Pack Up the Moon

Finished December 27
Pack Up the Moon by Rachael Herron

The title for this novel was taken from the poem "Funeral Blues" by W.H. Auden. The main story takes place within a short time period in the late spring of 2014, but there are flashbacks to earlier times. Kate Monroe is a painter, and the book begins with a showing of her work, the first since her son's death 3 years earlier. Kate's son Robin was dying from cancer, but he died from carbon monoxide poisoning, in her car, in their garage, with his father Nolan at the wheel.
Nolan went to jail for that, and has been slowly rebuilding his life.
Kate has another secret, she had another child. When her daughter Pree shows up at Kate's art show she is stunned, and doesn't know how to react. What should she tell Pree, What should she tell Nolan. What should she tell herself. As the voice of the novel rotates between Kate, Nolan, and Pree, we find out their stories,
This is a story of love, a story of loss, and a story of family. Nolan always thought that Kate was the most honest person he knew, but she has secrets she hasn't even told herself. Each character has issues that they are struggling with, and the reader walks with them through those issues.

Götz and Meyer

Finished December 26
Götz and Meyer by David Albahari, translated by Ellen Elias-Bursać

This short novel is told from the view of a teacher, a man whose immediate family were some of the few Serbian Jews to survive the Second World War.
He tells the story of the fate of many Belgrade Jews, who were first interned at the Fairgrounds, and then taken by truck to their death. When leaving the Fairgrounds, they were told they were being transported to another camp in Poland or Romania, and the local Jewish Administration was even given the rules of the new camp to flesh out the story. In reality, shortly after leaving the camp, the two drivers, brought from Germany, Götz and Meyer, stopped and attached the exhaust to a spot in the floor of the truck and drove their route while the Jews in the back died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The unnamed teacher survived because his mother had taken him to live in a small village in the mountains, and his father survived in a POW camp. But he is consumed by the story of the Jews, many of his relatives among them, and has researched their story and dug into the identities of those involved. About Götz and Meyer he doesn't know much beyond their names, and his story reveals their interchangeability.
As his students study history, he rents a bus and takes them on the same journey, first to the Fairgrounds, then onward as he gives them an identity to imagine and become for the trip. Imaginative and consuming this novel makes the victims come alive, as well as the two young soldiers who drove the truck.
I found the book difficult for its subject matter and its format, which is just one long paragraph. I felt myself needing to take breaks, but without any natural spot to stop. The author is Serbian, but has lived in Canada since the mid-1990s.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

Finished December 23
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding, read by Samantha Bond

This novel picks up where the second Bridget Jones left off, and her voice comes through authentically here. The format is diary entries as were the earlier books. Bridget is in her early fifties, still grieving the sudden death of her husband a few years earlier. Her friends want her to get back in the game, but she struggles with being faithful to his memory and being there for her kids. As she works her way through getting back to work, by writing a screenplay, and starting to date again, her emotions range widely. She has a core group of friends, that she has had for years, but finds that she also needs to connect with other mothers. She is drawn to a neighbour, Rebecca, who has kids of a similar age to her two children, and finds a new friendship. Her two children have distinct personalities that reveal themselves through her entries. She also interacts with other school mothers, such as Nicolette who seems superorganized and has it all together, and teachers such as Mr. Wallaker who always seem to be around when she is doing something wrong, or embarrassing. She ventures into social media through Twitter and as she gradually becomes more comfortable with the communication and with texting, you see her development.
I'm a similar age to Bridget, as I was when I read the earlier books, and her uncertainties read true to me. Her life isn't mine, and it wasn't mine then, but the underlying feelings, insecurities, and missteps are all ones I can relate to.
Fielding makes her characters come alive, and this hasn't changed. I thoroughly enjoyed this read, as a good escape novel that made me laugh from the heart.

