The Sweetness of Water

Finished February 10

The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris

This historical fiction novel is set just after the end of the United States Civil War. George Walker and his wife Isabelle have a farm a little way outside of a small southern town called Old Ox. George often walks his land and the forest that is part of it, partly searching for a creature his father told him of, and partly to think. Towards the end of the day, one he spent wandering, he comes across two middle-aged black men. Their names are Prentiss and Landry and they were recently owned by Ted Morton, George's neighbour. The two men decided to leave once they were emancipated, but haven't got any idea of the outside world or where to head. George has a burden of sadness on him, one that he soon shares with Isabelle, and the two reconsider their future plans. George determines to clear and farm some of his land, and he approaches the two black men to offer them work helping him. When George offers them work, they are grateful to be able to earn some to take them away and into a new life. But George's actions cause issues with others that resent the loss of their traditional social order. 

Trust grows between George, Prentiss, Landry, and soon Isabelle as well, and another family member who has seen things in the war that changed him. 

When a tragedy happens to this group, it becomes a larger issue, one that both destroys friendships and creates new ones. The trust between them becomes something more, and while there is hope, more tragedies happen in the town and this household. 

I found this novel moving and thought-provoking. Crimes lead to insults, and insults become crimes. An engaging debut novel that won attention from celebrity book clubs and was longlisted for the Booker. 

Friday Black

Finished February 10

Friday Black: Stories by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

This dark collection of stories had me both wanting more and needing to take breaks from reading. This is the debut collection for the author, and draws on his own experiences as a black man in the United States for some of his themes. The collection contains twelve stories, with some characters reappearing in other tales. 

The first story, The Finkelstein 5, draws on racism, white privilege, miscarriage of justice, and frustration at all these societal flaws. The second tale, Things My Mother Said, touches on poverty and religion. The third, The Era takes us further into dystopia with revisionist history, genetic selection, and bullying. Lark Street deals with abortion, relationships, and the onus on women. The Hospital Where has elements of pain and wonder set around healthcare and the things we do for our dreams. Zimmerland makes racism and violence a form of entertainment where there are no consequences. Friday Black takes us to a surreal dystopian version of Black Friday sales, where bodies are swept to the sides as sales take precedence. The Lion & The Spider takes African folklore, family responsibility, and takes us to the backroom of retail. Light Spitter has elements on incel culture, school shootings, and trying to change outcomes. How to Sell a Jacket As Told by Iceking brings us back to the characters and world of Friday Black on a less dark day. The following story, In Retail, is in the same world, but from a different point of view. The final story, Through the Flash, is set in a world where the days reset over and over, death and violence are ever present, and the characters are aware of it, and hope for a glitch in the system. 

These are dark stories, offering little hope for the future, but also stories that are gripping and captivating. Many of them relate to the world even more today than when they were written. 

Say You'll Be Mine

Finished February 9

Say You'll Be Mine by Naina Kumar

This romance is very engaging. The narration does vary between the two main characters. The main female character, Meghna Raman, is a Dallas-area middle grade English teacher who has long aspired to write plays, and is working with her students to do the school's first production, My Fair Lady. Her parents and brother are all engineers and, in the eyes of her mother, engineering is the only profession worth doing. Meghna has received the speech on this many times, but her mother launches a new one now, convincing her to marry an engineer. Meghna's parents are a love match, and they've never proposed any introduction before, but she finds herself faced with an arranged marriage proposal, a rishta, now. Perhaps it is because she is nearing thirty without a serious relationship. 

Karthik is a mechanical engineer working in New York City for a large engineering firm. He likes his work, but has pushed off serious relationships and any discussion of them for years. He has finally made a deal with his mother to meet marriage possibilities for a certain time period on condition that if he doesn't find someone she won't bring it up again. And Karthik has no intention of finding someone. He has seen his parents' marriage and has no desire for anything like theirs in terms of a relationship. He has been trying to be as little like his father for most of his life. That's partially why he chose engineering instead of medicine, with his father teaching at NYCU medical school. 

The meeting, at Meghna's parents' house goes well, except for Karthik telling her that he has no intention of marrying anyone when the two of them have their one-on-one. Yet he finds himself telling his mother he needs time to think about her as a potential wife instead of just saying no. And then he digs himself in deeper yet. 

So when he contacts Meghna with a proposal to move ahead with a fake relationship, he has to find something that they both get out of it. And Meghna has a secret that only her best friend Ankita knows that might be the motivation she needs. 

