Good reads for January
“Mythology and a retelling of The Iliad – The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller takes the story of Achilles and the Trojan War and makes it her own. It becomes a page turning saga of Achilles and Patroclus. Far more entertaining and easier to read than laboring over the Latin version in 8th grade.
I previously swooned over “The Heart’s Invisible Furies” by John Boyne. His latest work is quite different. “A Ladder to the Sky” tells the story of Maurice Swift. He is relentless in his pursuit of literary fame. Perhaps psychopath is too harsh, but I promise you will be surprised to the final sentence of this tale.
“My Squirrel Days” by Ellie Kemper (yes- the girl from The Office) is an ebullient, rapid fire account of her childhood and breakthrough into comedy via Princeton and The Upright Brigade theatre group in New York. She is a delight and her self-deprecating voice will entertain you in this honest memoir of her life thus far.
“Virgil Wander” by Leif Enger, who also wrote “Peace Like a River,” is a masterfully told story of a man who is “reborn” to his old life after a car accident. He is reacquainted with the people who populate his life in a small Midwestern town. Sweet, funny and disarmingly profound.
“The Adults” by Caroline Hulse struck me as an episode of Friends set in a British holiday camp. Contemporary 30 somethings in a complicated intergenerational (there is a child involved) relationship. An easy read, not unlike a short binge watch of old episodes of Rachel, Chandler, Monica…etc.
“The Lake on Fire” by Rosellen Brown follows a young girl and her brother as they flee the farm of their Jewish immigrant community for the promise of a better life (at least one without a forced marriage) in Chicago in the late 1900’s. Though treated poorly in spite of hard work and fluent English, Chaya and her brother find their own paths to escape lives of menial, soul crushing labor and poverty. Excellent.
“The Gods of Howl Mountain” by Taylor Brown is a ripping story of moonshine, stock car racing, snake handlers and mountain folk. At times barbarous, this book only confirms Brown’s place as one of our best contemporary Southern writers.
Becky Bechhold is a Daniel Island resident who describes herself as “a voracious reader.” Prior to moving to the island, she was part of a book club that had met for over 20 years. She has a record of all the books they read! After Becky contributed a list of book suggestions for a summer reading issue in The Daniel Island News this past June, a reader got in touch to compliment Becky’s insights and ask for more! She was more than happy to oblige.