Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants

Stall. Readers with an interest in housing finance should consider Bethany McLean’s short book titled, Shaky Ground, to be required reading. Using the finely honed investigative skills she developed at Fortune, especially on examining Enron, McLean looks into the stalled resolution of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These government sponsored entities have been in conservatorship since 2008, and there seems to be no progress on resolving what to do with them next. The result is a housing finance system that rests on shaky ground because of the dominant reliance on these companies to support homeownership. McLean views the situation from multiple perspectives and explains the stalemate and stall in resolution with pragmatic empathy. She joins many others in not seeing a way to get off this shaky ground. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase Shaky Ground from amazon.com.

The Abbey: A Story of Discovery

Direction. James Martin is a Jesuit priest whose books about spiritual topics have been best sellers. His debut novel titled, The Abbey, features three main characters: a priest who is an abbot, a divorced single mom grieving the death of her son, and her tenant, an architect who works as a handyman at the abbey. Martin presents their life struggles with compassion, and uses his knowledge of spiritual direction to help guide them all toward hope and healing. Over the course of the 200 pages of this novel, Martin develops just enough about the three main characters to have readers recognize them as fully formed individuals, and offers enough plot momentum to tell a complete story. I was mildly entertained by the novel and think that any reader with an interest in spirituality will find something of interest in this novel. Rating: Three-star (It’s ok) Click here to purchase The Abbey from amazon.com.

Avenue of Mysteries

Faith. If you’ve ever thought about the phrase, “the miracle of life,” you can think about it for over 450 pages in John Irving’s fourteenth and latest novel titled, Avenue of Mysteries. Irving presents the life of protagonist Juan Diego by shifting back to the past through dreams and recollections, and in the present through the structure of a journey to fulfill a promise. Juan Diego’s life has been filled with mysteries and miracles, and with love from some unlikely or unexpected sources. One reading of this novel filled me with thoughts about the themes Irving explores including aging, fate, the Catholic church, faith, love and perseverance. If I chose a second reading, I’m sure I would find more themes to think about. Irving can be funny, the characters are often quirky and reality can seem to slip away at times. I’ve read all of Irving’s novels over the past four decades, and I admit to a positive bias toward this novel before I opened the first page. Readers who enjoy fine writing are those most likely to enjoy this novel. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase Avenue of Mysteries from amazon.com.

A Brief History of Seven Killings

Singer. If Marlon James’ novel titled, A Brief History of Seven Killings, is the short version at over 700 pages, I wonder what a not-brief version would be. For patient readers who can tolerate multiple narrators, keeping track of a huge cast of characters, quick shifts in time and place, and examination of the same event from multiple points of view, there is a lot to like in this finely written novel. James’ use of language will delight fans of the written word. Fans of Jamaica and Bob Marley, called the singer in this novel, will appreciate the exploration of the 1976 assassination attempt on Marley. For many readers, this novel provides insight into long term pain and suffering and into the struggles of people we may not encounter in our day to day lives. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase A Brief History of Seven Killings from amazon.com.

Slade House

Souls. For any reader who has found David Mitchell’s longer novels a bit challenging to read, consider his latest novel titled, Slade House. In this finely written haunted house story, Mitchell leaves behind the complexity he usually constructs and offers a compact and simple story that brought me great reading pleasure. Some readers can swallow this 250 page novel in a single sitting. Others may want to savor the suspense over the course of a few days. Any reader who likes ghost stories and the idea of lost souls will find something to like in this novel. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Slade House from amazon.com.

Other People's Money: The Real Business of Finance

Vision. Any reader with an interest in finance and a belief in the power of ideas should read John Kay’s finely written book titled, Other People’s Money: The Real Business of Finance. Kay presents a vision to restructure the finance industry summarized as follows: “It is time to get back to work: the serious and responsible business of managing other people’s money.” Kay’s perspective shows how finance has strayed in recent decades, and he proposes the following: “It is possible to have a smaller, simpler financial services system that is better adapted to the needs of the non-financial economy – to achieve an efficient payment system, effective capital allocation, greater economic stability, security in planning and managing our personal finances and justified confidence in the people who advise us.” (p.290) I enjoyed Kay’s clear thinking and cogent writing. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase Other People’s Money from amazon.com.

Emma: A Modern Retelling

Fun. I’d like to imagine that prolific novelist Alexander McCall Smith had fun in writing Emma: A Modern Retelling. There were a few times while reading it that I was somewhat amused. By the end, I confirmed what I knew at the beginning: there’s far less satisfaction in retelling a classic story in a contemporary setting than there is in reading the classic itself or in reading a new contemporary novel. Chances are that if you like Jane Austen, there’s a high likelihood that you won’t enjoy this retelling of her classic novel. Chances are that if you like Smith’s writing and his many serial novels, you will find this diversion less enjoyable than more time with those familiar characters Smith created himself. Readers who are unfamiliar with both Austen and Smith are those most likely to enjoy this novel. Rating: Two-star (I didn’t like it) Click here to purchase Emma from amazon.com.