Perfume River

Finished November 29

Perfume River by Robert Olen Butler

This novel is, like all Butler novels I've read, beautifully written. The main character here is Robert Quinlan, a seventy-year-old history professor at Florida State University. His wife Darla is also a professor at FSU, she teaches art theory and is working on a paper about Daughters of the Confederacy Monuments. They live in a Craftsman house that they built with an inheritance from Darla's parents years ago.

As the novel opens, they cross paths with a homeless man while eating a buffet dinner, and Robert buys him the meal and has a short conversation. The man, also named Bob, decides that the cold weather warrants a long walk to a shed behind a church, a place he knows is always left open to those who might need it. 

Robert had mistaken Bob for a Vietnam veteran, forgetting just how long ago that war was, and this error takes him back to his own youth, and his time in Vietnam and he considers why he went and what he did, particularly on one particular night. 

Robert has a brother Jimmy that chose a different path. Jimmy went to Canada, and their father William disowned him. Now their father is close to death and choosing to give unasked-for opinions. And their mother Peggy has somehow got hold of Jimmy's phone number and wants Robert to talk to him.

This is a story of family, of fathers and sons, of expectations and resentments, There is also a theme of war that arises. A book that made me sit and think for a while. 

The Guest

Finished April 2

The Guest by Emma Cline

I grabbed this book from the library to fill a challenge. I would say that it's a book that made me feel kind of like I was watching a train wreck in slow motion.

The main character Alex is very unlikeable. She behaves very much like a narcissist, and tries to manage the relationships, but doesn't necessarily put a lot of work into it. She moved to New York City as a young woman and lives with roommates. She has been in the city for a while as the book opens, and it appears that she worked as an escort, but never made a lot of money at it, and now is finding it more difficult to draw the men that she wants to. She has also missed rent payments and her roommates have kicked her out. 

After an encounter at a bar, she has decided to go in a different direction, beginning a relationship with an older man with the expectation that it will be long term. He doesn't pay her, but he does buy her things like clothing and accessories. She has traveled with him to his vacation home on Long Island, and accompanied him to various dinners and parties. When she makes a misstep at one of the parties, she finds him distancing himself from her and the sending her back to the city. His assistant buys her a train ticket and leaves her at the station. 

But Alex has another issue. She has got on the bad side of a man who doesn't suffer fools, and he is looking for her to return something she's taken from him. We do eventually find out what that it, but he has been calling her and trying to get her to meet him, so she is wary of taking a chance and going back to the city.

As she maneuvers herself into various living situations through meeting people and pretending she knows them, she has a plan to go back to the man who has sent her away, timing it for a party he has planned for Labour Day. 

Alex is desperate, but also very manipulative. She looks for opportunities to ingratiate herself into others' lives for her own benefit. She can be charming, but also cold and uncaring. I found myself wondering what crazy thing she would do next. 

An interesting and unique look at a life situation beyond anything I could imagine. 

Fortunate Son

Finished March 1

Fortunate Son by Walter Mosley

I've read a few standalone books by Mosley, and I find they always have depth and make you think about the world in different ways. This one is no exception. 

When Tommy's mother Branwyn got pregnant with him, his father Elton wanted nothing to do with the situation. Branwyn managed on her own, and when Tommy was born with health issues, visited the ICU every day after work, hoping that he would survive. A doctor at the hospital, Minas Nolan, noticed her and began a courtship. He had recently had a son, Eric, and his wife had died in childbirth. His nanny Ayn did as well as she could but the child was inconsolable. When Branwyn and Eric meet, he is immediately calmed by her, and soon they become a small family. 

When tragedy comes to them, Tommy is separated from Eric, and though the two have a strong connection, they lose track of each other for years. 

Mosley shows how they class origins and the colour of their skin has a big effect on how they manage through life. Despite trauma and setbacks, Tommy gains the nickname Lucky, and feels that he is as well. Eric has a charmed life, and yet longs for something that he can't identify. 

When another tragedy brings the two back together again, they find more barriers between them and it is their found family members that each of them has gained along the way that help them find a way forward. 

This book explores social issues in America, particularly race and poverty, with the prejudices that underlie even the organizations that are supposed to support people. But it also explores outlook, and how each of us views the world we live in, and treats the people that we interact with along the way. A thought-provoking read. 