Above the Waterfall

Finished December 21
Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash

This novel features Les, a North Carolina sheriff in his early fifties, who is days away from retirement, and park ranger Becky, a woman for whom nature is a comfort. Les deals with many issues in his job, not the least of which is crystal meth. His marriage ended badly, and he knows that his reaction to his wife's issues played a large part in that. He takes solace in painting the beauty that surrounds him. Becky is haunted by a childhood incident that silenced her for a time, and more recently, by a bad choice of partner. Becky found that calm comfort with a hefty dose of nature brought her back to herself, and she finds poetry a way to express her feelings about this.
These two voices tell the story of a few days in this Appalachian town, where the growing drug trade in crystal meth causes some to destroy families, and Les has found a way to cope while anticipating his upcoming retirement. When an elderly man that Becky has befriended becomes accused of poisoning the trout he holds dear, Becky defends him righteously, while Les looks for answers. Both characters have an incident in their youth that influences their current actions, and they find themselves growing closer.
This was a fascinating book, one that combined lyrical poetry with a mystery. One in which everyone is flawed in some way. It grew on me as I read it.

Dog World and the Humans Who Live There

Finished December 17
Dog World and the Humans Who Live There by Alfred Gingold

This book describes Gingold's acquisition of George, a Norfolk terrier, and his subsequent fascinating with dogs, their owners, and the world specific to them.
From breeding to feeding, walking and training, dog shows and dog art, Gingold looks at a wide range of things specific to the world of dogs and their owners in a humorous and questioning way. Gingold's curiosity leads him to dig deeper into the many aspects of this world, and takes the reader along with him.
Interesting and enjoyable.

Clockwork Princess

Finished December 15
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

This is the third book and final book in her The Infernal Devices series. It continues the story of Tessa Gray as she and the London Institute Shadowhunters continue to fight against Mortmain (aka the Magister) as he tries to take revenge for what was done to his adoptive parents. Tessa and Charlotte separately learn the truth about Tessa's parentage and thus her real nature.
This also continues the story of Cecily, Will's younger sister, as she also discovers her calling as a Shadowhunter. The Lightwood brothers, Gideon and Gabriel, appear more fully, and we see their characters develop. We see more of both Charlotte and Henry as well.
There is much here that feeds into the other modern-day series about Shadowhunters, and we see how things began, and how history led to modern-day situations.
At the heart of this book is Tessa and her love for peace, for Jem, and for Will. Jem and Will have a bond as parabatai that is stronger than many family relationships, and it sustains them through much pain.
There is also a lesser theme about women's abilities that appears, certainly as part of the time it was set in, but beyond as well.
It is hard to write about this book without giving too much away, but I was pleased with the way things worked out here.

A Banquet of Consequences

Finished December 9
A Banquet of Consequences by Elizabeth George, read by John Lee

This is the 19th book in the series featuring Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers. Barbara is behaving herself at work, with the threat of a transfer hanging over her head, but those who care about her see that she is not the police officer that she can be. With Isabelle Ardery holding the threat and not willing to give it up, despite Lynley's urging, it is civilian secretary Dorothea Harriman who recognizes that Barbara needs something else to concentrate on. At first Dorothea thinks that it is sex that Barbara needs, a man in her life and she takes Barbara on an outing to ready her for that. Naturally, Barbara doesn't fully cooperate, but the outing does lead Barbara to attend a talk by feminist Clare Abbott. Clare has some issues in her life and her friend and editor Rory knows that things aren't right. When someone dies, Rory reaches out to Barbara for help. Barbara sees this case as a test, a way to prove herself to Ardery, and perhaps to herself again as well. While Lynley pairs her with Nkata and the two go to Dorset to get to the bottom of things.
There is a backstory here, which is partly set up for us as the book begins, where we see Caroline Goldacre and her two sons, Charlie and Will. Will has issues that drive him from an independent life to one where he relies on Caroline. Charlie is married to a caring young woman, India, but he too has been influenced by his mother. Caroline's behaviour is driving her husband Alistair away as well, and her manipulative behaviour is something that Barbara is quick to focus on.
This book has a lot going on, with many interesting characters, and plot lines going off in many directions. I found myself hoping for a particular ending, but worried that it wouldn't go that way.
The interesting part is the growth of the main characters, particularly Barbara as she begins to see that her attitude affects her outcomes, and I really enjoyed seeing this.
A great read.