Britt-Marie Was Here: A Novel by Fredrik Backman

 Britt-Marie Was Here: A Novel by Fredrik Backman. Atria Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster), 2014. Adult fiction.


    Britt-Marie is different from most people. When she goes to the unemployment office and is persistent, she finds a temporary job in the small town of Borg. She arrives with her knowledge of cleaning and manages to change herself and the townspeople forever. Britt-Marie knows little about men, but finds herself wooed by two men. Britt-Marie knows nothing about soccer, but she ends up coaching and mentoring and loving the local children who play passionately. Finding out Britt-Marie's secrets is truly like peeling back the layers of an onion, but readers will laugh with her, sympathize with her, and urge her to live her own best life. One person can really change the world as Britt-Marie proves.


The story reads faster than the author's A Man Called Ove and the main character is just as quirky, but totally different. Part of the fun in the story involves the small drawings that precede each chapter. Each represents a happening or object vital to the story. Even the cover illustration is pitch perfect! And, you might just find yourself rearranging your silverware drawer!

The Shipping News: A Novel by E. Annie Proulx

  The Shipping News: A Novel by  E. Annie Proulx. Scribner, 1993. Adult nonfiction.


Set in Newfoundland, this story of newspaperman Quoyle and his small daughters, Sunshine and Bunny who return to the ancestral home with Quoyle's aunt. The poor man is beset with grief over his first wife, problems at work, and trying hard to make a new life. While acclaim has ranged from "astonishingly accomplished" to comparisons with Edith Wharton and John Steinbeck, the novel reveals its secrets slowly. The characters are memorable and have interesting names like Billy Pretty, Ed Punch, Mrs. Buggit, Wavey, and Murchie. The aunt is a wonder with her talents at upholstery and understanding little girls. Definitely read it in the winter when you can appreciate the ice and cold of the setting!

Swan by Frances Mayes

 Swan: A Novel by Frances Mayes. Broadway Books (Random House),
                    2002. Adult fiction.


Travel writer Frances Mayes branched out from her usual Italian memoirs to write this fictional account of small town life in Swan, Georgia. Grown children, J.J. and Ginger Mason, are shocked when the body of their long dead mother is found lying on the ground beside her grave. Even more shocking is that she did not commit suicide, but was murdered. Everyone has secrets and must move past the traumas and tragedies to seek new futures, new loves, and new adventures. The neighbors, friends, and family will remind readers who grew up in the South of people they know. Slow moving story, sort of like sipping an iced tea in the hot summer and reading on the front porch!