American Pastoral by Philip Roth

Caught up in the Great American Read frenzy, one of my book groups decided to up the ante and read an old classic. Can't remember how the conversation lead us to this one.  Seymour Levov aka Swede was the high school hero of Newark, New Jersey before WWII.  He comes home after the war to marry Miss New Jersey and take over the family business.  All is well until his lovely daughter Merry gets sucked into the protests of the 60's with tragic consequences.  How do we know all this? Roth's favorite narrator, writer Nathan Zuckerman went to school with his brother, Jerry.  When they meet at a high school reunion, Jerry shares that life for the Swede has not gone so well.  When Swede gets in touch with Nathan and asks him to write a story about his father, the telling begins.  There is very little room for the reader's thoughts here because every possible internal dialog is shared.  More than I wanted to hear/read actually.  I think this book has been described as the modern Job story.  I get that.  It won the Pulitzer which I wonder about.  I also wonder if I am supposed to think that Swede is to blame for Merry's mistakes.  Or maybe all the people like Swede are to be blamed for the 60's. Guess I should go back and read Job.

Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny

Someone recommended this book to me because, as a teacher, they thought I would enjoy the character of the non-neurotypical young boy in the book.  Matthew's struggle to make friends is oh so familiar but this is not his story.  The marriage of his upper middle class, New Yorker, parents is.  Graham is 15 years older than out-going Audra.  While she has her pulse on the neighborhood and no apparent verbal filter (which is sometimes very funny), he sometimes misses the quieter although colder life he shared with his first wife.  When he runs into his first wife again, they begin a Audra approved purely intellectual affair with Graham's internal musings providing much of the thoughtful meat of the story.  There are many delightful moments of quirky detail - some having to do with the fact that Matthew is considered a "folding genius" by the mostly over 35 members of his origami club.  Mostly it is a beach read for people who also like the NYT crossword puzzle but maybe can't finish it past Wednesday.

Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna

Aah those lazy summer mystery reads.  Alice Vega is an expert at finding lost children.  She is 18 for 18 - but not all of them were happy endings.  When 10 year old Kylie and 8 year old Bailey go missing from their small town grocery parking lot, the deadbeat dad seems an obvious candidate for the guilty party.  But there are a whole host of questionable characters to suspect and even a few cold cases to throw in before this case gets closed.  Definitely worth the shady afternoon with my feet up.

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

This is a refugee story.  Gentle, reserved Saeed loves his family and his country.  Nadia is fiercely independent and dreams of a place away from all the ceaseless, senseless fighting.  They meet in a class that is miraculously still happening in a safe part of their war torn city. As the war escalates, they learn of "doors" that will lead them away.  This is not about the dangerous traveling part of their journey as going through the door immediately deposits them in the next camp, abandoned building shared by other refugees, tent city, etc.  They eventually arrive in the refugee area of a non-welcoming London.  There is a dystopian futuristic feel of the book if you accept that the refugee driven turmoil of today will likely remain for years to come.  Mostly it is about what happens to two loving people as they lose a sense of self and country as refugees.  A lot to think about in only 226 pages.

The River of Doubt:Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard

In 1914, following a failed attempt to get back into the Presidency, Theodore Roosevelt decided to explore an uncharted tributary of the Amazon - the River of Doubt.  He and his entourage, which included his son, encountered unfriendly natives and unnavigable rapids. They battled malaria and near starvation.  It was an amazing journey.  But another part of the story was the strength and character of Roosevelt himself.  Whatever you think of his politics, there is much to be admired about him in this epic tale.

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin

This was a book hat I thought was frivolous until I realized that t was as much fact as fiction.  When Truman Capote was at his height as a literary celebrity, he gathered around him many of the women of New York's most prominent families - his swans.  He sailed on their yachts, lounged by the pools at their summer homes, was the life of their parties - and shared their secrets.  Searching for a story that would match In Cold Blood, he betrays their trust.  The results - tragic.

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Jojo and his younger sister are being raised by their maternal grandparents in a poor coastal town in Mississippi.  Their mother Leonie is too overwhelmed by life and drugs to pay attention.  Their white father is about to be released from prison so Leonie takes the children to bring him home.  In the times it takes them to make the journey, a world of hurt is revealed.  The grief is all real but Jojo is also visited by the ghosts of Leonie's brother who died a early tragic death and a young boy with an early connection to his grandfather.  This book is a beautiful and eloquently written window into a life from which my white privilege with forever protect me.  I wish it was historical fiction but unfortunately it is not.  Winner of the 2017 National Book Award.