Tag: Book Reviews

Book review: ‘Fire and Vengeance’ by Robert McCaw

fireandvengeance
The e-version of ‘Fire and Vengeance’ is now available. Photo: google

Robert McCaw is an American author who graduated from Georgetown University and served as a lieutenant in the US Army before earning his law degree from the University of Virginia.  He was a partner in a major international law firm with offices in Washington, DC and New York City and maintained a home on the Big Island of Hawai’i.  This allows him to bring a unique authenticity to his Koa Kāne Hawaiian mystery novels in both his law enforcement expertise and his ability to portray the richness of Hawai’i’s history, culture and people. His Koa Kāne Hawaiian Mystery Series includes “Death of a Messenger” and “Off the Grid.” In “Fire and Vengeance,” the third book in the series, police Detective Koa Kāne new case revolves around an elementary school that was placed atop a volcanic vent, which has now exploded. The ebook was released on Tuesday May 26.

The story begins with a brief description of past disasters that have befallen the Big Island of Hawai’i and the surrounding areas: “Ferocious gusts felled century-old trees….Torrential rains pounded the mountains, filling gulches, and gathering into flash floods…..” The latest catastrophe is taking place at the KonaWili School on Hualālai Mountain and the victims this time are children and teachers. As it turns out, the school was built atop a volcanic vent and with the police chief currently in California due to a medical emergency, Chief Detective Koa Kāne is now the senior officer at the horrendous scene. When the school’s contractor and architect are murdered, Koa becomes even more determined to find out the truth. To make matters worse, his estranged brother Ikaika, who is in jail, collapses from a previously undiagnosed brain tumor. This condition might explain his past anti-social behavior and could get him early parole. The investigation into the school explosion uncovers a conspiracy years in the making and it might affect Ikaika’s future when Koa has to decide between justice for the victims and his brother’s freedom.

Robert McCaw is back in full force with his third Koa Kāne Hawaiian Mystery novel. “Fire and Vengeance” starts off strong with the shocking details of the aftermath of the school explosion and with Koa collapsing after rescuing one of the children. Since the mystery involves greed and power grabs decades in the making, the characters are well-developed. The language is easy to folloow and understand and when he uses Hawaiian terms, the author explains them: “He owed it to his mother…to his family…to his ancestors….and to himself as the hiapo, the oldest Kāne male.” It is a fascinating read, with the action flowing effortlessly through the pages, aided in part by down to earth dialogue. The investigation is  sidelined because of family drama that is predictably solved, but it gives the story an added touch of humanity. “Fire and Vengeance” is recommended for fans of mystery/crime novels with a flawed leading man whose past continues to haunt him even while he solves difficult crimes. Learning about Hawai’i’s culture and its people is an added bonus. This page turner is the perfect summer read – pack it in your beach bag.

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

Book review: ‘Flying Alone’ by Beth Ruggiero York

flyingalone
Photo: google

Beth Ruggiero York is a former airline pilot for Trans World Airlines. She entered the world of civil aviation in 1984 shortly after graduating from college and, for the next five years, climbed the ladder to her ultimate goal of flying for a major airline. Now she has dual careers–Chinese translator and professional photographer. She teaches photography workshops for Arizona Highways PhotoScapes and her own company, Ruggiero Images LLC. Her popular instructional book on night photography, “Fun in the Dark: A Guide to Successful Night Photography” has worldwide sales and she also co-wrote “Everglades National Park: A Photographic Destination.” She originally wrote “Flying Alone: A Memoir” in the early 1990s, shortly after her career as a pilot ended and the memories were fresh. It relives the struggles and the challenges of civil aviation that she faced thirty years ago.

