The Giver

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by Lois Lowry, 1993, Ever After Kindle Edition, 2018, Houghton Mifflin Houghton Books for Children, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company4.0 stars

I came across this book due to an unusual circumstance. I went to a Brown alumni club Holiday party and was sitting next to an elderly lady with whom I was engaged in a conversation. I asked her what she had done as a career and she said she wrote books, mostly children’s books. The woman across the table said she knew that that the woman, Lois Lowry, had written The Giver, a book that had won the Newberry Award in the young adult’s category in 1994. What a nice occasion to be sitting next to a renowned author and be able to chat with her informally, even though I previously didn’t have a clue as to who she was.

I asked her what the book was about, and she replied that it was dystopian. I became curious about it and decided to read it.

The book approaches the level of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, in the strange atmosphere it creates (although without some of the seamier content of that novel). The story is told from the viewpoint of a young boy who is given his role in life on his twelfth birthday.

As I read the book, I was trying to recall the content of some of the books I read as a teenager. I determined that it would probably be okay for kids thirteen and older. I also thought that the book would probably be subjected to banning in some locations due to its anti-authoritarian content which would be unfortunate.

The book is written very well, and the plot and characters are engaging. I liked it a lot and was thankful to have had the opportunity to converse with the author.

The Armor of Light

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by Ken Follett, 2023, Audiobook narrated by John Lee, Penguin Audio2.5 stars

This is the fifth in the Kingsbridge series that chronicles the lives of the inhabitants of the fictional town of Kingsbridge in England. This book covers the years from approximately 1788 to 1830. This was a time of war with France and some rapid changes in the production of cloth in England. The book highlights the changes and the impacts on the residents of Kingsbridge.

As always, Follett’s characters are either really good or bad individuals. The poor people tend to be good while the wealthy aristocrats are the bad people. This was probably the case in those days as the aristocracy and the people of wealth were probably not very enlighted.

Follett wraps a lot of historical information into these novels which makes them interesting. I listened to this book and it consisted of 19 cd’s. I’m not sure I would have lasted to the end if I had attempted to read it.

The Innocents

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by Ian McEwan, 2010, Kindle Edition, Anchor2.5 stars

I chose this book because I ran out of books on my Kindle and, when I searched for books that were available at the library, I found this one and it looked interesting.

The book is set in Berlin beginning a few years after the end of WWII. It’s about an English telephone expert working for a British a spy agency who is recruited to help build a joint American-British project that is designed to listen to Russian conversations between a site in the Russian Zone in Berlin and Moscow. While he is helping build the system, he becomes romantically involved with a German woman who is his first love.

The story is interesting as it is based on a real project that was undertaken by the Americans. The book, however, seems to bog down when it describes the aftermath of a crime that the Englishman and his fiancé commit. The author describes in detail the actions and thoughts of the main character, some of which are hallucinations. While all of this makes the story more compelling, it also made reading it a bit of a chore.

Nuclear War: A Scenario

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by Annie Jacobsen, 2004, Kindle Edition, Dutton3.5 stars

This book is actually fairly well done, despite the fact that I hated every minute I spent reading it. The scenario she describes is so awful that reading about it is an awful experience. I have always had a pretty good picture of what the results of a nuclear war would be, and I don’t think the reading of this book was necessary to reinforce that picture.

The author describes some of the strategic thinking that was prevalent in the cold war years (and perhaps still is) that included planning for a first strike capability. I recall seeing the movie Dr. Strangelove, which was a parody of that scenario, but was actually a realistic portrayal of that kind of thinking. Jacobsen isn’t the first one to lament the craziness of the planning that is designed to ultimately eliminate the human race and render our planet uninhabitable for thousands of years.

Jacobsen interviewed numerous scientists and government officials who were involved in the creation and the policies we have in place for the conduct of a nuclear war, so the book is well researched. It’s unfortunate that the experience of reading the book is so awful.

Alfred Dreyfus: The Man at the Center of the Affair (Jewish Lives)

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by Maurice Samuels, 2024, Kindle Edition, Yale University Press3.5 stars

This is an interesting book that explores both the life of Alfred Dreyfus as well as his trial for treason. The book gets somewhat repetitive when it is describing Dreyfus, but it also offers a great deal of information about the trial and the ensuing cover up. The trial set off a wave of antisemitism in France after a relatively benign period of acceptance of the Jews. There are similar trends occurring now around the world and particularly in Europe. The book reveals much about the societies we live in, even today.

Apparently, many books that have been written about the Dreyfus Affair do not focus as much on the individual. This book provides details about his life and the agony he suffered from this ordeal. It also tells of the devotion of his wife and family to his cause.

