LINCOLN IN THE BARDO by George Saunders

LINCOLN IN THE BARDO

by

George Saunders

            This book just blew me away. I don’t usually begin my reviews this way; but then, there is nothing usual about this book.

            Lincoln In The Bardo by George Saunders, the 2017 Man Booker Prize winner, is a work of historical fiction. Saunders centers his book around the death of President Lincoln’s young son, Willie. From that historical kernel, he weaves a magnificent work of fiction. The “setting” for Saunder’s novel is the bardo, a Buddhist term referring to the state between death and rebirth. As this kernel is woven into a novel, we meet all sorts of interesting characters, and their backstories slowly blossom. And, of course, there is President Lincoln, whose palpable grief over the loss of his young son pervades the book.

            The style of the book is unusual. Text is set apart, like quotes or a blocked factual statement, with a citation – as if the text were research for a scholarly work. However, it is not just the different physical style that sets this book apart; the entire fabric of the book is unusual, creative, and very, very clever.

            Lincoln In The Bardo, quite simply, is one of the best books that I have read in some time.

HIGH VOLTAGE by Karen Marie Moning

HIGH VOLTAGE

by

Karen Marie Moning

            High Voltage is the latest in Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series. It is, in Dani’s words, Dublin ATS – after the Song; much of the earth has healed, and the ancient magic within has reawakened. The Fae are relatively quiet, but things are changing. There are ancient earth gods stirring. Dani, as always, is taking care of her Dublin. But, Mac is gone, the Nine are gone; Dani is left to care for everything and everyone by herself. And, Dani, too, is changing.

            High Voltage is a Dani book. I have not been much of a Dani fan – or a fan of Moning’s Dani books – but, Dani grown up is a lot like Mac. So, I enjoyed High Voltage much more than I expected. It was a very pleasant surprise. Like many of Moning’s Fever books, this one is packed full of information and action. We learn a lot. Many questions are answered (though not all of them). And, all this is accomplished in one of Moning’s most creative – and imaginative – books yet.

            Despite being over 400 pages, the end of High Voltage came too soon for me. But at the end – and before Moning’s wonderful, extensive Glossary – she includes several deleted scenes, a wonderful addition that helps ease the transition back from the Fever world.

A DESPERATE FORTUNE by Susanna Kearsley

A DESPERATE FORTUNE

by

Susanna Kearsley

            I attended a book signing where Susanna Kearsley talked about how someone in her family has Asperger’s and how her new book involves someone with Asperger’s. This seemed a departure from her “usual”, and I had some trepidation about what this entailed – perhaps, in part, that is why I had put off reading A Desperate Fortune. I am not sure what I had expected – about Asperger’s or the book’s dealing with it – but I finished the book knowing more about Asperger’s yet thinking this is a non-issue. What is the big deal? I suspect that this was, at least in part, the point that Kearsley was trying to make.

            Sara Thomas, the main character in A Desperate Fortune, does have Asperger’s – but again, so what? Sara is good with ciphers. Her cousin introduces her to a historian who hires Sara to decrypt a journal that was kept by Mary Dundas. Dundas, a Jacobite exile living near Paris in the 1730’s, wrote her journal in code. Sara travels to Chatou, a suburb of Paris where the journal is located, to determine the cipher(s) that Dundas used while writing her journal and to translate the journal. As we follow Sara to France, we, too, learn about the adventures and dangers that Mary and other Jacobite exiles faced during that earlier time. At the end of the book, Kearsley includes a fairly lengthy author’s note, entitled “About the Characters,” in which she discusses the historical accuracy of many of the characters and details included in the book; this note is almost as wonderful as the book itself.

            I am a big Susanna Kearsley fan, and A Desperate Fortune does not disappoint. As with other Kearsley works, this book has Sara’s modern day story juxtaposed with Mary’s historical story. My only comment is that the two stories do not appear to be as parallel or tied as those found in other Kearsley books. Nonetheless, each story is interesting on its own, and I like the manner in which Kearsley has tied them together. A Desperate Fortune may not be my very favorite Kearsley book, but it is a solid, quintessential Kearsley and is definitely worth the read.

THE LIKENESS by Tana French

THE LIKENESS

by

Tana French

            Cassie Maddox is back. Fans of Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series will remember Maddox from book one in the series, In the Woods; she returns in the second book, The Likeness.

            Lexie Madison is found dead. Not only did she look like Detective Cassie Maddox, but her name – her entire character – was created and used by Cassie while working undercover. So, Cassie returns to undercover work to discover who Lexie was and who killed her. Lexie had been a graduate student at Trinity College, living in a large, rural manor house with four other graduate students. So, Cassie must slip back into her Lexie Madison character in a way that seamlessly meshes with her four housemates – quite a challenge as the five had been extraordinarily close.

            I loved The Likeness. Every time I read one of Tana French’s books, I remember how much I love her work. I do not know why, when I am not reading a French book, I seem to forget this, but when I return to French, I am once again captivated. There is something about her writing, something magical. French’s work is character weighted. Her characters are not the beautiful that we dream of becoming – they are ordinary, often troubled people, warts and all. But, French is a master at painting pictures with her words. Although the mysteries in the plots are intriguing and enticing, they are secondary to the world she creates. The pictures painted by her words seem to capture an extra “layer” – some sort of additional element, like an esoteric metaphysical layer, though not in a fantastical or sci-fi sense. It is an ineffable, albeit enticing, quality.

            And, like every other time that I have read Tana French, I now have the urge to read the entire Dublin Murder Squad series again, trying to bide time until a new French book is published.

            

RACINE by Alison Clarke

RACINE

by

Alison Clarke

            Racine, by Alison Clarke, is book two in Clarke’s young adult series, The Sisterhood Stories. Racine is a young woman of color who has always felt different, out of place. One place where she does not feel this way is in libraries, and as she tries to find her way, she spends a great deal of time in the Library of Congress. One day, while working in the library, Racine begins her journey, a journey through which she is to learn her story. Once she learns and understands her story, her history, she will be able to embrace her destiny.

            The book is divided into unnumbered chapters. Each of these chapters is a sort of vignette or story. And, each of these is well written. Clarke’s writing sort of feels like a drug – reading one of her chapters felt surreal, soothing, almost lyrical.

The difficulty that I encountered while reading Racine, however, is that I became lost. Although I enjoyed what I read within the chapter, there was no “road map.” I lost track of where the story had come from, why we were there, and where it was going. There are so many chapters, and I was not sure why I was reading each or how they fit together. Many dealt with different characters, and I could not keep track of who each was and how he/she fit within the “big picture”. I presume that the book tells Racine’s journey as she discovers all the different histories that make up her story, but I had lost this thread while reading.

            Clarke writes well, and I like the concept behind Racine. But, I feel like I missed the point – and, I acknowledge that this might be my shortcoming, not Clarke’s. Without the transitions, I lost the trail. Although Racine may tell the tale of Racine finding herself, during my reading of her journey, I lost Racine.