“Flying Alone” begins with a prologue titled ‘The Promise’ where Beth recalls the moment she knew she would someday learn to fly. She is fourteen and traveling alone for the first time to visit relatives in Colorado when she first experiences the thrill and excitement of flying in an airplane. From there the story picks up with a grown up Beth fueling airplanes for New England Flyers, a tiny flight school in Beverly, Massachusetts. She is working from the ground up to fulfill her dream of flying for the airlines, but the road ahead is a long one. Before any major airline will even look at her, she has to go through ground school, many hours of flight time, instrument rating, she has to get her pilot license and she must have up to three thousand hours of flying experience. It takes her five years and along the way, her dream of making it “in a man’s world” is complicated with a “probable” Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis, a romantic relationship with her flight instructor, having to fly run-down airplanes and working for shady businesses whose only concern is making money. She finally makes it to the majors and begins working as Flight Engineer, or Second Officer, in the cockpit of a Boeing 727 for Trans World Airlines. In the Epilogue, she recounts how, after only a year, she is officially diagnosed with MS and can no longer qualify for the certification needed to keep her job. She goes back to school and graduates from Harvard and after completing the master’s program for Chinese Studies, she begins working as a Chinese to English translator.

Beth Ruggiero York’s “Flying Alone” is not only a memoir of her experiences while trying to become a commercial pilot, it is also an intriguing glimpse at the aviation world, including all the necessary regulations, the widespread problem of drunk pilots and what it takes to keep a business afloat. Aside from Chapter 5, ‘Instruments,’ where she describes the inner workings of an airplane, the language is easy to understand and the action flows easily. It is refreshing to read about how hard she worked and her determination to achieve her goals despite what must have felt like one disappointment after another. Even when she could not continue after her MS diagnosis, it is inspiring to read about how she turned that around and still managed to find a fulfilling job “I have continued to live the life I wanted, albeit a struggle.” The most exciting parts are when she is flying , her experiences with faulty equipment and, as in Chapter 26, ‘New Year’s Eve’ in icy and foggy conditions: “Halfway through the turn, Paul panicked. ‘What’re you doing?’ he yelled and grabbed the controls, putting the plane in an even steeper bank. Before I could grab it back from him, we were at a near stall, nose up.” “Flying Alone” is an inspiring story of one woman’s courage and determination to achieve her dreams despite overwhelming odds. It is recommended for readers who appreciate exciting first person accounts of personal struggles and victories.

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

 

Book review: ‘No Truth Left to Tell’ by Michael McAuliffe

notruthlefttotellcover
‘No Truth Left to Tell’ is the exciting debut novel by attorney Michael McAuliffe.  Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Michael McAuliffe has practiced law for over 30 years, including as a federal prosecutor, a trial attorney for the civil rights division of the Department of Justice and an elected state attorney in Florida.  In his debut novel, “No Truth Left to Tell,” federal civil rights prosecutor Adrien Rush travels to small town Lynwood Louisiana to investigate an incident of four flaming crosses by the Ku Klux Klan meant to terrorize the southern town and start a new race war.  He joins forces with Lee Mercer, a seasoned local FBI special agent and their partnership is tested as they clash over how far to go to catch the racists before the violence escalates.

“No Truth Left to Tell” begins with a Prologue set in Lynwood, Louisiana in July 1920 where a young black girl, Nettie Wynn,  witnesses the horror of a lynching. In present day Lynwood, 1994, the quiet little town is about to be shattered by the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan.  They want to start a new race war and proceed to carry out a series of cross burnings at the local NAACP office, the courthouse, a home in the black neighborhood of Mooretown, a synagogue and an Islamic center.  An elderly Nettie Wynn is the unfortunate victim in Mooretown and as a lifelong resident, these hate crimes bring back dreadful memories of her youth and unfortunately she suffers a heart attack. Her granddaughter Nicole DuBose, a successful journalist in New York City, returns to Lynwood to take care of her grandmother. Federal prosecutor Adrien Rush and Lee Mercer, a local FBI agent lead the investigation into the cross burnings without much luck until a local detective, Jimmy Batiste, arrests the Klan’s new grand dragon Frank Daniels and coerces a confession out of him.  Frank is convicted but years later the truth surfaces about how Batiste got the confession and now the town is faced with an ethical dilemma: seeking justice for victims of hate crimes versus who truly deserves a “fair” trial.

