Station Eleven, a Novel, by Emily St. John Mandel

I read this one on my own. If I hadn't had this on audio book, I probably would've quit before the end (333 pages), as I kept waiting for the main characters to be tied together, other than in loose, meaningless ways. It never happened. 

I also had paper copy of book, and it was hard to tell who was talking. It got to the point that I much preferred the audio, and one day, sat in my car (in my garage) to listen rather than read it. 

As for the title, there's never a clear reason for why the book is titled after a comic book. I thought maybe the comic book influenced the "prophet." Nope. I thought maybe an encampment would be set up and dubbed Station Eleven. Nope. I wondered a lot (through 333 pages) about this. But never figured it out. 

There are so many scenes that confuse a reader who is paying attention. For example, on pg. 42, we hear a reference to "Year 20." I immediately thought it might refer to 2020, since there'd also been a reference to Lady Gaga (me trying to figure out when this all was occurring). But to TOOK UNTIL PAGE 231 for author to explain the year numbering system. Day one after the pandemic hit, then Year One, Two, Ten, etc. THAT would've been nice to know sooner than two-thirds thru the book!

Another example: Miranda was wearing high heels, she tripped and sprained her ankle. Arthur chides her for giving the paparazzi something to photograph (he's a big actor), and when they get home she "stalked" into the house. How does one "stalk" on a sprained ankle? Come on! Where's the copyeditor on this one??

While there are entertaining aspects of this book (via audio), readers will not come away with anything in the end but confusion. Why, for example, was Clark a main character? Is it because the author wanted a gay person in the story? So that her novel could appear "inclusive"? Clark's role is peripheral at best.

I could go on but won't. I see they made a series from this book, and there are a ton of reviews on goodreads & amazon, which means another mediocre author has "made it." 

I cannot recommend this book. But if you do read it, out of curiosity due to the series, listen on audio, and be prepared NOT to figure anything out. Perhaps this was meant to only be a tv series, not a book(?).

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, by Therese Ann Fowler

We both liked this book. We enjoyed it in audio format; the narrator's southern accent really brought Zelda to life (Zelda Sayre grew up in Alabama.) 

This book is historical fiction, and as such, the author (Fowler) has taken artistic liberties with some details. It's important to know this upfront and to recognize that this is NOT nonfiction. For example, when there's a hint of homosexuality between Scott and Ernest Hemingway, the specific details are FICTION. That part caught me by surprise and I searched my own copy of a Hemingway biography to see if it was true; I couldn't find any evidence of it. 

Zelda appears warm-hearted in this book, with only a few moments of outlandish behavior. She forgave Scott for many of his transgressions (eg, wandering eye). Yes, she had some mental health issues, this part was true. It's also true that she had a mom and sisters who grounded her, and she may have actually tried to lay off alcohol, even as Scott never seemed to try to. Alcohol makes any mental disturbance worse, and this is true for Zelda. She had a lot of energy which she poured into ballet dancing, writing, and painting. As was the case in that time period, women were expected to only want to fill roles as wives and mothers; they needed to put any artistic desires aside. Zelda didn't care for that idea. 

Fowler made Zelda into a bit of a feminist, and for that, critics have found fault. But she was talented in her own right. And if wanting to use her talent made her "different" or a bit of a feminist, so be it. Her struggles with being "more than just a wife" rings true for that time period (post WW1 through 1930s). 

As a bonus, this book illustrates the Writer's Life. Scott Fitzgerald was always hustling. Between books, he'd write pieces for magazines, and he was always stressed out about writing the next thing in order to support his family. Fowler made him out to be the bad guy in this book, but again, this is fictionalized. He seemed misguided, possibly a bit too full of himself at times. He drank too much, and probably did have a fling or two (or more?). And for this, anyone should rightly judge him as NOT honoring his wife or his marriage. 

Therese Anne Fowler is a very talented writer. Thumbs up on this book. That said, if you want something that's more true to life, pick a biography/nonfiction. 

The Almost Moon, by Alice Sebold

L and I agreed on this one, but I stopped reading it and she finished it.

The opening sentence is when the main character says she just killed her mom - elderly mom. The rest of the book is the ensuing 24 hours. We hear that her mom is 88 yrs old, with dementia, and before this, she lived a life filled with verbal abuse aimed at the daughter (main character, sorry, i cannot recall her name, we don't hear it much due to first person narration). Also, the mom was horrible to the character's father (long dead by the time of this event). However, even hearing that a person was horrible to their child and their husband does not excuse the horrific actions taken by the main character. 

L wrote down this line from somewhere in the middle of the book: "It was the right thing to do." The word "it" refers to the murder. At this point, it appears the author is hinting at the "rights" of an ill person to be put out of one's misery -- that euthanasia is "right." And wherever one stands on this topic, this book does NOT read this way. A mercy killing (euthanasia) and murder are different. What this character committed was murder - unrepentent, cold, calculating murder. And later in the book! Oh boy! There's more icky/weird actions taken (no spoilers but ugh). 

The character shows no emotion in the actions she takes. This leaves the reader looking for clues in other parts of her life to see if she is really a cold & calculating person. But there's no evidence that she's a horrible person in any other way. Nor is there evidence that she's had a psychotic break -- e.g., she carries on normal phone conversations with her daughter. The book hints once or twice and some possible reason that the main character would hate her mom so much, but no concrete reason is ever given. The book ends without the author ever saying WHY the murderer acted as she did. If there are deep dark secrets, it would be good to let the reader in on it. 

Again, I quit reading about a quarter way into the book. L gives this book a thumbs down, and I agree. Note that L kept reading, thinking the author would reveal something to redeem this supposed emotionally abused daughter (murderer). Nope. 

Animal Farm, by George Orwell

 I read this one on my own; at 93 pages, a very quick read. 

In looking at Amazon reviews, I found readers who aligned "Democrats" with the autocratic leaders on this farm -- which is both fascinating and unnerving. 

Using DJT as an example, someone who posed with Bibles then gleefully admitted to "grabbing" women's private parts, who worked ardently to discredit mainstream journalists in favor of ones who do his bidding (ie, praise him), and who continues to target entire groups of people based on ethnicity, it is incredible for anyone to not recognize him as Napoleon-the-Pig in Orwell's story. 

Napoleon does as he wishes, lies blatantly, gaslights  his "comrades" endlessly, all for power. 

Power reigns for pigs in this story, as in Russia (upon which Orwell based this story), in North Korea today, and in other places near and far.