The Original Daughter, by Jemimah Wei

This is a beautifully written first novel. The way this author explores relationships

and emotions in this story is exceptional.  The narrative  focuses on the bond

between two girls in a family, Genevieve and Arin, from its unusual and intense

beginnings into its tortured and anguished future. 

The main protagonist is Genevieve, who starts life as the only child of hard-working

parents, both with complex and tough backgrounds. They are living with Genevieve’s

paternal grandmother in a modest apartment. Then one day, Arin comes into their

lives, a child relation of theirs who was unknown to them beforehand.

Arin and Genevieve form a strong sister bond, both determined to do their best in

school to achieve academic success in the competitive small country of Singapore.

However, their futures unfold in ways neither of them had predicted, and the

differences in their personalities and the ways they each work toward success lead

to a serious rift between them. 

Arin, who was abandoned by her family and at a young age understood that she was

not wanted by her parents, could not help but to have a different world outlook from

Genevieve. While Arin could put up an act and manipulate people, Genevieve’s

emotions were more honest, on the surface. She was not as confident and had

no talent for faking it. 

Meanwhile, Genevieve’s parents are parting ways, and then it seems that these four

people who made a family are now scattered. Reading this, I felt the sadness and

frustration about the fact that so often, decisions that people make when they are

very young,  before much perspective is gained, affect the rest of their lives. Despite

all that transpires during this story, Arin and Genevieve are still young women at the

end of its telling. This does offer some hope.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday Books for providing me with a review copy

of this memorable novel. I would recommend it to anyone and certainly read Jemimah

Wei’s work again.

Our Evenings, by Alan Hollinghurst

This story follows the life of David Winn, an English boy living with his single mother, a gifted dressmaker. Dave has never met his Burmese father or been to Burma, but the fact that he is half Burmese informs his life in various ways that are illustrated in Holinghurst’s beautifully nuanced story telling style.

The main focus of this novel is Dave’s biracial appearance, and the effect this has on his life in English society through the years. The author follows Dave starting in his school years in the 1960s until the COVID pandemic. Hollinghurst expertly demonstrates, through conversation and events,  the backdrop that Dave must navigate to chase his dream of being a serious actor. 

The author has also created a realistic cast of characters who influence and interact with David in this memorable, fictional biography. I felt very invested in this story, and missed some of the characters when it was over. This is not an action packed novel, but one more about emotions, beliefs, and daily commitments. David Winn will forever stand out to me as one of literature’s most intriguing protagonists. In other words, I highly recommend this.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for this delightful experience.

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It took me too long to write this review because there's so much to say, but saying too much is not appealing or productive when it comes to boosting a novel, and I do mean to boost this novel!

The Monsters in Our Shadows, by Edward J. Cembal

The Monsters in Our Shadows, by Edward J. Cembal, is a dystopian, paranormal horror novel set sometime in the not too distant future. This story is a creative plot about the extinction of humanity caused by predation of what people come to call “shivers.”  Indeed, these creatures, or entities, do make one shiver in fear. Shivers are a mystery that people try to shun and avoid talking about. Some people are afflicted with shivers, and it is a bad stigma, as though the afflicted somehow deserve their fate. 

The cover of this book may have affected my perception of this novel, because it looks like a Rorschach test. I felt that the plot contained symbolism for confronting mental fears, such as fear of the unknown, and finding a way forward when life gets depressing and scary. Incidentally, the afflicted people in this novel did not have identical shivers. 

This story is a memorable one for me, even though I felt that the character development and background information were thinner than I typically like in a novel. Also, I thought that the pacing was a bit uneven and I was left with a few questions. Though this  was out of my usual comfort zone, it was an interesting read for me. Thank you very much to Netgalley and Book Whisperer for  the opportunity to review this creative novel.