Some of the best legal thrillers revolve around ethical dilemmas that make an easy conviction hard to obtain.  Such is the case with “No Truth Left to Tell,” Michael McAuliffe’s excellent debut novel about a civil rights case in the Deep South. The courtroom drama is interesting and written without any complicated legal terms so it is easy to follow.  Being himself a climber, the author uses plenty of climbing metaphors throughout: “A climber who’s given an extra bottle of oxygen in the death zone on Everest gratefully makes use of it” and regular metaphors as well “The Klansman’s strained breaths dissipated through the car’s interior like the smoky remains of a cheap cigar” both of which make the story really come alive. Foreshadowing is rarely used in modern novels but here it successfully builds the climax “Gill and Mercer both laughed, oblivious to the land mine that awaited.” The characters are relatable and well developed, especially Adrien Rush. This is a fascinating page-turner recommended for John Grisham fans. Hopefully this will turn into a series of novels featuring federal civil rights prosecutor Adrien Rush; he is an intriguing character and readers deserve more of his stories.

“It can’t be some truth you’re selling; it has to be the only truth with nothing left to tell.”

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

Book review: ‘Where the Sun Will Rise Tomorrow’ by Rashi Rohatgi

wherethesunauthor
Rashi Rohatgi is the author of the new novel ‘Where the Sun Will Rise Tomorrow.’ Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Rashi Rohatgi is an Indian-American Pennsylvania native who lives in Arctic Norway. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in A-Minor Magazine, The Misty Review, Anima, Allegro Poetry, Lunar Poetry and Boston Accent Lit. Her non-fiction and reviews have appeared in The Review Review, Wasafiri, World Literature Today, Africa in Words, The Aerogram and The Toast. She is a graduate of Bread Loaf Sicily and associate professor of English at Nord University. Her new book “Where the Sun Will Rise Tomorrow” was released this month and is the beautifully written story of a girl who has no plans to become anything more than what has been promised to her by history.

“Where the Sun Will Rise Tomorrow” is set in 1905 and begins as 16-year old Leela and her younger sister Maya are on a small rowboat in the middle of the Ganges River awaiting the sun rise. They have used the excuse of an early morning ‘prayer expedition’ to spend time on their own. Japan’s victory over the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War has shocked the British and their imperial subjects. In India, Leela and Maya, are spurred on to wear homespun as a sign of protest to show the British that the Indians will no longer be oppressed. But when Leela’s betrothed, Nash, asks her to circulate a petition among her classmates to desegregate the girls’ school in Chandrapur, she is wary. She needs to remind Maya that the old ways are not all bad, for soon Maya will have to join her own betrothed and his family in their quiet village. When she discovers that Maya has embarked on a forbidden romance, Leela’s response shocks her family, her town and her country firmly into the new century.

wherethesun2

Part historical novel, part coming of age story, “Where the Sun Will Rise Tomorrow” offers a glimpse into a young girl’s world that is changing around her. Leela wants to adhere to family traditions but the lure of the possibilities is too strong to resist. Like most teens, she and Maya are rebellious in their own way “Now that we all have to wear the widow’s weeds, we can’t go around getting soaked through like the heroines in the romances we hide under our pillows.” The historical background helps the reader better understand what these girls, and others like them, are experiencing and will certainly appeal to history aficionados. With simple but poetic language, the author successfully combines the tumultuous times in India with the often confusing and difficult teenage years, “I stand at the edge of the flat roof and want to step off, certain that if my body were to act the way I feel I would fly,” to create an interesting first novel. The most unexpected part comes towards the end when Leela sets off a bomb at a speaking engagement, propelled by a feeling of power that comes from the sole knowledge that something big was about to happen. Overall, “Where the Sun Will Rise Tomorrow” is a fascinating look at India at the turn of the century as well as into one Indian girl’s family and traditions.

“Nash agreed with us, at first, with Gandhi: that maybe images of war can replace war, for who on earth could look at images of war and risk bringing it about?”

