The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

Marginalized. Having waited two decades for another novel by Arundhati Roy, I dove into her new book titled, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. I’m glad I did. She pulls readers into the sights, smells, sounds and people of India, especially the marginalized ones. Don’t worry about keeping track of everything that’s going on. Let Roy take you across the subcontinent and over decades of time. Her prose is finely written in this epic novel and those readers who enjoy finely written literary fiction are those most likely to appreciate this novel. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Ministry of Utmost Happiness from amazon.com.

Love Like Blood

Honorable. The 14th installment in the series by Mark Billingham featuring Detective Inspector Tom Thorne is titled, Love Like Blood. Billingham took a Thorne break last year to publish Die of Shame featuring D.I. Nicola Tanner. Tanner appears in the new Thorne novel with a request that Tom investigate the murder of Tanner’s partner. The current novel explores the dishonorable practice of “honor” killing. As fans will expect, Thorne is troubled and talented. The plot has interesting twists and surprises, the action moves briskly, and I was well-entertained. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Love Like Blood from amazon.com.

Who Is Rich?

Conflicted. Graphic artist Rich Fischer is protagonist and narrator of Matthew Klam’s novel titled, Who Is Rich?. Rich doesn’t have much money, his one graphic novel is out of print, his work doing illustrations for a magazine is mediocre and declining, and he has fallen in love outside his marriage. His lover, Amy, is the wife of a billionaire and they are both conflicted over their passions and over the place of money in their lives. While midlife struggles can become weary to read, Klam’s prose is so finely written that even impatient readers are likely to enjoy Rich’s plight. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Who Is Rich from amazon.com.

What Happened

Comey. No reader’s viewpoints about Hillary Rodham Clinton will change after reading her book about the 2016 presidential election titled, What Happened. There is no question mark in the title, so this is her definitive attempt to tell citizens what she thinks happened. While Clinton holds herself accountable for the outcome, she focuses particular attention on the actions of James Comey and the ways in which all media avoided policy issues where she was strong, and maintained false equivalency between her and Trump. She doesn’t quite say that Trump used the press better than she did, but recognizes that his actions led to media diversion away from policy matters. Clinton comes across as more candid in this book than in earlier ones. I wanted to read three things in this book: that she admits she was not a very good candidate; that the energy during the election was more engaged by Sanders and Trump because this was a change election and she represented the status quo; and that she did not pay enough attention to the economic concerns of many Americans. I didn’t get exactly what I wanted, but received more than I expected. Sigh. Rating: Three-star (It’s ok) Click here to purchase What Happened from amazon.com.

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life

Dedication. I readily confess that I always read the dedications and acknowledgements of books I finish. Samantha Irby grabbed my attention with the dedication for her essay collection titled, We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. She dedicated the book to klonopin, a brand name for the anxiety medication clonazepam. I was alert to expect to read a distinct and likely funny voice in these 21 essays, and I was not disappointed. Irby simultaneously led me to laugh, and to realize that she was conveying some profound truth. I loved her direct style of writing and how could you not be drawn to the cover of this book? That’s before meeting Irby’s cat, Helen Keller. It only gets better after the cover and the dedication. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase We Are Never Meeting in Real Life from amazon.com.

Night of Fire

Images. Colin Thubron uses the structure of an apartment building and the residents who live separately in some ways and are together in others for his novel titled, Night of Fire. Six tenants and their landlord reveal themselves and their memories as the building in which they sleep burns. Thubron writes with great skill and explores the nature of our stories and the ways in which we know our neighbors and the ways in which we remain strangers. Readers who enjoy finely written literary fiction are those most likely to enjoy this novel. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Night of Fire from amazon.com.

One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter

Lively. The zany essays in the debut collection by Scaachi Koul titled, One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter, are funny and well-written. Koul writes about aspects of modern life with a great voice that is rooted in compassion and love of family. Introspective essays can become tedious, but Koul covers topics like race and gender in ways that are simultaneously thoughtful, funny and sensitive. While she writes about growing up in Canada, her observations can be universal. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase One Day from amazon.com.