The City and Its Uncertain Walls, by Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami’s latest novel is one of the most thought-provoking I’ve read. In these pages, we meet a man whose name we never get to know, which seems fitting, since this character feels that he does not know who he is.  As a teenager, this main protagonist meets and falls in love with a girl, who is also never named. Together, they dream up a town that is surrounded by a high wall and populated with people who have been permanently separated from their shadows. His girlfriend informs him that she herself is just a shadow of her real self, who lives inside that walled town. 

At this point, I started to expect a fairy tale infused with magical realism. However, the narrative  became something more complicated. There are many issues to mull over here, and it’s hard to know where to begin. 

Eventually, when the main character finds his way into this walled town, he experiences its many quirks. For instance, there are the town walls themselves: they do not stay in a fixed position. Also, the clocks have no hands. At first, I suspected  that this was all a dream, and that it’s a statement about how reality is up for interpretation and perhaps there is no such thing as time. Later, it becomes apparent that this is not simply a dream, that the protagonist must choose his reality for himself, and also believe in his own existence.

Many events take place in this novel, and there is much to ponder. Actually, I haven’t stopped pondering, and will not be forgetting this story anytime soon. It’s a most intriguing read. Many thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and Netgalley for providing me the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review. 

The Stone Witch of Florence, by Anna Rasche

The Stone Witch of Florence is an enjoyable and complex historical fiction novel that

follows its  protagonist, Ginevra di Gasparo, during the time of The Plague in Florence,

Italy. We meet Ginevra as a young girl in Genoa, around the year 1330. The historical

background of her city and the things that changed during The Plague make a fascinating

read. During this time, Ginevra attracts the attention of Monna Vermilia, a woman known

for her special healing powers. Monna Vermilia helps Ginevra realize her unusual aptitude

for working with magical gemstones and helping others. Eventually, Vermilia sends Ginevra

off to work in a Florence nunnery, where she will be supervised by Vermilia’s sister.

Unfortunately, Ginevra is eventually exiled as a witch, and returns to Genoa.

The next part of the story is a mystery, in which Ginevra is summoned back to Florence

to help catch a thief who is stealing the relics out of village churches. In return, she is

hoping to clear her name and to be recognized as a member of the Guild of Doctors,

Apothecaries, and Grocers.  The historical information about the relics and the guild is

riveting, and so is the plot of this mystery.

The number of characters in this story and the development of their personalities were

pleasing to me. I enjoyed their interaction and this mystery very much, and am thankful

to Harlequin Trade Publishing for making this title  available on Netgalley.  In other words,

I recommend this novel! 

The Volcano Daughters, by Gina Maria Balibrera

The Volcano Daughters is a well written, dense narrative that follows the separate lives

of two sisters, Graciela and Consuelo, who manage to escape from a dangerous,

crushing dictator in El Salvador in the early 1930s.

The story moves nonlinearly through tumultuous times in both their native country and elsewhere. The author combines cultural traditions and storytelling, magical realism, and real historical events to weave a fascinating story. The prologue of this story was at first confusing to me because I did not know what was to come, but it is beautiful, and I’m glad that I kept reading. 

Some of the voices telling the stories of Graciela and Consuelo are fantasmas, or what we’d usually call spirits or ghosts. In this way, the sisters’ memories, friends, and family stay with them, in their hearts.

Gina Maria Balibrera has written a memorable and special saga that I am grateful to have read. Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon,Vintage and Anchor for the opportunity to read and review this novel. 

Breaking the Dark, by Lisa Jewell

Breaking the Dark was my first experience with Lisa Jewell. I’d been curious to read one of her novels, and am grateful to Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for making this title available to read now. 

This was a very different read for me, and though it was not my favorite type of mystery and I know little about Marvel superheroes, I did find it to be mostly entertaining. Some parts of the plot were a bit difficult for me to understand, and I also found the motivations of a couple of the characters to be puzzling. Of course, I realize that a  thriller involving superheroes demands that the reader suspend her disbelief, but  I sometimes had a hard time doing so. 

The fusion of mystery with superheroes  is a creative concept, though it’s not my preference. I look forward to reading a more typical Lisa Jewell novel, but am glad that I experienced this one.