Nevermore kicked things off with a review of The
Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, a historical mystery set in the year
1327. Brother William of Baskerville is sent to investigate reports of
heresy among the Franciscans, but when a series of bizarre deaths occur,
Brother William is drawn into a conflict that he never imagined. Our
reader said she really enjoyed reading The Name of the Rose,
calling it a “fantastic murder mystery.” However, she did note that it is
full of pages and pages of medieval theology. Our reader admitted she
skipped many of these parts, but she said “if you’re interested in medieval
theology and the Inquisition, you’ll learn a lot.”
Next, Nevermore checked out a new novel by Gail Godwin
titled Grief Cottage. Eleven-year-old Marcus is sent to
live on a small South Carolina island with his aunt after the death of his
mother. Reclusive and haunted by her past, Aunt Charlotte is a woman of
few words—and many secrets. When Marcus finds a ruined cottage, known to
the locals as the “Grief Cottage,” he discovers the ghost of the boy who died
there and a mystery that will change his life. Our reader said she really
enjoyed this latest novel by Gail Godwin. Vivid and compelling, Grief
Cottage is fascinating mystery riddled with suspense, and she’ll be
looking for more from Godwin.
Nevermore also looked at The Shipping News by
Annie Proulx, a novel set on the country coast of Newfoundland. Quoyle is
a third-rate newspaper hack who, after the death of his wife, retreats to his ancestral
home on Newfoundland with his two daughters and his eccentric aunt. But
when he arrives at Quoyle’s Point, he discovers a world that’s vastly different
from the one he knew—and that will shape him in new ways. Our reader said
she enjoyed Proulx’s novel immensely. It’s introspective and thoughtful,
and it investigates what it means to be human, what it means to survive.
“I can’t recommend it highly enough,” she said as she handed the book over to
the next reader.
Nevermore shared Giants in the Earth by
O.E. Rolvaag, which follows a Norwegian pioneer family’s struggles in the
Dakota Territory as they try to make a new life in American. Partially
based on Rolvaag’s personal experiences as a settler and his wife’s family who
were immigrant homesteaders, Giants in the Earth is a story
of a different kind of survival that pits man against the elements, poverty,
hunger, loneliness and homesickness. “It’s incredible what they go
through,” our reader said, as she described the trials and joys the family
experienced. “It’s [one of the] best books I’ve ever read.”
Last, Nevermore looked at The Handmaid’s Tale,
Margaret Atwood’s dystopian classic. Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic
of Gilead. She stays in the home of the Commander, walking to the market
for food once per day. She may not walk alone; she may not read or write;
she may not speak to anyone, or wear what she wants. Instead, she must
pray the Commander makes her pregnant, because Offred and the other Handmaids
are only valuable if they can produce children. Our reader said The
Handmaid’s Tale was a fascinating story with so many layers, so much
depth. Although she found some of the content upsetting, she found that
she loved reading Atwood’s novel, because it’s a story that makes you
think. It’s a story our reader took time to read. “I didn’t want to
rush it,” she told her fellow Nevermore members. “I wanted to absorb all
of it.”
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