Threadbare

Finished February 8

Threadbare by Monica Ferris

This novel is part of the Needlecraft Mystery series. The stories are set around the character Betsy Devonshire and her needlework shop Crewel World on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. 

This novel begins with the discovery of a body in an alley. The body is that of a homeless woman, and although it appears to be one of exposure following unconsciousness, the local police chief thinks that there is something off about it. One of Betsy's customers is related to the woman and is concerned that she is being looked at as a suspect, so she asks Betsy to investigate. When a second homeless woman is found dead, it looks more suspicious, and that woman also has a connection to one of Betsy's customers. 

As Betsy begins to dig into the women's personal lives and pasts, she uncovers some information that may be uncomfortable for her customers. Her investigation also takes her to Fargo, North Dakota, and she stops in at the stitching store Nordic Needle, a real-life store brought into this story briefly. I liked that touch. 

Betsy is a diligent sleuth, trying to follow every loose end. I appreciated seeing the thread of the homeless develop through this story, and the issues that women of low income have when it comes to housing. The characters that were homeless here were treated with respect by the author. 

As always with this series, a pattern is included at the back of the book. In this case, it is a beginner Hardanger pattern. 

Tokyo Ueno Station

Finished October 23

Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri, translated by Morgan Giles

This book tells the story of Kazu, a man who wanders the world he lived in before he died, not understanding why he hasn't moved on. No one sees him or reacts to him, but he reflects on his life, working long hours on jobs away from his home, not seeing his children grow up, or spending very much time with his wife. 

He also describes the circumstances that led to his last few years living as a homeless man in the Ueno Station Park in Tokyo, and his interactions with some of the other inhabitants of the park. 

The moments of reflection on the past are interspersed with his observations on the present, seeing how life goes on, and witnessing the passing of others he knew.

This is a very interesting novel, with intimate details of Kazu's life told in such a way that removes the emotion from the experiences. He seems removed from his life, not just by death, but in remembering key moments of his life as well. 

His life also has ties to that of the royal family in a limited way. He is the same age as the Crown Prince, and his son was born the same day as the prince's son. His life in the park is also changed by visits from the royal family. 

Proof I Was Here

Finished April 2

Proof I Was Here by Becky Blake

I love finding another great Canadian author and this book is a great read. The main character Niki has moved to Barcelona to join her fiance. He is working here and she arranged the packing up of all their stuff in Toronto and followed him. Their wedding is set for a few weeks after she arrives. But days after she arrives, he calls off the wedding, and says that he no longer wants to marry her. 

Niki grew up poor and she was flattered by her fiance's attention, but now she is left reeling. She leaves their apartment in a panic to get away and takes nothing with her, no wallet or keys or anything of real value. She finds herself living among the homeless, among pickpockets and buskers, squatters and graffiti artists. 

To add to the situation, just before leaving Toronto, she gave in to a strange impulse and tried to shoplift a scarf, and she got caught, She has a summons to appear in court shortly after her wedding date, but has no intention of going. Still, there is a worry in the back of her mind about what that will mean.

Now, on the streets she is stealing again, learning how to pick a mark, how to distract attention. She is also learning to see those people she really didn't notice before and the things that people throw away that are still of value. 

Her life has changed dramatically and she has to determine how she will live. 

I liked seeing how Niki adjusted to her situation, connecting to others, and discovering a side to Barcelona that she wouldn't have seen if this hadn't happened. 

Niki isn't a bad person, but she's made some bad choices, and had some bad things happen in her life, both recently and long ago. I liked seeing how she discovered herself in new ways. This book really grew on me the further I got into it.

