Maybe I'm just not the target audience for this book, maybe it's the timing in which I read it. But the depressive qualities rampant in this coming ofMaybe I'm just not the target audience for this book, maybe it's the timing in which I read it. But the depressive qualities rampant in this coming of age award winner didn't impress me as much as I'd hoped....more
Pickard County Atlas is a great title for this debut by a very gifted writer. Set in a small town with all the interwoven histories simmering very cloPickard County Atlas is a great title for this debut by a very gifted writer. Set in a small town with all the interwoven histories simmering very close to the surface, the memory of the murder of a seven-year-old boy 18 years earlier causes emotions to erupt. Gotta say that for a relatively small place, there is a lot of toxicity going on here. Chris Thornton's powers of description are acute, life in a trailer park is brought vividly to life. I look forward to what comes next. ...more
Arranged in a series of files, this book is centered on Elisabeth Ahls and her extraordinary journey through grief as those close to her leave in one Arranged in a series of files, this book is centered on Elisabeth Ahls and her extraordinary journey through grief as those close to her leave in one way or another. One of those would be her brother Tyler who, after being thought dead while hiking in Pakistan, has surfaced in a video that may or may not denote a terrorist connection. The story is of today, and the concept, original, with a federal agent keeping close tabs on everyone yet becoming a participant himself. There is much that is enigmatic about this book, but some of it didn't hold true for me, and while I enjoyed it, I was aware of its flaws....more
This novel looks not only at how the opioid infestation affects a person caught up in it and their family, but how it can be used to manipulate. Life This novel looks not only at how the opioid infestation affects a person caught up in it and their family, but how it can be used to manipulate. Life in a small Kansas town, generally regarded as a backwater by its inhabitants who all dream of escape to different places and lives. There is such a strong depiction of time and place, fine descriptions that make a reader who's never been anywhere near rural Kansas envision the location clearly. Two connected story arcs each with its own female protagonist, separated by a matter of months, converge and reach a satisfying conclusion. I for one hope to find Sadie Keller in future novels....more
This is the kind of totally immersive novel that can keep you up at night. One night in 2013, four former classmates find themselves once more in New This is the kind of totally immersive novel that can keep you up at night. One night in 2013, four former classmates find themselves once more in New Canaan, Ohio, or as they call it, The Cane. Their reasons differ, but each is afforded a novella-length section for their story to be told in overlapping precise detail. Stephen Markley has written two other books, but this is his first novel, and as with many journalists, his prose is clear, incisive and totally involving. Despite its length, there isn't a superfluous word and no repetition. This is how the generation called "the Millennials" came to adulthood, and underlying it all, how Donald Trump became president. The former generation is hardly fleshed out at all - Millennials are front and center, their history developed under the effects of 911, the subsequent wars in the Middle East, the opioid crisis and the great recession. As if that weren't enough, crime plays a large part, but not in an ordinary or cliched way. People disappear, reappear, sometimes with little or no warning. I look forward to what Markley does next....more
Sometimes the most American books are written by outsiders, in this case -- an Irish author who was shortlisted for the Booker. Bill (he specifies thaSometimes the most American books are written by outsiders, in this case -- an Irish author who was shortlisted for the Booker. Bill (he specifies that is the name on his birth certificate, not William) is the final limb on his family tree, living in the mansion his immigrant grandfather erected after parlaying his ice delivery business into refrigerator manufacture. But by the late '70's, the foundries are cold and dead, the town, moribund, and Bill is the lowest rung on the dying newspaper ladder at the local daily, called The Truth. He and his coworkers eat tuna melts and put the paper out, working against the increasing popularity of tv news. He does make one reference to the fact that this story is told at a remove of 30 years, noting the further decline of print news in the day of the Internet. A lurid mystery sets both entities in motion, trying to be the first to get updates public. There are this long stretches in which characters muse over the death of the American Dream, which is the point of the book. Involving and heartfelt....more
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