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

Book review: ‘Freedom Lessons’ by Eileen Harrison Sanchez

freedomlessons
‘Freedom Lessons’ is the debut novel by Eileen Harrison Sanchez. Photo: Barnes & Noble

Eileen Harrison Sanchez is an author who retired from a forty-year career in education that started as a teacher and ended as a district administrator. Her debut novel is “Freedom Lessons: A Novel” on which she draws on her own remarkable experience as a young, white teacher in the Jim Crow South during desegregation to write her immersive work of fiction inspired by those events. It is the story of Colleen, a white northern teacher who enters into the unfamiliar culture of a small town and its unwritten rules as the town surrenders to mandated school integration.

“Freedom Lessons” is told alternately through three points of view: by Colleen, an idealistic young white teacher, Frank, a black high school football player and Evelyn, an experienced black teacher. This is the story of how the lives of three very different people intersect in a rural Louisiana town from July 1969 to November 1970. It begins as Colleen and Miguel, newlyweds, are driving to Fort Polk and their vehicle overheats. Miguel is Cuban and has been transferred to the Louisiana army base where he would serve as a drill sergeant for a year. Colleen later gets a job at the local black school until seemingly overnight, the school is ordered shut down and the neighboring white school is forcibly integrated. Frank is determined to protect his mother and siblings after his father’s suspicious death even if it means keeping evidence from the crime scene a secret from everyone around him. Being forced to attend the now integrated white school means he lost his position as a star football player and others lost positions of power, including the president of the student council. Evelyn does not want public schools to be integrated because she believes, as other like her do, that black teachers do a better job with black students and prefer to follow the Freedom of Choice plans, where everyone ‘chooses’ to be with their own.

As the years go by, the era of Brown v. Board of Education, Jim Crow laws and civil rights is in danger of becoming a distant memory. That is why it is vital that the topic gets revisited, especially by authors with first-hand knowledge, which gives their voice authenticity, as is the case with “Freedom Lessons.” Eileen Harrison Sanchez spent a year teaching in rural Louisiana and, as a teacher and an outsider, experienced the effects of segregation and forced integration and how it affected those around her. Far from being a white savior story, Colleen does not come in and “saves the day,” this is a well-researched and balanced novel that successfully gives three different viewpoints of one of America’s darkest periods. The language is easy to understand and simultaneously poetic: “The houses were set behind huge trees with Spanish moss dripping from the trees, like curtains shielding the lives of the tenants.” The characters are well developed and relatable and considering the topic, it is appropriate for all ages and should be required reading in schools. “Freedom Lessons” is a must-read for fans of historical fiction and a gentle reminder of how far we have come as a country and how much we still need to learn.

May 17, 1954: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was a landmark US Supreme Court case. The court unanimously declared that state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students was unconstitutional. In 1955, the court ordered states to desegregate “with all deliberate speed.”

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

Book review: ‘Firewall’ by Eugenia Lovett West

firewall
‘Firewall’ by Eugenia Lovett West. Photo: Barnes & Noble

Eugenia Lovett West is an American author who attended Sarah Lawrence College and worked for Harper’s Bazaar and the American Red Cross. Her first novel was “The Ancestors Cry Out” and was followed by two Emma Streat mysteries: “Without Warning” and “Overkill” and the historical novel “Sarah’s War.” Her latest novel, “Firewall: An Emma Streat Mystery” was released in November and has Emma involved in the dark world of cybercrime when her rich, feisty, socialite godmother is blackmailed and turns to Emma for help.

The Emma Streat Mysteries revolve around Emma, a former opera singer who survived the murder of her husband and the destruction of her beautiful old house. She is now a single mother struggling to move on and make a home for her two sons. Because of her detective skills and her connections, she has become a go-to-person when family and friends are in trouble. “Firewall” begins with Emma’s plans for a Caribbean getaway disrupted when her godmother Caroline calls her and demands she drop everything to help her find her ex-husband Pierre who she believes is behind a blackmail attempt. Caroline mentions that Pierre was last seen in Paris so Emma cancels her plans to go halfway around the world to find him despite the fact that Caroline already paid the ransom demand. This case takes Emma to exclusive European settings where she interacts with top people in the financial and art world . Along the way, she has to rely on a past lover for information, she gets caught up in a kidnapping and is herself kidnapped and nearly killed. It takes all her resilience and wits to get her through it all and bring a ruthless criminal to justice.

