)

This book started slowly, but caught my attention with its unique approach to an interesting mystery in English history. For those who mainly know Richard III from the Shakespeare play, the detective work done in this quiet novel to uncover his true nature will surprise you. Basically an injured detective (known from Ms. Tey’s earlier novels) is bored during his recuperation and his friend gives him a group of photos of various menacing characters of history. His task is to use his touted skills of reading people’s faces to decide if the evil person was really all that bad. He settles on Richard III and his initial reaction to the portrait draws him in to learning more about this much-maligned king. With the help of a student of history, he uses detective work and objective data, rather than the words of the victorious Henry VII’s chroniclers of history. His findings are quite remarkable concerning the motivations and timing of the key events – particularly the alleged murders of the two Princes he is purported to have killed in order to take the thrown. My biggest complaint with all historical novels is that while I thoroughly enjoyed the narrative, in the end of the day, this is a novel and the author does not have to stick to the facts. The story made me pine for my own student of history to verify the information!

'The Girl on the Train' by Paula Hawkins

The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins (3.0)

I’ll admit this book is a page-turner, though I wasn’t as enamored with it as its bestselling status implies others were. As with the other famous ‘Girl’ fiction, the mystery is based on surprises and literary manipulation. The coincidences become a bit hard to take. In this case, the girl is a sad case who has lost her husband, job, etc. and continues to ride the train each day in an attempt to add normality to her life – and hide from others the fact that she has no job. During her daily commute, she watches people in their homes and gardens near the train tracks. She even creates a fake narrative for one such couple, complete with names, occupations, etc. When something happens to the couple, the main character inserts herself into the investigation. Now the coincidences and oddities emerge. She used to live a few houses down from them, her husband still does with his new wife… you get the picture. To top things off, she is a poor witness as her alcoholic bouts often lead to blackouts. Generally, as the reader, you are curious to see how it all unfolds, but you don’t care too much how it does. Unfortunately throughout the book, I also had the picture of the beautiful Emily Blunt playing this supposed overweight, out of shape, alcoholic in the movie adaptation.

'The Tao of Bill Murray' by Gavin Edwards

The Tao of Bill Murray, Gavin Edwards (3.0)

This is an interesting little book for any big Bill Murray fan. The book consists of many stories (mostly told second hand) of Murray antics and encounters throughout the years.  They vary from how he has not had a manager for many years so one is required to call a 1-800 number to reach him and hope for the best, to the many occasions which he has wondered into an event or joined a party unannounced (much to delight of the hosts). Mr. Edwards has taken the time to validate numerous rumors of this legendary crazy behavior. The last section of the book is a filmography with descriptions and critiques of each of Mr. Murray’s films. I wrote at least 3 down that I either wanted to re-watch or happened to have missed.  I should note that the book does not appear to be sanctioned by Mr. Murray, but the stories are not so earth-shattering to be doubted.

'Maus' by Art Spieberger

Maus, Art Spieberger (3.5)

This is a graphic novel that tells the tragic tale of Mr. Spieberger’s parents’ experiences as Jews in Poland before and during WWII. He has made a unique artistic choice by making the Jews mice, the Polish people pigs and the Nazis cats. These affectations take a slight edge off an otherwise hard to read narrative. As his parents try to hide from the Nazis, they don fake pig noses to blend in with the other Polish people. The story begins as the son visits the father and begins to hear the detailed story of his survival. Spieberger has captured the frustration of parents and children from remarkably different times as, through the story, the son tries to understand why his father behaves the way he does. Graphic novels are not for everyone, but this one is memorable.

'Hidden Figures' by Margot Lee Shetterly

Hidden Figures, Margot Lee Shetterly (3.0)

After seeing the movie based on this book, I was surprised by several things in this non-fiction account of many people involved in the flight and space programs in Langley, VA. First, the book covers a larger period of history. It starts after WWII and finishes well past the moon landings of the late 60’s. I was also surprised by the number of people and experiences covered in the book that were basically attributed to the three main characters of the movie, though it understandably made for a more dramatic film. Lastly I was somewhat disappointed in a few things left out of the film, mainly the implication of Virginia’s blatant disregard for federal desegregation laws. Who knew that some counties in Virginia had closed their public schools for 5 years so that white children would not go to school with African American children! Which is even more shocking given the number of scientists and engineers working in Langley at the time. Overall the book had some interesting points and the subject is an important part of history. I liked the plot drivers in the movie, but reading the book pointed out typical Hollywood touches (flaws?) in the movie that were added to increase the drama and increase sympathy for the characters.