The Stranger by Albert Camus

"Of course, I had to own that he was right; I didn't feel much regret for what I'd done. Still, to my mind he overdid it, and I'd have liked to have a chance of explaining to him, in a quite friendly, almost affectionate way, that I have never been able really to regret anything in all my life."
           -Meursault's reaction to the prosecuting attorney

This novel, written by an Algerian author in 1942 and translated in this version by Daniel Ortega, is one I likely would never have read except for Jenny Torres Sanchez's Because of the Sun. I'll explain:
The May Page Turners book was Because of the Sun and YA fiction writer Sanchez attended our meeting to discuss her latest novel. (Several of us know her personally.) In her book, protagonist Dani, after the death of her mother, is reading The Stranger from her school summer reading list and coincidentally finds herself a stranger to herself much as Meursault experiences at the death of his mother at the beginning of The Stranger. At our book club meeting Ms. Sanchez shared that she had read the Camus novel in high school and it had left an impression on her. (Interestingly my 22-year-old granddaughter saw the book at my house and said she had read it in high school, as well.) So from mentions of The Stranger throughout Because of the Sun and Ms. Sanchez's reflections, I became curious enough to borrow a copy and read the classic (?).

I would rate The Stranger a 3.5. I did not expect to like it at all and I did---a little. I don't care much for stream of consciousness writing and both these novels use it as a narrative device, Camus even more extensively than Sanchez. Both protagonists, Mssr. Meursault and Dani Falls, are difficult-to-like characters at first. Further into the novel the reader becomes more simpatico with Dani, not so much with Meursault. At least one secondary character describes him as "being devoid of the least spark of human feeling." The quote I began with somewhat reflects his lack of compassion.

There are some fairly interesting secondary characters introduced, keeping my attention, and one must finish The Stranger to see what M's fate will be (no spoiler here!) but it IS a short book, only 132 pages.

I now find myself wanting to reread Because of the Sun to see if it will have more meaning after having read The Stranger.

Kill the Messenger by Tami Hoag

" He drove Jace crazy when he asked questions like that. Why am I me, instead of someone else? Why was this his life? No mother, no father. Why was the family he knew someone else's family? Jace told him there was no sense wondering things like that, but Tyler wondered anyway. Some questions didn't have answers, Jace said. Life was what it was, and all they could do was live it the best way they could."
           -Tyler's thoughts, from the novel

I have enjoyed several of Tami Hoag's murder mysteries but none recently. When I spotted this one at our condo association's mini-library, it jumped right off the shelf into my hands! It did not disappoint as a true page-turner. It starts out with a bang and hardly slows down. I rate it a 5.

The story involves two protagonists. First, we meet Jace Damon, a very young man who works as a bicycle messenger in L.A. in an effort to support himself and his 10-year-old brother. Their parents are gone and life is a struggle, to be sure, hinted at in the quote above. When Jace does a late pick-up he is chased down by a mysterious driver who is apparently trying to kill him. He survives with his street smarts but his bike---his livelihood---does not fare so well. The reader soon finds out the low-life lawyer who gave him the package to deliver has been murdered, leaving Jace to feel he will be a suspect and causing him to go on the lam.

In the meantime, detective Kevin Parker, self-professed best homicide cop in town, is involved with the murder of the "scum-sucking member of the bar" already mentioned. He is training a new cop, Renee Ruiz, who as it turns out, has questionable motives. Early in the course of his investigation, Kev learns of the bike messenger and knows he may have vital information to help solve the crime and searches for him.

Jace, his boy genius brother, Tyler, and Kevin are all likeable characters and I found myself very sympathetic. Some of the other bike messengers were described in such a way as to add some humor and there is even some romance thrown in to alleviate the intensity. The plot takes some twists and turns and in the end Kevin Parker gets a big surprise and I think you will too!

A Reluctant Queen The Love Story of Esther by Joan Wolf

“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
           -Mordecai's advice to Queen Esther, the Book of Esther 4:13-14 (NIV)

Several years ago my women's church circle was involved in a Bible study of the book of Esther which I found very interesting. When I saw that the library had a book bundle (multiple copies in a set) of this title, I was determined to use it as a Page Turner selection. I waited quite a while to find it available for checkout but I kept trying because I knew it would be different from anything we had read in a while and all our book club folks are people of faith. I enjoyed it---will rate it a 4---and hope they liked it, too.

