Women and Weaving in 17th century England

Blue Hawk by Chloe Turner. Deixis Press, 2024. 304 pages.

Those interested in fabric arts as well as women’s history will enjoy this novel, based on historical records of the 17th century cloth industry.

LIVING WITH AMERICA’S ACTIONS in Viet Nam

Absolution, by Alice MacDermott.  Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2023.  324 pages.

In this novel, an 83 year-old woman looks back at her time as a young wife with her CIA-advisor husband in 1963 Viet Nam.

80-year-old friends reunite, and look toward the future

 Wrinkled Rebels, by Laura Katz Olson.  July 23, 2024, 281 pages.

As a slightly younger constituent of the 80 year olds in Wrinkled Rebels, I appreciate both the history lessons of 1960’s social justice efforts, and the utopian possibility at the book’s end.

Once Spies, Now Senior Citizens

7/15/24

Spy Coast, by  Tess Gerritsen

Thomas and Mercer, 2023, 341 pages.

Five former CIA agents in their 60’s and 70’s, friends for over 30 years, have retired to a small town in Maine.  The past of one brings them all into action again in a story valuing friendship and loyalty as much as mystery and more than action.

Problems and Promises of America

7/1/24 – For July 4th, 2024

An Unfinished Love Story:  A Personal History of the 1960s, by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Simon and Schuster, April, 2024.  480 pages.

Presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin brings her insightful and engaging focus to the life of her husband, Richard (Dick) Goodwin, whose words and ideas shaped some of the most powerful policies of the 1960s.

Please see “Reviews – Non-Fiction,” and have a happy 4th.

Parenting Grown Children, and Living One’s Own Life

6/25/24

How the Light Gets In, by Joyce Maynard. William Morrow, 2024, 430 pages.

This big novel reads like a fairy tale of fractured relationships and people, dealing with contemporary personal, social, and political issues.

Menopause, Marriage, and Motherhood

6/18/24

Sandwich, by Catherine Newman. Harper, June 18, 2024. 236 pages.

Motherhood, marriage, and menopause interweave in this book about a family’s annual summer vacation.

Friendships, Early and Late

6/11/24

The Last List of Mabel Beaumont, by Laura Pearson

Boldwood Books, 2023, 314 pages

Arthur, 89, and Mabel, 86, have been married for 62 years.  This novel begins with their peaceful last days together, and moves on to Mabel’s life as a widow.

Saving Children and Land

This historical novel visits the backwoods of southeastern Oklahoma in 1909 and 1990. In both time periods, the stories revolve around the care of the land, and the lack of care of children.

Please see “Reviews – Fiction”