Winter's Secret

Finished March 27

Winter's Secret by Lyn Cote

This is the first book in the series Northern Intrigue, set in small town and rural Wisconsin. Someone has been breaking into homes while the owner is away, destroying things for seemingly no reason, and taking only cash, nothing traceable. Many of the victims are seniors and out of the homes temporarily for health reasons. 

One of the main characters is Wendy Carey, a home health nurse in the area. Wendy is first on the scene for one of these crimes as she is driving a patient home after a night away. Wendy lives with her younger sister, who is a senior in high school. Their mother has recently remarried and moved to Florida and both she and her new husband are recovering alcoholics. Wendy's father died when she was young, but she is close to her paternal grandfather. Due to her job, Wendy is familiar with many of the seniors who have been victims of the crimes in question. 

The new sheriff, the other main character, is Rodd Durant. Rodd lived part of his childhood in the area, but grew up elsewhere. He came back after inheriting his uncle's ranch. He is growing increasingly frustrated by the ongoing crimes as there is call from some locals questioning his abilities as the crimes continue. He asks for Wendy's help, learning about who might be potential targets. 

Wendy has also been a victim of the town gossips, mostly around her mother's past. She tries to not let it bother her, but it does. As the two spend time together, feelings develop and Wendy worries about drawing Rodd into the negative gossip. 

Wendy and her family are strong churchgoers, and close to the local minister and his family, often babysitting their very active young son when needed. We see into some of their family life, and the minister's family as well. 

This novel definitely shows both the good and bad of being part of a small community, and the realities of aging. An enjoyable read.

The Whalebone Theatre

Finished June 30

The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn

This story start in World War I and continues past World War II. The central character is Cristabel Seagrave, a child as the book begins. Cristabel's mother died giving birth to her, and her father pushed her away in his grief. He is now remarried and hoping his new young wife can give him the son and heir he wants. Cristabel is a child that is curious and imaginative. She exists on the edges of her world, a daughter of the Chilcombe estate, but one often ignored. She is befriended by one of the younger members of staff, Maudie, who answers her questions if she can. She also waits eagerly for the letters from her uncle who is an officer in the army and tells tales of faraway places and interesting events. 

She eventually does get the long-awaited brother, Digby, after first a sister Flossie, and longs for the formal education that Digby gets, as opposed to the French governess that she and Flossie are educated by. In 1928, before Digby gets sent away to school, a whale washes up on the beach bordering the estate. Cristabel is one of the first on the scene and she claims the beast for the family. Around the same time, an interesting group of artistic people are visiting the area, and Cristabel manages, through her unorthodox manner to befriend the artist at the center of the group, and convince him to help her stage a play. This event leads to regular events and new connections, and gradually the three children grow up. 

As World War II begins, Digby is determined to sign-up, but not as an officer as his father wishes, and he sneaks away to enlist. Cristabel is also keen to help the war effort in some way and ventures off to London to offer her services. Flossie stays at the estate, but soon finds herself contributing in her own way. As the three begin their adult lives, the point of view takes turns between them, giving us insight into each experience. 

The main actions of the book take place in 1928 and during World War II, but pre-1928 also gives us a lot of background to the characters and the situation of Cristabel. 

I enjoyed the personalities of these three characters, and how each had their own strengths that carried them through the troubles they encountered. The story took a while to grab me, but once it did I was hooked. This book has mystery, romance, and suspense, and the Chilcombe estate is brought to life through the descriptions and events around it. 

Death in the Cotswolds

Finished December 8

Death in the Cotswolds by Rebecca Tope

This is part of the mystery series featuring Thea Osborne, although she's not the primary character in this novel. The narrator here is Ariadne, a woman who lives across the road from the home that DI Phil Hollis's aunt Helen lived in. Thea has come to the village of Cold Aston with her boyfriend Phil to go through his aunt's house, which has sat empty for some time, and clear it out. Ariadne has known Phil since she was a child and he was a teenager, and he has been paying her a small amount to do a regular cleaning of the empty house. The house has had the power cut off for some time as well, a decision Phil made after his aunt's death a year ago. 

