Book Review- Rebecca Makkai's Music for Wartime

I'm a fan of short stories, both as a reader and as a writer. I love them for their ability to capture a whole story world in a economical amount of words. Mostly, I love that the entire story can usually be read in a single sitting, allowing me to fully embrace the entire experience without interruption. Thank You to Viking Penguin Group for an advanced copy of Rebecca Makkai's short story collection, Music for Wartime, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT - The stories in Rebecca Makkai's new collection , Music for Wartime, span a wide range of topics and eras. One of my favorites in the collection is The November Story, which follows a producer on a reality show as she tries to find balance between the sketchy ethics of her job and her crumbing home life. Another favorite was The Miracle Years of Little Fork, in which a dustbowl era town is left with a dead elephant and a pregnant girl after a circus breezes through their town. Everything We Know About The Bomber is a commentary on how our society processes news stories in this time of rapid information and speculation.

The collection ends with my favorite story, The Museum of the Dearly Departed, where a gas leak has killed all of the inhabitants of an apartment building, except for an elderly couple, who had been on vacation and also happen to be holocaust survivors. The irony is not lost on them. The narrator of the story has been contacted because her fiancé was found in one of the apartments. The narrator learns that the apartment belonged to her fiancé's wife, whom she had thought he had divorced. As she goes through the apartment, she begins to unravel the lies of his life, learning about this other woman through the possessions left in the apartment. 

LIKE- Makkai is a gifted writer. Her stories are emotional rollercoasters, filled with unexpected twists and reveals. I appreciate that there is so much variety among her stories, both thematically and in tone. This collection shows a huge range and there was not a single story that I disliked or found to be lacking. 

DISLIKE- I wish it had been longer...that's the complaint that I'm officially lodging. 

RECOMMEND- Absolutely! Makkai is a "new-to-me" author discovery and I'm very excited to read her other works. Music for Wartime is a must for short story lovers. It's a beautiful, affecting and thought provoking collection. 

Book Review- Liane Moriarty's The Hypnotist's Love Story

Earlier in the year, I "discovered" Australian author, Liane Moriarty, when I read her bestseller, Big Little Lies. I absolutely loved Big Little Lies ( can't wait for the film adaptation with Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon) and I was eager to read her other novels.

PLOT -Hypnotherapist, Ellen O'Farrell has just met the man of her dreams. Patrick is a handsome widower with a steady job and a young son. Ellen and Patrick quickly fall in love and everything seems perfect, until he reveals that his ex-girlfriend, Saskia, has been stalking him. Saskia is relentless in her pursuit of Patrick, which is troubling enough, but Ellen quickly realizes that Saskia is her new client. 

LIKE - Moriarty has a talent for writing flawed and memorable characters. In both The Hypnotist's Love Story and Big Little Lies, she had me constantly changing my perception towards her main characters. She accomplishes this by deftly doling out the character information to build to surprise character reveals at key moments in the story. Moriarty has a keen understanding of human nature and she writes in a way that made me feel empathy towards her characters, even when they were not so likeable.

I liked how this wasn't so much a love story, but a story about finding family and shaping your own life, even if it's not the one that you dreamed of having. Life is bumpy and this is a story about learning to make lemonade from the lemons. The ending wasn't what I had anticipated, but it's touching and empowering. It gave me the warm fuzzies. 

DISLIKE-  This is really the story of Saskia and Ellen, both extremely rounded and strong characters. Patrick, the love interest of both women, fell flat. I wasn't sure why either woman was interested in him and half-way through the story, I was convinced that the twist would be both women realizing that they could do without him. 

RECOMMEND- Yes. The Hypnotist's Love Story isn't as strong as Big Little Lies, but it's still worth a read. I'm looking forward to working my way through Moriarty's other novels. She's a talented storyteller.

Book Review- Christopher Slater's Pup

Ever read so many books that you lose track?

About a month ago, I saw Christopher Slater's debut novel, Pup, on my Kindle and I started reading it. It grabbed me immediately, but I also had zero recollection of having requested it from NetGalley. It turns out that I didn't request it. I had requested a different book published by The Story Plant, but there was a mix-up with the downloads on Netgalley. I wrote to both NetGalley and The Story Plant to resolve the issue.

I received a very kind email response from Lou Aronica (President and Publisher of The Story Plant), who not only sent me a copy of the story that I should have received, but who approved my request to officially review Pup, since I was already enjoying it so much. It was a happy mix-up. Thanks Lou!

PLOT - Pup is narrated in first person by John Z. Pupulowinazowski (Pup), a college-aged kid who is drafted to fight in the second Korean War, which presumably occurs in our near future. Pup retells his war adventure to his children in a style that's a bit like the sitcom How I Met Your Mother. This is a story of unlikely heroism, dumb luck and unexpected romance.

LIKE- The strongest element of Slater's story is Pup's voice. He is a hilarious commentator of the world around him. It's never explicitly stated, but it's inferred that Pup might be mildly autistic. He is task oriented and lacks the ability to read the social cues of others. His situational "dumb luck" is reminiscent of Forrest Gump. Pup is constantly getting himself into a pickle that he manages to escape in the most unlikely way. It's not realistic, but it works in the realm of this story world.

I enjoyed the transformation of the fellow soldiers, who went from picking on Pup, to valuing his friendship. Pup is such a darn likeable and innocent character ( I mean his nickname is Pup for goodness sakes, who doesn't like puppies?) that the likeablity drives the story. I kept wanting to read to make sure that he would be okay. He has a sweet romance with a Japanese woman named Mayumi, who is only slightly less of a disaster than Pup. It's a perfect match. 

DISLIKE- I would have liked more context for the war. There is some background information, when Pup is put on the spot in front of the troops and is asked to explain why he thinks that they're fighting. Still though, I didn't feel like it was enough to satisfy my curiosity. This is a minor complaint in an otherwise wonderful debut.

RECOMMEND- Yes! Pup is such a fun read and I look forward to Slater's next novel. Give this strong debut a spot on your bookshelf.