ABOVE THE SALT by Katherine Vaz

ABOVE THE SALT by Katherine Vaz After a slow start, due primarily to the detailed, short and apparently unconnected vignettes, I got into the rhythm of this detailed tale of one family persecuted for beliefs and forced to leave their homeland for America. John, the main character, starves with his mother for her religious beliefs when she is jailed. Although soon released, John is forever scarred by this episode. John, continues to America where he continues to grow successful gardens (beautiful writing here) meet various people, including Abraham Lincoln, and reconnects with Mary, a former neighbor, in the enduring and endearing love story. Although a bit too long (where have all the editors gone?) this is a well written, engaging story with real events and persons seamlessly woven in. Well worth the time spent wading through the initial disconnectedness to a classic tale of family, endurance, pride, hard work, serendipity and love. 4 ½ stars

PEACH BLOSSOM SPRING by Melissa Fu

The turmoil in China from 1938 to 1998 is the background for this family tale. Meilin, a young wife and mother, loses her husband to the Japanese invasion and then must flee with her 4 year-old son when the marauding Japanese attack her family’s village. The book continues with mother and son as World War Two, the communist uprising, the Nationalist movement and other calamities affect them. Renshu, the son, quickly becomes the focal character in this richly descriptive and harrowing tale. Fu’s character study of Renshu as he progresses through life, first in China and then the United States, education, then marriage and a family of his own, makes the book believable and engrossing. A scroll depicting various folk tales is the link for each episode in his life. After a slow start the book is compelling reading. The scholarship is impeccable. China comes alive as Renshu and his mother contend with the vicissitudes of life in a country racked by turmoil. 4 of 5 stars

REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES BY Shelby VanPelt

I was prepared to dismiss this book as entirely ridiculous after my self-appointed requirement of 75 pages; however, what I discovered was a perfectly delightful, well written and tender character study. The story concerns a 70-year-old woman stuck in grief for a teenaged son lost to an early death, a 30-year-old man-child stuck in anger at a mother who abandoned him at age 9 and an aging octopus stuck in a too small “prison” longing for the vast ocean he can hear outside the aquarium. One supporting character I enjoyed was the busybody owner of the grocery store who inserts himself into everyone else’s business. To tell you more would spoil this novel. Read it for yourself and be delighted. I hope the author writes another tale for us to enjoy. 5 of 5 stars for a surprisingly good novel with an unusual collection of characters and a first-time author.

ONLY THE BEAUTIFUL by Susan Meissner

This two-pronged story tells of the young vinedresser’s daughter, Roseanne, who is orphaned and then turned into a maid/servant by her supposed guardians. The inter twining story tells of Roseanne’s “aunt” who has shown her great kindness and love, but is far away in Europe facing her own devils when Roseanne’s parents die. These two stories are dependent on each other as they tell of man’s inhumanity to man and also great love and resilience. Meissner is able to show both good and characters in all their faults, but also their humanity. She has done her research on vine dressing, wine making and on Europe in the years preceding and during Hitler’s rise. Meissners’ great ability to empathize with her characters and cause them to grow and change in the course of the story makes the novel radiant with life. Book groups will have many topics to discuss – meaning of family, child abuse, discrimination, grief, adoption, exploitation of minors, mental health, abusive laws, sterilizations, love, empathy and more. 5 of 5 stars

KING OF THE ARMADILLOS by Wendy Chin-Tanner

KING OF THE ARMADILLOS by Wendy Chin-Tanner I had a hard time putting this book down. I needed to find out what happened to Victor, his family and his friends in the 1950’s. Chin-Tanner made them real people and I was invested in them from the first pages of this coming-of-age novel. Victor, a 15-year-old Chinese immigrant boy living with his father, brother and his father’s live-in girlfriend in New York City, discovers he has Hanson’s Disease (leprosy, a slur) and must be confined to the National Hospital in Carville, Louisiana until he is cured. At Carville, for the first time, Victor is able to make his own friends and decisions and discovers he has talents and capabilities he was unable to foster in the confines of his brother’s shadow. As an educator I was able to visit Carville in the late 1960’s. Chin-Tanner got the atmosphere, fear and hope of the place exactly right. She wrote expressively of being a teenager in a state of anxiety and dread with great empathy and reality. The alternate plot of the family left behind in New York was equally fascinating. The oppressive climate of hot, humid Louisiana in the summer was clear. Altogether this is a great book well worth your time. You will learn a lot about Hanson’s Disease and Carville, teenagers and their path to adulthood. KING OF THE ARMADILLOS is full of love, despair, hope, friendship, betrayal, passion, talent, family, and much more. Book groups will find a plethora of topics to discuss. 5 of 5 stars

NEW MERCIES by Sandra Dallas

Dallas is a master of the slowly unfolding plot and this book is one of the best. The Civil War is long over but the Great Depression is still affecting people’s lives when Nora, the daughter of two socially prominent Denver families, inherits a Southern mansion from an hitherto unknown relative. Stilling from a divorce and then the death of her former husband, Nora escapes to Natchez, Mississippi. Nora discovers that her aunt had secrets just as Nora herself has secrets. Avoca, now her mansion, comes complete with retainers, secrets, a herd of goats, and a murder. Natchez is a major player in this family drama. Its citizens - family retainers in the form of two former slaves - a family lawyer who knows more than he lets on - as well as friends (and enemies) of her aunt abound. You will laugh at the foibles of various characters, be shocked at the secrets as they are slowly revealed and be heartened by the writing of a master story teller. Lots to love and discuss here. 5 of 5 stars Note: if you are easily offended by non-PC language and situations, you have been warned.

The LIGHT IN THE RUINS by Chris Bohjalian

The LIGHT IN THE RUINS by Chris Bohjalian This a mesmerizing story of love, war, murder, betrayal, politics, desire, despair, forgiveness and revenge. A noble Italian family is devastated by events during World War II. Their beloved villa, surrounded by centuries old olive and grape orchards, and a depository of Etruscan artifacts, becomes a meeting place for treasure seeking Germans. At the same time a partisan group seeks refuge in the Etruscan burial vaults. Ten years later someone begins murdering the remaining Rosatis one by one. Bahjalian is a master of character, place and plot. They come together in this thrilling detective tale to surround the reader with Italy in the waning days of the war, a family trying without success to maintain their traditions and young people coming of age in a time of great turmoil. Book Groups will find a wealth of material for discussion. 5 of 5 stars