This
week, Nevermore brought an assortment of new books to our meeting, including
some wonderful things from our new shelves, and some interesting nonfiction
about the natural world. Kicking things
off, one reader introduced a book by Hope Ryden titled Lily Pond: Four Years with a
Family of Beavers. Our reader was
especially excited about reading Lily Pond.
After having read it several years ago, she couldn’t wait to
return. She was thrilled with the
prospect of revisiting a noted naturalist’s studies of these busy, busy beavers
and the beavers—named Lily and Inspector General—themselves. Written in the tradition of Jane Goodall, Lily Pond is an interesting (and
sometimes amusing) account of the natural world and some of its more
industrious workers. She said it’s a
great book to read and, pointing out the beaver family tree that charts Lily
and Inspector General’s offspring, it’s highly informative.
Next,
our reader returned to a book familiar to Nevermore, revisiting The Dust That Falls from Dreams by Louis
de Dernières. A sweeping epic that
follows the McCosh, Pitt, and Pendennis families through the turmoil and trials
of the Great War, The Dust That Falls
from Dreams is a startling and immersive story that that traces the lives
of these sons and daughters who find their lives turned completely
upside-down. Louis de Dernières’s novel
received some very positive reviews in the last meetings, and our reader was
likewise intrigued by the premise of the novel; however, she thought the
“ending seemed tacked on.” Although she
enjoyed the novel as a whole, saying it was a lovely book that delved deep into
family dynamics, she wasn’t entirely satisfied with its conclusion.
Switching
gears, Nevermore looked at a lovely little fiction book called The Magician’s Assistant by Ann
Patchett. Sabine, who has spent the last
twenty years as the wife and faithful assistant to the magician Parsifal,
suddenly finds herself a widow and gripped by the realization that her
husband’s family, which he claims to have lost in a tragic accident, is very
much alive. Reeling with the death of
Parsifal and the discovery of a new branch of in-laws, Sabine finds herself
taking a journey to unravel the mystery of her husband’s forgotten family,
which will lead her from the sunny skies of Los Angeles to the windswept plains
of Nebraska. Our reader said, “It’s a
pretty good book—I mean, it’s a very
good book.” He enjoyed the dynamic
between the families, their dialogue and their interactions, and he liked the
way the author played out a complicated situation. It’s an enjoyable novel, he told the group,
and he highly recommended it to other readers.
Our
reader also introduced a brand-new nonfiction book to the meeting: Herding
Hemingway’s Cats by Kat Arney. An
in-depth study on DNA, specifically how in influences everything from eye color
to cancer risks to predilections for alcoholism, Herding Hemingway’s Cats takes a long hard look at the DNA
incorporated in all living cells and the “molecular switches” that tell genes
when and where to work. Our reader
originally though the book was about cats (in particular, Hemingway’s curious
feline polydactyls); however, he quickly discovered it’s actually about
genetics in general. Although he said he
enjoyed most of the book, he noted that it’s very dense and sometimes difficult
to understanding. He found much of the
information fascinating, but he didn’t read the entire book; rather, he picked
out some of the “sweet stuff” to highlight for the other members of Nevermore
and shared some fascinating facts about six-toed cats, unusual mutations, and
lactose intolerance.
Last,
Nevermore looked at a brand new novel by Annie Barrow titled The Truth According to Us. During the summer of 1938, Layla Beck is
given an ultimatum by her father, a senator:
get a job with the Federal Writers’ Project (a New Deal employment
program released by Franklin Roosevelt), or else. Left with no alternative, Layla quickly
leaves on assignment for Macedonia, West Virginia. She’s stuck with reporting the history of the
remote mill town, a task she’s less than thrilled to receive; however, as she
settles into Macedonia and meets the Romeyn family, she is quickly drawn into
their complex world and realizes that her assignment is a little more
complicated than she ever suspected. Our
reader thought Barrow’s latest novel was an intriguing mix of history and
fiction, combining some of the best elements of both to create an engaging and
fascinating story. Overall, she thought The Truth According to Us was a good
novel and recommended it to other readers.
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