Book Review - Glenn Dixon's Juliet's Answer

Thank You to Gallery Books for providing me with an advanced copy of Glenn Dixon's memoir, Juliet's Answer, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- Glenn Dixon has spent nearly two decades in love with his college friend, Claire. They have a deep friendship, but Claire does not return his affections, and Dixon watches from the sidelines as she falls in and out of love with several men. As he holds out hope for Claire, Dixon throws himself into his work, as a high school English teacher. Although he has found joy and satisfaction from teaching, he yearns for a change. Dixon decides to spend a summer volunteering in Verona, Italy with the Secretaries of Juliet, a group that sends handwritten responses to love letters left at the home of Juliet, the real life inspiration for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. As Dixon writes these response letters, he begins to gain clarity in his own life, giving him the courage to let go of Claire and move on from teaching. 

RECOMMEND- Juliet's Answer is absolutely delightful. There are so many different components of this story that blend together beautifully. Let me break it down:

First, I had never heard of the Secretaries of Juliet or even that people left letters for Juliet. I've not been fortunate to travel to Italy (It's at the top of my travel bucket list), but I'm aware of the significance of Verona, and that you can visit Juliet's house. However, just knowing that there is a group of people that volunteer to respond to love letters, is a lovely thought, especially in our modern world. I love the idea that strangers are taking the time to impart wisdom and encouragement to other strangers via snail mail. Isn't that wonderful? It makes my heart warm.

Second, I had no idea that there is proof that Romeo and Juliet is based on a true story. How cool is that? Admittedly, it's not my favorite of Shakespeare plays and unlike Dixon, I don't think that I could find joy in teaching it to a new batch of high school students year after year, however I found it interesting that there is a historical significance. It gave me chills, especially the reference to Dante. 

Third, Dixon is a likable narrator. I had hope for him that he would let go of Claire, and I was thrilled for him at the end of Juliet's Answer, when he had found happiness. His is a story of leaving comfort zones and taking leaps of faith. His passion for his students and his love of Shakespeare jumped off of the page during the classroom scenes. As he was trying to engage his students during their reading of Romeo and Juliet, I felt tricked. I was starting to become swept away by his enthusiasm, giving me pause in rethinking my decades old disdain for the play.

DISLIKE- Nothing. Juliet's Answer is entertaining and heartwarming. 

RECOMMEND- Yes! I know it's early in 2017, but surely Juliet's Answer will be one of my favorite books of the year. Dixon is an affable protagonist and Juliet's Answer is a combination of so many things that I love = lush travelogue, history, literature, snail mail, love story, et... An all-around winning memoir. 

Book Review-Lisa Beazley's Keep Me Posted

Thank You to Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an advanced copy of Lisa Beazley's Novel, Keep Me Posted, in exchange for an honest review. 

PLOT - Close as children, sisters, Cassie and Sid have grown apart as adults. Cassie lives in New York with her young twins and husband. She is struggling with her floundering marriage and wondering if she is cut out to be a mother. Sid's husband's job has taken the family to Singapore. On the surface, it looks like Sid is living the life in luxury in a fabulous apartment with live in help, but in reality, her marriage is also on the rocks. 

At a family gathering during Christmas, the sisters hatch a plan to reconnect through snail-mail letter writing. The sisters soon find themselves not only reconnecting, but also sharing secrets that they may not have had the guts to reveal in person. This is wonderful, until a mistake causes their letters and very personal thoughts, to be shared with strangers.

LIKE- When I was in high school and college, email was around, but not widely used, I wrote letters to everyone. I still have a plastic box filled with letters that I received from friends and family. Keep Me Posted reminded me of the joys of letter writing. E-mail really isn't the same. I loved Beazley's concept of having these two sisters reconnect via letters. I'm in the same age group as Cassie and Sid, so this idea very much spoke to me and my experience.

I don't want to give away any details, but there is shift mid-way through the book that took me by surprise. It actually had me talking aloud to the characters- "oh no", "stop, don't do that." This gut level reaction made me realize that I was invested in the characters.

Beazley has done a great job at creating realistic and relatable characters. These women, especially Cassie, are not perfect. They make mistakes and their lives feel very real. Beazley writes in a way that makes me feel like these characters are people that I know, like I'm hearing the story from a friend. I admire her ability to write with such a natural ease. It's easy to imagine myself in similar situations as Cassie and Sid, even the cringe-worthy moments. 

DISLIKE- Truthfully, I liked the book very much until the end. The very end of the story was satisfying, but the twenty-thirty pages leading up to the very, where Cassie's situation is unresolved, didn't work for me. The situation gets dragged out too long and feels unnatural.

RECOMMEND- Yes. Keep Me Posted is a quick- paced, enjoyable read. Beazley has created characters that are engaging and relatable. I wouldn't label this story as light-hearted, but it does strike a good balance between life's deep and sweet moments. It's a rollercoaster ride.  

Book Review - Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience was a gift from my in-laws. Thank you Dave and Jan!  Getting this book was an ordeal. The first copy, went missing in the mail and the second copy was sent to the wrong address and ended up being held at a post office across town. It's a bit of a miracle that I finally got it, but it was well worth the effort and wait.

PLOT - In Letters of Note, writer Shaun Usher has compiled a wide range of letters from all around the world, written during various time periods. Some of the letters are written by famous people and some are from ordinary citizens. Thematically, there is a huge range in content, but the common thread is that all of the letters are extraordinary.

LIKE - Although this is very much a coffee table book and the letters can be read in any order, I decided to start at the beginning. I anticipated that I would slowly make my way through the book, reading a few letters each day. It was impossible to read slowly. The letters are like potato chips, I read one and had to read another. This is a weighty book, both in theme and in size, but I plowed through it in three sittings, because I simply couldn't put it down.

Some of the letters left a huge impression. In particular, a letter that Albert Einstein wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, warning Roosevelt about the potential for using uranium to construct a nuclear bomb. This letter set into motion a chain of events that would create the  Briggs Advisory Committee on Uranium, which led to the Manhattan Project and ultimately the creation of the nuclear bombs used in Japan. Einstein considered this letter to be one of his biggest mistakes.

On a lighter note, one of my favorite letters was a very clever and humorous inquiry that copywriter Robert Pirosh wrote to various movie studios in 1934, when he wanted to transition into a job as a screenwriter. It has to be the best cover letter ever written and it immediately made me feel inadequate with regards to anything that I might write in the future. It's that good and it ultimately landed him a job with MGM.

My biggest take-away from reading Letters of Note, is how it made me feel. This book is an emotional roller coaster and often an intense experience.

DISLIKE - There was nothing to dislike, however, as with most collections, there was an unevenness in my reaction to the letters. I tended to favor the more modern letters, those written in the last hundred years. This isn't to say that I didn't find merit for every single letter that was included in this book, just that some affected me more strongly than others. I think that everyone who reads Letters of Note, will have a completely unique experience and reaction. 

RECOMMEND - Yes. Buy this book now! Letters of Note is a life altering read and I hope that Usher creates a follow up, as I'm sure that there are more amazing letters than he was able to include in this book.