5 Stars for Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles ranks alongside The Great Gatsby for its depiction of the influence of wealth in New York City. Although Gatsby was set in 1922 and Civility in 1938, both books embraced that materialism brings happiness. Told through the perspective of 25 year old Katey Kontent, somewhat blue blooded and definitely hardworking, Katey becomes the sidekick for her best friend Eve. When the two of them meet Tinker Gray, a rich banker, their friendship is challenged for a love for wealth and romantic love. Of course in a city fueled by the idea that money buys happiness it becomes harder and harder for Katey to find her niche of individuality no matter how much she reads to discover it. Societies pressure to be among the wealthy is immense and Katey soon discovers people are not who they pretend to be. 

My favorite character in this novel was Tinker. He so reminded me of Gatsby. He was even described as a guy who had 'wonder'. Tinker like Gatsby dreamed and wealth was a huge part of that dream, however Tinker unlike Gatsby seem to discover that you surely can't repeat the past and going forward and truly embracing who you is what happiness is. Too bad for Katey and Eve. Katey even more than Eve, irked me in this regard. This is all I shall say without spoiling. Eve came across as completely shallow, a real Gatsby's Daisy, but her refusal of her dad's money threw me. Eve's character explained it by saying:

"I'm willing to be under anything...as long as it isn't somebody's thumb."

And yet she was under someone else's thumb. To me, this was completely uncharacteristic (for her not to take her dad's money) and unless there was some further explanation for her reasoning. What other things besides money motivated Eve? Clearly not her independence and need for freedom else she wouldn't let someone else care for her. Was Eve both shallow and contradictory? Then I discover that Eve did appreciate good music. Did this make her less shallow? I'm not sure. I'm definitely unsure about Eve. I don't really buy her need for freedom and not being up under somebody's thumb because really she never is and although Katey seems to fly solo, she still can't see past her own limitations that come from feelings of betrayal. For me in the end, Tinker is the only redeemable character in the novel whereas in Gatsby all of the characters were totally shallow and unforgivable - still a great novel. Yes, I highly recommend Rules of Civility and maybe one should read it more than once. 

3 Stars for Surfacing by Margaret Atwood

 

Margaret Atwood is a beautiful writer, and it is easy to get lost in the imagery of her words, but this alone does not make a solid story. In the end, you have to have a story, and Surfacing by Atwood does not contain a solid plot line. It is about two couples living in a desolate cabin in the hopes of finding out what happen to the main protagonist's father. That alone is interesting enough, but the story focuses more on Atwood's philosophical viewpoints on preserving the environment and feminist issues that often define women as something other than being an individual and often victims of society. I don't mind these viewpoints, but not in a story. This book should have been more of an essay. I have the same problem with this story as I have with Anthem by Ayn Rand which is over a hundred pages of someone's opinion about the evils of collectivism. There is no plot There is no story. In the end, I found myself skimming this novel. I'm not sure I can recommend it, but I can recommend other Atwood novels like Cat's Eye and both Handmaid books one and two.  

5 Stars for A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara is the best book I've read this year. It exorcises the demons that plague fear and abuse replacing them friendship and love. It is a story of perseverance despite certain inevitabilities. It is a Francis Bacon painting surrounded by Monet's water lilies. 

Some folks have said they rated this book less due to lack of historical background or the implausibility of Jude (main character) playing the piano. I accepted instances like Jude playing the piano and I didn't care about historical background because it simply wasn't part of this story and I feel like you shouldn't put something in a book if it doesn't move you plot forward. 

This is a book about what is felt on the inside and if the outer world doesn't embellish that - leave it out. Yanagihara's prose could have been cut, yes, but with writing that flipping awesome why should it? I enjoyed the lyrical sound her words made, so I never tired of reading the essential plot points, but also the flabby repetitive musical chorus simply because the harmony of her words felt like Alison Krauss and The Band. 

A Little Life should be placed on everyone's books to read list preferably near in the top ten. I know it made me reexamine love and friendship in a way that not only helps me to persevere but be eternally grateful for what life has given me. This story is realistic in a way that lets the reader know they can't have it all, but you can have what's important to living. 

4 Stars for Colleen Hoover's Verity

Verity by Colleen Hoover will keep you on the edge of your seat. The only reason I'm not giving the full five star rating is the amount of graphic sex scenes that often turned an intriguing twisted dark plot into dull monotone. I'm not sure about other ladies, but page after page of this makes me yawn. Ms. Hoover, please just give me the story and let your beautiful plot weaving do its magic.

Four Stars for Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

 

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is a murder mystery, but at its heart it is about loneliness and the importance of human companionship. I loved the way Owens weaved in the setting alongside the characters and their motivations. That was beautiful. Crawdads is not a book you get into right away and at first I almost put it down. The character of Kya, the protagonist, is fairly flat despite the drama, and abandonment in her life. I never really got a sense of Kya feeling her emotions. The dialogue was not spectacular, and comes to my mind in a long list of "thank yous" without a lot of sincerity. However, for me, ending is everything. And this book has a spectacular ending, so all is forgiven and I highly recommend this book. 