Ariadne has changed her name from Mary to better suit how she feels about herself, but Phil keeps forgetting and using her childhood name. Back in the day, Ariadne had often babysat for Phil and his wife Caroline when their children were young. His aunt had wanted Ariadne to move in with her, but Ariadne bought the place across the road as a compromise. She lives an independent and unusual life, making her living by knitting, weaving, and spinning and sells her stuff mainly at markets and stalls. As Helen was in her final illness, Ariadne did most of the caregiving and thus a lot of her belongings are still in the house. Somehow she feels reluctant to take them away as they provide a feeling of coziness that feels right to her. 

Ariadne is also part of a local group that practices paganism, and they are planning their activities for the upcoming Samhain celebration. When she comes across a body near the site they are planning to use, everything in her world changes and she doesn't know whether any of the people she's considered friends really are. 

This is a mystery with many discoveries, and many secrets. I really enjoyed seeing it unfold. 

The Invited

Finished July 1

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon

This novel set in a rural area near a small town in Vermont, has a couple, Helen and Nate, who have quit their jobs, bought a property, and are building their own house there. Helen was a history teacher and she is fascinated by the history of their property, particularly a previous owner, Hattie Breckenridge, who lived there many decades earlier. Hattie was suspected of witchcraft and was hanged by the townspeople. 

As Helen looks for historical artifacts that connect Hattie and her descendants to the home she and Nate are building, she begins to see things, and gets drawn to certain places and things. 

Nate, meanwhile, becomes obsessed with an unusual animal that he has seen in the marshes near their home, spending time tracking and trying to capture images of it. 

A teenage girl who lives nearby is mourning the loss of her mother, who disappeared recently. Olive's father is struggling with the unexplained disappearance of his wife and seems focused on remaking their home to draw her back. Olive herself is drawn to Helen and Nate, the stories of Hattie, and the mysterious activities of her mother before she disappeared. 

This story has a lot going on, that gradually comes together around the story of Hattie and her descendants. 

Harmless

Finished May 14

Harmless by James Grainger

This novel was deeply unsettling. Set on a remote farm in Ontario, a group of old friends have gathered together with their families for a long weekend. The oldest children, Franny and Rebecca, are in their teens, good friends themselves, but in a state of rebellion with their parents. The hosts for the weekend are Jane and Alex, with their kids Rebecca and Liam. Joseph has travelled up by train from the city with his daughter Franny (he's divorced from her mother Martha), Liz and Mike live in the nearby town, but are staying overnight with their kids to avoid driving after drinking, and Julian, who they haven't seen for years is coming with his younger lover, Amber. 

As the adults let themselves sink into the long weekend, eating, drinking, and indulging in some weed, most of them wander, at sunset, out further into the property, exploring the field and the nearby forest. When they return to the house, they discover the two girls aren't there, and they don't know where they are. As the initial search of the house and area proves unsuccessful, they split up, each relegated to following up a different potential path for the girls. 

When Joseph offers to search the woods, Alex says they he will go with him, and grabs his rifle. The two used to be close, but haven't been since Joseph's divorce. As the two fathers go off into the forest, the story follows them, as they encounter wildlife, old signs of previous habitation, and disturbing signs of how the world seems to be moving forward. It is their actions here that are at the heart of the novel, taking the reader to places that seem both unimaginable and yet only too possible. The men's reactions to what they encounter as they act to protect their families is disturbing and sad. This is a book that will stay with me for a while. 

