The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo

 

I loved this book. It was one of the most dynamic and well-written stories I've read in a long time. I love how Choo trickles out her details and connects her characters.

This is a book that's both a coming-of-age story, and one about the importance of truth. While there are multiple characters who are vital to the narrative, this is really only about two of them.

Taking place in 1930's Malaysia, Ji Lin is dealing with the restrictive society of the day. Her stepfather halted her education, even though she's quite smart, so she can't fulfill her professional dreams of being a nurse. Her mom has a secret mahjong debt, and Ji Lin feels a responsibility to help pay it off.  This means working two jobs, as both a dressmaker's apprentice and a dance hall girl.

Ren is only 11, but has lived quite a life. He's just lost his master, a doctor, to illness. A loyal houseboy, Ren promises the dying man he'll undertake a crazy mission of finding the doctor's lost finger and returning it to the grave. Without this missing piece, the doctor fears his soul won't move on. Ren ventures out to track down the finger, offering his services up to the surgeon who removed the finger in the first place (for medical reasons.)

You'd now think this is a story about a finger. Ren hunts for it. Ji Lin ends up in possession of it (that's not a spoiler.) However, the story is something so different.

For Ji Lin, the finger puts her on the right path, but her story is about finding her voice and her independence. She must realize it's okay to take control of one's life and share her thoughts out loud.

For Ren, the finger is what propels him forward to opportunity, but his journey is all about becoming more than a child. He's establishing his character through kindnesses and his decisions. If this book had a hero, Ren would be it for me.

Amidst all this, there's a lot of other stuff going on that adds up to an action-packed book. Most of the activity centers around a local hospital full of European doctors and local support staff. It's here where we find the night tiger prowling around. It's also here where accidents keep happening, random deaths occur, past transgressions are seriously felt, and love is discovered. This is where people are sneaking around, committing crimes, manipulating, and harming each other. This is the underbelly of the story.

The cast of characters partaking in all this action come together to create such a rich story. There's even a little magic tossed in, but its portrayal makes so much sense that it doesn't detract from the realism felt in every corner of this book.

With some great surprises and a lot of powerful emotions, Choo creates a story with depth that imparts a culture and an era in a tangible way. She explores emotion and devotion as ties that bind in both life and death. You finish the book content, and curious for what's next. Even though this is a story, I found myself wondering about the fate of the characters as I finished the last page. What went on to happen?

Go read this if you're looking for something different, and wonderful. It's worth it.

Heaven, My Home by Attica Locke

 

Second Book Club Book #14
A Highway 59 Mystery - Book 2

To really enjoy this, you should read the first book in the series. The storyline is definitely a continuation, so grab Bluebird, Bluebird first.

The main character in this book is a new favorite of mine. He's a mess in a totally different way than what I'm used to, and I enjoy seeing into his life. It's complex for so many more reasons -- being an African American Texas Ranger, working in an area full of members of the Aryan Brotherhood -- but, it's also complex for so many common reasons -- shitty parents, unfulfilling love life, the nagging feeling that there's something better out there. He's a character I both understand and can learn a lot from. He's someone you should get to know.

In Heaven, My Home we're meeting back up with Darren after things have seemed to settle down from book one. He's working at a desk and his marriage seems to be back in order. The gun is still "missing" from the crime in the previous book, although that's both a relief and a major stressor for Darren (it would spoil things if I took that further.) 

Darren needs a distraction. Then, a young boy goes missing. His dad just happens to be in jail and is a big name in the Aryan Brotherhood. Maybe if Darren finds the kid, he can get the dad to help him out a little with this other, pressing thing, a murder.

What Darren finds when he goes to the small town where Levi King is missing is not what he expected. The heavily-felt, loudly-expressed racism, yes. But, then the plot thickens, people get shot, and shady business abounds. 

Days go by and everyone assumes Levi is dead. Only Darren decides to dig deeper in a case where everyone else seems to want to take the easy way out. 

The flow of the story expertly shows how quickly people are willing to pin everything on race when there's already a poignant vein of hate in the community. But, like with most things, conflict isn't always related to just one issue. I admire that Locke takes the time to express what is a serious issue in our country without pulling it from what's happening today. She lets it ride alongside other problems we see in this world, other flaws we find in people around us. It lets her story steep in reality.

I definitely liked this book better than the first, but I think that's only because we move deeper into the characters. We see how good deeds can go unrewarded, but also how wrongs are turned right when someone cares to put in the effort. It feels truthful to the many aspects of human character, and I appreciate the way she tells such a big story within this one person's life.

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

 

There was a good idea hiding in this book, but it somehow missed the page. While I understand where the exciting points should be in this mysterious, slightly gothic novel, the anti-climactic way everything gets presented muted the entire story. I say all this upfront because I'm not sure you should even keep reading this review. This was not a book for me.

