March Reading Review
Looking back I’m kind of surprised, but I read a lot of books in March. 6 total. I think I was able to get through so many because they were all more fast-paced, slimmer books than I usually read (and one I hated so much that I just skimmed the last third of it). Here are my brief reviews of each read:
Run by Ann Patchett * * *
This is my least favorite of the Patchett books that I’ve read so far, which is not to say that it’s bad, just that every other one of her books that I’ve read now resides on my all-time favorites list. The events of Run all take place over one day and center around the Doyle family: a white widowed father, his wayward biological son, and his adopted twin black sons. During a disagreement on a snowy night, one son accidentally steps into the road and is almost hit by an SUV when a black woman pushes him out of the way. The novel follows the revelations and inner thoughts of each character as they wait to see if she will be okay. There are some great passages in this novel, but overall I think Patchett is trying to do too much. There are too many different ideas roiling around in this book: guilt, religion, politics, race, memory, regret, etc., etc. It all starts to feel jumbled and confused after awhile. I also think the characters are a bit weak and one-dimensional. If Patchett had focused on a smaller main cast and tightened the book up, it would have been a better read.
Primates of Park Avenue by Wednesday Martin *
Ugh. I hated this book. I was intrigued by the idea of Martin writing about Upper East Side women from the lens of an anthropological academic like a Manhattan-based Jane Goodall, but really this is a just a pretense to make the book seem interesting and unique. In truth, this memoir is Martin’s way of simultaneously whining and bragging about her uber-privileged life among the wealthiest inhabitants of NYC (and the world, really). There isn’t enough humor or satire and it is evident, despite Martin’s claims about being “down-to-earth,” she is a full-fledged member of this ridiculous world of status and snobbery. I tried to give this a chance, hoping it would take a turn for the better, but I had to give up when Martin kept using her old townhome in the West Village and her Marc Jacobs wardrobe as signs that she was low-key (WTF?). The lowest point was when she discussed the pressure to lose her baby weight by dissing Midwestern moms, insinuating that women in other parts of the country don’t have it as hard. Get over yourself, lady. This was a huge waste of time.
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro * * * *
This has been a classic on my TBR list for some time, so I was excited to get around to it. The whole book takes place inside the head of a very traditional and proper English butler in the 1950s. I commend Ishiguro on his ability to commit to the stiff and formal voice of his narrator, as it really gives you a sense of the character. The structure of this novel is unlike anything else I’ve read. As we get to know the butler better, layers of truth get peeled back from the surface of things and the reality of his life is revealed. At the same time that I admired Ishiguro’s technical skill, I found the book a little slow and hard to get into because of the rigid voice. This is more of a cerebral experience. You finally get the full force of the emotion simmering underneath the appearance of things at the very end and, man, is it sad and affecting.
Artemis by Andy Weir * *
I was really disappointed by this novel because I loved Weir’s first book, The Martian. This story takes place on the moon colony, Artemis, and follows Jazz Bashara as she unwittingly goes from her small-time black market smuggling life to the center of a billion-dollar, life-threatening plot.I think the problem here is that Weir’s writing skills are not up to the task of composing a more involved story with a cast of characters larger than one man on Mars. Also, Weir cannot write a female voice. CANNOT. I found it really awful and cringe-worthy to read. I’m all for badass, rude women characters, but this was so blatantly a man writing a woman. It was impossible to escape the presence of the male gaze. I will give this book points because Weir writes about hard science and math in a very entertaining way. The whole world and premise of the book is super interesting, it just falls apart as a narrative. One note: I read this in physical book format and several people who listened to the audiobook liked it way more than I did. The audiobook is narrated by Rosario Dawson, so she must improve on Jazz’s voice somewhat. My opinion: this will be made into a movie. It is written like a movie. Wait and go see the movie because it will be better.
The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin * * *
This book is set in my hometown: Charlotte, NC! There aren’t a ton of books set in Charlotte, so when I saw this I knew I wanted to read it right away. The novel centers around two longtime friends, Emma and Zadie, who are both mothers and doctors in their late 30s. When a new surgeon moves to town it brings up old secrets and questions from the past, specifically their third year of med school in the late ’90s. Martin has worked and trained as a doctor herself and it’s clear she knows what she’s talking about. I enjoyed the medical details and the behind-the-scenes look at life as a doctor. She also has a great sense of humor. I would say this book is a good beach read in the same vein as Liane Moriarty. For me, the reveal of the secret was too drawn out and it slowed the narrative down overall. When it came, I was just like, that’s it? Meh. I think my other issue with the story was that I didn’t fall for the love interest. I didn’t find him charming at all, so I ended up not caring that much. All this hullabaloo for that guy? No thanks.
The Punch Escrow by Tal M. Klein * * *
Like Artemis, this is another hard sci-fi novel. I picked this up for a book club. At first, I was really loving it. The voice of the narrator was funny and sarcastic and I was enjoying the world-building. The Punch Escrow is set in 2147, an age when corporations act as governments, genetically modified mosquitoes clean the air of pollution, and teleportation is just another way to get from here to there. That is, until the main character, Joel Byram, tries to teleport to meet his wife in Costa Rica for a second honeymoon. Then, of course, all hell breaks loose. Klein is like Weir, great at snarky comments and getting deep into the science-y details. When the novel has to move out of the set-up, however, the plot started to fall apart. It felt like Klein couldn’t make up his mind on which direction to take. The story zigzagged all over the place and character actions and motivations stopped making sense. By the end of the novel I was a little exasperated. Also, Joel is really obsessed with the 1980s. At first it was just music and that seemed plausible, but then it was way too much. It kind of took me out of the narrative for a man living in 2147 to be so stuck in a time period that is almost 200 years in the past. Still, even though I had a lot of issues with the second half, I would recommend this to sci-fi fans.
That’s it! Comment with any books you really liked this month! And stay up-to-date with all my reads on Instagram: @tinaisreading. I’m currently reading Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado. Not sure what I think about it overall except that it is very, very strange.