The True Story of Ida Johnson

Finished July 28
The True Story of Ida Johnson by Sharon Riis

This short novel is quite different. Ida Johnson grew up in southern Alberta on a farm near a small town. She was a loner and different and her only friend was a young native girl, Lucy, who went to school in town briefly. She and Lucy were very close and spent a lot of time outdoors and playing imaginative games. Ida is now a waitress in another small Alberta town.
A trucker driving from B.C. through the Crowsnest Pass in winter is surprised to see a young man lying by the side of the road. When he stops and approaches, thinking the young man may be dead in the cold, the man sits up. The trucker takes him along, but feels put off by the stranger, who doesn't say much, except that his name is Luke. When they stop at a small town diner, Luke stays. Ida is on shift, but when her shift is over, Luke asks her to sit and talk.
The story moves around in time and viewpoint, sometimes showing us what Lucy did after leaving Alberta when she was young. We hear about Ida's peripatetic life, her triumphs and betrayals. She still remembers Lucy with fondness.
Although it is never stated, one feels like Luke and Lucy are the same person in different guises. And that sometimes Ida is aware of this.
Ida has done some terrible things, and yet she doesn't seem to regret any of them. Her story is matter of fact, not holding anything back.
Because this book was written in the 1970s, some of the terminology is no longer appropriate, and was on the edge even for that time. I really don't know how I feel about this book, it is unsettling and yet because it is told in such an unemotional tone, somehow just a sad story. 
Interestingly, the blurbs on the back of my copy are from Margaret Atwood and Marian Engel, which speak to its uptake at the time it was first published.

The Whitsun Daughters

Finished June 10
The Whitsun Daughters by Carrie Mesrobian

This novel tells the story of three girls, two sisters and a cousin, who grew up together in an old house with their mothers, Carna and Violet. It also tells the story of another young woman who lived in the same area many years in the past. In the present, Poppy, the cousin and oldest girl, golden-haired and confident, has come home from university for the summer. She had been close to Hugh Isherwood, the young man who lives nearby, and whose father owns the house the girls live in, but suddenly broke it off, claiming that he'd sent her an inappropriate picture. Lilah, the next oldest, pale with almost white hair, has been having issues over the last year, and getting a reputation that doesn't do her any good. Daisy, the youngest and darkest in colouring, is quiet and sensitive, a girl who notices. She is fifteen. As the book opens, Hugh's mother, Evie has died in a car accident and the girls have gone to the funeral and are now on their way to the Isherwood house. When Daisy goes off on her own, she encounters Hugh and the two of them begin an interesting interaction.
Lilah is having a crisis, and it is dealing with this that the book focuses on in the present, as the girls try to keep their mothers out of it.
The young woman from the past, Jane Murphy, has travelled to America from Ireland, losing her older sister along the way. She is met by an employee of the wealthy farmer who will be her husband, and taken in hand soon after by her husband's sister. Jane is shy and uncertain, and struggles to do what is expected of her, but gradually finds a connection in the household. We see her life unfolding through the book, interspersed with the present-day plot.
What we also see is that Jane is still there are the farm, in spirit. She doesn't go far, but is waiting for something that we don't understand. She watches the girls closely and connects with Daisy in an unexpected way.
I liked the elusiveness of things here, how information was revealed gradually, and how unexpected some plot points were, although they felt inevitable in retrospect. A very interesting book, with very interesting characters.

Elmet

Finished January 29
Elmet by Fiona Mozley

This novel was shortlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize, and I can see why. Set in Yorkshire, this story around an unusual family is one of innocence, violence, and class struggle. The narrator, Daniel, is a boy, then teen, living with his older sister Cathy, and their father. They had lived with their grandmother for their early years, but when she died, they waited for their father to come, and he took them to the forest where their mother grew up, and built a home for them there.
Their father was a big man, a man whose presence alone could make others back down. He made his living by fighting other men, for money. He had been an enforcer in his younger days, but he is at heart a gentle man, one whose size dictated his life. Cathy takes after him to a certain extent. She doesn't like being indoors, and will drive herself hard to show that she is physically capable of doing something that requires skill and effort. Daniel loves both his father and Cathy, and is the more domestic of them. He gardens and cooks, does laundry and reads books. He enjoys the outdoors and isn't uncomfortable with the outdoor tasks, but he enjoys the sessions being tutored by a woman down the road, which Cathy does not.
Things are going well, until, suddenly they are not. A local landowner comes to tell them that they are living on land that belongs to him, and can't go on living there unless he gets something in return. And when the family begins talking to others in the area, they find workers and tenants who are also being treated badly by the small group of local landowners. And a plan begins to come together.
The story is told in Daniel's voice, interspersed by a later Daniel, alone and moving slowly north, following a trail he isn't even sure exists.
This is a story I had trouble getting out of my head. I needed to know what happened to bring Daniel to this later point, and to know the outcome of his trek.

