The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

 715 pages - an epic tale of 3 generations. In1900 a 12 year girl is sent to be the bride of a 44 year old widower with a young son. Her family is one of the St Thomas Christians who live in Kerala, a state on the southwestern coast of India.  They will grow to love each other and create the next generation. The cloud that hangs over each generation is the Condition - an unexplained family trait that leads to death by drowning. Each generation will suffer many great tragedies but always faith, family and the power of medicine allow them to prevail. Colonialism, the caste system, and India's independence are all shared as incentives for change.  Verghese's characters are so rich, you ache and rejoice with them. Of particular interest are the strong women that emerge from a culture which appears to require submission but relies on female strength and wisdom. I should have anticipated the ending but thankfully did not. I guess if you are only going to write one novel every 10 years, you ought to make it 715 pages worthy.

Happiness by Aminatta Forna

 I found the two main characters interesting but I think this novel was just trying too hard.  Attila Asare is a noted psychiatrist from Ghana who specializes in trauma due to conflict.  As an expert he has travelled to many of the war torn areas of the world.  In fact many of his former patients turn up in this London based story.  Jean is an American urban biologist studying the fox population in the city.  They bump into each other on the Waterloo Bridge (symbolic? over-thought?) and the connection is made. Back and forth through time and place, we are offered multiple thoughts about war, family, environment, death, love and even happiness.  There is trouble with immigration officers, a lover with Alzheimer's, estranged family members, conflict between nature lovers and city dwellers, a lost niece - just to name a few.  In spite of all of this, it made for a great book group discussion.

This is Happiness by Niall Williams

 I am too A.D.D. to focus on an audio book but I would love to hear a voice with a real Irish lilt reading this. Noa at age 17 has abandoned his priesthood preparation and returned to his grandparents home in the Irish village of Faha.  It is the 20th century everywhere else in the world but Faha is rich with old traditions and eternal characters.  Also staying with Noa's grandparents is Christy.  In his 60's, he is in Faha to get everything ready for the arrival of electricity - not a change welcomed by everyone.  He is also hoping to correct an "error of the heart".  The story is actually a simple coming of age story which is secondary to the exquisite writing.  Rich - maybe a little too rich - with detail,  The place, the people, so very present.  Every page has some observation or insight that makes you stop and ponder and want to discuss - love, faith, tradition, family, rain...  It is sure to frustrate anyone looking for a quick read.

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

 Really more than one specific sentence but - actually more about the power of books.  This fiction skirts around the biographical reality that Erdrich owns Birchbark Books in Minneapolis.  She even appears briefly in the story as herself and maybe parts of her live in the other characters as well, all members of various Native American traditions.  Typical Erdrich, the mythical and supernatural are just as central to the story as the realities of Covid and the George Floyd tragedy.  Flora, a regular at the bookstore, has died but her ghost lingers.  Her favorite target for misty mischief, is Tookie.  Tookie believes books saved her in prison and fears Flora's actions will drive her from the bookstore job she loves. Tookie's story and struggles are shared with humor and stunning language for most of the book but the events of 2020 drive the rest of the novel.  So much to ponder - one sentence at a time.

A Soldier if the Great War by Mark Helprin

 Septuagenarian Alessandro Giuliani is on a journey to visit his granddaughter. He begins by bus but continues on foot when a young man is denied entry on the bus and the two decide to walk together.  Walking is good because he has a long story to tell to his young companion. One that begins with a patrician Roman family and follows through the twists and turns of WWl.  Lyrical, philosophical, wise, and 804 pages long it requires time to read and to ponder.  War - great or a fool's errand?  Allessandro introduces us to people and events both heroic and bizarre so you have plenty of opportunity to change your mind. Settle in and be transported.