Okay, I’ll admit, this book baffles me. I loved A Gentleman in Moscow, so I picked up this audiobook from the library. From the outset, Emmett has just been released after serving time in a juvenile work farm, and he and his young brother, Billy plan to follow their mother’s route on the Lincoln’s Highway to California for a new start. (spoiler: although many words are dedicated to this plan throughout the book, it never happens, which feels really… unsatisfying to me.)

Then two of Emmett’s friends (Duchess & Wooley) show up with a wild-haired plan to go (essentially) steal some money. And I think your enjoyment of this book will somewhat depend on how much you want to strangle Duchess from the moment you set eyes on him.

The book is told from many perspectives, and while their journey/adventure is interesting, I feel like there were so many plot threads that were left unresolved (especially Sally’s. Like what?!), and ultimately the ending left me strangely unsatisfied, and just kind of… baffled.

Beautiful writing, interesting characters, a winding journey, and some strangeness. A lot of people loved this book, so it might be for you, but not really for me.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks for reading!

I remember really enjoying All the Light We Cannot See, so when I saw this audiobook at the library I was curious to see what this was all about it. Although I haven’t read it, this book did remind me greatly of the movie, Cloud Atlas. It essentially follows a story’s journey and the people who love it and try to save/preserve it, from the 1500s Constantinople to an interstellar ship in the nearish future.

This is another one in which 90% of the book is rather depressing until you reach the hopeful payoff in the end, and you wonder if it was all worth it. Each of the characters live intensely rough lives, and they look to the ancient story, Cloud Cuckoo Land, as a symbol of hope and escape that they cherish and must work hard to pass on to future generations. The idea is sweet, but I found this book to be another difficult read from an emotional standpoint. The payoff at the end though was excellent, and honestly I found the author’s historical inspirations to be super interesting.

Some of you will no doubt adore this book, and while it was a bit heavy for me, I’m glad I took the journey.

⭐⭐⭐⭐½ 

Thanks for reading!

I picked this book from the library, in that random way that I do, without knowing what it was about or what to expect. And, I still don’t really know what to think about it. The story follows four siblings, the children of an absent ultra-famous singer, as they prepare to host their annual, infamous celebrity party in Malibu in the 80s. Interspliced with their story, we also get the history of their mother and father’s story, from their beginnings to present day.

The four siblings really drew me in with their nuanced, fully-fleshed personalities, and also the intense bond between them, forged through a difficult childhood with the abandonment from their famous a-hole father, and their loving but despondent and alcoholic mother. The writing is beautiful, and the story feels so real, you get the urge to google if Mick Reva is a real person, just in case.

However, on the whole, I found this story, for the most part, rather depressing. Both in the family’s story and the nostalgic description of Malibu’s changes. There were a few things that I didn’t quite buy, and honestly I did think about DNF’ing around the 60% mark, just because I don’t tend to go for heavy books that leave you down.

Still, the pay off and catharsis at the end was almost worth it,  I did enjoy the over the top shenanigans of the Reva children’s party, and they do get a relatively happy ending, even though, after several weeks distance, I still think of it as a heavy read.

Recommended if you’re in the mood for a middling to heavy read somewhere in between the spectrums of drama and literary. Some of you will definitely love it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐½ 

Thanks for reading!