The Boy on the Porch

Finished November 3
The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech

This children's novel begins with a young couple, John and Marta, living on a farm waking up to find a young boy of about six or seven sleeping in a chair on their porch. He takes a long time to wake up, and when he does, he doesn't seem either able or willing to talk. He does however produce a note from his pocket that says "Please taik kair of Jacob. He is a god good boy. Wil be bak wen we can."
They aren't sure what to do, but offer the boy food, comfort, and other things they can. John asks some questions in town, without disclosing the situation and doesn't hear about any missing children, so they continue to live quietly.
As the days go by, and they learn what interests the boy and what he has aptitude for, they try to do the right things: find him a friend his own age, provide a loving environment, clothe and feed him. But as the new school year approaches, they feel they must make more of an effort to find out who left him and why. They approach the sheriff, a man they find gruff, authoritative, and unsympathetic, and he berates them, but also lets them keep the child for the time being.
Then the unthinkable happens, and they find their lives changed forever.
An interesting premise, and the fallout from the crisis is a story of its own, that is only filled out lightly here. John and Marta seem a good-willed couple that don't have children of their own to nurture and love, and this incident brings them a way to fulfill those needs.

Pond

Finished June 30
Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett

This work of fiction speaks from the point of view of a young woman living on the outskirts of an Irish coastal village. It is told in loosely related segments of a personal, internal monologue.
Some are long, some less than a page. Whether she is thinking about tomato puree, the interaction between her and her landlady, a party she is planning, or wondering about what she has forgotten, the writing is lyrical and emotive. The scenes of her life spring to life for the reader.
A couple of examples:

Oh, Tomato Puree! When at last you occur to me it is as something profuse, fresh, and erupting. Alas, when I open the door and read for you you, the chill light comes on and shows you crumpled, cold, and, despite being well within your sell-by-date, in dire need of coaxing. 

and

Such domestic fluttering is always interpreted as a cue, to move a little further in and set their bag of things upon a chair. I can hear it all from the kitchen; I almost always end up in the kitchen. Looking at the dishes and the knives in the plate rack, then down at the worktop, listening. Listening. In the kitchen, near the sink, some aspect of me is waning, and I cannot pin down exactly why. I feel utterly flimsy, yet I don't look in the mirror, nothing like that; I just stand for a moment, my back to the door and my tapering hands side by side on the worktop, pressing down. Pressing down with the concentrated effort of trying to give myself a little more density. I go to the doorway. I go to the window. I go to the entrance and push closed the top half of the door.And then I move across to the fireplace; sometimes I put both hands flat against the oak beam, and then I turn, and then I finally turn. 

Some sentences made me stop reading for a bit to think about the image or sense invoked. Ones like "The smell of me like a young mouth to a compound fence." for instance. I thought about how to interpret that, what it might mean.
There is humour, pain, uncertainty, longing, simple enjoyment, and disgruntlement. I read this short book a lot slower than normal because of savouring the words, stopping to think about her phrasing, and not wanting to have it come to an end.

Prisoner of Warren

Finished January 31
Prisoner of Warren by Andreas Oertel

This children's novel is set in the summer of 1944 in rural New Brunswick. Thirteen-year-old Warren Webb is upset that his parents have decided to take on a German prisoner of war (POW) as a worker on their farm. He and his best friend Tom and determined that they must defend themselves from this threat and kill him before he kills them.
But then Warren meets Martin, the young man who speaks good English, works hard, and takes the time to explain things to Warren. With Martin sleeping in the same room as Warren, and the two tasked with all the work needed to bring indoor plumbing to the Webb home, they learn a lot about each other. When Warren finds that Martin, like himself, is a sprinter, the connection becomes stronger.
Three older boys, known for their bullying behaviour make Warren and Martin targets after they come to the assistance of two local girls. The ensuing conflict will have Warren drawing on skills within himself that he never realized he had.
Warren also misses his older brother Pete, who died from polio, and talks to him whenever he wants advice. This provides a sounding board and source of humour for Warren at times of indecision.
This is a book that deals with the issues of war, the propaganda that is built around it, bullying, and friendship.

For another book written for youth on POWs in Canada, see Uncertain Soldier by Karen Bass.

