Book Club Pick - The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

The Elegance of the Hedgehog was our book club pick for this month and it was a nice change from our previous book club pick, which was a bad chick-lit novel. This one was definitely more serious and book-clubby but still wasn’t one of my favorites. This story is told by two narrators, Madame Michel, a 50-something concierge of an upscale apartment building in Paris, and Paloma, a 12 year old genius who lives in one of the apartments in the building. Madame Michel is a contradiction – outwardly to the residents of the building, she is slovenly and dull. But the “real” her reads Marx and Kant, loves Mozart and Opera and can perform a Japanese Tea Ceremony. Paloma, intelligent beyond her years, is disgusted with her coddled existence, her spoiled sister and family and thus decides to kill herself on her 13^th birthday. The book alternates between the two narrators and I have to say, I enjoyed the pieces narrated by Paloma more. She was fresh, authentic, witty, etc. all the things you want to read in a novel. Madame Michel, on the other hand, really started to annoy me with her attitude. She assumed that no one in her building could comprehend that a woman who is “only a concierge” could appreciate art, literature or philosophy and because of it, spends her entire life hiding who she truly is for fear of being discovered. And she is so condescending about it – she is more of a reverse snob than anyone in her building could ever seem to be. Overall, I enjoyed the novel and the peripheral characters were quite entertaining. I would recommend it, especially as a book club pick, since there are so many things to discuss. 

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

I really enjoy reading Wally Lamb, from his first, She's Come Undone, to his most recent, The Hour I First Believed. They're always so well written and despite the length, I always finish them quickly, probably because they're hard to put down. The Hour I First Believed is the story of Caelum and Maureen Quirk, who have recently relocated from Connecticut to Colorado to start over after Maureen's infidelity. Although they both get jobs at the same school, their struggles have only just begun; in April of 1999, Caelum returns to Connecticut after his aunt has a stroke only to just miss the Columbine shootings. While Maureen somehow survives the massacre, she is unable to recover from the traumatic experience and suffers from PTSD. This time they flee Colorado for the safety of the Quirk family farm in Connecticut. A change of scenery, however, can't undo the damage that has been done and more is on the way. While Maureen struggles to come to grips with the event, Caelum discovers boxes full of old diaries, letters and newspaper clippings throughout the house. Not only do these reveal the Quirk family history, but they also unearth some secrets, long buried. And Caelum struggles to come to terms with this past while struggling with his future. This book is extraordinary - the way he interweaves actual fact with fiction makes you feel that every word could be true. I highly recommend that everyone read this book. If you like this, please try some of his other books, especially I Know This Much Is True. 

Jennifer Weiner

I was first introduced to Jennifer Weiner a few years ago when my mom got me In Her Shoes for some random holiday. Anyway, this was years before the movie came out, and so I had no idea what to expect. But man was I pleasantly surprised! Sure, she writes what most would categorize as "chick lit" but it's more than that; her stories have a brain and cover more than just shoes, shopping and sex – they delve into race, class, gender, workplace dynamics, etc. And has Jennifer's life has changed, so have the novels. Her first two, Good in Bed and In Her Shoes deal with dating, breakups, family and all the frustrations that go along with them. By Little Earthquakes and Goodnight Nobody, she's dealing with young parenthood and miscarriages and the emotional turmoil associated with those. Certain Girls brings back the heroine from Good in Bed but this time, she has a teenage daughter to contend with. It's kind of a nice progression and while I can't confess to have gone through the issues in some of the later books, I also don't feel like I can't relate to the characters.

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

The Salem witch trials are a subject we've all heard about, read about, learned about but this story gives us a new twist. The Heretic's Daughter is the story of Sarah Carrier, a 10-year old growing up in Andover, Massachusetts before, and during the hysteria that became the Salem witch trials. After her brother comes down with smallpox, Sarah and her younger sister, Hannah, are shuttled off to her mother's sister in the hopes that they will avoid the disease. While there, Sarah and her cousin Margaret become best friends and Sarah hopes that she can stay with her aunt and uncle forever. But of course the day comes when she must be reunited with her family and once back, becomes aware of the dispute between her mother and her uncle about their land. The fight blossoms into something much more terrifying when the hysteria around the "supernatural" activity in Salem turns into mass chaos and her uncle claims her mother, Martha, is a witch. When Martha refuses to confess, her children, including young Sarah, are imprisoned with the hopes of breaking her. Sarah's narrative provides some much needed insight into these sham trials, forced confessions and ridiculous sentencing rules and restrictions. Overall, I enjoyed this book, although I will say that although I felt the sub-story about Sarah's father's history before coming to Massachusetts was a bit ridiculous, I still think it's worth a read. On a side note, the author's grand mother nine generations back, was hanged as a witch in 1692 which really emphasizes the point that history is something that happens to all of us.

Belong to Me by Marissa De Los Santos

This book is told from three points of view; the first is Cornelia Brown, an urbanite who surprises everyone when she and her husband, Teo, up and move to the suburbs. The second is Dev, an extremely bright teenager whose missing father occupies most of his thoughts, and whose mother, Lake, has befriended Cornelia. And the third is Piper, Cornelia's neighbor and reigning queen bee of the neighborhood. Cornelia, struggling with her own fertility issues, finds it difficult to acclimate to the domestic dramas of suburban life and struggles to find her place in a community that emphasizes children. Teo seems blissfully unaware, happily bumbling through his life. The burgeoning
friendships between Cornelia and Lake, Cornelia and Piper, The Browns and Dev, etc. make for an intriguing read. The three story lines work well individually but don't always overlap as neatly as they should. Also, the plot was predictable, especially toward the end, however, Belong to Me is well written and worth a few hours of your time.