nomadreader

The book I'm most excited about in 2018 is the new novel by Hannah Pittard, Visible Empire . I've loved two of her earlier novels, Reunion  ( my review ) and Listen to Me. Like me, Pittard grew up in Atlanta and now lives in the Midwest. I'd be excited about any new novel by Hannah Pittard, but the premise of this one took my breath away:  "an epic novel—based on true events—of wealth, race, grief, and love, charting one sweltering summer in Atlanta that left no one unchanged. It’s a humid summer day when the phones begin to ring: disaster has struck. Air France Flight 007, which had been chartered to ferry home more than one hundred of Atlanta’s cultural leaders following a luxurious arts-oriented tour of Europe, crashed shortly after takeoff in Paris. In one fell swoop, most of the city’s wealthiest residents perished." How, I marveled, did I manage to grow up in Atlanta and not know about a plane crash that killed 132 people? As I began my quest to know more ab...

The backstory: I've been reading Sarah Hepola's work for years on the Internet, thanks to one of my oldest and best friends, Kathleen , who introduced me to her writing on The Morning News in the (very) early 2000's. I greeted the publication of her first memoir with delight. The basics: Blackout  chronicles Sarah Hepola's complicated relationship with alcohol from childhood to the present, when she is happily sober. My thoughts: I've been saying Sarah Hepola is one of my favorite writers for more than ten years, and I had just about stopped saying it because I was starting to dread the typical follow-up question about what books she's written when the asker has no desire to read a slew of Internet links. Now I can hand them a book. Blackout  is one of those books that makes me pause when I try to describe it. It is absolutely about drinking heavily, blacking out, and Hepola's road to sobriety. That description wouldn't have made me pick it up, and...

narrated by Mozhan Marno The basics: The Expats is the story of Kate Moore, a D.C. policy analyst whose husband Dexter receives a compelling job opportunity in Luxembourg. Kate and Dexter, along with their two young boys, soon make the move to Luxembourg, where Kate joins the thriving expat community for morning coffee, but all is not what it seems in this spy novel. My thoughts: Please ignore the basics of this book. It was quite challenging to remember what I thought was the setup early on in this novel, and I think it's most exciting to read without the knowledge of some of its secrets. Pavone has his characters start spilling secrets very early on, and the twists keep coming throughout the novel. It's clear from the beginning that The Expats  is a spy novel. What isn't clear initially is who the spy is (or who the spies are.) The characters weave a complicated collection of secrets and lies, and I enjoyed every single reveal. Some I correctly guessed before the ...

The backstory: Us  was longlisted for the 2014 Booker Prize . I also adored One Day , the last novel David Nicholls wrote. The basics: Us is the story of Douglas, a middle-aged biochemist, his wife Connie, an artist, and their seventeen-year-old son Albie. Connie announces she thinks she wants to leave Douglas, but she isn't sure yet. They set out on a tour of Europe with Albie as a last family trip, both before he goes to college and perhaps for their marriage too. The present day unfolds in the narrative while Douglas also tells us the story of their marriage from the beginning. My thoughts: After loving One Day , I was already excited for Us . When it made the Booker longlist (before I could get my hands on a galley), I was surprised and ecstatic. My expectations were high going into this novel, and although I didn't love it quite as much as One Day , it is a smartly crafted, well-written, thoughtful exploration of marriage. It's also a medium-paced travel advent...

narrated by Cassandra Campbell The basics: Nora Eldridge, an aspiring artist and third-grade teacher in Cambridge, Massachusetts, tells the story of the year her utterly ordinary life becomes something more. The Shahid family, Skandar, a Lebanese visiting scholar, his wife Sirena, an Italian artist, and their son, Reza, arrive in town, and Nora finds herself drawn to all three of them. She shares a studio space with Sirena, teaches Reza, and looks forward to long talks with Skandar. My thoughts: Nora narrates this story from the future. She's a few years removed from the action, yet her storytelling is still filled with emotion. Her rage often seems just below the surface, and the pain is so fresh. The rawness of these emotions brings an air of mystery to this story. There's a haunting urgency to Nora's story, as though she's begging the reader to believe and understand her actions and emotions, even as she reflects on how some of her choices were not the best. ...

narrated by Abby Craden The backstory: I've been curious about Bringing Up Bebe  since it first came out, but now that I'm pregnant ( the nomadbaby is due August 9th ), it seemed like a great time to finally read it. On the recommendation of Jen at Devourer of Books , I opted for the audio version. The basics: Pamela Druckerman is a journalist and New Yorker who falls in love with a Brit and settles in Paris. Once they have a daughter, Bean, Druckerman begins to notice how different French children are than American children. They don't whine. They're not picky eaters. They sleep through the night earlier. yet when she asks French parents, they don't claim to do anything special or know what they're doing. In fact, compared to her U.S. friends who all espouse a variety of named parenting philosophies, the French parents insist that's just how children are. My thoughts: One of my biggest fears about motherhood is exhaustion. I've always been a sle...