Emma Streat is back in top form for another thrill ride of mystery solving. Her character is well developed from past novels: she is smart with admirable detective skills but is easily swayed and does not seem to be in control of her own life. Her newest mystery is an enjoyable and easy read with a story that moves along at a brisk pace written in down to earth language. The first person narration draws the reader into Emma’s life and provides insight into her thought processes. The first part develops the blackmail story but part two has little to do with this storyline and does not circle back to Caroline and her situation. Hopefully it will be addressed in future novels. There are several sub-plots with characters that keep changing and then abruptly dropped and only one briefly deals with cybercrime, as promised by the title. Overall, “Firewall” is a combination of mystery, suspense and romance with enough thrills and plot twists to keep the reader guessing and is recommended for fans of mystery and suspense novels.

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

 

Book review: ‘The Winter Sisters: A Novel’ by Tim Westover

wintersisters
‘The Winter Sisters: A Novel’ is the new novel by Tim Westover. Photo: author page

Tim Westover is an American author from Rhode Island who now calls Georgia home. A graduate of Davidson College in North Carolina and the University of Georgia, he has traveled all over the South looking for new stories. His works include “The Old Weird South” and “Auraria: A Novel,” both set in the South as is his new novel “The Winter Sisters: A Novel.” “The Winter Sisters” centers around a stuffy big-city doctor, three rural folk healers and an unexpected partnership that could put lives on the line.

Set against the lush backdrop of the remote Georgia mountains in 1822, “The Winter Sisters” takes place in the real town of Lawrenceville. The story begins with a Prologue in 1811 that introduces the Winter Sisters: Rebecca, the oldest, Sarah and Effie the youngest. They are healers who employ old techniques they learned from their late mother who was known by the residents of Lawrenceville for her healing abilities. They were raised in Hope Hollow but move to Lawrenceville until they are driven out by the local minister who accuses them of witchcraft. In comes Dr. Aubrey Waycross, a big city doctor who is lured to the small town by the Mayor because, since the Winter Sisters moved away, its citizens no longer have anyone to tend to the sick; the braver ones still take on the dangerous trip to consult with the sisters. At first cynical and suspicious of the sisters, Dr. Waycross’ modern methods of healing clashes with their herbal and holistic approach but they eventually must work together when the threat of rabies sends the town into hysterics.

The author’s fascination with the South is evident throughout this charming historical novel. From the setting of the Georgia mountains to the cultural norms of the time, it should be considered a love letter to the South. “The Winter Sisters” offers readers a glimpse into the world of the early 1800s when advances in medicine were in their infancy and the general populace was highly superstitious and still relied on home remedies. Most of the characters are interesting and well developed but not all of them are relatable and it is never clear what Effie’s supernatural abilities are or if she is some sort of magical being. The point of view continuously shifts from first person (Dr. Waycross) to third person (the sisters) but the language is beautifully poetic: “The fire had gotten into the roof. Purple fingers reached out from collapsing beams, a demon struggling to escape…..The sibilant hissing [of the evaporating water] was the laughter of defeat.” The tension between science and folk medicine is at the center of the story because Dr. Waycross’ methods healing methods include amputations and bloodletting, which naturally scare people. Interestingly enough, Rebecca uses a piece of moldy bread to cure an infected leg. It is an immersive and fascinating story about the power of belief, the quest for knowledge and the magic just beyond reach. As a whole, “The Winter Sisters” is Southern literature at its finest and is recommended for fans of historical fiction that has touches of magic similar to the works of Lee Smith, Sarah Addison Allen and Josh Russell. All author proceeds from this novel, collected through 12/31/19, are being donated to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

“When the mocking hand of death reaches out its fingers, as it must for all us mortals, we’ll go into the abyss with a grin.” – Salmon Thumb, travelling medicine man

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

Book review: ‘Ending Back Pain’ by Jack Stern, M.D., Ph.D.

endingbackpain
‘Ending Back Pain’ by Jack Stern, M.D. Ph.D. offers readers a variety of treatment options to ease back pain. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Jack Stern, M.D., Ph.D. is a board-certified surgeon specializing in spine neurosurgery. He is the co-founder of Spine Options, New York’s first and only facility committed to non-surgical care of back and neck pain. Dr. Stern has been on the front lines of back pain treatment and research for more than four decades, during which he has helped more than ten thousand patients find relief. In his book “Ending Back Pain: 5 Powerful Steps to Diagnose, Understand, and Treat Your Ailing Back,” he shares a multidisciplinary, holistic perspective that has been missing from conventional back pain treatment and has already helped thousands of patients suffering from back pain.

