American Dirt (Oprah’s Book Club): A Novel Wow.
First of all, I can barely believe all the controversy about this book and that people call it racist. This work of fiction definitely does not read as racist to me. [When reading online reviews] I also see people who haven’t read it, or haven’t read the book in its entirety, spewing these sorts of comments.
Despite what some say about this novel, I found it full of suspense — riveting; heartbreaking; informative; and nearly 400 pages of finely wrought prose. As Stephen King wrote, it’s extraordinary.
Jeanine Cummins harrowing journey of Mexican migrants running for their lives so adeptly makes the reader feel the fear and uncertainty of their plight. Within that there is also the extent some people will go to in the name of love — and survival.
This was chosen for our book club and I am so very glad to have read it. Ideal for book club discussion. Highly recommended.
Five Little Indians: A Novel If this book is any indication, Michelle Good is a very capable storyteller. This novel deserves 5 of 5-stars because of how well these stories were told and how Ms. Good brought the five people to life for the reader, eliciting deep felt emotions.
This was one of our book club selections and, at first, I wasn’t keen on reading it. Perusing some reviews beforehand, I was concerned it was nothing but a bleeding heart book. Well, all of those notions went out the window from the first pages. The novel is both heartbreaking and heartwarming.
I even found myself relating to some of their experiences having spent a year of my life in a Catholic convent. I know all too well how heartless the nuns treated the children and how we all were child slaves in their militaristic enclaves.
I’m so glad I read this book and now have an even deeper understanding about some of the effects this system has/had on the children and their mothers.
Winner of the 2018 HarperCollins/UBC Prize for Best New Fiction. Plus the the prestigious 2020 Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction.
Ordinary Grace: by William Kent Krueger. Excellent! What a wonderful novel and what wonderful story telling. No ‘review’ or commentary can really do it justice. It’s a book that readers need to experience for themselves.
“That was it. That was all of it. A grace so ordinary there was no reason at all to remember it. Yet I have never across the forty years since it was spoken forgotten a single word.”
Ordinary Grace at its core is about faith. It’s a coming of age story told from the perspective of a middle aged man (Frank) reaching an understanding of a summer that changed him and his family (younger brother Jake, sister Ariel and parents). It incorporates important issues dealing with life, death, grief, family- and community-dynamics, plus the ordinary moments in which we find the strength to go on. Although the summer is laden with grief and so much to learn and understand for this well-developed cast of characters, it is a beautiful story.
For those who appreciate a writer who provides a good sense of place and time; characters brought to life with the understanding of how they relate to one another; and simply gets to the business of good old story telling.
A couple examples of the lovely prose in this marvellous novel and each foretells the wise reader of what is to come:
“Independence Day arrived with the concussion of early fireworks as if a great battle had begun.”
“The sky had changed. The gray sky deepened to the color of charcoal and the clouds had begun to boil.”
Not only do I recommend it but there will be lots to discuss if chosen for book clubs.
If you enjoyed this why not share it with a friend or post about it on social media. Thank you for reading and sharing your time with me. — Diane
dinahmow, even though I sent you a nice email in response I had to share this with you; I know you’ll appreciate it.
Just now I was reading a blog post by Austin Kleon and he used this line, which I think is perfect: “This book wasn’t for me, but the world’s more interesting with this book in it.”
The only one I’ve read is American Dirt and I’m not in agreement with you on this!
Why? Far too long for one thing. Writers who strain their plots too much end up with the same effect as over-stretched elastic. And the jerkiness of Spanish/English came across as phony, to me. A white, middle class American trying to show sympathy and draw Mexican readers?
I gave up after several re-starts.