Salt Lane

Finished July 20
Salt Lane by William Shaw

This mystery features Detective Sergeant Alex Cupidi, a middle-aged woman with a teenage daughter, who recently moved from London to the nearby fens. She's has a younger woman for her partner, and the first case they come across is that of a body of a woman found naked in a drain. A drain is a drainage ditch in the fenland, and there are a lot of those around, many connected with each other. They don't know if the woman died near where she was found or not. They aren't even sure how she died, but they know she was dead before she went in the water. It doesn't take too long to identify her, but when they contact her next of kin, a son, they find that he was visited the night before by a woman claiming to be his mother. Since his aunt and uncle had taken him in as a child, and he was told by them his mother had died, he is at a complete loss, and isn't sure which woman may really be his mother, if either. And his wife isn't too happy about his interest in the woman who visited them.
When another body appears, this time of a seemingly foreign migrant, Cupidi and her partner aren't sure if the two deaths are connected or not, but they are determined to dig to find out.
Cupidi is also worried about her daughter, Zoe, who doesn't seem to have any friends. Zoe spends most of her time wandering the countryside, watching birds and walking. She doesn't usually take her phone, and Cupidi isn't sure how to help her.
With Cupidi's past coming into the story, with her mom, and former lover, things get more complex, but this is a story of connections, of families, of belonging. I was fascinated.

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands

Finished April 27
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian, read by Grace Blewer

This novel is told by a young woman looking back at her recent past, Emily Shepard is a homeless teenager struggling to survive after her life has fallen apart. A nuclear powerplant in Vermont had a reactor go into meltdown and a large area of the state had to be evacuated, with many people losing their homes, their jobs, and many plant workers dying. Emily tells her story in fits and starts, jumping from the June that the meltdown occurred to the next spring when things completely fall apart for her. Part of Emily's situation is that her father was the chief engineer at the plant, and her mother was the communications representative. She feels that she must hide her identity as people are angry with her when they find out who her parents were.
Long before the meltdown, Emily was fascinated with her poet namesake Emily Dickinson, knowing many of her poems by heart, and writing her own poetry. Emily was a bit of a rebellious teenager, not doing as well in school as she could have, engaging in some risky behaviour and criticizing her parents for their own weaknesses. But she was still not fully an adult and her innocence shows even as she loses it. Among her many losses is that of her beloved dog Maggie, who was left in the house during the sudden evacuation, and whose unknown fate haunts Emily.
When she comes across Cameron, a young boy fleeing from a series of bad foster homes, she takes him under her wing, trying to convince him to get more help than she can offer, but also protecting him as much as she is able. In some ways, his presence also keeps her alive.
Emily struggles with many of the issues homeless teens struggling with self-hatred, depression, and general anxiety struggle with. She engages in far riskier behaviour than she would ever have thought herself capable of, but also finds herself reaching out to others as she tries to survive any way she can.
Emily is strong, but also overwhelmed by her circumstances. As she leads us through her story, referring back to events in her life before the meltdown, we see her loneliness, her dreams, and her regrets.
The interview with the author and narrator included here added another element to the story. Grace is Chris's daughter and the inspiration for some of the characteristics of Emily, as well as the source for some of the language particular to teens.

Murder Strikes a Pose

Finished March 30
Murder Strikes a Pose by Tracy Weber

This first novel is set in the Seattle community of Greenwood. Kate Davidson is a yoga instructor who runs a studio in Greenwood. When a homeless man, George, and his dog Bella set up to sell newspapers in front of her studio, at first she just wants their disturbance to move, but ends up finding a way to work with the two of them and becomes friends with George. When Kate finds George dead one night and Bella confined, she can't help but wonder if George's death was premeditated and, if so, who would be behind it. Despite being warned off by the police and George's estranged family, Kate is persistent and works even harder to find the answers to George's death.
With George gone, Kate has also taken on Bella, hoping to find her a welcoming forever home, but Bella's issues are more complicated than Kate realized, and with her health issues and her reactions to other dogs and now some men, finding a good home won't be easy. But Bella seems to attach herself happily to Kate and Kate is determined to do her best by her.
Also, Kate's best friend Rene is determined to do something about Kate's love life, and who better than the owner of the new pet store in the area. But will Kate be able to take down her defences long enough to make a real commitment?
A nice mystery with a strong main character and interesting plotline.

Maya's Notebook

Finished October 4
Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende, read by Maria Cabezas

This novel goes back and forth between Maya's experience on a remote island of Chile, and the events of her life that led up to this time. It is a coming-of-age novel, but also a novel of sadness.
Maya led a happy life with her grandparents in San Francisco until the death of her grandfather starts her down a road into self-destruction.
Because of it moving back and forth in time, you already know that she survives this period of her life, and her time on the island allows her the time and space to reflect on that time and to learn from it. From rebellion, to drugs, to sexual abuse, to living on the street, to being involved with criminals, Maya's life sunk gradually from the middle class home in which she began. As she reflects on the decisions that took her to those depths, she also begins to see how those decisions affected other people in her life, and how the decisions she takes now also have an affect. She sees how people care for each other in this community and in her life overall, and begins to make more adult decisions that take others' interests into account.
I didn't like Maya and didn't feel a connection with her at all, something which tends to affect my enjoyment of a book.But this novel is very well-written and tells an interesting story.