Note: Read this book. I listened to it on audio and had to speed it up because the speaker dragged the vowels out somewhere towards the middle of the ocean. I'm from N.C. and am unaware of folks talking like that. It was a little weird. 

5 Stars for Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

It's been a long time since a book made me cry, but this book made me weep like a baby, and I flipping knew how it was going to end. Madeline Miller follows the story of Homer's Iliad, but with writing that breathes life into all that makes us human rebelling against the fate of Greek and Trojan gods. It's told from the perspective of Patroclus, lover of Achilles, and it is through him that Achilles is made into the beauty of being human rather than the coldness making up the gods. The Song of Achilles at its heart is a love story, and it is love that wins despite the gods and their cold destiny. I hope to read more of Madeline Miller soon. 

5 Stars for The Art of War by Sun Tzu

 

The Art of War by Sun Tzu is not just a "guy's book" because battle occurs everyday and being a mom by night and a teacher by day - I have to be strategic. My personal Sun Tzu quote is this: 

"If you are indulgent, but unable to make your authority felt; kind-hearted, but unable to enforce your commands; and incapable, moreover, of quelling disorder: then your soldiers must be likened to spoilt children; they are useless for any practical purpose."  

This quote more than any other makes me reflect on discipline and love and how often I'm guilty of not making my authority felt out of too much love for my birthed children. My students, who I care for deeply, are better served by Sun Tzu strategy because it is there I am consistent with policies set in place at the beginning of the school year. This quote along with...

"You have to believe in yourself."

...enables me as a leader at home and at school. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to find the leader within themselves. 

 

3 Stars for Grady Hendrix's The Final Girl Support Group

The Final Girl Support Group combines self-help advice with elements of cheesy horror slasher films. This is more of a movie than a book because a movie would cut all of the unnecessary stream of conscious Lynette (main final girl) ranting over how she is not exactly a final girl. Crazy Crissy's philosophical yin yang tirades could have been cut as well. This book felt padded like a cell you might keep Jason Voorhees inside with a big ol' butcher blade. He could never slash his way out. 

Despite the padding, I absolutely love Grady Hendrix. His writing style is different from most horror writers like King, Layman, and Little to name a few. It's more tongue in cheek which is why deep philosophical meaning lays on this book like oil on water - Lynette's ranting and Crissy's tirades. I like Hendrix to maintain his flippant irony making me giggle while taking off a few heads. He must have been trying a little something new with this fabulous concept inside the pages of The Final Girl Support Group. 

The plot was tied up nicely with perhaps a little twist due to Lynette's perspective which bounced around possibilities leading the reader down an icy road. Her limited perspective worked brilliantly for this novel.

When all is said and done, I will always read Hendrix. His concepts are out of the box fun with double edged humor turning the most gruesome scenes into a Monty Python Black Knight. 

5 Stars for These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant is a contemporary classic about ultimate sacrifice and humble beginnings. It begins in the middle filling in the past through carefully placed flashbacks. One of my favorite classics of all times is The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, another book about sacrifice, but with a heavy dose of atonement. Cooper, the dad protecting his daughter, Finch, in These Silent Woods, may feel he needs atonement for his actions to save his daughter, but he does not. It takes another character in the novel to make him see himself as Finch sees him and that is a guy with a big heart willing to sacrifice all of his own individual desires for her. This is a book that makes you believe in the beauty of human kindness and that it will continue as long as we are able to see beyond ourselves. It is a classic, and one I hope will one day be taught in the classroom alongside books like The Kite Runner. 

3 Stars for The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is an interesting twist on parallel universes. The idea that a different you can exist somewhere else in a better or worse life is more than intriguing, which is why I picked this book up in the first place. It is true this book makes a turn towards self-help, but for me that is not such an awful turn. In fact, it fits the premise that centers around a protagonist (Nora) who is depressed in almost all of her lives. Nora, like most of us, can be self-absorbed. In the beginning I did not like her much. Nora focused too much on regrets that did not focus on anyone but Nora. This changed when she began to incorporate the feelings of her brother rather than her own. The Midnight Librarian (God, because of the statement: "I am what I am") guides her to think about her brother's feelings alongside her own. At this point, I'm thinking Nora is on her way to receiving the kind of grace only the most humble of us deserve - not. This is where my three star rating comes in to play. Yes, this book is worth reading. Yes, it makes you ponder your own self-absorbed life, but the ending did not contain the selfless grace Nora needed to find. In the end, I enjoyed this book and read it quickly. I highly recommend it simply because I think opinions will vary and it is different in a world of books that are much the same.