Funny How Things Change

Finished December 31
Funny How Things Change by Melissa Wyatt

This teen novel focuses on a young man in rural West Virginia. Remy (short for Remington) has finished high school and it is just dawning on him that his long time girlfriend Lisa will be leaving for college at the end of the summer. Remy has spent the last couple of years with her and the thought of her leaving is tearing at him. Lisa has been urging him to come with her, that they will get an apartment and he can find work there, but he doesn't want to leave. He likes his town and the world around him and when he lived with his mother when she moved to Florida didn't make him want to leave again.
When a new young woman comes to town to paint a mural on the water tower, Remy is surprised to find himself noticing her. He hasn't had eyes for anyone but Lisa in years. But does it actually mean anything? He still feels the same way for Lisa.
Remy likes working at the local garage for Duff, who has been teaching him about working on cars, and says that he's a natural at it. He likes feeling the connection to the land that he lives on. Is Lisa worth giving that up. When Remy's dad comes up with what seems like a solution, Remy wonders how much he is willing to give up for love.
This is a coming of age story, a story of a nice young man who thinks of others and wants to do the right thing, but isn't sure anymore what he himself wants. I have to say that I wasn't enamored of Lisa, who doesn't have any depth here, and therefore wasn't rooting for their relationship.
Remy's tale is also one that is seen across rural America, where young people are leaving and not coming back. Where the environmental concerns may be winning battles, but the towns are dying as people leave.
I really enjoyed Remy and this book, but then I also fell for a guy who has the touch with cars.

Dairy Queen

Finished July 7
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

This novel is the first in the series featuring D.J. Schwenk. D.J. is almost sixteen as the novel begins and has been taking on the majority of work on her familiy's dairy farm for the last five months. Her older brothers are off at a football camp, her father has hip trouble, her mom is busy working two jobs, and she stepped in and did what needed to be done. But it has gone on longer than she thought it would and things are starting to get to her. Her younger brother Curtis is the quiet one in the family, and he doesn't seem to be talking to her much either. Then Brian Nelson shows up at the farm. He is quarterback at the rival school and a bit of a jerk, and D.J. can't figure out why he is there, until he tell them his coach is making him.
But what starts out as a hassle turns into something else. And D.J. starts wondering about what makes her happy, and what would happen if she really tried to do it. And so she thinks about trying out for the football team herself.
This is a story about a young woman finding her way. About responsibility and life choices. About love and families, and communication. It sure has me wanting to read the next book.

The Orchardist

Finished March 8
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin, read by Mark Bramhall

I loved this book. It is set in the early part of the twentieth century, in rural Washington state. A man named William Talmadge lives at the orchard that he, his mother and his sister came to when he was a child. His mother died and his sister disappeared, and he has made a lonely existence for himself. His only real contacts are a local healer named Caroline Middey, a few years older than him, and a group of native men who stop at the orchard on their horse trading trips, one of whom, Clee, Talmadge becomes especially close to.
One day, when he is selling his fruit in town, a couple of young girls, heavily pregnant and apparently vagrant, steal some of his apples. Later, the same girls show up at his orchard, and his compassion for them moves him to help them. When the man they are fleeing follows, a tragedy ensues, and leads to years of changed lives as Talmadge feels the need to protect all the victims.
This is a story told in a slow, languid fashion, gradually unfolding before the reader. It is rich in description and details and uses wonderful language to evoke the time and circumstances of all the characters. Because I was listening to the audiobook, I had to see out the physical book later to share some of these wonderful passages. The reader, Mark Bramhall, does an amazing job of storytelling using slow speaking, pauses, and other means to bring the story to vibrant life.

