Archive for the ‘Random House’ Tag
Years ago I gave myself permission to stop reading if I couldn’t get into a book. I should have heeded my own consent with Among Friends by Hal Ebbot. I finished it, although with effort. I felt obligated because it was a book group selection.
The novel focuses on the long-standing friendships between two families: Amos, Claire and daughter Anna; Emerson, Retsy and daughter Sophie. Although from different social backgrounds, the men have been best friends for more than 30 years. Emerson and Claire, both come from privilege, have known each most of their lives. The teen girls have grown up together.
They’re together at Emerson’s country home in upstate New York to celebrate his 52nd birthday. Yet, something’s off; there’s an unstated, and apparently unusual, competition between the men.
Later, when Emerson finds himself alone with teenage Anna, something occurs that has the potential to change all their lives. Anna initially doesn’t tell her parents, but when she does they’re torn as to not only what to believe, but more importantly who.
The narrative then gets bogged down with too much about their pasts and it’s easy to question why they’re even friends.
Although Ebbott creates credible tension both with Anna and her parents, along with the adults’ responses, who care?! Retsy and Amos believe Emerson is capable of Anna’s claims; Claire’s ready to dismiss her daughter’s accusation and Emerson is certain he can manipulate the truth.
The characters aren’t people I’d want to know; reading about them was enough.
Among Friends
Two-and-half bookmarks
Random House, 2025
320 pages
Set in the small town of Crosby, Maine, many of Elizabeth Strout’s previous (and distinctly different) characters populate the town and novel.
Bob Burgess, a semi-retired lawyer, takes on a case involving a lonely, isolated man accused of murdering his mother.
Bob has a long-standing relationship with Lucy Barton and reluctantly finds himself falling in love with her, despite being married. Lucy is divorced, but lives with her ex-husband William. Still, Lucy and Bob regularly walk together talking about the many aspects of their lives. There are many things they reveal only to each other.
Olive Kitteridge is another familiar character known for her cantankerous, usually, insensitive, dealings with others. Olive lives in a retirement home; she and Lucy often spend time together sharing stories about people they’ve known or situations they’ve experienced. The women attempt to give these stories meanings, but often they are simply glimpses of life’s ups, downs and unknowns.
Strout imbues the novel with empathy and intrigue. There are Bob’s emotions, not just his love for Lucy, but the emptiness he feels following his sister-in-law’s death and concern for his client charged with murder. Interestingly, even Olive has more empathy than disdain for those around her (although in limited doses). Lucy is in more of a recipient; her feelings for Bob are never fully disclosed, although suggestions are inferred.
Descriptions of small-town life, changes in seasons and day-to-day routines of the characters are, in Strout’s hands, much more interesting than they might otherwise be.
Tell Me Everything
Four Bookmarks
Random House, 2024
326 pages
It’s 1980 when Carl Fletcher, the owner of his family’s Styrofoam manufacturing plant, is kidnapped from the driveway of his home In Middle Rock, a wealthy, mostly Jewish, Long Island community. Thus begins Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s novel Long Island Compromise.
There’s certainly intrigue regarding the kidnapping, but it’s not much of a spoiler to note that after his harrowing experience, Carl is ultimately reunited with his pregnant wife, Ruth, six-year-old son Nathan and four-year-old Bernard (later known as Beamer). Carl’s mother, Phyllis, insists the family move onto her estate with the intent that all will be safer.
The family’s affluence has its roots in Phyllis’s late husband, who escaped from Nazi-occupied Poland with a formula for plastics, founded the factory.
Although Jenny, is born soon after her father’s kidnapping, she and her brothers are forever marked by their father’s ordeal and the wealth of their upbringing. For the rest of their lives Ruth and Phyllis go to extremes to protect Carl who remains traumatized.
The novel is loosely based on a true story, but the characters are composites of stereotypes with personality twists. They’re interesting, amusing, pathetic and occasionally surprising, often predictable – sometimes in the same breath (or sentences as the case may be).
The Fletchers’ tale spans four decades with narration changes as each family member’s personal story is portrayed. There are contemporary issues such as drug abuse, mental health issues, financial concerns and familial turmoil. Yet, Brodesser-Akner’s writing is rich with an abundance of humor, irony and empathy.
Long Island Compromise
Four Bookmarks
Random House, 2024
444 pages
Lorrie Moore has multiple threads in her novel I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home, some are easier to digest than others. First, there are letters from a woman to her dead sister written shortly after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. The main plot, though, follows Finn, a middle-aged man fumbling through life.