The Devil is Waiting

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by Jack Higgins, 2012, Audiobook narrated by Michael Page, Brilliance Audio Inc. 2.0 stars

This is number 19 of 22 Sean Dillon novels that Higgins has written. It is an adventure about an Al-Qaeda operative in southern Saudi Arabia who has his tentacles in London. He manages to have a woman intelligence agent kidnapped. Sean Dillon and Holly rescue her.

The book is mildly entertaining but I’m not a great fan of these spy thrillers. The plot seems as if it’s thrown together and somewhat predictable. The narration is okay but not great. It doesn’t stand out as anything that great, at least for me.

Squeeze Me

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by Carl Hiaasen, 2020, Audiobook narrated by Scott Brick, Random House Audio 4.0 stars

The book starts at a gala at a site in Palm Beach County, Florida, where an elderly matron who is a big donor to the President suddenly disappears. Foul play is suspected, but some wild speculation quickly turns it into a terrorist plot perpetrated by a supposed gang of undocumented migrants.

Hiaasen links this crazy plot to the President of the United States and spoofs the President and First Lady. The resemblance to certain real-life individuals who held these positions is unmistakable. The book is funny, but the reality that it portrays is rather sad.

The book is well written, and the events are preposterous. Scott Brick does a nice job of narrating. I highly recommend this book if anyone is looking for a fun read.

A Wanted Man: A Jack Reacher Novel

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by Lee Child, 2012, Audiobook narrated by Dick Hill, Random House Audio 2.0 stars

This is a typical Jack Reacher novel. It’s about a series of events that occur when Jack Reacher is hitchhiking in Nebraska late at night. The individuals who are driving the car need another person so they will have a better chance of getting through any roadblocks that may lie ahead. Reacher quickly determines that he is in a situation that isn’t normal, and he quickly gets deeply involved.

I like the character of Jack Reacher and i was interested in the plot as it wound its way, but the ending left me cold because it wrapped up so quickly. Reacher, of course, did some super-human feats to survive and get all the bad guys. I wish some of these suspense/action novels would provide a more believable and realistic outcome so that I could give it a higher rating.

The Plot Against America

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by Phillip Roth, 2004, Kindle Edition, Mariner Books4.0 stars

This fictional book hinges on the 1940 presidential election when Charles Lindberg is elected president instead of FDR. Lindberg enters into an agreement with Hitler that the U.S. will not intervene in WWII. Some of the actions against the Jews that have occurred in Germany begin to be replicated in the United States.

Roth uses himself and his family as the focus on what transpires. Some members of his family are sympathetic to the new president while his father is adamantly opposed to Lindberg and his agenda. Phillip Roth is pictured in the book as an eight-year-old boy who is confused and alarmed as his father quits his job and the Jewish community in Newark where he lives is affected.

Reading this book in the time before our next election is particularly frightening as the events portrayed in the book seem so realistic. Could this really happen in America? One wonders.

The book shifts between the Roth family matters and the events happening at a national level. I wish, rather than going back and forth between these two views, that the author had integrated them together more. Also, the book ends abruptly leaving much left unsaid. I wanted to read more about the eventual outcome for Roth and his family.

I wouldn’t call this book a page-turner as every time I turned a page something more horrible happened. I would read a few pages and then put it down, only to pick it up again and read on.

I think everyone should read this book to get a flavor of the fragility of our democracy and what could happen if we go down the wrong road.

The Searcher

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by Tana French, 2020, Audiobook narrated by Roger Clark, Penguin Audio 2.0 stars

This book seemed like it was going to be really good, but as I got into it, it turned out to be just okay for me.

The book is about a police officer from Chicago who retires from his job and relocates to a remote community in Ireland. He buys an abandoned house that he proceeds to fix up. While he is working on it, he notices that someone is watching him. He encounters this person who seems to be a boy about thirteen who is rather dirty and definately has an attitude. He gradually gets the boy (who later turns out to be a girl) to open up and finds that his (her) brother is missing and wants someone to find out what happened to him.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator does a great job of portraying the Irish characters. His portrayal of the main American character, however, is a bitt rough and I didn’t like it as much. There is some great Irish dialogue which I enjoyed.

The search for the missing brother and the outcome, however, is not very compelling. The story is better for the characters and their stories than the main plot of the book.

We listened to James Joyce’s short stories in The Dubliners, and my disappointment was that Joyce ended his stories too abruptly in my opinion; we never found out what happened. This certainly was not the case in The Searcher. After the mystery was solved there is a much of the book before it finally ended..