As their story unfolds, it seems that there are more secrets, from Karthik, Ankita, and parents on both sides. 

I liked learning more about some aspects of Indian culture as well as seeing this plot unfold. The characters of Meghna and Karthik are ones with some depth, and we see their vulnerabilities as well as their strengths. I also liked the character of Paul, an intern at Karthik's company. 

I had trouble putting the book down as I needed to see how things worked out. 

The House on Mango Street

Finished February 6

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The copy of this that I read is the 25th anniversary edition, which has a foreword by the author reflecting on the work, as well as where she is now. I think that it added a lot to what I felt as I read the book. 

The book has short chapters that are connected vignettes around the street in Chicago, where the girl narrator, Esperanza Cordero, lives, called Mango Street. The house she lives in is the first home that her family has of their own, not an apartment, that they can change as they wish to. She has siblings and extended family, friends and neighbours, who all appear in their own way in this book. 

Esperanza learns things, about herself, her community, and about life, especially about growing up. I'm glad that I finally took the time to read this short book, and see through the eyes of this observant young girl. 

Rose Addams

Finished February 5

Rose Addams by Margie Taylor

Rose Addams is in her early sixties and working at a Vancouver area public library. She's a woman who enjoys her work, and takes an interest in her children's lives. On her way home one day in late August, her daughter Morgan calls and asks her to call back when she gets home. Morgan, who lives in Toronto with her fiancé Ian, and is nearing the final portion of her Ph.D. dissertation tells her that the engagement is off.

A few days later, she on her way to work when a young man she's seen sitting outside the nearby grocery store approaches her and tells her how he knows her. Rose is surprised and saddened. This reminds her of the early days of motherhood and how her and her husband Charles had handled an earlier childcare challenge in their lives. 

When she arrives home, she has more surprises in store. Her husband Charles, just a few years older than her, informs her that he has retired from his job as a university professor, and chair of his department. He tells her that it is due to a conversation that he had with an undergraduate student around student expectations. She is surprised and disappointed that he made such a big decision without even talking about it with her first. She is further surprised by a call from Morgan saying that she is coming home in a few days, just after the Labour Day weekend. 

As Rose and Charles host a dinner party the following evening with friends and colleagues, and he announces his retirement, the guests are surprised and dismayed. They include another professor and friend, Garnet, and his newest paramour a young graduate student, Lauren; the department secretary Bernadette and her brother Richard; and Rose's best friend Marie, a children's author, and her accountant husband Jeff. Bernadette is particularly dismayed and surprised, but Garnet is also disappointed that he wasn't consulted about the move, since he originally took Charles under his wing when Charles joined the department as a young professor. 

Rose likes Morgan's partner Ian, but is less enamored of her son Jason's partner Lee, who she feels judges her. She hasn't spent much time with Lee though, and not everyone see what Rose feels. 

As Rose deals with all these changes, and more, she questions her own feelings, second guesses her impulses, and finds herself dealing with a future she didn't imagine. 

I really enjoyed this book, and many of the issues that Rose is faced with felt very real and relatable. A book from a Canadian writer new to me, that I will definitely look out for. 

The Bordeaux Book Club

Finished February 5

The Bordeaux Book Club by Gillian Harvey

This novel follows a group of mostly British ex-pats living in or near Bordeaux, France. Leah and her husband Nathan working in journalism before giving it up to live a dream life of owning and living off a small farm. The life is not as the dream, with the vegetables they grow not doing well, and Leah working part-time as a copy editor to help sustain them. Their daughter, Scarlett, now fourteen has thrived, easily learning the language and making friends. Now she is into her teen years where she spends a lot of time in her room and seems to resent her parents, particularly Leah. 

Leah has made a friend of a slightly older woman named Grace. Grace has thoroughly involved herself in the community, running a variety of clubs, and helping those who need it. Now she is starting an English book club, and convinces Leah to join. Along with Leah are George, a man who works construction and who has come over for a few months to work on a house for a man he's worked for before; Monica, who has an infant daughter, and whose husband, Peter, is a pilot who is often away for long periods of time; and Alfie, a young man in his twenties who is in college and living with his mother. 

They start with classics, with the first read being Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, which Grace has chosen and has enough copies in her home library to provide one for everyone. Going forward, they will take turns picking books. 

As they discuss the books and their thoughts, they share a lot with each other, from pasts to dreams of the future and secrets about the present. Even though they only meet once a month, they become close friends, and are there for each other when some of them struggle with deeply personal issues and change.

