Month: November 2020

Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book while reading it. The plot was simultaneously outrageous and believable, the narrator was relatable, and I thought it did justice to the topic of mental illness which not all books can pull off well. I was shocked to learn that the book was an adaptation of the musical and not the other way around, it seems like an insanely creative story and I can’t wait to see it as a musical and am curious about how it will be done.

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The Blackhouse by Peter May
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When one has finished a perfectly mediocre book it’s a profound relief to find the next one a pleasure to read. ” The Black House” scores points on many levels and Peter May is an accomplished storyteller. I expected to read a classic murder mystery but this novel is much more than that. In fact, the murder investigation plays second fiddle and is merely there to enable the author to delve into his hero’s past. It’s a tale full of quiet melancholy as Finn’s reminiscences force him to see the child he was and the way fate delivered blows which made him the adult he is. I found the author adept at recreating both the happiness and angst of childhood and the inevitable nostalgia they give rise to, once the character has become a grown-up and has to think back on all the defining moments of his life when he took a path that it might have been better to avoid. The landscape is masterfully depicted and the characters utterly believable. A tale that is both moving and cruel and that won’t leave you indifferent.

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Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert Macfarlane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my first excursion into the worlds Robert MacFarlane shares through his writing. I am appreciating the breadth of material from which he draws from in order to create a picture of the world under the soil. He succeeds in opening the door and drawing the reader into a fascinating world. We as the reader, are taken on a journey through time and space into what lies underground. These worlds are complex and interconnected. MacFarlane is able to create a tapestry that connects homo sapiens to and with the “underland”. The images he creates and the story he tells, about us and the earth, in this book will stay with me for a long, long time.

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