Readers’ Corner – July 2020
Reads for a never-ending summer vacation ~
Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine: A Novel. This astonishing debut novel by Gail Honeyman follows the title character, a lonely and socially inept woman who toils as an accounting clerk in Glasgow. What could have been an utterly depressing story is lightened by Elinor’s wry, humorous observations on contemporary life and relationships as she struggles to move on from trauma. The reader cannot help but cheer on Elinor, one of the most unforgettable characters in recent literature.
Heartburn. Nora Ephron’s 1983 novel (a thinly disguised story of her disastrous marriage to Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein) remains fresh, funny and insightful. Ephron peppers the story with laugh-out-loud anecdotes about men, marriage, food and Jewishness, while the main character’s marriage is coming apart at the seams. Older readers will particularly enjoy the 1970s cultural references and name-dropping, along with a collection of recipes.
The Flight Attendant, Chris Bohjalian. Suspense builds in leaps when a flight attendant wakes in a hotel room with her one-night stand a corpse beside her. Yes, she’s hungover, but this has never happened before. Because she’s in Dubai and afraid she might be the guilty party, she doesn’t call the police. Lie after lie builds until she’s forced to face the truth about herself and her life, replete with fascinating insights into her personal history and family. Can she rebuild her personal integrity?
American Wife, Curtis Sittenfeld. Loosely based on Laura Bush’s life, fictional First Lady Alice Lindgren from childhood exhibits proper values—studiousness, courtesy, hard work. Then at 17 a tragic accident changes her and her fate. As she tries to recover, she meets a charmer from a powerful and rich Republic family, marries him, and begins an unexpected trek into prominence, in which she must weigh her personal values against loyalty. Can she both love and oppose her husband?
Author Kathleen Duhamel writes humorous contemporary romance featuring “seasoned” characters. Her newest is Fed Up. https://www.kathleenduhamel.com/ Author Bonne McCune’s latest is Never Retreat, a suspenseful romance in Colorado’s wilderness. https:// BonnieMcCune.com