I really enjoyed this novel. All the characters are interesting, yet we really see depth for Leah and Grace. We grow to understand what brought Grace to where she is now, and why she behaves the way that she does. And we see Leah struggle with her marriage and her daughter, working her way through deep emotions and fears. A very enjoyable read. 

All the Beauty in the World

Finished February 2

All the Beauty in the World: A Museum Guard's Adventures in Life, Loss and Art by Patrick Bringley, illustrated by Maya McMahon

This memoir is both fascinating and informative. The author left a job at the New Yorker magazine after the death of his older brother Tom, and applied to be a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He worked their for ten years, during which time he worked through his grief, made friends, learned about art, watched people, and learned to be present in his life. 

He includes a plan of the museum's public spaces, and structures his book around them as he works in different sections of the building, and even in one of the satellite buildings the museum has. 

He talks about the art, and lists the art he refers to at the back of the book. He doesn't include pictures of the art, but there are drawings that relate to his words, done by illustrator, Maya McMahon. These drawings give a sense of the art that intrigues. 

Patrick's words are sometimes emotional, and centered on his work at the museum. There are a few references to his family beyond Tom, but it is the art that we see him engaging with, and his fellow guards as they hand off from one position to another, share work, and share experiences. They are from many cultural backgrounds, and this comes into his story as well. 

This was a book I received through a subscription from English bookstore Mr. B's Emporium, and I loved it. 

February Reviews for the 18th Annual Canadian Reading Challenge

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The Return

Finished January 31

The Return by Noelle Adams

This second chance romance is set in a small town where everybody knows everybody else's business. Ria Phillips is a business success story. She took her family's flower shop and used social media, luck, and some help from friends to take it to another level. She is respected for that. She's also known as the girl that got left by her high school sweetheart, and that defines her in a different way. She's dated a little, but never had the chemistry she had with Jacob Worth, grandson of one of the wealthiest men in town. Jacob's grandfather lives in a large house, on a large neglected plot of land, and owns the block of buildings that Ria's flower shop is in. 

Jacob left town suddenly, with little explanation, despite having college plans with Ria. He went to the west coast and found work in the fishing industry there. He's kept in touch with his grandfather, but not with Ria or other old friends. Old Mr. Worth is declining quickly, and Jacob is back in town, at least for a while. 

Ria seems like a good entrepreneur with the smarts to keep her business afloat, with help from a couple of friends, but she is pretty inexperienced in the romance area, and, while she still feels the attraction to Jacob the man, she is determined not to just fall back into their relationship. There's a matter of trust, and even when she learns his reasons, she doesn't totally understand his silence toward her. Jacob can see his errors of the past, and didn't intend to start anything, but he too feels something still. 

I found the characters lacked depth, and any growth they had between the past and present is left unexplained. The writing is fine, but not compelling. 

This is the first in a series set around the flower shop and one hopes that subsequent books take us deeper into the characters, who could be quite interesting if we knew them better. 

Breakaway

Finished January 27

Breakaway by Catherine Gayle

This is the first book in a series around a hockey team based in Portland Oregon, called the Portland Storm. The male central character here is Eric "Zee" Zellinger, and he is the captain of the team. One of his lifelong best friends, Brenden, is on the development team in the AHL affiliated with the Portland Storm. He's had a few injuries that set him back, but is hoping to get moved up to the NHL team. Brenden's little sister Dana is also a strong hockey player, but back when she was playing for her college team she was attacked after a game and gang raped. 

Dana has been undergoing therapy for a few years, but still has issues with men and physical contact. She is beginning to lose hope for a normal future relationship, but when her therapist suggests a sex therapist, she gets an idea. She can't handle a stranger for this, but she thinks of Eric, someone she's always trusted and decides to show up in person and ask him to do this for her. 

The idea is to gradually increase physical contact, moving towards intimacy. Eric is shocked but he's also a person who's cared deeply for Dana for years, and wants to help her. He also finds himself attracted to the woman she is now. 

Due to the storyline, you can see the tropes here: slow burn, friends to lovers, and brother's best friend.

The book steps away from the classic romance to deal with trauma, PTSD, and panic attacks, all of which it portrays well. As a Canadian, I grew up knowing hockey, and I enjoyed that aspect of the book as well. 

The only factual critique I have is the scene on the ice with the Zamboni. I KNOW that for safety reasons, when a Zamboni is on the ice, no people are on the ice. So that bothered me a little. 

Otherwise, an interesting read, and satisfying romance.