Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: 5 Short Book Reviews

Happy Memorial Day to everyone in the United States. Hope you've got something fun planned for today--either quiet time or cooking out with friends and family. It's raining here, but I'm confident it will clear up enough to enjoy at least some outdoor time this afternoon and evening.

I'm spending the day getting ready for my quick trip to BookExpo (aka BEA). Besides getting most of my packing done, I want to do a few house chores, organize my work so I'm not not lost when I get back from my trip, and maybe cook ahead to make it easier on Mr. BFR when I'm gone. We'll see how much time I have for the extras.

This week on the blog: I think I'm going to go very light this week on Beth Fish Reads. Besides today's post, I'll have a Wednesday photograph and a Saturday Weekend Cooking post. I don't think I'll have time to write more before I leave.

What I read last week: I had a great reading week, making up for last week's poor showing. I received several of these books and audiobooks from the publishers for review.

Eight Flavors by Sarah Lohman (Tantor Audio; 8 h, 33 min): This is a well-researched look at the history of how eight foods became staples in mainstream American households (black pepper, vanilla, curry powder, chili powder, soy sauce, garlic, MSG, and Sriracha). Lohman talks about the intertwining of economics, exploration, politics, and immigration with our diets and introduces us to some of the people who were instrumental in bringing these flavors to the American public. The book was interesting, but if you're well read in food history you won't find much new or surprising. In addition, Lohman goes off on some tangents that seem to be more distracting than rounding out the text. Lohman herself reads the unabridged audiobook; her odd pauses and halting delivery likely took away from my overall enjoyment. (More on the audiobook at AudioFile magazine.) Regardless, this is a good place to start if you're new to the field of food history.

The Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam (Flatiron Books; 2016): I read this book for my email book club and was surprised by how big of an emotional punch this slim volume delivered. The story takes place in about 24 hours at a refuge camp in Sri Lanka during their civil war and concerns a young man who once wanted to be doctor but is now a laborer who helps at the medical clinic by carrying the injured to triage and burying the dead. All alone in the world, he is surprised when a older man approaches him, offering his daughter in marriage with the hope of protecting her and giving her some kind of future if the war allows one. The book explores how life changes both materially and psychologically when war chases you from your home, takes your loved ones, and gives you few choices. Is it possible to find a way to become emotionally vulnerable again and make a real connection with another person? This is a book you won't soon forget.

The Dying Detective by Leif G. W. Persson (translated by Neil Smith; Random House Audio; 15 h, 27 min): I was curious about this Swedish crime novel about a retired captain in the national police force who is brought down by a stroke. While recovering, Lars cannot stop thinking about a cold case involving the rape and murder of a little girl that took place decades earlier, and so he enlists the help of his best friend (also retired from the detective force), his brother-in-law, and his in-home aid. Once I started listening to the audiobook, I found it difficult to put down: I liked the characters and the way the case gnawed at Lars. I also liked the descriptions of Lars's struggle with regaining his old life and his frustrations with his new physical limitations. Erik Davies narrated the audiobook, bringing the characters to life by using appropriate accents (Swedish and Russian) and distinguishing between spoken and inner dialogue. My only issues had to do with the translation, especially the rendering of idioms. The literal translation was sometimes strange and I had to mentally rework the text into common everyday English. Regardless, I recommend this standalone Scandinavian mystery.

The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares (Listening Library; 7 h, 36 min): This short novel is billed as young adult but the themes and characters make this a great adult crossover book. The book mostly takes place on Long Island at the beach house owned jointly by a long-divorced couple who never see each other. They share three children (now in their twenties) and each have a seventeen-year-old from their second (and current) marriages. The two teens have shared a room at the beach house all their lives, each getting the room every other week for the entire season, but they have never met because their parents have kept them apart. Although they share the same half-sisters, they themselves have no genetic connection. This is the messy, broken, and dysfunctional foundation of the summer that everything changes for these two families. I liked the story, though I sometimes felt the parents needed a good talking to. There are family secrets and drama and a few emotionally rough moments. The main themes are self-identity and seeing yourself as separate from your parents. Brittany Pressley did a nice job with the narration of the unabridged audiobook. Although not a particularly outstanding performance, she was expressive, kept the characters separate, and had a good sense of pacing. I would give both the book and audiobook an above average rating; not the best book ever but worth the read or listen.

Eggshells by Caitriona Lally (Melville House, 2017): I had high hopes for this story of an isolated young woman who inherits her great-aunt's house in Dublin. She takes rambling walks around the city, believes in the Irish folk tales, and still imagines that she was left by fairies for her parents to find. Although she hides from her neighbors, she is determined to make a friend, as long as that person is named Penelope. I read about 40 pages of this novel and just couldn't find a way to connect to Vivian. I think her quirkiness was just too quirky for me. I have put the novel aside and doubt I'm going to pick it up again. You may have better luck, seeing as Kirkus, the New York Times and other print sources seemed to have loved the novel, which was also a finalist for Irish Book of the Year.

The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer (Touchstone; 2017): I've just stared a combo read and listen (audiobook read by Cassandra Campbell) of this time travel novel. I like it so far but hope it doesn't end up being an Outlander wannabe.