Magical Realism for Non Believers by Anika Fajardo

Magical Realism for Non Believers by Anika Fajardo

I discovered this title during my search for a book to compare to my own memoir, which I'm currently pitching on the open market while trying to find an agent. Magical Realism for Non Believers is a memoir about finding family as is mine. But to me that's where the similarity ends.

Anika was born in Columbia but raised in Minnesota by her single mother. Her mother returned home after a short lived marriage to a Columbian man she met while in college. Anika remembers little about the father left behind. They had no interaction until he invites her to Columbia when Anika is eighteen. When she arrives in her homeland everything she knows about herself changes. A place she's never really known is familiar to her. 

Her father, however, is the mystery and he holds even more surprises for Anika that knock her off her feet. Anika spends alot of time trying to wrap her head around who and what makes up a family unit as is to be expected. She had much thrown at her during the time she crossed the bridge between teenager and adult. 

I understand her confusion about who she really is and where she belongs, but I'm not a big fan of the way this book was written. Anika has a compelling story to tell, I just wasn't captivated by the way it was told. I didn't feel connected with any of the family members, they appeared flat and aloof. And I never understood the meaning of the title Magical Realism for Non Believers. 

Dear George, Dear Mary by Mary Calvi

Dear George, Dear Mary by Mary Calvi

I'm not usually one to read historical romance but after I saw a piece on CBS Sunday Morning about the author of this book, I decided to read it.  I also like to mix up the subject matter and setting of the books I read, so this was the perfect update for me on pre Revolutionary War.

As a young man in a new country, George Washington set out to learn military strategy as well as the ways of a sophisticated and civilized man.  He had great respect for his mother who taught him polite table manners along with how to dance.  He becomes a highly sought after bachelor for the times.  George lived by the 110 Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior which the author gracefully sprinkles through this story.  He is an intelligent and gentle man.

In 1756 George is invited to the New York colony to the home of the wealthy Philipse's.  It is here that he becomes captivated with the beautiful Mary Philipse. And she with him.  The story leads the reader through the sumptuous food served at the dinner to dancing the minuet in the ballroom.  With lovely descriptions I imagined myself wearing the silk gowns, smelled the men's powdered wigs and heard the music that filled the mansion.

A few days later George must leave but vows to Mary to return to her.  But in the time of impending war, both sides use any method they can to manipulate the other side.  Dear George, Dear Mary is an immersion into the birth or our country wrapped around a beautiful love story interrupted by war.  This is a very well researched story and even though it's hard to tell the fact from the fiction, I was left feeling I learned about a side of George Washington that the history books never taught me.  This book is well worth your time.  I loved it. Romance and history mix seamlessly in Dear George, Dear Mary.  

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Okay! It's time for a classic!  A friend from high school is on a quest to read 100 books this year.  He's already up to 25 and this was one of his latest.  I'm not too familiar with William Faulkner so I thought I'd give this one a try.

As I Lay Dying is the story of a family who are on a journey to take their dead wife and mother to another county to be buried and fulfill her dying wish.  Each chapter is told from the point of view of a different family member, friend or acquaintance they encounter along the way.  Believe me, anything than can go wrong does.

Much of the story was difficult to read because the characters speak in a very complex, southern vernacular.  But that didn't mean I couldn't follow the details of building the coffin or getting the wagon across the river when the bridge washed out.  And I do have to say nothing prepared me for the shock at the end.

Supposedly Faulkner wrote this story start to finish without making a single edit.  If true that would be an amazing feat. He is a Noble Prize winner after all.  If you're like me and need a classic literature fix every now and then, As I Lay Dying is not to long and a good place to satisfy your craving.

My Husband's Wife by Jane Corry

My Husband's Wife by Jane Corry

I have a good friend who loves to read mysteries and thrillers.  I read an eclectic mix of things from classic to contemporary but rarely a mystery.  In an effort to expand our reading horizons, I'm trying to read the titles she suggests and she reads some of what I enjoy.  The only problem is that now I'm hooked.  I found Jane Corry and My Husband's Wife on a list and was intrigued.  I must admit the Brits are pretty good at writing the thrillers so I checked it out of the library.

Lily is newly married to Ed and trying to work her way up as a newly minted lawyer.  When her firm decides she would be great at criminal law, she visits her first client in prison with much trepidation.  She wins the case which sets in motion a brilliant law career.  Lily's winning ways however, are because she has a secret helper.

Carla is only nine and lives with her mother across the hall from Lily and Ed.  Lily offers to babysit so that Carla's mother can work on the weekends.  Ed, a painter, becomes enthralled with her Italian good looks.  Carla, even at her young age, learns that secrets can get her anything she wants. She grows up and comes back to get what she's wanted all these years from Lily and Ed.

My Husband's Wife is not a linear story.  It requires the reader to pay attention to the ups and downs of each character.  There are not many likable characters in this story but if they were, there'd be no story to tell. Not until the blood flows, will you feel much sympathy for any of them. Their lives are meticulously intertwined however and clues are left with precision.  The ending is as you might expect but not as you expected.