Last week, I listed a bunch of books that I either read or, in many cases, did not finish in 2020. Here’s the rest of the books from a confusing, stressful, distracted and unfocused year.
As in prior years, I’ve used the following rating scheme: LR = light, enjoyable read; GR = good, several caveats; ER = excellent, few caveats; OR = outstanding; DNF = did not finish; NMT = not my type. As I said in last week’s post, my apologies to those authors whose novels I did not finish.
- A Well-Behaved Woman by Theresa Anne Fowler – ER – The title of this one appealed to me as did the peek into the lives of the Vanderbilts, specifically Alva Vanderbilt who married into the “newly rich but socially scorned family” this saving her own family from financial ruin. By the way, Alva Vanderbilt isn’t as well-behaved as the title implies.
- The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff – DNF – This novel kept popping up on Facebook and other places and I’ve enjoyed other novels by Jenoff, so I gave it a try. I think I’ve read too many novels about women who become SOE agents in WWII and this one didn’t differentiate itself in the early chapters.
- Marlene by C.W. Gortner – ER – I’m a big fan of C.W. Gortner’s novels. In this novel he’s written the fascinating story of Marlene Dietrich from her early schoolgirl days to her rise as a Hollywood star and her support for US troops during WWII.
- The Girl With Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee – ER – Memoir of a teenager who escapes North Korea’s brutal and repressive regime and ultimately reaches the safety of South Korea. A story of daring, ingenuity, perseverance, and triumph.
- Circe by Madeline Miller – OR – A discussion of favourite historical fiction authors led me to a discovery of Madeline Miller and her novel Circe. I’ve never been a fan of mythology – I find all those gods, their powers, and their complicated relationships confusing. In Circe, Madeline Miller creates a compelling, action-filled tale that explores the intersection of gods and humans. Her prose is superb.
- Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin – DNF – An American woman works for the French resistance during WWII “while playing hostess to the invading Germans at the iconic Hotel Ritz in Paris.” Unfortunately, the characters did not grab my attention, but that could just be the pandemic, as I’ve enjoyed other novels by Melanie Benjamin.
- Double Cross by Ben McIntyre – GR – Non-fiction: the story of the double-agents involved in Operation Fortitude and how they tricked the Germans into believing that the Allies would attack Calais rather than Normandy. What detracts from the story is the huge cast of characters and the detail with which McIntyre explores each one of them, often going back in time at length before proceeding with the main drama.
- The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan – OR – Non-fiction account of D-Day. I found it mesmerizing, superbly told, suspenseful and very satisfying.
- The Library of Legends by Janie Chang – ER – I had the privilege of an early-release copy of this novel. Janie Chang’s tale of a convoy of student refugees who travel across China, fleeing the hostilities of a brutal war with Japan is quite wonderful. The students have been entrusted with a 500-year-old collection of myths and folklore known as the Library of Legends. Here’s the article I wrote for the Historical Novel Society.
- Anya Seton: A Writing Life by Lucinda MacKethan – ER – when the opportunity came along to read an early-release of this biography, I quickly said yes. Anya Seton is one of those novelists who got me hooked on historical fiction. During her tumultuous life she wrote multiple bestsellers. As I said my review, Lucinda MacKethan’s biography is a superb story of a famous author’s life along with her struggles for recognition and fulfilment.
- Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig – ER – A story of a group of Smith College graduates who travel to France during WWI to help citizens whose lives have been destroyed by war. The novel compellingly tackles a central question: “What happens when you take a group of women with wildly different personalities and interests and set them down in the high-pressure situation of a war zone.” To be released in early March.
- Red At the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson – ER – Selected by my book club, this novel “looks at the ways in which young people must so often make long-lasting decisions about their lives–even before they have begun to figure out who they are and what they want to be.”
- The Lost Girls by Heather Young – ER – From the six-year-old girl who disappears to her sisters, mother and nieces, everyone in this novel is lost in her own way. Through multiple timelines, Heather Young patiently and carefully reveals what really happened in this compelling story.
- The Year I Made 12 Dresses by Patricia Parsons – ER – As Charlie sews her way through the year after her mother’s death, she finds wisdom and unexpected happiness while uncovering secrets from the past. This was one of those novels that grabs you slowly and suddenly you find yourself in that I-can’t-wait-to-get-back-to-it mode.
- A Castle in Wartime by Catherine Bailey – ER – I was delighted to discover another book by non-fiction author Catherine Bailey. Catherine writes non-fiction with the drama and excitement of fiction. A superb story of one family, their missing sons, and the fight to defeat the Nazis.
- Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain – OR – I began 2020 with Vera Brittain’s biography. Abandoning her studies at Oxford in 1915 to enlist as a nurse in the armed services, she served in London, in Malta, and on the Western Front. By war’s end she had lost virtually everyone she loved. It is “both a record of what she lived through and an elegy for a vanished generation.”
This is the sixth year I’ve shared my reading. You can check our previous years: 2019 (part 1 and part 2), 2018 part 2, 2018 part 1, 2017 (part 1 and part 2), 2016 (part 1 and part 2). A Year of Reading 2015 – Part 1 and Part 2. A Year of Reading 2014 – Part 1 and Part 2
DON’T MISS OTHER POSTS ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION. FOLLOW A WRITER OF HISTORY
M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.