The Sky Beneath My Feet

Finished June 20
The Sky Beneath My Feet by Lisa Samson, read by Rebecca Gallagher

This novel centers around Beth, a pastor's wife. Her husband Rick is the men's pastor at the evangelical megachurch called The Community in Baltimore. Rick didn't seek out this position and it isn't what he wants to be doing. When old friends of the couple who've moved away visit, they surprise them by offering Rick a job as lead pastor at their current church. Rick is about to start a month's sabbatical, and Beth was hoping to use the time to reconnect with him, particularly since a friend from church has offered up a beach house in Florida. But this sudden offer has Rick retreating from everything and everyone into the backyard shed to hope for divine guidance. Beth is frustrated and angry, and she finds herself taking risks and finding herself in new experiences. From a protest rally in Washington DC to the inner city of Baltimore, to a Florida beach in a storm, Beth finds her life taking her in a new direction, but struggles to figure out what she should do. She is   left dealing with issues in the lives of their teenage sons without Rick beside her for support and she isn't sure where to look for help.
This is a story about faith, about looking closer to home for those needing help, and about taking that first step.

Audiobook from series

Finished January 6
Running Scared by Ann Granger, read by Nicole Arumugam
This is from the Fran Varady series, one of my favourites. Fran has through a variety of events in her life been homeless, and while she now has a home, she is still living close to the edge.
Her friend Ganesh has been left to manage his uncle's newsagency while he is away on a trip, and Fran has been given a job helping out in the shop. Fran has also taken on part-time work from time to time as a private investigator.
Ganesh has decided to get a renovation done on the small washroom behind the shop while his uncle is away. Just before the work starts, a man who has been attacked takes refuge in the shop and Ganesh allows him to use the washroom.
The man is later found dead near Fran's home, and when they find a roll of film hidden in the washroom, they wonder if the two events are related.
Fran also makes contact with a homeless girl that she knew from her own homeless days, and offers to help her. Between these two situations, Fran is kept busy and the police soon become involved in her life again.
I like the character of Fran, feisy and independent, and generally a good judge of character. She often takes risks when she helps others, but this doesn't dissuade her good nature.

Canadian Fiction

Finished October 30
Underground by June Hutton
This is a book I asked for and got for my birthday this year and finally got around to reading. I'm sorry I waited as I really enjoyed it.
It tells the story of Albert Fraser, who enlists as a soldier in World War I at the age of sixteen, is injured and returns to an unhappy home in B.C. He lives a perambulatory life, working a variety of working class jobs until the Depression makes him jobless and homeless. After being taken in by a couple in the north, he decides to help in Spain and volunteers for the Spanish Civil War. Inspired by the sight of Picasso's Guernica, he moves toward a future life.
We really see Albert's worries and fears and how he deals with them. This is a young man, who spent a long time looking for his place in the world, trying different lives and finding that they didn't suit him, until finally finding a life for himself.

Great Canadian Read

Finished November 25
Ragged Company by Richard Wagamese
I absolutely loved this book. Wagamese really got inside the head of his main characters and made me feel like I was there too.
Four of the main characters are homeless people, living in a large city: Amelia One Sky (also known as One for the Dead), Timber, Double Dick, and Digger. They have gradually found each other and now move through the major part of their day as a group. As the book begins, they decide to take refuge from the cold by going to a movie. They encounter the fifth main character, Granite, at the movie theatre, and continue to run into him as they keep going to movies.
When Digger finds a cigarette package that still contains some cigarettes as well as money and a lottery ticket, their lives begin to change. The lottery ticket turns out to be a big winner, $13.5 million, but they can't claim the money as none of the four have identification. They bring Granite in to assist them.
As their lives transform, we see how they adjust to their new situation. We also see how they got to be where they now are and how they deal with their pasts now.
Working in a profession where I encounter homeless people on a daily basis, I found this book very moving. How one sees the world is a big part of the plot.