2011: Book 38

Torch by Cheryl Strayed

336 pages

Completed 4/23/11

The tale of a family left in the wake of their young mother's sudden death, Strayed manages to turn a work of fiction into a story that could easily have been ripped from middle America. From a step-father's disloyalty, to run-ins with the law, affairs, and crippling depression, the family left behind struggles mostly on their own; you have to wonder what they could have accomplished had they come together.

Rarely moved to tears, I found myself heartbroken for every member of the family. Rather than close it out with an atypical-to-the-family happy ending, the disjointedness revolving around the siblings at the end was so well-thought and ended the story in a great way.

2011: Book #34

Family Album by Penelope Lively

240 pages

Completed 4/3/11

Told from nine points of view - the six children of two parents and their nanny - set in the outskirts of London, this novel was a bit slow to get into, but I am so glad I did. Revealing the secrets behind the family, while combining their past stories with their current lives was written so well that not once did I feel lost in terms of whom was speaking.

Intriguing, I couldn't believe the ease in which huge secrets were revealed. With the mother being oh-so-cheery and living alongside her lost-in-his-own-world husband, the children have very different takes on what went on during their childhood, and each had their own unique voice. Well done; I truly enjoyed this read.

2011: Book 19

The Boys of My Youth by Jo Ann Beard


224 pages

Completed 3/2/11

This disjointedly told memoir revisiting the death of her mother, the bonds of her friendships, her adolescence, and the falling in - and out - of love with her husband, Beard presents an interesting read. A great balance of humor and darkness, the emotion is raw throughout.

I was a bit confused by the ongoing stories interrupted by reflections of childhood, but realized it was a wonderful way of presentation for Beard's memoirs.

LIZ: BOOK #43

The Center of Winter by Marya Hornbacher

336 pages

Completed 12/18/10

I was already a fan of Hornbacher in part to her wonderfully written memoir"Wasted," and this book only solidified me as a fan. Revolving around the Schiller family - mom Claire, dad Arnold, son Esau, and daughter Kate - and how things are after Arnold's suicide. Mental illness, alcoholism, grief, the pain of small-town-living, friendships, and love are just part of the intricate story Hornbacher weaves.

Told in the alternating perspectives of each surviving family member, written in very different styles, the twists and turns and raw emotion of this novel had an effect. Evocative, fragile, and intriguing, I put aside other tasks just to finish reading this one.

While the ending chapter, told in Kate's voice, left me a bit disappointed, the remainder of the novel and it's wonderful, heartbreaking story, more than made up for it.

LIZ: BOOK #35

Love and Other Impossible Pursuits by Ayelet Waldman

352 pages

Completed 8/29/10

This novel about a young woman who marries her lover and gains a precocious stepson, Waldman makes the reader both related and love the main character while loathing her. When Emilia loses her newborn daughter, despair follows her everywhere.

As someone who is not a kid-person, I was hesitant to find any good in Waldman's five-year-old protagonist; the little know-it-all made me literally feel Emilia's frustration. By the end, predictably, I loved the little bugger, but Waldman does make it difficult.

I read fiction, although I do not often find something I love. This book was so real to me that I ad to check when I concluded reading that it was indeed a novel and not one of my new favorite memoirs. Waldman has a new novel out, and I am on the waiting list. An eloquent writer without overwhelming the reader, I recommend her.