“Ending Back Pain” begins with a Preface where Dr. Stern shares his experience with back pain. After a well-meaning birthday gift from his wife-a massage, goes horribly wrong, he was able to self-diagnose and, thanks to proper access to medical care, get the necessary treatment to get relief. He realized that most people are not so lucky. This experience deepened his understanding of what his patients go through and made him a more empathetic doctor. His goal in writing this book is “to equip every back pain sufferer with the information and power to get to the bottom of his or her own problem.” It is a step-by-step companion to enable people to finally achieve a pain-free lifestyle.

The book is divided into five steps: Step 1: Unlock Your Back’s Unique Pain Code, Step 2: Prepare to Work with Health Care Professionals, Step 3: Ensure Proper Diagnosis, Step 4: Embrace Various Pathways to Healing: A Physical and Emotional Journey and Step 5: Live a Life That Supports a Strong, Healthy Back. He begins step 1 with a checklist to help readers pinpoint exactly where the pain is located. Part of this has to do with the six Pain Generators: muscles, soft tissue, bones, discs, facets and neural foramina. This information is meant to create better educated patients who are active participants in the treatment of his or her medical issues to receive the best care possible. At the end, he provides a section of recommended reading and online resources for anyone who wants more information on the subject.

Not only is the author a doctor, but he also understands how debilitating back pain can be and how frustrating it can be to seek treatment. That is what gives “Ending Back Pain” an authentic voice. This extremely useful guide contains basic anatomy lessons that often read like a textbook. The purpose is to help readers understand the origin of their pain. He achieves this without using complicated medical jargon, but easy to understand terminology. Highlights include Step 3 where Dr. Stern explains the inner workings of a doctor’s mind and the different types of pain to help patients ensure a proper diagnosis; and Step 4 which includes other medical options such as physical therapy, acupuncture and yoga/Pilates. Step 5 is especially informative on how posture, sleep, positive thinking and a healthy diet can help treat and in some cases prevent back pain. “Ending Back Pain” is recommended for readers who want to be informed patients regarding pain with the understanding that in the long run, informed patients get better care.

“Back pain is the second most common neurological ailment in the United States-only headaches are more common….And some 95 percent will recover from back pain without invasive or risky treatments.”

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

Book review: ‘What Could Go Wrong?’ by Brett Grayson

whatcouldgowrong
“What Could Go Wrong?” is Brett Grayson’s debut novel his experiences through marriage, parenting and depression. Photo: Google

Brett Grayson is an author and successful trial attorney with offices throughout the five boroughs of NYC and New Jersey.  Him and his wife Lauren have been on a long journey since they met in 2001 and have faced adversity related to mental health, pregnancy complications and birth complications.  His debut novel, “What Could Go Wrong?: My Mostly Comedic Journey Through Marriage, Parenting and Depression,” was released in January of this year and it is a memoir about their journey in becoming parents for the first time.  It quickly became an Amazon #1 New Release.

“What Could Go Wrong?” begins with an Introduction where the author relates a Valentine’s Day memory that starts out promising but ends abruptly when Liz, their three-year old daughter, has a bathroom malfunction.  It is best not to go into the gory details.  From there, the story goes back to the beginning to when Lauren first becomes pregnant and the various parenting adventures that follow.  The book is divided into four parts: Part One (the pregnancy) includes chapters such as Urine Catching, Hot Doctor Roulette and It’s an Octopus!; Part Two (parenting hurdles) with chapters like Second Hurdle – The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Third Hurdle – The Completely Insane Outside World; Part Three (parenting) and the chapters Stop Asking Me Whey Every Freaking Two Minutes and Avoiding Death, Accepting Ebola, and Zika as an Ally; and Last Part has the chapters New Kicks and Elsa and Anna Had Terrible Parents.  This is one family’s journey through pregnancy, the first years of parental cluelessness, the terrible twos, teenagers and the few years that follow when they begin to learn about a world that is crazier than they are.  It is a filled with pre and post-natal complications, battles with his own mental health and his son’s diagnosis of the rare genetic disease CLOVES syndrome.

