More books to consider

Here are books (with descriptions) that have been suggested for our May/June meetings.


1) The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer
Beautiful writing full of surprises. I couldn't believe lightening could strike twice since I adored Max Tivoli, but this was completely novel and very memorable.

2)A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
A passionate page-turner that made me ignore my entire family to read it. It was over too fast. I have been raving about this one for awhile and am thrilled it's just hitting some bestseller lists...well-deserved!

3) This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
Hilarious! And yet poignant. His descriptions of this dysfunctional family are so dead-on, they seem like they must be true and not fiction. You will laugh out loud and be completely touched at the same time

4) American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
I hesitated on this one even after hearing her speak at The Kidney Foundation Luncheon and I really wasn't wowed by PREP. I finally grabbed the paperback and surprised myself not only by really liking it but thinking it was well-written to boot. Forget the back-story and just enjoy.
Oh hell...let's do one more for good luck....

5)The Adderall Diaries by Stephen Elliot
The only non-fiction book here (and I read a lot of nonfiction!) I picked it up at a Rumpus event in December and became totally immersed in the intertwining of Elliot's personal life and his local trial coverage. BTW-if you run Adderall through spellcheck, one of the options is "Derail" and that seemed apropos somehow. I finished it quickly but found myself thinking about it for awhile.

6. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
That Abraham Verghese is a doctor and a writer is already established; the miracle of this novel is how organically the two are entwined. I’ve not read a novel wherein medicine, the practice of it, is made as germane to the storytelling process, to the overall narrative, as the author manages to make it happen here. The medical detail is stunning, but it never overwhelms the humane and narrative aspects of this moving and ambitious novel. This is a first-person narration where the first-person voice appears to disappear, but never entirely; only in the beginning are we aware that the voice addressing us is speaking from the womb! And what terrific characters--even the most minor players are given a full history. There is also a sense of great foreboding; by the midpoint of the story, one dreads what will further befall these characters. The foreshadowing is present in the chapter titles, too--‘The School of Suffering’ not least among them! Cutting for Stone is a remarkable achievement.- Review by John Irving