Finn and Lily have ended a long relationship. She worked as a clown therapist; that is, a therapist dressed as a clown) with a history of threatening suicide. He’s suspended from his teaching job because of his attitude issues. After receiving a call about Lily’s latest attempt, he leaves his brother’s deathbed and drives through the night to be with her.
Here’s where things get strange. Lily is, in fact, dead, but her remains were not placed where she wanted them to be, so she and Finn take a road trip to her desired final resting spot.
Despite the bizarre turn off events, or maybe because of them, Moore’s writing is imbued with humor, poetic phrasing and sharp wit. Her descriptive language is vivid. Interspersed with the road trip are other letters from the woman to her dead sister.
Finn is still in love with Lily and as they make their way from one cemetery to another, her body continues to slowly decay. When Finn needs to stop to rest, they land at an old inn that is almost as decrepit as Lily. The inn is significant, but I’ll avoid a spoiler here.
I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home
Three-and-a-half bookmarks
Random House, 2023
193 pages
When considering that Fireworks Every Night by Beth Raymer is about a dysfunctional family the title is certainly appropriate. Yet these are subtle, more like distracting sparklers than explosives, although the repercussions are rattling.
Narrator C.C. begins her story as an engaged woman about to marry into a wealthy family. She alternates between the present and living in Florida as a youth with her older sister and parents. C.C.’s father is a slick, successful used car salesman. He moves his family from Ohio to the Sunshine State after burning down his own sales lot for insurance money.
Those funds allow him to purchase property in a rural, as yet undeveloped area in Palm Beach County, and build a house with a swimming pool. These, C.C. says, are the best days of her childhood.
Soon, however, the halcyon times fade: her sister becomes a drug addict, and her parents begin a drawn-out separation while sharing the same space — until they don’t.
The chapters about C.C. as an adult living in Connecticut are less engaging. There are no pyrotechnics and not much action. Those are saved for her teenage years.
C.C. is smart enough to see she has to work to change the trajectory of her life. The odds are not in her favor of achieving any semblance of a normal life, i.e., without following in her parents’ or sister’s patterns of deceit and self-destruction.
Raymer incorporates dark humor while describing the harsh reality of living in a world of disappointments.
Fireworks Every Night
3.75 Bookmarks
Random House, 2023
224 pages
Reading The Power of Strangers made me think about how I interact with people I don’t know, which I suspect is among author Joe Keohane’s goals. He presents a lot to consider in an entertaining, applicable, albeit often research-heavy, manner.
Through interviews with psychologists, anthropologists, and average citizens , among others, Keohane identifies the good feelings resulting from an exchange, no matter how brief, with those with whom we share our world. Engaging in such interactions isn’t all about personality type. Innate fears of rejection and lack of trust often inhibit extending ourselves.
Examples of other cultures where the importance of an initial greeting determines the safety of those involved are referenced. Details are shared about individuals in public spaces who encourage strangers to share their stories or simply talk about whatever is on their minds.
The work is split into three sections: “What Happens When we Talk to Strangers;” “Why Don’t We Talk to Strangers;” and “How to Talk to Strangers.”
Admittedly, sometimes I don’t want to talk to someone I don’t know: for example, when on a plane in the middle of a good book. I always acknowledge people and try to establish eye contact. And, when ignored, I am disgruntled. I live in a place where I encounter fellow hikers on beautiful trails. There is usually some exchange of trail talk. Keohane likely would consider this a start, but for a more meaningful connection he offers a lot of interesting ideas worth reading about.
The Power of Strangers: The Benefits of Connecting in a Suspicious World
Four Bookmarks
Random House, 2021
328 pages (includes index)
Punctuation in Elizabeth’s Strout’s new novel, Oh William!, is important to note. There’s no comma after Oh and the exclamation mark is, indeed, a point of emphasis. Those who’ve read Strout’s previous works will be familiar with William’s ex-wife, Lucy Barton. If introduced here to Lucy for the first time, there’s enough about her past and how it factors into her relationship with William.
To say they’re cordial to one another is an understatement; though long divorced, they are friends, even confidantes, but certainly not lovers. They have two grown daughters, share holidays and are, simply, part of each other’s lives.
Each remarried years ago, although Lucy’s second husband is deceased and William’s third wife has recently left him.
Strout’s writing is terse, efficient and occasionally melancholy. Told from Lucy’s perspective, the narrative focuses on William and, significantly, his late mother. When William discovers a family secret he’s compelled to learn more. A road trip ensues and he asks Lucy to join him. She agrees.
