2020 Book List - Fiction
The Age of Desire by Jennie Fields. “Historical fiction about Edith Wharton's affair at age forty-five with a young journalist. A dual narrative story from the perspectives of Edith and her governess-turned-secretary, Anna Bahlmann. The narrative, which covers the years 1907-1910 (though with frequent flash-backs to earlier periods), takes the reader to Paris, England and Mrs. Wharton's beautiful estate in Lenox, Massachusetts. I enjoyed the glimpses of the exalted literary circle in which Wharton ran (Henry James, a good friend, makes frequent appearances). The novel also lifted the veil on her unfortunate marriage to Teddy Wharton. His vulnerability and deteriorating mental condition were poignant, and the portrayal of her reaction to them was candid and real. Ms. Bahlmann, who was not mentioned in Wharton's autobiography, was clearly a critical figure in her life, someone who mitigated the pain caused by Wharton's cold, indifferent mother. It's very beachy historical fiction. Vivid details provide backdrop and context, but the reader doesn't feel obliged to take notes and prepare for an examination. (And the descriptions of Wharton's torrid affair put it on the "Other Boleyn Girl" side of the historical fiction spectrum.)”
Agent Running in the Field by John le Carre. From Goodreads: “Nat, a 47 year-old veteran of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, believes his years as an agent runner are over. He is back in London with his wife, the long-suffering Prue. But with the growing threat from Moscow Centre, the office has one more job for him. Nat is to take over The Haven, a defunct substation of London General with a rag-tag band of spies. The only bright light on the team is young Florence, who has her eye on Russia Department and a Ukrainian oligarch with a finger in the Russia pie. Nat is not only a spy, he is a passionate badminton player. His regular Monday evening opponent is half his age: the introspective and solitary Ed. Ed hates Brexit, hates Trump and hates his job at some soulless media agency. And it is Ed, of all unlikely people, who will take Prue, Florence and Nat himself down the path of political anger that will ensnare them all.”
All the Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White. From Goodreads: “The New York Times bestselling authors of The Glass Ocean and The Forgotten Room return with a glorious historical adventure that moves from the dark days of two World Wars to the turbulent years of the 1960s, in which three women with bruised hearts find refuge at Paris’ legendary Ritz hotel.”
Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane. “Boy howdy, what a book. It's about family and who is family. And success and disappointment. And forgiveness. And lives lived for better or for worse. It's a literary novel and one I will read again and again.”
The Big Finish by Brooke Fossey. "Duffy is eighty eight, and his primary aim in life is to stay in the assisted living facility where he shares a room with his best friend Carl, and stay OUT of the nursing home down the street. This requires minding his p's and q's. Then Carl's granddaughter climbs through their window one night. Josie is drunk, and she has a black eye. Duffy's desire to help Josie runs crosswise of his need to stay out of trouble - not an easy balance to strike! It's not all hijinks (in fact, some of it's quite serious), but it does have humor, and it definitely has heart."
The Book of M by Pen Shepherd. “A post-apocalyptic vision of a world where people lose their memories as they lose their physical shadows, and what happens next. Set mostly in the DC area, it becomes a journey/quest story of people united to find a solution. Perfect reading for the times.”
A Burning by Megha Majumdar. A Jenna Bush Hager book club pick. "Modern-day India. A train has been bombed. Jivan, a Muslim girl from the slums, pens an unfortunate post on Facebook and is wrongly convicted for the terrorist act. The story is told from the perspective of three characters: Jivan; Lovely, a trans woman and aspiring actress; and PT Sir, Jivan's former gym teacher whose values have been challenged by the tug he's felt to right-wing politics. Fast-paced, with corrupt politicians, irresponsible media, and interesting characters."
Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan. “The book itself ticks so many of my boxes - WW2, set at the homefront in England, epistolary format. Now do each character in a different narrator's voice and add snippets of choral music to the scenes where the ladies are singing together and it really makes the whole experience a complete delight.”
The Confession Club by Elizabeth Berg. “A group of women, from young to old, all neighbors in the small town of Mason, Missouri, start a supper club which, through a series of events, morphs into a ‘confession club,’ wherein members take turns confessing secrets. I haven't read anything by Berg in years, and I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed her easy, lyrical style; her sympathetic characters. This is the third in Berg's Mason series, which begins with The Story of Arthur Truluv. I hadn't read that or the second book in the series. It's not strictly necessary to have done so, but it might have been more enjoyable if I had.”
The Correspondents by Tim Murphy. From Goodreads: “Epic in scope, by turns satirical and heartbreaking, and speaking sharply to America's current moment, Correspondents is a whirlwind story about displacement from one's own roots, the violence America promotes both abroad and at home, and the resilience that allows families to remake themselves and endure even the most shocking upheavals.”
The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton. “No one writes about the intersection of class, gender, ambition, and societal expectations like Wharton. Thought of as Wharton's quintessential ‘divorce’ novel, The Custom of the Country follows Undine Spragg, a Midwestern transplant who uses her beauty––and more than one marriage––to improve her social circumstances, from the drawing rooms of Manhattan to the salons of Paris.”