The basics: Stretching from the 1970's to the early 2000's, Astonish Me  is the story of Joan, a young ballerina good enough to make the corps but not good enough to ever be a star. Joan's story is told in chapters and vignettes that move back and forth in time. My thoughts: As someone who has little coordination and even less grace, my fascination with ballet and dance truly stems from appreciation. Maggie Shipstead clearly shares my fascination with ballet, and the characters in this novel are at times both reverent and critical about ballet. These complicated feelings about ballet extend into the characters' lives too, and Shipstead's prose is astonishingly good. For so much interior insight, there is also a lot of action. Joan is at the center of this novel, but the secondary characters are actually more intriguing. From Joan's roommate and fellow dancer Elaine, to Russian defector Arslan Rusakov, to Joan's husband and son, as well as her neighbor...

I was fourteen when I first saw Before Sunrise . I'm pretty sure I saw it more than once in the theater, but I definitely remember it's one of the few films I've owned on VHS, Laserdisc (my family were early adopters), and dvd. It's a film I've loved for years. It's a film I still know most of the lines and facial expressions, even though I had not seen it in at least two years. Yet when I sat down to watch it with my husband Friday night, I was amazed to discover the film resonates more with me now than it ever has. Let me back up. In case you're unfamiliar with this film, it's the story of Jesse, an American, and Celine, a Frenchwoman, who meet on a train. Jesse is heading to Vienna, where he flies out the next morning. Celine is returning to Paris after visiting her grandmother in Hungary. Jesse convinces Celine to get off the train with him in Vienna, and they explore the city and talk all night. This description will likely either make you want to...

The basics: I Am Forbidden , the English language debut of Anouk Markovits, is the story of four generations of a Hasidic Jewish family. Their story begins in Transylvania before World War II, but then spreads to Paris and contemporary Williamsburg, Brooklyn. My thoughts: While I didn't know quite what to expect from this novel when I sat down, I did not expect to finish the novel before getting up. I did not expect to postpone dinner three hours so I could keep reading, and I certainly did not expect to be enchanted by Hasidic Jewish tradition. I would stop short of calling I Am Forbidden  a thriller, but it was certainly a thrilling read. What I found most remarkable in this novel was how well Markovits explained the religious traditions and customs in a way that made them understandable despite their rigidity. The characters, particularly Atara and her adopted sister Mila, shaped my thoughts on opinions on this religion as they grew up and found the words for understanding t...

The backstory: Half Blood Blues , Esi Edugyan's second novel, is shortlisted for the 2012 Orange Prize , was shortlisted for the 2011 Booker Prize , and won the 2011 Giller Prize. The basics: Mostly set in Nazi-occupied Berlin and Paris, Half Blood Blues is the story of a young German & American band, the Hot-Time Swingers. Their most talented member, a black German, is arrested and dies in custody. One recording of the band, survives, however, and Hiero becomes a cult hero. My thoughts: Early in this novel, Sid and Chip travel to Europe in 1992 to see a documentary about the band. Using a documentary about the characters was a brilliant way to condense their story early on: "Of course, the recording’s cult status had to do with the illusion of it all. I mean, not just of the kid but of all of us, all the Hot-Time Swingers. Think about it. A bunch of German and American kids meeting up in Berlin and Paris between the wars to make all this wild joyful music before the...

The backstory: Foreign Bodies  is on the 2012 Orange Prize shortlist. The basics: Inspired by The Ambassadors  by Henry James, Foreign Bodies  is the story of Bea Nightingale, a middle-aged divorced English teacher living in New York City. The novel opens in 1952 with a letter from Bea's estranged brother Marvin asking her to go track down his son Julian, who has jetted off to Paris. My thoughts: I haven't read The Ambassadors , but Ozick swept me into this world immediately. I had an instant reaction to Marvin's haughtiness and condescending nature and thus was immediately drawn to Bea. There's an element of fantasy here too. Yes, Bea must uproot her life to jet off to Paris, but she gets to be in Paris in 1952. The setting entranced me more than it did Bea, which was a refreshingly realistic perspective. Ozick describes the idealized Paris of this time comically: "They were mostly young Americans in their twenties and thirties who called themselves "e...