In the Biblical book the quote with which I began was quite a notable scripture reference. All through the novel, I kept looking for a statement that was similar and never really found it. In the Author's Note, Ms. Wolf does admit to "tinkering a bit with the Esther story as it is presented in the Bible." After finishing the novel, I reread the Bible original and realized there was a lot of tinkering! The characters come alive with the author's fleshing out of their emotions and motivations and of course the dialogue adds even more realism. A true Biblical scholar would have problems with some changes and additions to the Esther story but if read as fiction, A Reluctant Queen is quite enjoyable, especially if the reader likes a good love story once in a while!

I look forward to meeting with our group and hearing their thoughts....more later.
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Page Turners rate the book 3.7, with all votes either 3 or 4. I'd say we liked it. We agreed you could not read it as history and appreciate it, only as a work of fiction. One member of the group told me she had a library copy of the book that had editing marks and indignant comments written in it---obviously a reader who did not take that advice. Almost all participants said they reread the Bible book of Esther either before or after The Reluctant Queen.

I compared The Red Tent, a novel by Anita Diamant which is also Biblical fiction, a Jacob, Rachel and Leah story. I had recently seen the mini series on TV and was reminded of the "tinkering" Diamant did with the Genesis story. Many knew just what I meant.

Refreshments are always offered at our meetings, supplied by volunteers. On my way to the meeting I was thinking we should have a "Queen's feast."  As it turned out, two of our members had planned just that, theming our edibles with the book. We had Haman's ears---lovely triangular shaped cookies with jam in the centers---poppy seed muffins, grapes, figs, dates, nuts and a lovely warm potato dish. Delicious! All of that plus a very stimulating discussion!

Dead Certain by Adam Mitzner

"DEAD CERTAIN A Novel by Charlotte Broden
For my sister, Ella...because

CHAPTER ONE
Even in the beginning, I wondered about the end. I could envision only two outcomes, with nothing in between: happily-ever-after with a man I love, or my entire world blown to hell."
                  -from the novel-within-the-novel

I haven't read a thriller in a while and this one certainly was! Definitely a change of pace.

Ella Broden, attorney-at-law, meets her sister Charlotte for lunch in the beginning pages of the novel. Charlotte shares the good news that she has a partially-finished novel that has been accepted for publication. It just happens to be titled Dead Certain. She gives a manuscript to Ella to read. The next day, Charlotte's live-in boyfriend reports her missing. Ella enlists the help of NYPD detective and former lover Gabriel Velasquez to help her find her sister.

As it turns out Charlotte's novel is somewhat autobiographical in that the protagonist has a lawyer sister and is romantically involved with 3 men, thinly veiled representatives of the multiple lovers of Charlotte herself. When Ella realizes this, she begins trying to discern which of Charlotte's actual lovers could be implicated in her disappearance. The plot takes some twists and turns but I did predict the culprit perhaps half-way through the book. No spoilers though!

I am giving the book a 4 rating. I admit to being captured by the story. The novel-within-the-novel was an interesting technique but when another narrator is introduced, three first-person narratives get a bit confusing. There is some rather tedious repetition as the reader gets the same event from two perspectives but they sound almost the same. I thought the author did a creditable job of writing from a woman's (actually two women's) point(s) of view. I do think I would read more by this author.

Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson

"I was so effing sick of other people's love stories, today in particular. Why would some higher power send me to a nun, only to have her tell me this?..........This, right here, this was my story, and love had no place in it."
             -Shandi Pierce, from the novel

This novel starts out with a bang, quite literally! I could hardly put it down for the first few chapters as protagonist Shandi Pierce is held hostage in a convenience store robbery attempt. Her precocious 3-year-old is there with her along with a few others, including William Ashe who she instinctively feels will be the one to save the day. He starts out by protecting and comforting Natty, her son, immediately endearing himself to Shandi. After this frightening episode has ended, the two are understandably connected emotionally.

Shandi and William each have unresolved traumas in their recent past. Shandi's story shifts to William's and back frequently. She has a platonic friend, Walcott, on whom she greatly depends. William's equivalent is Paula, best friend of both him and his wife, Bridget. These two secondary characters provide some conflict, along with Shandi's at-odds divorced parents and a "ghost" from her past.