Catherine House is almost like an abstract painting. You can kind of feel what's going on, but nothing is drawn in a way that hits you over the head. I typically read mysterious stories to feel a 'wow' at some point. It's a, "wow, I didn't see that coming" or, "wow, I can't believe that actually happened." There were no 'wow's' here. Even the 'a-ha moments, as characters discover certain truths in the story, felt lackadaisical. 

It's even hard for me to summarize this story because so much about it bugs me, or falls short. Of course, I'll do it anyway, to a certain extent, this is a book review after all....

Catherine House is a college you go to for free if you get in. The only caveat is you can't make any contact with the outside world the entire time you're enrolled. You don't leave, there's no television, you're completely isolated. The admissions committee (if there is one) seems to target a certain type of student. They're all lost souls, I think, who aren't leaving behind anyone they have strong ties with, even if that includes their families. Why kids want to go here is never really made clear.

The school is also associated with a controversial area of science known as plasm. This isn't the study of a physical substance, like the name alludes to, but rather a force that somehow connects things and allows energy to be shared. In the past, the science was presented and shunned, so it's odd the school is still pursuing it without any type of review from the outside. Oh, and they're also experimenting on the students.

Then, there's The Tower, the location for near-torture punishment that nobody seems to have a problem with. Even when a student dies while there, we're all "cool" with it.

Everything about this book feels odd and not fully flushed out. The end lacks a much-needed sense of immediacy and sense. Through it all, the school seems to come away unscathed, as much by the outside world as the students who are suffering within its walls. It just doesn't feel entirely plausible. Even the student with the greatest internal conflict can't break fully away. It should feel scary, but it didn't.

It's okay to skip this one in my opinion. It's missing something, or a lot of things, to establish that emotional connection you want to feel when reading a story. At the very least, you want to feel some way about the characters, or the plot. I didn't.

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

I'm a Jennifer Weiner fan. I may even still have my copy of Good in Bed. Either way, it's always fun to get to read another one of her books. I would recommend checking out her entire library of novels to find the one(s) that look most interesting to you.

This book was not the rom-com I'd expected. I appreciate that. What began as a best friend-turned-bully story, complete with a lot of emotional scars, becomes something so much more complex. It's not the typical, "love is going to help me heal" scenario. There's mystery and money and....SPOILER ALERT....murder.

Daphne Berg is a social media influencer capitalizing on plus-sized hashtags. She's found her niche to speak to people, and most of the time that helps her appreciate her own body. Like any insecurity though, it gives Daphne moments of doubt, where her confidence diminishes. This isn't helped by her "best" friend, Drue. Wealthy and oblivious, Drue makes the cardinal mistake of outwardly pitying Daphne for her weight. It destroys their friendship until one day Drue pops back up to ask Daphne to be in her wedding. As the reader, you want Daphne to yell out a strong, "NO!," but she lets herself get lured back into the friendship. Daphne meets a hot stranger the night before the wedding at a lavish party. That's where you think you know the direction this book will take. You're wrong. Instead of focusing on the hotness, Daphne gets distracted having to solve a murder.

There's a lot to this book, which is always so much better than a simple love and confidence story. Falling in love isn't what's going to uplift Daphne; being happy with who she is will. Each character in this book is dealing with something -- a secret, regrets, parts of their past that hurt -- but being right in your own mind about you now is the lesson to learn. Allowing your past to be a part of you that maybe influences you to change counts. At one point in the book Daphne talks about how everyone needs justice, even nasty people. She's specifically talking about solving a crime, but this sentiment goes further. You don't need to hide. You can be you.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It's surprising and fun and a great summer read that gives you something to think about once you've finished the book.


Other Jennifer Weiner books I've reviewed:
Mrs. Everything

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

Second book club book #10
A Highway 59 Mystery - Book 1

I can count on one hand the number of crime novels I've read in the last five years at least. It's two. I'm talking about the ones that take place in the real world, with nothing fantastical about them. I always like them, but haven't been drawn to them since the days when my dad and I swapped Nelson DeMille novels.

I was glad to read this book. It's especially relevant today as it covers themes like race, hate, life in the rural South, and family. It's an intricate and complex book that feels all too real. I'm thankful it's set in the now, that it takes a deep look into today's racism without ignoring the many layers that can go into hate. The author does a fantastic job of vilifying the villains without creating stereotypes. She allows for the complexities of an individual to really contribute to her characters, whether they're good, bad, or somewhere in between.

Darren Matthews is a Texas Ranger (cop) with a drinking problem. A family friend stands trial for a murder without a weapon. Darren was the last to see the victim alive. Normally, no evidence would mean no trial but this is Texas, and there's a white man dead, possibly by black hands. It doesn't help matters that Darren is also African American. His loyalties might not be to the law. The lack of clarity in this situation means Darren is on probation, but he's not sitting still. Trouble finds him when he's asked to casually investigate two deaths in a nearby town -- that of a black man and a white woman.

