Should We Stay or Should We Go

Exits. The protagonists of Lionel Shriver’s novel titled, Should We Stay or Should We Go, are looking for ways to address the reality of their mortality. Husband and wife Cyril and Kay are medical professionals who have watched the elderly depart the world in ways that are not gentle. While in their fifties, they decide to commit suicide together after their eightieth birthdays. Using humor regularly while exploring a sober topic, Shriver organizes her book into chapters in which Kay and Cyril exit the world in different ways. Readers in long term relationships will recognize the humanity of these characters and their patterns of communication and interaction. We laugh at the ways in which they agree and disagree, and how they deviate from plans in ways that we recognize as fully human. Beyond a certain age, it would be dysfunctional not to think about death. Shriver uses Kay and Cyril as stand-ins for us who will face a wide array of different things that happen as our lives end. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase Should We Stay or Should We Go from amazon.com.

Real Life

Wallace. As Brandon Taylor introduces readers of his debut novel titled, Real Life, to protagonist Wallace, we begin to feel a constant throb of pain along with this complex character as he navigates the world. We observe his anxiety as he leaves small town Alabama and secures a place in a science lab at a Midwestern university. We feel for all the ways in which he keeps others at a distance, as a response to past pain and to his struggle to fit in to his current situation. His father’s death seems to have the same impact on Wallace as the dead worms from a spoiled lab experiment. He desires intimacy and keeps others at a distance. Fans of literary fiction will appreciate Taylor’s finely written prose and will reflect thoughtfully about Wallace and his life. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Real Life from amazon.com.

Sooley

Basketball. While I have no interest in basketball, I have often enjoyed John Grisham’s novels, so I opened a copy of his book titled, Sooley. Before long I was caught up in the story of Samuel Sooleymon, a young man from South Sudan, who gets the chance to play basketball in the United States. Grisham contrasts the break that Sooley gets with the situation in South Sudan. Most readers will become caught up in this moving story and with this charismatic character. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Sooley from amazon.com.

The Good Sister

Twins. The protagonists of Sally Hepworth’s novel titled, The Good Sister, are fraternal twins Fern and Rose. Hepworth captures readers in just a few pages as we want to learn more about these women. Before long, we feel like we are inside their family and beginning to understand their interpersonal dynamics. After not very long, we realize that there are family secrets that have been long held, and we begin to see Fern and Rose in new ways. Hepworth’s prose is finely written, and her insight into human behavior resonates. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Good Sister from amazon.com.

A Matter of Death and Life

Legacy. Few couples, upon hearing that one of them has terminal illness, will spend their final months writing a book together. Psychiatrist and author Irvin Yalom and feminist author Marilyn Yalom chose that unusual path for their book titled, A Matter of Death and Life, and all readers are beneficiaries of this legacy. Marilyn explores and shares how she tries to pursue what she considers a good death for her, and Irvin explores and shares how he focuses on what it will take to live on without his spouse and companion of many decades. On one level this is a love story, on another level it is a way for readers to see models for living out meaningful lives. We will each face death, for ourselves and for our loved ones. At such times, we need consolation, something this book can help us find. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase A Matter of Death and Life from amazon.com.

Gold Diggers

Alchemy. Be prepared to laugh and nod as you read Sanjena Sathian’s debut novel titled, Gold Diggers. Also, be patient with receiving a dose of magical realism. Sathain explores what immigrants are willing to do to make it in America. We meet high school student Neil Narayan who wants to meet his parent’s expectations to be accepted into an Ivy League university. Neil is smitten by neighbor Anita Dayal and discovers that her family has found a way to practice alchemy: converting gold into the means of achievement in the United States. I enjoyed this creative story and look forward to ordering Anita’s special lemonade sometime soon. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Gold Diggers from amazon.com.

Libertie

Freedom. The story of Libertie Sampson in Kaitlyn Greenidge’s novel titled, Libertie, will encourage readers to stand taller and to pursue the life we desire. The core question in the novel involves where we find freedom. Libertie’s mother works as a physician in Brooklyn in a free Black community just after the Civil War. Libertie wants to escape her mother’s vision that she train as a doctor to work alongside her and instead pursue her interest in music. After a man from Haiti promises her a life of freedom married to him, she finds his expectation of her subordination to be another form of bondage. She searches again for freedom in motherhood, and wonders where a Black woman can find freedom. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy this finely written novel and become entranced by Libertie and root for her freedom. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Libertie from amazon.com.