Past Tense: A Jack Reacher Novel

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by Lee Child, Audiobook narrated by Scott Brick, 2018, Random House Audio

We listened to this book in the car on our annual migration from Florida to Rhode Island. It was okay, but not Child’s best. The book is about a couple of Canadians on their way to New York City who are kidnapped in New Hampshire on their way. Reacher is hitch-hiking to California and just happens to stumble into this situation.

I had enjoyed a previous Reacher novel where it delved into more of Reacher’s personal motivations and where he had established a bit of a relationship with another character in the novel. This one might have been better had it focused a bit more on Reacher’s past and his family ties. It had a lot of potential to do this as the location was the area where his father grew up. Instead, the plot revolved around the kidnappers and the strange venue that they had contrived.

The plot seemed to be a bit thin and the characters were not very well developed. The book could have been better.2.5 stars

Anxious People

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by Fredrik Backman, 2019, Atria Books

After reading Us Against Them by Backman, I swore I would never read another book by him as I really hated that book. I was presented with this book and decided to read it despite my prior pledge. It turned out to be delightful.

At first, I didn’t much care for he characters. They were all somewhat odd and even the author often referred to them as idiots. As the book unfolds, however and their true natures are gradually revealed, it turns out that deep down they are all pretty nice individuals. Their various hang-ups were preventing them from connecting with others and the circumstance that brings them all together forces them to make these connections.

The end result is probably a little too nice to be realistic, but it is, nevertheless, a pretty good story. The author also does a good job of tying the plot together at the end.

So Backman is redeemed after writing that perfectly worthless book, Us Against Them and I may even consider reading some other books by him. If I ever encounter another one as bad as Us Against Them again, however, that will be it between Backman and me. 3.5 stars

Night Over Water

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by Ken Follett, 1991, Macmillan

This book had a lot more potential as the setting was a Pan Am Clipper flight which had a diverse set of passengers and crew, all of whom had their individual stories. The problem is that Follett kept repeating the same information about each one, over and over. With a little bit of editing and refinement, this book could have been another Murder on the Nile or Murder on the Orient Express. Follett clearly let the plot lag because of this repetition.

The end of the book was somewhat of a letdown. The plane, on it’s longest leg, was short on fuel and whether it would make it was a major concern. At the end of this leg, however, it apparently was no problem as the plane splashed down at it’s intended landing area and the fuel situation wasn’t even mentioned. So much for suspense!

As a former Navy C-130 navigator, I flew this route once with minimal navigation aids. Our loran wasn’t working and we were below clouds so celestial sightings were not available. This was in the days prior to GPS or inertial navigation systems. So, I was interested in how the navigation was performed on these flights and was disappointed that there was very little mention of the navigation on this Clipper flight.

The book was a quick read, even though it was over 640 pages, and the setting was interesting. I was disappointed, however, because it could have been a much better book. 3.0 stars

The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story

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by Hyeonseo Lee, 2015, Kindle Edition, William Collins

If her story is all true, this is a great book about an incredible journey to freedom.  Each chapter ends with, Oh, No! What Next?  Just when you think she is finally out of danger, along comes something else that puts her even more in danger.  The narrative is compelling and keeps you wanting to know how the heck she managed to do what she did.

The author also nails what it must be like to migrate from a totally controlled dictatorship, where all of your decisions are made for you by the state, to a country where all of your decisions are your own, including the responsibility for the consequences.  Also, in many totally free countries, discrimination exists which makes it difficult to succeed unless you have a certain pedigree.

I enjoyed reading this book, even though parts of it were painful to imagine. 4.5 stars

When Breath Becomes Air

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by Paul Kalanithi, with forward by Abraham Verghese and epilogue by Lucy Kalanithi, 2016, Random House, New York

This book is a memoir by a young neurosurgeon who is just about to complete his residency when he discovers that he has terminal lung cancer.  There is no need to issue a spoiler alert because the outcome of the books is spelled out very early in the book as well as the on the jacket of the book.  As such, it is a very sad story considering the amount of work and effort the author put in to achieving his goals, only to be cut off at the time of his reaching what he thought would be the key to his fulfilment of those goals and the meaning of his life.

