Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
Ann Napolitano's heartbreaking novel is an emotional read that prompts a calm reader reaction, one that is unsettling and arguably an apt representation of grief experienced by children.
The narrative intertwines two timelines. The first offers us the young twelve year old protagonist Edward's life after he survives a plane crash, losing his brother and parents as he comes to terms with the fact his life as he has known it will never be the same. As sole survivor, he attracts attention from the media which his aunt and uncle try to shield from him. The stages through which his mind moves is expertly relayed to the reader and the boy's thoughts and lovable honesty about what grief and life after loss is like will capture your attention.
The second storyline presents the hours, relationships, interactions and ultimate tragedy experienced on the plane from New York destined for Los Angeles. As readers, we are invited into the claustrophobic space of the plane's interior and we learn about each of the victim's lives before this flight and what they are looking forward to. This makes the story so much more poignant and sad to read since through Ann Napolitano's clever use of dramatic irony, we know already of their tragic fate.
There is an uplifting sense of hope as the novel moves towards its end, for which I was grateful. I found it heartening to hear of the strength of the two brother's relationship and how Edward gradually learns what he can do to hold his brother's (and the other victims') memory alive.
"I used to have this crazy idea . . . " He pauses. "And I guess I still do, that as long as I stay on the ground, the plane will stay in the sky. It'll keep flying on its normal route to Los Angeles, and I'm its counterweight. They're all alive up there, as long as I'm down here."
There is such sadness in this novel yet kindness, hope and love are the resounding remainders left with the reader. The final line is perfect.
review by Christina Francis-Gilbert
The Deadly Beloved by Cara Wall
What a book! This novel deserves ALL the praise. It is skilfully written and Cara Wall has created characters whose experiences and thoughts about the world (and so many important issues) will stay with me for a long time.
The story tells us of two couples who are joined in acquaintance through the husbands' positions as ministers at the Third Presbyterian Church in New York. The fact that one of the minister's wives is an atheist and the other a daughter of a minister builds a core of conflict in the narrative. These characters' perceptions of and aversion to each other is central to the relationships and presentation of topics throughout. Their husbands also have differing characters and experiences of the world, though are joined in their stewardship of the Greenwich Village church congregation.
The novel is told in sections, 1953-1962 covering background to each couple's first meeting and lives before and then later events 1963-1965 connected with their time working together for the Church and later 1966-1970 as their family lives impact their reliance on each other and changed understanding of what life is all about and how it might be traversed differently.
I truly love this novel and am certain it will become a classic with resonating influences on the lives of many. I cannot wait to read whatever Cara Wall writes next.
review by Christina Francis-Gilbert
Creatures by Crissy Van Meter
Goodreads Review
Picked this novel up for its cover.
This literary debut novel is brilliant. It truly is. The language and beautifully crafted narrative gripped me and kept me engrossed with the melancholic strength of its main character Evangeline.
The novel's structure is unique so that chapters span four days, yet interspersed with these current-day chapters are three further spirals of narrative: sections attributed to weather such as 'Tsunami', 'Fog' and 'Rain', four central chapters for each season and chapters with titles related to different whale species 'Killer Whale', 'Humpback Whale', 'Bowhead Whale' and so on.
Crissy Van Meter's writing is mesmerising and it's as if her sentences mimic the pull and draw of the sea and its tides. The relationships between Evie and her father and her mother form the central emotion of the novel. Familial love and its complexities, responsibility for one's own, fear of abandonment, betrayal and forgiveness are all dealt with in provocative ways.
This novel reminded me of many various forms of creative art which I love. The Storm Whale by Benji Davies, the mother character played by Andie MacDowell, the friendship between Kate and Tully in Firefly Lane, This Morning I Met a Whale by Michael Morpurgo.
This has been one of my favourite reads this year and since it's my 45th book (from my Goodreads 45 book annual challenge), it's pretty special! I can't wait to see what Crissy Van Meter writes next.
review by Christina Francis-Gilbert
Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage by Dani Shapiro
This memoir is a whirlwind of emotions and experiences to represent Dani Shapiro's life and relationships.
I love her style and found this to be a raw and honest insight into the author's life.
It makes sense that the sub title lists Time, Memory and Marriage as its themes though the title of Hourglass appeals to me most. I can understand how the narrowing of an hourglass is a perfect analogy for the constraints of middle age. Her early life is presented to us in vignettes and expanses of opportunity just like the top half of an hourglass. And I can only imagine she anticipated her readers to think of later life experiences as having a parallel sense of widened opportunity.
I found it interesting that Shapiro made frequent references back to her teenage journals and writings from her past. I also love how she intertwines various memories of places she has lived and her past lives or selves.
Shapiro's writing is masterful and poetic so that I immensely enjoyed reading this short memoir. I noticed how elements of her own life and people she has known influenced her recent novel Signal Fires, which I loved. In particular, her references to Altzheimer's. I will be seeking out another of her novels in coming months: Black and White.
review by Christina Francis-Gilbert