Parenting is one of those experiences that binds people together; yet the journey is different for everyone. Out of all the parenting books available, most are from the female perspective and this is what makes “What Could Go Wrong?” unique in that it is written from the male first person point of view. The language is down to earth, which makes the story easy to follow and understand.  He does drop the F bomb, including in the opening sentence, and a few other colorful words, but that is what makes it real.  As a whole, it is raw, in your face, sometimes poignant but mostly funny.  The target audience is parents, who will, no doubt, relate to his struggles, including his distaste for all things Frozen, from having seen it thousands of times. This page-turner is recommended for readers who appreciate reading about someone else’s adventures in parenting, marriage and mental health, to remind them that others have had similar struggles and that they are not alone.

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

Book review: ‘Love: A Story’ by Bill Smoot

billsmoot
‘Love: A Story’ is the new book by Bill Smoot. Photo: Goggle

Bill Smoot is an American writer with a BA from Purdue University where he was editor of the student newspaper. He received his PhD in philosophy from Northwestern University and taught at Miami University in Ohio until he moved to California where he taught in private schools for four decades. His essays and short fiction have appeared in numerous publications including The Nation, Ohio Review, Literary Review and Salon.com. He is the author of “Conversations with Great Teachers,” a book of interviews with teachers from across the country and currently teaches in the Osher Institute of Lifelong Learning at UC-Berkley and at the Prison University Project at San Quentin Prison. His new book “Love: A Story” is filled with philosophic musings on the nature of love, life and storytelling with the dominant theme being that life is a story and that living is story telling.

In “Love: A Story,” the narrator is a casual observer who narrates and scrutinizes people’s lives and at times address an ‘audience.’ It all begins as Michael, a forty-year old prep schoolteacher in Berkeley, is driving home from school and sees a baby stroller rolling down the street toward him. He slams on the brakes, jumps out of his car and catches the stroller. This might appear like a casual event but for Michael it is symbolic and he sees it as a sign from the universe that his life is headed in the right direction. His wife Leanna is ready to have a baby and now he realizes that he is ready for fatherhood. The story then goes back to how they met when he, a photographer, hires her as a nude model for a photo shoot. Their relationship has its ups and downs, including her volatile temper, Michael’s health scare, their eventual marriage and unfortunate divorce. Even after Leanna leaves him, Michael cannot help but re-examine everything they went through in the hopes of finding meaning in it. The last part suggests that the book that Michael begins to write is the book the reader is reading and the reader is left to wonder whether the action is, in fact, ‘real’ or just ‘a story.’

Part love story, part philosophical musings, “Love: A Story” is mainly one man’s experience with love and the effect it has on his psyche. Both Michael and Leanna are trying to overcome a troubled past, but Michael, still haunted from being unable to help a distressed cow on the family farm, is bound and determined to make Leanna happy, sacrificing his own well-being. At the end she leaves him anyway, so she becomes yet another woman who wronged him. This is why some readers get a misogynistic vibe, but this is Michael’s story (or the author’s?). It is not a “happily-ever after” romance and it admittedly takes a depressing turn when he gets sick, but since the overall theme is stories and the people who experience them, it might inspire readers to tell their own and hopefully learn more about themselves. With easy to follow action and down to earth language, this novel is a page turner. The characters are well-developed, multi-dimensional and relatable because no one is immune to life’s hardships, romantic or otherwise. “Love: A Story” is recommended for fans of philosophy who appreciate love stories yet do not mind when they go awry.

“Nietzsche wrote, ‘Die at the right time.’ Stories reach a point at which they must end.”

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.