Far less satifying than I expected after reading Jonasson's Hidden Island series. Unsympathetic, naive police detective on his first assignment in an Far less satifying than I expected after reading Jonasson's Hidden Island series. Unsympathetic, naive police detective on his first assignment in an isolated community. I found him so irritating that it was hard to focus on the action. Didn't work for me....more
This is a fabulous audiobook--the perfect match of narrator voice with narrative tone. Franny Stone is a woman filled with "wilderness," a wanderer whThis is a fabulous audiobook--the perfect match of narrator voice with narrative tone. Franny Stone is a woman filled with "wilderness," a wanderer who leaves the safety of relationships and home to go to Greenland and attempt to follow the journey of the world's last wild birds, the arctic terns, from there to Antarctica. It is set in the near future and wildlife has all but disappeared from the earth. Still this is a very personal journey as well. The story unfolds as chapters alternate between past and present, and we learn Franny's story--and that of other characters as well. The books is a powerful, message-driven story with damaged but driven characters. Kreinik masters a range of accents (Australian, Irish, Greenlandic, and the diverse accents of the shipboard crew) and embodies a large cast of characters, male and female. The book affected me in the way that Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel and (in my memory at least) Keven Brockmeier's Brief History of the Dead did when I read them. Also perhaps Clooney's new movie, Midnight Sky, with its dystopic story but an ending with a ray of hope. ...more
I enjoyed this way more than I expected! Anderson went to OKC to cover the 2012-13 Thunder basketball season, and there's interesting basketball in thI enjoyed this way more than I expected! Anderson went to OKC to cover the 2012-13 Thunder basketball season, and there's interesting basketball in the book, but it's so much more. From the creation of OKC during the run for the Cherokee Strip in 1893 (in which my great grandfather took part but settled in the Enid area), through oil and gas booms and busts (tales replete with fascinating get-rich-quick guys, no matter the damage), and racial tensions, Anderson offers an engrossing social history of the city. Did I mention tornadoes? They're here, as is the weather forecaster who became famous for his ability to read the signs, warn residents--sometimes block by block as the storm approached--and save lives. I was particularly pleased to learn of Clara Luper, a school teacher who, with her students using King's non-violent approach, integrated OKC's restaurants in the 50s in a very satisfying group of chapters. Anderson moves the history forward and intermixes those chapters with basketball and weather for a really compelling, well-researched, satisfying read. Another plus: he narrates the audio and he's really good! ...more
This is a reread for me--I read it in print in 2006 and I was so pleased to discover it in audio. The book is special to me because my grandmother wasThis is a reread for me--I read it in print in 2006 and I was so pleased to discover it in audio. The book is special to me because my grandmother was born in the Mennonite area of Dakota Territory covered here just one year after the blizzard, and I know childhood friends who lost relatives in the blizzard. But it's also a fine NF read for anyone interested in the settlement of the north central plains, the history of weather forecasting, and what it's like to be in a blizzard. That's one of the things the author does best: the first-hand reports of the strange calm before the storm, the absolute darkness of the sky, and the power of the storm with wind and snow and ice to make even the shortest distances to safety unwalkable. How people, often school children who had gone to school on a warm sunny day only to be caught by the blizzard later, died, and, miraculously, how some survived. The book is well-researched but takes a popular approach, detailing family histories from the Old World to the New. And if you're interested in cures for frostbite then and now, you'll find those here! It's a riveting story, compelling and heartbreaking, intimate and tragic. If I remember correctly, the paperback includes family memories of the January, 1888 blizzard in an appendix. I can't check my copy, as it resides in our family farm house in Kansas. But a friend recounted that her great uncle was part of a chain of school children, holding hands as they tried to walk the short distance from the school to a nearby farm house. He somehow let go of his brother's hand--and he was lost. A book to give one shivers and not just from the incredibly low temperatures. ...more
Powerful, immersive accounts, the memories of 101 adults recalling their childhood in the Soviet Union during World War II. All those interviewed--malPowerful, immersive accounts, the memories of 101 adults recalling their childhood in the Soviet Union during World War II. All those interviewed--male and female, children of soldiers, partisans, and even gypsies--were under 15 during the war. Tales of violence--many saw their parents and family members killed before their eyes--of privation mix with stories of generosity, kindness, and resourcefulness. This oral history is meant to be heard, although the short accounts are probably better taken in small doses. Heartbreaking and occasionally heartwarming. ...more
Reread January, 2019 On rereading I found this even more satisfying than the first time around. That haunting tone that permeates the book; the sense oReread January, 2019 On rereading I found this even more satisfying than the first time around. That haunting tone that permeates the book; the sense of despair with the drought and its devastating effects on people, animals, land; the complex and very real characters (honestly rural/small towns are the same everywhere); and the clever plot with two mysteries solved.
March, 2018 I made the mistake of reading this when I was ill, and while I remember a few things clearly (it was fabulous, dark, had timelines past and present, made me want more in the series), there are crucial points that I remember even less about than usual (since remembering plots is not one of my skills). Just reserved it to re-read. Lots of good reviews on Goodreads, so I'll be brief. The pacing is deliberate, stately, as the story unfolds; characters are flawed but realistic, and Aaron Falk is introspective as he tries to sort out what happened to his erstwhile best friend Luke, who may have had a dark side, but surely wouldn't have killed his wife and son and then himself. Aaron is an unusual investigator--not part of the police but a federal financial agent, accustomed to following the money, not the clues in this kind of case. It's a story with secrets, past and present, and flashbacks to an earlier death--one in which Aaron and Luke were suspect but alibied each other; its cinematic--those descriptions create a visual image of a smalltown/rural area nearly destroyed by drought. Compelling, gritty prose; heart wrenching chilling tone. And that shocker ending that I can't remember....more
I think these disaster books are often like true crime accounts--lots of backstory of the participants (here captain and crew), a history of events (tI think these disaster books are often like true crime accounts--lots of backstory of the participants (here captain and crew), a history of events (the final voyage of the container ship El Faro and its disastrous encounter with a powerful hurricane), and the outcome (the discovery that the ship was structurally unsound and lacked important technology as well as enough safety equipment for the crew, the captain was oblivious to warnings, and the owning company escaped responsibility.) Slade compiled the book from actual audio recordings, recovered after the accident--and they make for harrowing, tragic listening. Excellent reporting of a disturbing situation. And there may be more such accidents as shipping fleets age and storms become more powerful. ...more
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