Lucy notes early in the novel that William has always exuded confidence something that manifested itself in his position as a scientist and NYU professor. As a writer, Lucy is observant, attune to those around her. Through her eyes, the reader witnesses William’s certainty begin to diminish, while her own grows stronger.
The title can be read as both a lament (even sans comma) and celebration; both are fitting. Oh William! is a testament to the power of friendship, especially as one ages. Hurray Lucy!
Oh William!
Four Bookmarks
Random House, 2021
241 pages
I enjoy reading books about chefs probably because I like food. I’ve never been to Eric Ripert’s Le Bernadin, a three star Michelin rated New York City restaurant, but I have heard of him.
His memoir, 32 Yolks, recounts his childhood in southern France, his first encounters with fine dining and his journey to becoming a renowned chef. Unfortunately, the account lacks personality. It’s bland, More flavoring is needed in the form of humor and descriptions of food lack vibrancy.
As a child, and later young adult, Ripert was happiest when cooking was part of the scene, whether it was in his mother’s, grandmothers’ or a friend’s kitchen. His parents divorced when he was six and his father died soon afterward. In an effort to alleviate her son’s sadness, Ripert’s mother took him to a dinner at an exclusive restaurant. This led to a long-standing friendship with the chef/owner.
Ripert attended culinary school, which he explained, didn’t fully prepare him for what actually takes place in a restaurant kitchen. He had to learn that the hard way.
The title comes from one of his first kitchen duties: to break 32 eggs for a hollandaise sauce. An undertone of self-deprecation comes through in Ripert’s first professional kitchen experiences, yet it rings false. Hard knocks are a way of life, but his memories of working on the line are soft.
Still, learning about how people get to where they are today is of interest.
32 Yolks: From My Mother’s Table to Working the Line
Three Bookmarks
Random House, 2016
247 pages
American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson addresses a shopping list of timely topics: sexism, racism, politics and the meaning of family.
The story begins with a bang: the attempted murder of Marie Mitchell, an intelligence officer with the FBI. Marie’s story is told via a journal she writes to her young twin sons. She addresses them frequently, which reminds readers they’re privy to what a mother wants her children to know. As the novel progresses, the phrase in case anything happens could be added to most sentences.
Marie kills the would-be assassin who invades her Connecticut home, takes her kids and family dog to Martinique to hide in her estranged mother’s home. Marie’s narrative recounts her youth, including that she, her older sister and their father were left in New York City by their mother who returned to her island country.
Marie is intelligent and likeable, but her sister, Helene, has more personality as portrayed through Marie’s memories. The sisters are close. Helene decides she wants to be an FBI agent when she grows up; Marie follows suit after Helene mysteriously dies. However, because of gender and race, Marie’s given little opportunity for advancement.
Then, she’s approached to help undermine the revolutionary president of Burkina Faso Thomas Sankara.
Wilkinson takes the reader back to the 1960s, mid-1980s and early 1992 when the novel begins. At times fast-paced, at others more deliberate, Marie wonders about the role she’s assigned as she gets to know Sankara. Why she’s a target is the over-riding question.
American Spy
Four Bookmarks
Random House, 2018
292 pages
I’m a Ruth Reichl groupie. I have no idea what I would say if we ever came face-to-face, but it’s fun to imagine feeling like an awkward pre-teen at this point in my life if that were ever to occur.
Save Me the Plums is Reichl’s latest memoir. It focuses on her experiences as editor in chief of Gourmet magazine.
Rather than begin with her first day on the job, Reichl instead invites the reader to share her first memory of the once-iconic magazine. She was eight years old and recalls specific stories that ignited her senses.
Then, in her heyday as dining critic for The New York Times she’s offered the job after meeting with first the editorial director of Conde Nast publications and later Si Newhouse, owner of the publishing conglomerate.
Reichl is initially reluctant. She’s a writer, not a manager, but, obviously, she takes the job. Interspersed with her recollections of the changes made to update Gourmet are a few recipes. Mostly, the narrative follows the magazine’s re-emergence from a stodgy publication out of touch with home cooks to something much more. The focus remained on food, but gives equal attention to quality writing.
It’s fun to read about Reichl’s reactions to having a driver and a clothing allowance. It’s enlightening to learn about the various aspects of putting a magazine together and learning about the people involved. It’s sad to see the efforts by Reichl and her team come to naught as Gourmet ends its days.
Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir
Four-and-a-half bookmarks
Random House, 2019
266 pages
The Blue Page Special 