THE LIGHT OF PARIS

Name: THE LIGHT OF PARIS
Author: Eleanor Brown
ISBN: 978-0-399-15891-9

by Eleanor Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2016

Brown conveys the importance of the arts in creating a life as well as the need to heed all voices, even those from the...

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The lights of Paris act as a beacon for two generations of women in search of self-determination and fulfillment in Brown’s (The Weird Sisters, 2011, etc.) story of loves lost and found.

Unhappily married Madeleine resents, quietly and inwardly, the strictures placed upon her by her controlling and ambitious husband, Phillip, and chafes against her perfectionist mother’s expectations. Torn between a stultifying existence as a trophy wife and her lifelong but abandoned passion for painting, Madeleine embarks on a voyage of self-discovery, sparked by the unearthing of her grandmother’s diaries in the attic of her mother’s house. Inspired by the long-buried story of her grandmother Margie’s experiences in the Paris of the Lost Generation, Madeleine moves toward an understanding of what will help her navigate through the world on her own terms. With a voice that alternates every other chapter between Madeleine’s narration and excerpts from Margie’s recovered journals, Brown conveys the miseries and satisfactions of women’s journeys toward happiness in a tale balanced upon a family secret. While some characters—or their motivations—might have benefited from more fleshing out (Phillip is a stock controlling husband), the whimsy and romance of post–World War I Paris and Madeleine’s growing comfort with her newly reconstructed life (in a hometown that had previously brought only unhappiness) provide forward momentum. As Madeleine unravels the truths behind her grandmother’s story, she gathers insight into her own, equally complicated, story. With growing self-confidence and the aid of rediscovered friends and relatives, Madeleine approaches life in a different light and with the ability to make hard choices.

Brown conveys the importance of the arts in creating a life as well as the need to heed all voices, even those from the past, in looking to the future.

Pub Date: July 12, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-399-15891-9

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016

Categories:

FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP

- BOOK REVIEW
ANY OTHER FAMILY
by Eleanor Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
A PARIS ALL YOUR OWN
edited by Eleanor Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WEIRD SISTERS
by Eleanor Brown

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MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER

by Oyinkan Braithwaite ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 20, 2018

Even your most extravagant speculations about what’s really going on with these wildly contrasting yet oddly simpatico...

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From the hospital rooms and living spaces of Lagos, Nigeria, comes a dryly funny and wickedly crafty exercise in psychological suspense.

Introverted, sensitive Korede is a nurse, a very good one from what we see of her at work. She feels such a connection with her patients that she finds herself taking a coma victim named Muhtar into her confidence. There’s one secret in particular that pours out of Korede like scalding liquid: Her flamboyantly beautiful younger sister, Ayoola, has this habit of killing the men she dates. (Three, so far.) She hasn’t been caught yet because Korede cleans up after her. They both disposed of the most recent victim, a poet named Femi, so efficiently that nobody in his family or with the police know his whereabouts. So that, as Korede is concerned, is that; except there’s this single good-looking doctor named Tade at the hospital where she works who has his eye on Ayoola—even though Korede has tried her best to win Tade’s attention. Now she tries to warn Tade that her sister’s relationships “tend to end, badly." His response: “Oh…guys can be jerks.” (Yes, they certainly can.) As Tade and Ayoola begin their romance, Korede’s the one who has to answer questions about Femi’s disappearance, and, seemingly out of nowhere, Ayoola acquires yet another suitor named Gboyega, prompting both Korede and the reader to wonder which of these unwary gentlemen Ayoola will favor and what will happen to him. Generations of gothic mystery aficionados have attended these uneasy and insidious events before. But besides the setting, what makes Braithwaite’s first novel stand out from others in this genre is the unobtrusively sly approach she takes to the conventions of “black widow” storytelling and the appealing deadpan voice of the jittery yet world-weary Korede. Along the way, there are scattered glimpses of life in Lagos, most acidly when Korede deals with the routine corruption involved in a traffic stop.

Even your most extravagant speculations about what’s really going on with these wildly contrasting yet oddly simpatico siblings will be trumped in this skillful, sardonic debut.

Pub Date: Nov. 20, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-385-54423-8

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2018

Categories:

FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP

- PERSPECTIVES
Long Reads, Short Reads

- PERSPECTIVES
6 of October’s Spookiest Reads

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FOUR FRIENDS

by Robyn Carr ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2014

A thought-provoking look at women of a certain age and the choices they make when they realize their lives aren’t exactly...

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In a Marin County neighborhood, four women help each other amid marital strife, personal crises and life-altering epiphanies.

For years, Mill Valley, Calif., neighbors Gerri, Andy and Sonja have started most of their days with a brisk walk, but one early spring morning, Andy has had enough with her younger second husband, and she skips the walk and throws him out. It is a loud, angry event, but it is a long time coming, and it sets off a series of surprising upheavals in the lives of her friends. Gerri takes an unplanned trip to her husband’s office in San Francisco, and a conversation with his co-worker makes her question everything she knew about her marriage. Sonja, dedicated to New-Age strategies for health and wellness, is thrown off balance by Andy’s marital strife, then spirals into life-threatening depression when her husband leaves her. As each woman deals with her own personal crossroad, they are collectively drawn to newcomer BJ, who has never shown interest in socializing before but becomes the fresh new pair of eyes that notices change at crucial moments and steps in to help when help is most needed. Hugely popular romance author Carr (The Wanderer, 2013, etc.) steps into women’s fiction territory with this quietly powerful exploration of friendship, marriage and midlife crisis. The characters are realistic and compelling, facing life after 40 with grace, courage and a fierce interpersonal loyalty that is convincing and inspiring. The storyline sounds familiar, yet Carr handles the plot and characters with a deft hand and enough unique twists that we are invested in the characters’ well-beings, and we are touched by their struggles, especially since we see each of them at their best and their worst.

A thought-provoking look at women of a certain age and the choices they make when they realize their lives aren’t exactly what they expected—or thought they were.