Review: Us

Us by David Nicholls
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I listened to the audio of this exceptional book. It starts with Connie and Douglas, a married couple and Connie telling him that she thinks she is going to leave him. This is out of the blue for him and especially more so since Connie has planned a month long trip to visit the capitals of Europe. They have a teenaged son named Albie who is planning on going off to college in the fall.

Regardless of Connie's announcement, they decide to go on their trip as planned as it will be the last family trip together seeing as how Albie will be out on his own very soon.

So the story begins. Douglas starts a thorough dissection of their whole life together, all the highs and lows right from the time that he met Connie. The story is intertwined with what is happening on their vacation and the trials and tribulations of being the parents of a teenager who is just starting to spread his wings.

I know that people have problems with them still going off on their holiday after the announcement from Connie and also allowing Albie to do everything he did and financing his misadventures. However, I felt it was a modern family situation.

I loved the locations around Europe where they visited. It did feel like I was there. My dream (at the moment) is to travel to Barcelona and the family stayed there while Douglas was having medical problems and it did inspire me.


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Review: Homegoing

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I will say right up front that this is the best book that I have read in many years. The story begins with two girls, Effia and Esi who are born in Ghana in the 18th century. It is the story of their successors and sweeps through centuries up to present times.

Each chapter could be a book in itself as each character is given full attention. We come out of the immersion of the chapters feeling like we truly know each character personally.

Books of this subject, the slave trade in particular, dredge up almost every emotion that I have on my personal menu ranging from frustration, shame, hatred, humility, fear. I can count on two fingers the number of books that have moved me in this way.

The ending was phenomenal.


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Review: The Girl From the Train

The Girl From the Train by Irma Joubert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a book that could knock your socks off. It was the kind of story that from the very beginning you were immersed in and it was very difficult to put down.

A full train is headed for Auschwitz when there is an explosion killing most aboard. A young six year old girl, Gretl, is thrown clear and found by Yakob, a 21 year old that was in the underground resistance movement in Poland. He takes her to his home and his family cares for her for four years, until he is told to take her to an orphanage as they don't have enough room or food to keep her.

Gretl is a very clever little girl and mature for her age. She seems to always make the best of her situation.

It was a book about the war but from a different perspective. A thoroughly enjoyable read.




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