Fiction

The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick.  "The lead character in this story has a sad backstory, which led to a somewhat regimented and isolated adulthood.  You’ll get angry at the jerks who are mean to her, and you’ll wanna hug the characters who help and support her on her journey to find family and connection."

Life After Lifeby Kate Atkinson. From the New York Times:  "Ursula Todd keeps dying, then dying again.  She dies when she is bering born, on a snowy night in 1910.  As a child, she drowns, falls off a roof and  contracts influenza.  Later, she commits suicide and is murdered.  She is killed during the German bombing of London in World War II and ends her life in the ruins of Berlin in 1945.  Each time Ursula dies, Atkinson ... resurrects her and sets her on one of the many alternate courses that her destiny might have taken.... Atkinson nimbly succeeds in keeping the novel from becoming confusing." Atkinson's bookOne Good Turnwas on the list last year. [Ed: Read One Good Turn and loved it, btw].

Life of Pi by Yann Martel.  People tend to love it or hate it, a metaphor about man, faith,  God, resiliency and hope.

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens.  From Amazon: College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same. Carl is a dying Vietnam veteran--and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home, after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder.  As Joe writes about Carl's life, especially Carl's valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Joe, along with his skeptical female neighbor, throws himself into uncovering the truth, but he is hamstrung in his efforts by having to deal with his dangerously dysfunctional mother, the guilt of leaving his autistic brother vulnerable, and a haunting childhood memory.  Thread by thread, Joe unravels the tapestry of Carl’s conviction. But as he and Lila dig deeper into the circumstances of the crime, the stakes grow higher. Will Joe discover the truth before it’s too late to escape the fallout?

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan.  “This one really had me trying to decide if I liked or hated the story teller and yet I wanted to see how it would all turn out for her.  Just a few years following the Titanic, Grace is stranded for 3 weeks on a lifeboat not meant for as many passengers as end up on it.  The human dynamics and politics on the boat while they wait for rescue are fascinating.  And, whether you can trust her recollections of events and what you imagine you might do in the same situation will keep you reading till the end.”

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman.  From Amazon:  "After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.  Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them."

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly. "A historical novel based on real women during WWII.  An American socialite, a Polish girl in a Nazi-camp, and the Nazi doctor who run experiments.  The writing is excellent, and the story of these 'rabbit girls' of the camp is both horrifying and uplifting".

Lincoln at the Bardo by George Saunders "This is such a different way of story telling (including quotes - real and fictional - about Lincoln and the historical setting). I think going in without a lot of preconceived ideas and just letting the story unfold is the best way to go. The premise is Lincoln visiting his eleven year old son's grave the day of his burial. But really the heart of the book for me was the wide ranging cast of characters who are between the worlds - in the Bardo of the title - and their touching, funny, tragic, and heart breaking stories. I listened to this book on audio which I highly recommend. There are over 160 voices and they all bring these characters to life (so to speak). Many of the characters make fairly brief appearances but they are vivid in my memory.”

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmakerby Jennier Chiaverini.  "A historical novel based on the true relationship of Mary Todd Lincoln and her dressmaker, Lizzie Keckley, a former slave.  Lizzie was privy to many inside conversations in the White House during the Civil War.  The real Lizzie Keckley published her memoirs, which resulted in her being completely ostracized by Mrs. Lincoln, but those notes and letters were used for this novel.  An interesting read, but not addictive."

Little Bee: A Novel by Chris Cleave. "This is great storytelling; skillful foreshadowing, the careful scattering of clues, building suspense and dread.” And “I’m not sure how I feel about this book. I’m glad I read it." (Ed: there’s some "love it v. hate it" stuff going on in the Amazon and Goodreads reviews of this book.)