Whew – this has been quite a week. I can't believe I haven't posted since last Sunday. I have tried, a few times, and then fallen asleep. Let's see if I can make it to "Publish" tonight!
Here are some more books that I spied at Island Bookstore in North Carolina last month.
The Swimming Pool, by Holly LeCraw. From Amazon:
Strong writing keeps the reader sucked in to LeCraw's painful family drama debut. The lovely Marcella is reeling from tragedy; her ex-husband, Anthony, has sent Toni, their only daughter, away to boarding school and on to college. The man with whom Marcella had an affair, Cecil McClatchey, dies in a car accident soon after his wife, Betsy, is murdered. Amid the wreckage is Cecil's daughter, Callie, fighting for her sanity with two young children, and his son, Jed, who, desperate to fill the void left by the death of his parents, seeks answers from Marcella only to begin a tortured love affair with her as she drowns in guilt, struggling to find some meaning to hold on to. As Marcella comes closer to the truth about Betsy's murder and Cecil's death, and mindful that she is now the lover of Cecil's son, she struggles and fails to gather strength enough to make any decision, right or wrong. It is a story of deep and searing love, between siblings and lovers, but most powerfully, between parents and their children.
Yes, definitely sounds melodramatic. But good, too. Dawn from She is Too Fond of Books says, "The Swimming Pool is 'WOW!' Holly LeCraw’s debut novel is an unusual story, beautifully written. LeCraw is the queen of 'showing not telling,' and allows the reader to be the proverbial fly on the wall, observing not only the actions of the characters, but also understanding the emotions that move them." I usually agree with Dawn on books, so that's a strong recommendation.
And… Dear Money, by Martha McPhee. From Amazon:
In this Pygmalion tale of a novelist turned bond trader, Martha McPhee brings to life the greed and riotous wealth of New York during the heady days of the second gilded age. India Palmer, living the cash-strapped existence of the writer, is visiting wealthy friends in Maine when a yellow biplane swoops down from the clear blue sky to bring a stranger into her life, one who will change everything.The stranger is Win Johns, a swaggering and intellectually bored trader of mortgage-backed securities. Charmed by India's intelligence, humor, and inquisitive nature and aware of her near-desperate financial situation Win poses a proposition: Give me eighteen months and I'll make you a world-class bond trader. Shedding her artist's life with surprising ease, India embarks on a raucous ride to the top of the income chain, leveraging herself with crumbling real estate, never once looking back…Or does she?
The Captive Reader loved Dear Money – she said that it was "was completely fascinating from start to finish, an energetic exploration of the capitalist American dream and the equally American belief in personal reinvention." Quite a review!
Would love to hear fom others who have read these two.