The author uses Southern flavor, humor and realistic dialogue to produce a good story, one with a surprise (and I would say rather abrupt) ending. I have read 4 other books by this author and I think the first two were my favorites, Gods in Alabama and Between, Georgia. This one I will rate a 3. I admit to being a bit disappointed.

Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen

"Riled, righteous and rip-roaringly funny...Hiaasen's novels ought to bear the warning label: may be hazardous to your sides. They may split."
                   -from New York Newsday

This novel is a sequel of sorts to Bad Monkey which I finished listening to recently on CD. A few characters are the same but many more wacky ones are introduced. Protagonist Andrew Yancy is still trying to win back his detective badge and hang onto his girlfriend former M.E., Rosa. He gets involved in another wild and crazy case. Buck Nance of the "Bayou Brethren" reality show (think "Duck Dynasty") disappears while his agent, Lane Coolman, is the victim of a " bump and grab" car accident followed by his being kidnapped. The driver of the car and kidnapping accomplice is Merry Mansfield, the eponymous "razor girl." (You'll have to read only a few pages to find out why!) While this is going on, Yancy meets his would-be next door neighbor on Big Pine Key, Deb, who has lost her $2000 engagement ring.

Add to all this lunacy a crook who steals sand from one beach to sell to another, a lawyer of questionable integrity, a criminal who electrocutes himself via a Tesla, a Mafia boss, a rabid fan of "Bayou Brethren" who pushes a Muslim off the conch train to his death and some giant Gambian pouched rats! Talk about outlandish predicaments---one after another!

Razor Girl is set in the Florida Keys, much of it in Key West. I have been there a couple of times so I enjoyed the references to Duval Street, the La Concha hotel (where we stayed), Mallory Square, the Southernmost Point, the conch train and the countless chickens that roam everywhere. So not only was the novel good for a bunch of laughs, it brought back memories of a pretty cool place!

I will rate this one a 5 for high entertainment value! Literary value---not so much.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

"Birdsong. A nightingale. She hears it singing a sad song. Nightingales mean loss, don't they? Love that leaves or doesn't last or never existed in the first place. There's a poem about that, she thinks. An ode."
                -Isabelle's hallucination, from the novel

What can I say about this novel? It is a gripping story told beautifully! Rates a 5, for sure. The plot was so compelling I could hardly put it down---read it in only a few days.

Though the beginning setting is Oregon, 1995, a flashback soon takes the reader back to 1939 and the village of Carriveau, France. Two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle Mauriac, about as different as siblings can be, must learn to deal with the ominous arrival of the Nazis. Vianne has a daughter she must protect at all costs while Isabelle is an impulsive and defiant 18-year-old, unwilling to yield to Nazi occupation. Both sisters end up involved in the French Resistance---Isabelle, quickly and wholeheartedly and Vianne, reluctantly at first, but then with great courage. Both women exemplify selflessness, resilience, determination, compassion and love.

This novel reminded me so much of Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan which I read very recently. In it Pino Lella becomes involved heart and soul with the resistance movement in Italy during Nazi occupation, beginning by leading Jews through an "underground railroad" of sorts through the Alps into Switzerland. Isabelle undertakes similar risky missions in The Nightingale with numerous treks through the Pyrenees. Though Isabelle is a fictional character and Pino is an actual person, both demonstrate great courage and show that heroes can be people you would least expect---women, before they were given much credit, and teenagers.

Both these novels are emotionally intense so maybe you'd want to read something light and humorous in-between. Just saying.....
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The Nightingale was very popular with our Page Turners: average rating a 4.7, highest of 2017 to this point. We had a wonderful discussion including some personal reflections about duty, war and prejudice. In answer to questions provided by the publisher, most of us agreed that both sisters did what they had to do and we admired them both. We acknowledged that even though the Mauriac women were fictional characters, there would have been numerous real women who performed the kind of heroic deeds described in the book. Some of us did not realize the degree to which the French people suffered during this terrible time. We thought that the narrative structure of the novel, switching settings, as I described earlier, added intrigue and some relief from the intensity of the 1939 story. We were kept guessing as to the narrator almost to the end! If you like historical fiction, this one's a winner!