The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

 So if we can agree that race is a social construct and not a real thing, how do we feel about color? 
An ex-slave created the town of Mallard, Louisiana where only light-skinned blacks may live.  Twins Stella and Desiree Vignes are raised there.  Both run away to New Orleans - one bristling at the absurdity of color discrimination - the other hoping to "pass".  They go on to lead very separate lives very far away from each other.  Then Desiree returns to Mallard with her very dark skinned daughter Jade.   As it turns out the world is a very small place and no matter how far you run, it is never really "away".  Which raises the next question - How much about who we are is about who we have been? Identity, abuse, family are all explored in the 50 some years of this family saga but for me as the reader, exploring identity from the inside of these two sisters was eye opening.  I don't know how many times I said to myself, "I never thought about it that way".  I have always maintained that every book is a conversation between the author, the characters and the reader.  This conversation was definitely worth having.

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

 This might be the most romantic book ever!  Floating down the rivers and canals of France in a book store on a barge - sign me up!  Jean Perdu's floating bookstore is called The Literary Apothecary where books are organized by the emotion they evoke - and Perdu has the uncanny knack of matching the book with the reader.  He has not been so successful in his own life having lost his one great love.  Then events require that both the barge and Perdu break free from their Seine River moorings and adventure and self discovery begin.  Within the main story is the diary of Manon, Perdu's lost love.  Such sadness! Such joy! Such scenery.!  Such food!  An unopened letter, a mysterious author,  love lost, love found - pure escapist delight!  You cannot be sad at the end of this book.

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

 It is hard to imagine actually creating a dictionary and that very process imagined in this story is mind boggling. Just the dates alone hint at the monumental task: 1857 - a call for a new dictionary to replace Samual Johnson's 1755 version; 1879 - James Murray named editor; 1888 - first volume, A and B, is published; 1928 - V to Z is published, 71 years later.  

This is the story of all the years in between the beginning and end of that first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary but mostly the story of Esme.  Her father was one of the men working on the dictionary.  Her mother had died so Esme spent many hours under the writing tables of the "Scriptorium" watching the slips of paper filled with words drift around her.  Later she would become part of the dictionary creating team.  But the events of her life outside the world of words brought her to the realization that the words and definitions that went into the dictionary were greatly dependent on who put them there.   The lives of the underclass,  the demands of the suffragettes, women of all classes - this was a vocabulary that was easily overlooked by a committee of educated white men.  That connection between words and the world they describe - that one might shape the other - well, those are just some things to think about.  There is a lot of real history in this work of fiction.  It is a great companion read to Simon Winchester's The Madman and the Professor. By the way, the second edition of the OED wasn't published until 1989,  61 years after the first. 

The Night Portrait by Laura Morelli

 The portrait in question is "Portrait of a Lady with Ermine" by Leonardo da Vinci.  One story takes place in Milan in 1492 when the Duke of Milan commissions a portrait of his 16 year old mistress.  Think court intrigue, artistic drama and one feisty young woman.  The other story begins in Munich in 1939.  Edith is a talented but shy art conservator at the Alte Pinakothek Museum.  She is honored to be ask to make a presentation about the art collection owned by single family.  Her audience turns out to be  a group of important men in Hitler's inner circle but when the unthinkable becomes the reality of Hitler's Germany, she feels responsible for what she fears is a great mistake.  At great risk she makes a connection with an American soldier who is one of the Monuments Men and so begins a new chapter in the story of this very famous painting.  Wonderfully imagined historical fiction.

The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

 Five women meet in a park in Palo Alto to watch their children play.  All are educated but are in Palo Alto because of their high achieving husbands.  They talk - about many things and some things they keep secret.  Eventually they talk about books and, through books, more about themselves. Their Wednesday meetings take on necessary importance.  And when they realize how unsatisfying some of their reading is, they talk about writing.  With writing is more sharing and more acknowledgement of their own possible achievements.  And so it goes.  Chicklit perhaps but I bet it would initiate plenty of book group conversation.

Crying in H-Mart by Michelle Zauner

 Our book group chose this because of the local connection but it has turned out to be a hit across the country.  Michelle grew up in Eugene the daughter of a white father and a Korean mother.  She did not make life easy for her parents and struggled with her mixed heritage.  Following her mother's death, Michelle wrote this memoir to explore that difficult relationship and to honor her Korean connection.  Now a recognized indie musician in a band called Japanese Breakfast, she is not afraid to expose all her flaws.  In the end her story is an example of the way we can break through our past mistakes, start over, and embrace all that we are. 

Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen

I think my book group chose this book of short stories to gain some insight into contemporary China.  Well, I'm not sure what I am taking away from these 10 stories.  They certainly don't play to stereotype.  Most don't even really end.  Some hint at magical realism and some just left me with a dissatisfied sense of understanding.  Chen is a journalist and it does seem like she went looking for a story, reported what she saw and then just decided, "there. done."  I guess maybe she is saying, "We are a large, diverse country and not what the west expects."  If pulling back the curtain was her intent, I am still not sure what it is I am meant to see.