Accelerated Reader: Volume 7
Here’s a quick round-up of some books I’ve recently that I don’t necessarily think warrant full reviews. (My system of choosing what to review is fully arbitrary, I assure you.)
“Paris” by Edward Rutherfurd (3.75/5). This was the second Edward Rutherford novel I’d read (I read “New York” several years ago), and I wouldn’t call them so much novels but history books disguised as generational historical fiction. I wanted to read “Paris” before I spent a long weekend there over MLK Jr Day weekend, and I was glad I did, as I feel like I had much more historical context than I would have had otherwise. The novel follows several generations of Parisians, zig-zagging through time as they become interconnected in various ways. It’s enjoyable if you want to learn more about the history of Paris (with some minor fictional notes); there is very little character development with the exception of a few main ones.
“Recursion” by Blake Crouch (5/5). (Read Elizabeth’s review here.) EE read this book in an afternoon we spent together hanging in Central Park, and I was (and still am) flabbergasted at how quickly she reads. That said, I also flew through “Recursion,” which is a time-traveling sci-fi novel that I absolutely loved. There were so many twists and turns along the way, and I in no way guessed the conclusion. I’ve also thought about the novel’s main premise quite a bit since finishing it; what are the moments in our lives that change everything, that make us who we are, how does our memory fail us? Highly recommend this one.
“The Wife Between Us” by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen (3.75/5). This is what I wish “The Wives” had been (see my spoiler-ridden 1-star review here): a psychological thriller about a marriage to a seemingly perfect man. I could have done without the epilogue but overall I enjoyed this twisty thriller. (It’s hard to provide a ton of info here without spoilers, but it was an enjoyable and thought-provoking read. (Trigger warnings: emotional and physical abuse.)
“The Darlings” by Cristina Alger (3/5). I read “The Banker’s Wife” by Cristina Alger last year, so thought this would be a similar thriller. It wasn’t. Set right after the 2008 crash, the novel follows a well-off family whose patriarch owns a hedge fund. After his business partner commits suicide, the SEC starts sniffing around, and Paul, the patriarch’s son in law and legal counsel at the business, has to decide where his loyalties lie. I just couldn’t bring myself to care about a (fictional) family who contributed to the Great Recession.
If you click on the links, SFOL may receive a small percentage of your purchase — FYI, there’s no additional cost to you! We promise!
