Before We Visit the Goddess by Shitra B. Divakaruni

      Before We Visit the Goddess. By Shitra Banerjee Divakaruni. 

                                  Simon and Schuster, 2016.  Adult fiction.

     This multigenerational tale involves both India and the United States. Sabitri longs for education and is helped by a wealthy family until she makes a mistake. She ultimately has a successful business making sweets like her own mother did and named for Durga herself.  Sabitri’s daughter, Bela, dissolves ties with her mother to run away to America with her boyfriend. As a middle aged woman, she unexpectedly finds a new friend and a new life. Bela’s daughter, Tara, makes some poor choices including an abortion. Her life is changed by an encounter in a temple and in an automobile accident in Texas.

      All the women depend on their own notions of the truth of their pasts. Stories of male friends, lovers, and husbands are also woven throughout, but it is the women who sort through and ultimately put together the pieces to become stronger.   From Kolkata to Houston, from the very traditional to the modern, from poverty to wealth, from “otherness” to acceptance, these characters will find a place in readers’ hearts.

Waiting for the Queen by Joanna Higgins

 Waiting for the Queen: A Novel of Early America.
                                          By Joanna Higgins. Milkweed Editions, 2013.


If you love stories about the French Revolution and think you know a lot about Marie Antoinette, try this charming tale. Apparently, a group of nobles leave France and come to America for safe haven. They eagerly anticipate the arrival of their queen and her children. In rural Pennsylvania, New France is being carved out with the help of local Shakers. It is the muddy wasteland that one would envision, not the stuff of fancy ballgowns and big mansions.


Into this comes 15 year old Eugnie de La Roque and her family. To say that they are shocked at their new circumstances is an understatement! Hannah Kimbrell, a devout Shaker, and her father and brother have been chosen to help the new residents. Hannah can cook and has many skills that the new French-Americans need. While she starts as a servant, Hannah proves herself over and over and becomes a true asset to the de La Roques. Both girls become enmeshed in the question of slavery. Noble in spirit, if not in birth, Hannah understands the grief that the people feel when they finally learn that their queen is dead and will not be coming to join them.


The book begins in 1793 and would make an excellent companion to the Fever 1793 book by Laurie Halse Anderson. That book also stars a teenage girl.

Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman by Alice Steinbach

Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman. By Alice Steinbach. Random House, 2000. Memoir. Travel.


   When Baltimore journalist Alice Steinbach realizes that she is not as satisfied with her job and her life as she has been in the past, she takes a take of absence and travels. While she has won a Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in the past, she really shines in this travelogue and self examination. The writing is clear. The people she meets are interesting. And, her insights on the people, places, weather, and activities are unique, but readers will relate to them. Alice goes to Paris first, then London, Oxford, and Italy,  If you have been to these places, you can relive your own experiences. If you are an armchair traveler only, you will enjoy both the writing and the author.


Check the library for Educating Alice, another book by Alice Steinbach.

Drop-Dead Easy Knits by Gale Zucker

Drop-Dead Easy Knits by Gale Zucker, Mary Lou Egan, and Kirsten Kapur. Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2016.

From socks to cardigans, from shawls to scarves and hats, this title provides gorgeous full-color photographs and clearly written instructions. The difficulty levels are called Relaxed, Mindless, and Attentive, ratings of concentration required. But, the title is most unfortunate since these are NOT patterns generally for beginners! Beautiful, yes, but some require circular needles and most require knowledge of both knitting and purling.  Easy, not exactly, but if you can already knit and want more of a challenge than basic scarves or simple dishcloths, this may be the book for you.  I received this book from Blogging for Books for this honest review.

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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!