2025 #54 Hamnet (O'Farrell)

 

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a book about grief and love. "A Novel of the Plague" doesn't really cover it. That the plague is involved becomes less important than the relationships. It isn't an easy book to read if you have a soul. A historical imagining, O'Farrell illuminates the shadows of the historical icon known as Shakespeare, giving life to stories untold and names unsung. Agnes (alternatively known historically as Anne Hathaway) becomes the protagonist of the novel, which might seem strange given the eponymous role of the couple's son, Hamnet. In the end, however, the title is perfect.

I've had this on my TBR list for awhile now, and was eager to read it before seeing the film. I'm having a difficult time imagining it as a film, to be honest, but I've heard good things. I'll need to sit with Agnes as O'Farrell wrote her for a bit before allowing imaginative interlopers. The book is gorgeous in its details, and the semi-omniscient narration allows for a nuanced and multi-faceted empathy.


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2025FLT #8B  Night Watch <---------- Hamnet  (END)

2025 #53 Night Watch (Phillips)

 

Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The writing is beautiful--Phillips writes her characters with such tenderness, but it is never overwrought. In fact, there's an interesting distance to the the narrative that keeps things feeling more historical than fictional. There were moments of dialogue that I felt dragged on a bit and the use of dialect made it challenging to engage, but that's more a failing of the reader (me) than the book. The story is incredible, tragic, and inspiring--to warrant all three of those adjectives is indeed a feat.


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FTL2025 7B: Demian<--------Night Watch -----> Hamnet

2025 #52 The Book of George (Greathead)

 

The Book of George: A Novel by Kate Greathead
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Who is George? Well, while we are treated to almost four decades of his existence, I'm not sure I felt any more confident in answering that question at the end than I did at the beginning. George is, it seems, fairly unremarkable, and I think (THINK) that's the point? This does lead to some humor, and the frustrating inconsistency of George's attitudes is also a plus. I think we are supposed to see him as flawed -- and he is-- but who isn't? He's self-centered and winds up in precarious situations of his own making (I couldn't help but think of another George...Costanza!), yet also seems to be able to interact socially and land a spot in a Super Bowl commercial. So, he's complex, in that ordinary human kind of way. His on-and-off again relationship with Jenny, who is also flawed, provided the most interest, but there were several spots where this threatened to be a do-not-finish for me. I'm glad I persisted, however, because I actually liked the (non-)ending because it was perfect for the book (something I appreciate even when I don't love the book that much). Ultimately I think it probably did not resonate as much with my Gen-Xness as it might with younger folk.


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2025 #51 The Great Believers (Makkai)

 

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is stunning to me how visceral my memories of the 1980s are due to the AIDS epidemic. As a young person/pre-teen, I certainly didn't understand all the nuances, but I knew my gay stepuncle was losing friends. I remember well when Ryan White was barred from attending classes due to fear of exposure. My stepmom, who was a supplements editor for the L.A. Weekly, brought me home a print of Robbie Conal's "Artificial Art Official" poster of Jesse Helms.

I was not prepared for how all of these memories would come flooding back in reading this book. In the first few minutes of the audiobook, I listened to Michael Crouch and I thought, "Ugh. This is going to be a long haul." I'm so glad I stuck with it, because I was proven wrong. Michael Crouch's distance is absolutely perfect. It removes sensationalism and replaces it with sincerity--a certain pragmatic matter-of-factness that makes the horrors real, rather than extraordinary.

But it also Yale, who might end up being one of my favorite protagonists ever. What a splendid human in his frailty, his courage, his loyalty. He is written so well and so believably, that he is both inspirational and relatable--and it has little to do with his sexual orientation or even his gender. That's the mark of an amazing character, when identity is in the background of what connects to the reader. That's not to say that his identity as a gay man isn't important -- it is huge, and I'd say he's a very important gay character in that he moves in and out of circles that are often narratively exploited as stereotypes, but in a way that reminds us that we are all human beings trying to find our place in the world, seeking out others who will see us.

Nora Lerner is also another favorite character. She holds the torch -- not just for her lover, but for love itself. The entire book is more about love than anything else. And for something to be about love, it must also be about death, because that's the reality of it, isn't it. Makkai drives home the essential aspect of what makes us human. May we all have the someone we love enough to advocate for them long after they have died.

This book does not shy away from the gruesomeness that is AIDS-related death, but it is never for the shock value. It is related with tenderness and honors those that have suffered it. It isn't an easy book to read, nor should it be, but it is also a wonderful book to read. Any book that reaffirms life through a frank and bold look at death (and love, and joy, and suffering), deserves a place of honor.

This is quite possibly my favorite read this year.


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2025 #50 The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs - Professor Dr. von Igelfeld #2 (McCall Smith)

 

The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs by Alexander McCall Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I haven't been reading the series in order, but unlike McCall Smith's serials, the experience doesn't really suffer for it. This is light entertainment, following the capers of Professor Dr. von Igelfeld, as he navigates the topsy-turvy world of human interaction. Whimsical and fun, this book was a good palate cleanser in between some weightier tomes. McCall Smith good-naturedly pokes fun at academia without turning Professor Dr. von Igelfeld into a complete caricature. With a fairly zany plot that ranges from operating on a dachshund to being accosted by aggressive widows looking for mates, this installment of the series gently reminds us of the perils of taking ourselves too seriously.

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2025 #49 Headshot (Bullwinkel)

 

Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.75
Conceptually, this book is fantastic, and the fact that it highlights young women boxers is exceptional. I bear some responsibility for my somewhat "meh" reaction to the book as I have very little interest in boxing, and I'm sure that sullied my reaction a bit. That said, the book does not go into detail in terms of actual boxing maneuvers, etc, so don't let a dislike to boxing deter you from reading it. I'm just calling out perhaps an implicit bias of my own.

The writing style is appealing, as we are granted access to the headspace of the different competitors. In the end, however, I think I found it too many characters to hold on to, although Bullwinkle admirably fills out a dossier for each with moving and thoughtful details. I think those who made it to the final rounds stayed with me a bit more, but it also took me quite a while to finish the book, so I didn't retain it the way I might have otherwise. I appreciated the glimpses into the future of each of the characters as well, which was a great reminder that we are all our own pasts, presents, and futures. I found Izzy and Iggy the most interesting, perhaps because of their familial connection, which added a whole other dimension to the story.

I wished, perhaps, for more backstory at the outset, so that I could invest in the characters more as the narrative progressed.

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2025 #48 Weyward (Hart)

 

Weyward by Emilia Hart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It has been awhile since I've read 50% of a book in one sitting, but I picked this up at a LFL in Minneapolis (since the book had been on my wish list for awhile), and read half of it on my journey back to Boston.

It is definitely a more-than-respectable debut for the author, and the chapters were short so the three timelines of Kate, Altha, and Violet received equal footing. I liked the anchoring of witchcraft in nature. I felt the mystery aspect (especially Violet's mother's backstory) could have been beefed up a bit, maybe to replace a bit of the narrative of Kate's journey to the cottage, for example. It did start to feel a bit predictable, as others noted, although I have to say the surprise in the Epilogue made my day (I usually hate epilogues).

A solid and entertaining read.

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