One
of our Nevermore readers decided to jump back into the works of James Baldwin
by reading both Giovanni’s Room and The Fire Next Time.
In Giovanni’s Room, Baldwin tells the story of David, a young,
bisexual American man, who is living in Paris and begins an affair with an
Italian bartender named Giovanni. Our reader, who is an avid fan of James
Baldwin, said she enjoyed reading Giovanni’s Room immensely. She
thought it was “just a wonderful book” that offered an intimate and
heart-wrenching look at the struggles of a person who was homosexual/bisexual.
As always with Baldwin, his book was very well-written and poignant, and she
highly recommended it to her fellow readers.
Baldwin’s The
Fire Next Time is a semi-autobiographical novel about the emerging
civil rights movement during the 1960s. Described on the back cover as “a
powerful evocation of James Baldwin’s early life in Harlem and a disturbing
examination of the consequences of racial injustice,” The Fire Next Time is
poignant and empowering book that hits hard with its beautiful prose and
uncompromising view of racism. Our reader really enjoyed Baldwin’s novel,
saying it was “such a good book.” She said it’s a searing book that does
a magnificent job illustrating the dynamics and tensions between Americans,
both black and white, and the growth of the civil rights movement.
Next, Nevermore shared The Night Visitor by
Lucy Atkins. Professor Olivia Sweetman has worked hard to make her dreams
come true. Now with a grand career as a TV presenter and historian, three
children, and a wonderful husband, her life is perfect—or merely seems
so. Olivia’s life is built on lies and Vivian Tester, a socially awkward,
middle-aged housekeeper in Sussex, knows the truth. Mixed with drama,
suspense, hints of folklore and horror, Atkins’ novel presents an interesting
story; however, our reader found it lacking when it came to the concluding
chapters. She speculates the author will follow up with a sequel to wrap
up all those loose ends, which may redeem the ending of The Night Visitor.
Keeping in the vein of “creepy reads,” Nevermore
explored Rust and Stardust by
T. Greenwood. In Camden, New Jersey, in 1948, Sally Horner was eleven
years old and victim of Frank LaSalle, a middle aged man fresh out of
prison. Inspired by true events, Sally’s harrowing story is chronicled in
both Greenwood’s latest novel—and Vladimer Nabokov’s most controversial and
notable novels, Lolita.
Our reader said “it was such a sad story.” While she liked that Greenwood
takes an opposing perspective to Lolita—presenting
Sally’s story, rather than Humbert Humbert—she found it disturbing and sad and
creepy.
In an unexpected twist, one of our Nevermore
readers revealed she had actually just finished reading Lolita. Written by
Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabakov, Lolita is the story of Humbert Humbert, who
becomes obsessed with his twelve-year-old stepdaughter, Dolores Haze—whom he
calls “Lolita” in private. Our reader had read Lolita many years ago
and thought she would try again; however, she found she still didn’t like
Nabakov’s novel. Although praised as a classic and named one of the
greatest works of the twentieth century, she said she couldn’t stand Humbert
Humbert. “It’s a weird book,” she told her fellow readers. “And
[Humbert] is such a sleazy guy. He’s awful.” She did not recommend
it.
Last, Nevermore looked at Fredrik Backman’s debut
novel, A Man Called Ove.
Ove is, at best, a curmudgeon. Cranky, gifted with staunch principles and
adhering to strict routines, Ove is a man with a short fuse—but Ove has an
unexpected story and friendship to give. After meeting his new neighbors,
who accidentally run over his mail box, Ove’s life will be changed forever.
Our reader said she “liked it very much.” Well-written, poignant,
readable and relatable, A
Man Called Ove was a lovely, feel-good novel that was just
what the doctor ordered. She highly recommended it to her fellow readers,
especially those looking for something sweet and wonderful.
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