The backstory:   The Last Time I Saw Paris  was on this year's Indie Lit Awards shortlist. The basics: Fleeing New York City and a husband she doesn't love, Claire calls in a favor to travel to Paris in 1940. When she arrives, she realizes how dire the situation is there, but she perseveres, even without proper documentation, and vows to survive the war in Paris. My thoughts: I seem to be reacting more strongly to covers lately, and I love this one for the way it captures the story: it's Paris, it's passion, and its colors are enhanced, which represents that although this novel is historical fiction, it's been turned up a few notches toward fantasy. While The Last Time I Saw Paris  is firmly grounded in its time and place, I still found myself suspending belief, and gladly, because I was so enjoying its journey. It's certainly not the historical fiction of Helen Dunmore. Yet Lynn Sheene's version is compelling, escapist and action-packed. It's also n...

The backstory: It's Paris in July ! If I can't be in Paris (perhaps my all-time favorite city) this July, at least I can read about it. The basics: French Lessons follows three Americans on one day with their French tutors. The three stories intersect tangentially. My thoughts: In some ways, French Lessons felt more like stories than a novel. It opens with the three Parisian tutors having coffee. From there, the action is quite segmented. We first meet Josie, a young French teacher and aspiring playwright who has traveled to Paris alone. Her story is told as a mix of flashbacks of her backstory and her current adventure. I loved her story, and I was sad when it ended. Next we meet Riley, an American mom with two young children who now lives in Paris but has not mastered the language at all. Riley's story was more escapist but still intriguing and somewhat dark. Finally, we meet Jeremy, who has traveled with his wife to Paris for their anniversary, but she is busy w...

The backstory: Invisible Bridge  was one of Entertainment Weekly 's 10 Best Novels of 2010, a New York Times  Notable Book in 2010, and Julie Orringer is coming to Albany Thursday night as part of the New York State Writer's Institute Visiting Writers Series . (Update: The Invisible Bridge has been longlisted for the 2011 Orange Prize !) The basics: The novel opens with Andreas Levi, a young Jewish student in Hungary, as he is preparing to move to Paris, where he has an architecture scholarship but knows no one and very little French. He's asked to deliver a package and a mysterious letter by a wealthy family after a chance meeting. My thoughts: I hesitate to describe  Invisible Bridge  as a love story because that oversimplifies what is an accomplished massive, sweeping novel. Yes, romance is a major element of this novel, but no more so than it is in life. I was instantly fascinated with Andras and his fascinating journey from Hungary to Paris. The reader can ...

The basics: French Milk  is the story of the month Lucy and her mother spent in Paris celebrating their 22nd and 50th birthdays, respectively. Lucy is an aspiring cartoonist, and she publishes her diary, which is essentially a graphic memoir. My thoughts: I knew French Milk  was a memoir when I started reading it, but I didn't realize it was in diary form. Perhaps some changes were made between its original writing and its subsequent publication, but there is a beautiful, raw honesty present that makes me think it is authentic. In many ways, Lucy is a typical 22-year-old. She misses her boyfriend. She gets homesick. She gets her period and gets really cranky. It's not an idyllic portrait of a vacation, and I love it even more for that. Knisley doesn't sugarcoat the parts of travel that are unfortunate. Part of my enjoyment of this book is incredibly personal. I spent a month in 2004 (the year Lucy and her mother went to Paris) in France, Italy and Greece. It was one of...

The backstory: After seeing rave reviews of this novel just about everywhere , I decided to take the plunge. The basics: Marie is so bad and so very lovely. She's fresh out of prison (for being an accessory to murder for running away with her lover, who robbed a bank leaving one guard dead, after the fact) and working as a nanny for an old friend. The opening scene: her friend and husband (author of Marie's favorite novel, which she discovered in the prison library) discover Marie asleep and naked in the bathtub with their daughter. My thoughts: Bad Marie  is a delightful roller coaster of an adventure novel for literature lovers. Marie gets to do what the sensible parts of us won't let us do, and it is so much fun to go with her on her adventures. I got to live vicariously and without repercussions.  I won't spoil the journey for you, as it's most of the fun. It's a deliciously quick read with quite a few twists and turns. I gladly suspended realit...