Nevermore: First Frost, Never Have I Ever, Book Charmer, Redhead by the Side of the Road, Rodham, My Lovely Wife

Reported by Kristin

Our first Nevermore reader reported on the joys of using Tennessee R.E.A.D.S. for ebooks. From the historical sage of A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan, a multigenerational store of the Orchire family, to a story collection entitled Strange Trades by Paul Di Filippo, a look at humanity through their daily work, the world of ebooks has opened up many more reading possibilities as many readers stay safe at home. Our reader effused the joy of jumping back and forth between different genres, and especially noted as “absolutely fabulous” the Virginia mountain tale of Ivy Rowe in Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith.

Another reader continued with her enjoyment of Sarah Addison Allen novels, this time with First Frost. The Waverley sisters were first seen in Garden Spells, and the tale of the family with a mischievous and moody apple tree has captivated several readers in the group. Set in Bascom, North Carolina, Claire Waverley has begun a new business, creating candies with herbs and a hint of magic. Our reader said that this entertaining tale was exactly what she needed.

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson took our next reader a little further south to Florida. When Angelica Roux arrives at a suburban book club, she quickly turns Amy Whey's world upside down. Amy has created a normal life which some might even call boring and blasé, but she loves it—raising her baby son and her stepdaughter, being a loving wife to her husband. But Roux knows something about Amy's past, and she has her own agenda of destruction. Our reader said that it kept her on the edge of her chair waiting to see what would happen next.

Next up was The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins, featuring Sarah, a librarian in a small southern town called Dove Pond. With her particular gift, Sarah is able to hear the books whispering to her as she matches stories to readers. This quirky little book was touted as a happy, nice story.

Another highly recommended novel was Anne Tyler's newest release, Redhead by the Side of the Road. Micah Mortimer is the very organized manager of his Baltimore apartment building and is rather set in his ways, some might even call him rigid. His life is thrown into more confusion than he likes when his “woman friend” may be getting evicted and needs a place to stay and a teenage boy shows up on the doorstep claiming to be his son. Our reader found this to be full of beautiful writing, and well worth reading.

This day full of fiction also included a title which sounds like it should be non-fiction, but isn't. Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld is a speculative novel which asks the simple question: What if Hillary hadn't married Bill? Taking Hillary Rodham's potential as a law student, activist, and proponent of women's rights, this novel imagines what could have been if she had diverged from her real life path. Our reader enjoyed the novel and recommended it to others.

Finally, My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing is a debut thriller told from the point of a husband who really loves his wife and their nearly perfect life. Millicent feeds her family healthy food and maintains their high social standing in their upper middle class community. Their fifteen year marriage seems perfect, except that to spice it up, Millicent has begun to murder people. Our reader said that she really wasn't sure how to feel about this book because of this extremely unusual premise, but that it was amusing and unique. 

Nevermore: Anne Tyler, Doerr, Mukherjee, Lindemuth, Winspear, Powell

Nevermore has moved into the internet age with COVID-19, so this week’s meeting was courtesy of Zoom.  Technical glitches aside, it was wonderful to have so many familiar faces on the screen!

The first book up was Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler.  It’s the story of a 40-something year old Micah Mortimer who has a steady female companion but who immerses himself in his need for order and quiet.  He works as a super for an apartment building and also offers tech support as the Tech Hermit.  He lives a very orderly, safe existence until one day when a young man shows up on his doorstep, claiming to be his son.  Then Micah’s lady friend is evicted from her apartment and the man who values order and solitude is suddenly faced with the prospect of more human contact that he is used to.  While our reader usually loves Tyler’s books, she said this one just did not do it for her and is not recommended.

Our next member has been reading books by Harriet Doerr, whose first novel was the acclaimed Stones for Ibarra which was published when the author was 74.  The story centers on the Evertons, an American couple who move to a small village in Mexico to reopen a copper mine once owned by the husband’s grandfather.  The book is beautifully written. The reader also read Tiger in the Grass which is a collection of stories and essays by Doerr, including new stories with the Evertons, but also Doerr’s own reminiscences.  Both were highly recommended.

The Gene:  An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee fascinated our next reviewer. The emphasis in the book is on the history of genetics, though the author does weave his family history in to illustrate some of the principles.  However, our reader was most impressed with how the book shows that real science is about gathering data and in unbiased examination of that data.  Many of the pioneers in the field were not appreciated in their own time.  The author also wrote the excellent history of cancer entitled The Emperor of All Maladies.

In the words of Monty Python, and now for something completely different:  My Brother’s Destroyer by Clayton Lindemuth is the first in the Baer Creighton series.  Creighton is a moonshiner with the ability to know when someone is lying and who has no compunction about wreaking vengeance on those who wrong him or his dog, Fred.  The book was described as very redneck and very entertaining. 

The American Agent is the fifteenth in the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear.  Maisie is back in London after escaping Nazi Berlin, and working as an ambulance driver when she meets a young American reporter, Catherine Saxon.  When Catherine is found murdered, Maisie is called in to help investigate.  It’s an entertaining historical mystery.

Finally, Women in the War Zone by Anne Powell is once again extravagantly praised by a Nevermore member. Powell collected first-hand accounts of women who worked in hospital services on the front lines during World War I, at a time when women were not really accepted as medical personnel.  Their experiences were as horrifying as they were heroic, shedding light on a hidden part of history. Our reader admired the strong, brave, independent women she met within the pages and recommended the book very highly.