The town is small and full of secrets. The dead man was an outsider. The woman had only recently had a baby. To say this is a complicated situation is a severe understatement. Floating at the center of all this confusion is Geneva and her restaurant, which has filled the bellies of black travellers for years. A widow, who also lost her son, Geneva has secrets of her own. There's a lot for Darren to dig through, but he's immediately in the middle, and on a mission for the whole truth.

Nothing is as it seems in this book. Yes, there's the underlying hate of racism, but it's not always the color of one's skin that inspires bad feelings. There's also who's kin to whom that gets tricky, fast. In the end, nothing about this story is simple.

What the author does so very well in this book is create characters. Each person we meet has such a deep backstory, whether they tell it all or not. Everyone's a little bit imperfect, a little dishonest. There are good and bad guys too, but most reside in a very grey area. I appreciated that nod of realism, that choice to not create fictional characters that got it all right or over-exemplified a stereotype out in the world today.

This is a powerful read that will keep you on your toes. It reminds you of what daily life is like in an area of our own country that hasn't caught up to the idea of loving everyone as their equal. These people don't carry kindness for everyone in their hearts. It's a story we can't forget. This is a book that makes you really think about people, love, and human connection. It timed out so well. I would highly recommend. 

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Book club book #11

I don't often read mysteries or suspenseful novels. I either figure them out too early or get so involved I struggle putting them down. This book leaned more toward the latter, which is a good thing. This is a complex story that prays on perception. You're never really sure who all the villains are and who is just a product of some very crazy circumstances. The one thing you do know is this shit is nuts.

In the present, there is no family upstairs. There's just a 25-year-old, adopted girl who's inheriting an empty house her biological parents willed to her. She knows her parents died when she was a baby and that they had other children who haven't been seen in over 25 years. The house is worth a lot of money, but the mystery is more pressing than the sudden ability to boost her bank account. Teaming up with a journalist, Libby tries to crack the mystery of her family. What feels straightforward isn't, of course, as the missing children begin to reemerge. 

As Libby learns the layers of truth, we catch glimpses into the past. We hear from Henry Jr. as he shares flashes of what life was like when the Thomsen family moved in upstairs, took over his house, and changed everything. We also catch up with Lucy, his sister, who's living in France in poverty. Without giving anything away, the things that happened in this house are scary and cruel. It's a battle of the strong vs the weak, which ends in the deaths of three adults laid out just so on the kitchen floor.

The idea of family in this novel is so interesting and complex. This house holds two biological families, yet they muddy together in a way that blurs devotion to blood. When situations turn to the extreme, is it who's on your side that becomes your family or who you're really related to that matters? There's no clear answer. Power and loyalty are very big themes, but so is desire.

This is a smart book and I would recommend it. The intensity builds just right so you're not left freaking out about the end right after the beginning. It's a good read that goes fast, but it's dark, so be prepared.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Book club book #4

Although a little contrived in parts, Where the Crawdads Sing focuses on the life of an extremely complex character and the misconceptions people, in general, have about a person based on their environment. 

Flashing primarily through a single decade (the 1950's,) a pretty typical small town, along the edge of a North Carolina marshland, exists as you'd expect it. The handsomest boy also happens to be the football star, the diner is the best place for gossip, and tales of a wild girl, living alone in the marsh, populates local lore. She's real, The Marsh Girl, but I wouldn't call her wild.

Living out on the marsh, Kya is slowly abandoned by her whole family. Ignorant in many ways due to lack of schooling and human contact, she's smarter than you think. Right until the end of the book, the extent of her intelligence surprises. 

Owens takes you through Kya's entire life. Focusing mainly on her transition to adulthood, you watch as she becomes more and more self-sufficient. You meet the people Kya deems worthy to allow into her world. There aren't many, but as with anybody, some are genuine and good, some make mistakes and repent, and others are devious. Unfortunately, almost everyone lets her down, moving on while she stays still.

Adapting to life out in nature, Kya thrives, but being separated from the town creates a stigma about her which feeds into suspicion when the town golden boy is found dead in the marsh. Did Kya kill him? They were lovers at one point. He jilted her to marry a more "civilized" girl. Her alibi in question, Kya's arrest puts her in the most miserable place she can imagine, locked away from the natural world she needs to survive. 

Waiting trial, we follow along as evidence builds, until the big day arrives. Prejudice walks alongside everyone into the courtroom. There's no reasonable doubt among the observers. The judge even has to chastise a witness to call Kya by her name instead of The Marsh Girl. She has no personal identity. The trial is intense, and all Kya wants is to go home.

The personal journey Kya takes in this book is really interesting. How she goes from simply surviving to creating a life for herself that's sustainable and allows her to improve herself was fun to read. Of course, it's helpful she seems to have a Fairy Godfather who shows up in time to propel the story forward (the contrived part,) giving her opportunities that allow her character to grow in a worthwhile way.

I can see why this is a popular book club selection. There's definitely a lot of talk about. I would suggest reading it with others, so you can have your own conversations.