Here are some examples of the writing:

About his sister:

"The girl setting off, to be caught by something she did not anticipate. What else could have happened, really? The only thing worse, perhaps, than knowing for certain that she was abducted was not knowing. That was the sad truth.  And Talmadge lived in that uncertainty, he had made his home in it, and there was no possibility of him resting--truly resting--ever again."

later:

"She just kept walking. Nobody came after her. She walked until she could not hear the men behind her anymore, and the forest mended in silence behind her. They would wonder about her, they would even search for her, and they would hate her for it. But she had no choice. She could feel the old familiar feeling, waiting under the canopy of trees. It had fit her like a glove, and she was certain in her soul she had been there before. She had had to escape her own fate."

and

"And that was the point of children, thought Caroline Middey: to bind us to the earth and to the present, to distract us from death. A distraction dressed as a blessing: but dressed so well, and so truly, that it became a blessing. Or maybe it was the other way around: a blessing first, before a distraction. Caroline Middey scrutinized the point; did not know if the distinction was important. (All distinctions are important.) But she did not think any more about it because at her back, suddenly, the child woke from her nap, and she rose at once to go to her."

and this:

"He was struck, as he was always stuck, by the horses' simultaneous ugliness and beauty. Different shapes, heights, colors: cream-colored, black, brown, yellow horses, horses with dappled rumps, with stockings; some white horses with pink snouts and blue eyes; tall horses, with muscular necks; others short, stunted, dwarfed-looking. All weighing around a quarter ton, some just over. He had seen these herds for years, and yet when they came through the trees he was always surprised by them. They were dirty, unkempt, stinking; overall unpredictable. Perhaps what made them so impressive was their undandledness. They had encountered no human up there in the mountains where they were captured. The men had gone up there, to the places where the horses lived, and dragged them--the horses--down to the plateaus and lowlands, and as a result the horses held the deepest grudge; they tore this way and that, tossing their heads, breathing rancid horse breath out of their rancid horse lungs. This is how he imagined it, as a boy lying awake at night, unable to sleep because of their presence in the field. He did not understand what they were. What do you mean, what are they? his mother had said. They are horses, Talmadge. But they were unknowable, both singly and as a herd. Even now it was difficult to look away from them."

I could go on and on, but hopefully you see what I mean by these. Definitely on my list of favourites for the year.

Harvest

Finished February 20
Harvest by Jim Crace

This novel is set at a remote village in England at some unspecified time in the pre-industrial age. It is a time when sheep are becoming a more prominent fixture on farming estates, and there is a movement of workers from rural to urban areas. A time of change.
In this remote estate, Walter Thirsk is a bit of a misfit. He came to the estate as a young man with his master as a result of his master's marriage. He married a local estate worker, and tried to fit in. Now he is aging, his own wife has died, as has his master's wife, and change is coming. This harvest season a man has come to the estate and is working on a chart of the land and its features. Master Kent asks Walter to assist this man, and Walter learns in confidence that the estate will be converted to sheep farming.
One morning the workers awake to two fires. One is the master's stable and dovecote, and the other the fire burned by newly arrived workers, a traditional sign of occupancy recognized as a right to stay. Even though signs point to some local men as being responsible for the stable fire, the blame is placed on the newcomers, and that act and its subsequent repercussions result in a drastic change in the lives of the workers, as much as the coming change to the farming itself.
Walter is both removed and a part of this settlement, and finds himself distanced and able to describe the course of events as both an outsider and as a vital part of the community.
A novel of change and choices.

Off Main Street

Finished July 27
Off Main Street: Barnstormers, Prophets & Gatemouth's Gator by Michael Perry
This book is a collection of essay type articles, updated with comments. The articles were all previously published. I've liked everything I've read by Perry and this is no exception.
The subjects covered here are wide-ranging and include traveling with musicians, passing a kidney stone, water towers, truck-driving, and God.
Sometimes making me laugh out loud and look around for someone to share a bit with, this book is never dull and often thought-provoking.
Highly recommended.

Classic

Finished October 14
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Charles van Sandwyk
This is one of those classic children's stories that I somehow missed reading when growing up. I bought a beautiful copy for a gift for my nephew and decided to read it myself before I sent it off to him.
It is a lovely story set in rural Britain with fields and rivers, woods and meadows. The main characters are all small creatures who live in this environment. There is Rat, a river rat who lives near the water and ventures into the areas nearby; Mole, who is befriended by Rat and learns to explore this world outside his hole; Toad, a bit full of himself and yet appreciative of his friends; and Badger, a wise older animal, source of good advice and clear thinking.
As the animals encounter difficult situations and make new friends, we see nature up close and also the value of friendship and respect for others.
I'm sure my nephew will love it.