Paul had graduated from Stanford with a BA and MA in English Literature and a BA in human biology.  He discovered that his calling in life was to become a neurosurgeon but, when he was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer, he turned to his background in literature to write this book to leave it as a gift.  It is beautifully written but difficult to read because of the sadness of the eventual outcome.  I found myself trying to imagine dealing with that situation at such a young age with so many dreams unfulfilled. 3.5 stars

Killer Smile

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by Lisa Scottoline, 2004, Harpertorch, New York

The plot of this book is about a case that Mary DiNunzio, a lawyer in Philadelphia, takes for the estate of an Italian-American who died in a detention camp in Montana during World War II.

The book moves right along and is humorous as well, but it is the author’s note at the end that is most interesting.  It seems that Scottoline’s grandparents had to register as a enemy aliens during Word War II, even though they were naturalized American citizens and had lived in the U.S. for quite some time.  There were many Italian-Americans who were sent to detention camps.  The historical perspective gives a little bit of authenticity to the novel which otherwise it would be lacking.3.0 stars

Thief River Falls

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by Brian Freeman, 2020, Thomas & Mercer, Seattle

This is a fast-paced thriller that is about a woman who has made it big as a writer of mystery thrillers, this one taking place in her home town of Thief River Falls, Minnesota. The narrative drags a bit in the middle, but the end is a real surprise. The writing is very good and the characters are portrayed well. It was fun to read. 4.0 stars

The Stranger in My Genes, a memoir

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by Bill Griffeth, 2016, New England Historic Genealogical Society

I heard about this book at one of my genealogical society lectures and thought I would pick it up as it relates to one of our family member’s situation.  The book is interesting in understanding how someone feels when he finds from a DNA test that his father was not who he thought he was but someone entirely different.

The author’s mother was still alive when he discovered that she had an affair and he is the product of that indiscretion.  Griffeth describes the torment he experienced in dealing with not only the shock of his discovery, but also how to communicate with his mother about the affair.

While the theme of the book is compelling, the book also contains a lot of family history that was no longer valid due to his newly found parentage.  The book started out as a private memoir that he was writing for his family so that explains why so much of that material is in the book.  That particular part of the book was not very interesting and reminded me of having experienced someone delving into their ancestry at a dinner or cocktail party while my eyes glazed over as I attempted to pay attention.  Nonetheless, the book relates the emotional impact of such a discovery on the person affected and it is worth reading. 3.0 stars

Mila 18

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by Leon Uris, 1961, Doubleday

This book is fictional account of the Warsaw Uprising during WWII but it is based on journals that were kept by some of the Jews during that time.  The Germans attempted to keep their actions a secret but the information leaked out.  The story is horrific and the ending is not a good one as the inhabitants of the ghetto were essentially eliminated by the Germans with few survivors.

Although reading the book is unsettling, it is an excellent novel.  The characters depicted and the insights into the Jewish religion and culture are very good.  It is a long book and I couldn’t read it for extended periods of time, but I would highly recommend this book.  4.0 stars

Us Against You: A Novel

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by Fredrik Backman, Audiobook narrated by Marin Ireland, 2018, Simon & Shuster Audio

This novel is the sequel to Beartown, which is about a small town in Sweden obsessed with their hockey team.  The prior novel focused on what happened to the town and its inhabitants after a player on the rival team raped the daughter of Beartown’s hockey team manager.

Unfortunately, this second novel meanders into the subsequent events in Beartown after the first novel ends.  It goes on and on about the various characters and events.  I found neither the characters or the plot held my interest.

Compounding the basic lack of interest, the book seems to endlessly drive home it’s messages.  The narrator does a good job in reading the book, but she becomes annoying as the book progresses.

The best I can say about the book is that I managed to finish it.  By the time I was halfway through it, I was sick of Beartown, it’s hockey team, the hockey team players, the hockey team coach, the hockey team manager, the other residents of Beartown, the story, the narrator, and whatever else about Beartown that I have failed to mention.

Backman is a good writer and has the talent to observe and write about interesting human behavior.  This book has a lot of those observations but fails to be the least interesting.

2.0 stars