Unfortunately Yours

Finished December 8

Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey

This is the second book in the duology A Vine Mess centred on the Napa Valley. I enjoyed the first book Secretly Yours, which also gave some hints about the couple in this book and had meant to read it for a while. 

Natalie Vos returned to her childhood home some time ago, after a bad call at work meant losing her investment management job and her fiancé. She has plans for a comeback, one that will prove to the investment community and her ex that she knows what she's doing. The problem is that she needs some money to start her own firm, and the only way that seems possible is to access her trust fund. Unfortunately, her estranged father has made the stipulation that she be married to get access. 

August Cates owns a vineyard, but his passion for it comes from the loss of his best friend, whose dream it was. He is intent on the endeavour, but is running out of funds, and knows his latest batch wasn't a success. When Natalie offers him funding contingent on them going into a fake marriage, he can't decide if it is a good idea or not. But a unexpected visitor makes his mind up for him. 

They have to do a convincing enough job to trick the local banker, but the greater difficulty may be trying not to notice their intense chemistry. 

Natalie has the skills to know how to improve August's wine, but he has a hard time letting anyone into his life in a meaningful way. We can see each of their weak points and the inner needs that they have, but they both have to be willing to admit them to each other, and to themselves. 

A quick engaging read that kept me wanting more. I enjoyed the plot and the characters, and how their interactions felt real. 

The Romantic

Finished August 18

The Romantic: The Real Life of Cashel Greville Ross: a Novel by William Boyd

This historical fiction novel is based on a real person, Cashel Greville Ross. Boyd came into possession of Ross's papers which included an unfinished, and confusing, autobiography that was made up of a collection of handwritten memories. Also in the papers were collections of letters received and drafts of letters sent out, drawings, maps, plans, photographs, published books with notes in the margins, paintings, other small pieces of art, and some objects. Boyd found the collection intriguing and began to do research on the man and his times. He eventually decided to take the fragments he had and build it into a full life story by making it fiction. 

I liked the quotes that he included at the beginning of chapters, as well as the two that he began the book with: "A man's life of any worth is a continual allegory -- and very few eyes can see the mystery" by John Keats and "A novel is a mirror, taking a walk down a big road" by Stendal. These two together give a sense of Boyd's approach to this book. 

Ross was an interesting man who led an interesting life. His first memories were of early childhood in County Cork, Ireland, where he lived with his aunt Elspeth, a Scottish governess to the local gentry, the Stillwell family. The two then moved to Oxford and his adventures began from leaving home abruptly, to fighting at the Battle of Waterloo, going to East Asia as part of the army, socializing with Lord Byron and the Shelleys, falling in love in Italy, writing and publishing books, emigrating to America and becoming a farmer, and looking for the source of the Nile in Africa. 

As his life unfolds, we see clearly his motivations, his attachments, and his luck as they affect his life and the myriad places it takes him. This is a fascinating fictional biography and one that flows beautifully for the reader. 

A Meal in Winter

Finished March 18

A Meal in Winter by Hubert Mingarelli, translated by Sam Taylor

I came to this book through a new book subscription service I decided to try out. It's from a shop in Wales called Mr. B's and they have a long form to fill out to get a sense of what books you like, and since I teach Readers' Advisory, I found it really related to the interview aspect that's a part of RA work. So this was the first book I got in the subscription, and I'd never heard of the author before, which was great. I love discovering new authors.

Because this book was somewhat dark in subject, I took my time with it, dipping in now and then over a couple of months to read it. It is beautifully written and translated, and really spoke to me emotionally. There are extremely touching passages, and elements of humour in their thoughts and conversations, and all the time there is the shadow of their task and its outcome hanging over them. 

The story is about three German soldiers in World War II in Poland. The camp that they live it looks for Jews and then the soldiers that are based there shoot them in a formal event every morning. These soldiers absolutely hate having to do this, and so they ask to go wander about the countryside and search for the Jews, a task they would rather do than shoot them. 

When they unexpectedly find a Jewish man, they go through a process where they are torn between their natural bent to let him go, and the expectations of their superiors. They know that if they prove successful in bringing someone in, they will be allowed to go out again and skip the actual execution task. 

As the title indicates, it is winter and very cold and even in the camp food supplies are low, so the men are constantly hungry. When they find an abandoned house and break in, they find a single room with a stove and decide to light it and make a meal with the food they have. 

Another interesting part of this book is that one of them, Emmerlich, is a father who worries about his son. The first time he does so here is when the men have stopped to smoke a cigarette and he worries that his son will start smoking. The worries about his son are ongoing, and the other two men talk him through them, and give their input on the situation. This is one way the author humanizes the men. This discussion also includes a foreshadowing of a future event that provides an eerie echo to what the men are doing now. 

A moving story, beautifully told. 

In Desolate Heaven

Finished January 9

In Desolate Heaven by Robert Edric

This is a book where much of what is going on is under the surface. It's a book that is hard to describe. The time is the fall of 1919. Elizabeth Mortlake has come to this Swiss spa town as a companion to her sister-in-law Mary, who is heavily grieving the loss of her pilot husband in the war. Elizabeth is also grieving him, as she was very close to her brother, and she holds some memories of him very closely. 

She soon notices a group of obviously injured soldiers that come on a bus into town to walk the waterfront of the lake. The men are accompanied by a group of nuns from a nearby convent that assist them. Many are blind, while others have injuries that affect their mobility. People in town, including visitors like Elizabeth, generally watch them respectfully, but don't interact with them. 

She also takes note of a man, Jameson, who comes to the hotel she is staying in often, and seems to have an antagonistic relationship with many of the senior staff, such as the manager, front clerk, and maitre'd. The reasons for this aren't obvious, but she gradually grows to understand as she spends time with him and observes his activities. Jameson takes an active interest in many of the men at the soldiers' hospital, having served with some of them. He also has a friendly relationship with some of the nuns, and provides books to one nun and an officer. Jameson is a book dealer, and he also has a close friendship with Emil, a photographer whose studio he has a room over. Elizabeth gradually becomes familiar with both these groups of people as well and visits both institutions. 

As Mary's health deteriorates, Elizabeth finds herself concerned, but also wanting to have someone else take on the responsibility for the more serious issues Mary is having, and Jameson is very helpful in finding the right people and place. 

I found the undercurrents of this book interesting, the jealousy of some, the sexuality tensions underlying some of the interactions, and the ways that the medical establishment of the time didn't know how to deal with the inner turmoil many of the men had. 

A book that was exceptionally well-written and that will stay with me.