Two Superb Books From Our "Gone Reading" Break

It’s the end of September which means that the Book Jam is back! We begin our new season by each reviewing the one book that stood out from the many we were lucky enough to spend time with during our "Gone Reading'" break. We hope that they help you find your own next great read. Thank you for welcoming us into your literary lives once again. It feels good to be back in this book sharing space. ~ Lisa Cadow and Lisa Christie

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy (2020). At the end of this dramatic yet strangely quiet summer, it is the novel Migrations, that has continues to travel with me. It resonates as the literary soundtrack to this season of forest fires and of virus, of orange sunsets and the sense that our natural world is changing. But don’t anticipate this review to be pessimistic or depressing and put down this latest edition of the Book Jam out of despair. Migrations is actually a book that ultimately leaves the reader with a sense of wonder and hope. Set in a not too distant apocalyptic future in which animals and birds are rapidly disappearing from the landscape, the story of Franny Stone primary takes us on a journey from Newfoundland on a fishing vessel to the Antarctica following what is possibly the last migration of the Arctic Tern. But this suspenseful and page turning novel also takes us to prisons, remote cottages, and aviaries in Ireland as well as to the outback in Australia. These snapshots of memory help us explore pieces of Franny’s enigmatic past and ultimately to understand what drives this character who breaks the mold on literary heroines. This is a book about our mysterious connections with other humans and with the natural world. Coming up for air after finishing this brilliant first novel, I was struck by the sense that McConaghy writes eco-fiction with a similar passion, conviction, and intimacy that Terry Tempest Williams writes her essays and memoirs about the American West. Her book also called to mind certain bits and pieces of Peter Hoeg’s masterful and complex psychological mystery from 1992 Smilla’s Sense of Snow. Even with the echos of these other writers in the pages of Migrations, McConaghy creates a story and a character that is totally and uniquely her own. It is a rare bird. Highly, highly recommended.   ~Lisa Cadow

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Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell (2020). A few pages into Hamnet, the historical novel that had me thinking all summer about so many contemporary things (e.g., family ties, how we respond to illness, how illness can be so deadly, the role of women in society, creative genius, how the natural world can heal, the importance of live theater and great storytelling, how good intentions often aren't enough), I remembered how much I loved Ms. O'Farrell's 2013 book Instructions for a Heatwave. There is something in Ms. OFarrell's writing that is memorable and joyous; and, even though I had not thought of her novels in years, the pages of Instructions for a Heatwave came roaring back as Hamnet unfolded. (Instructions for a Heatwave tackles what happens to an Irish family in London during the 1976 heatwave when the patriarch goes missing during an errand. I recommend it.) Hamnet also reminded me of how spectacular historical fiction can be. Using Anne Hathaway (Agnes in this novel) the protagonist, Hamnet cleverly explores the events leading up to, as well as the effects of the death of  Agnes/Anne and William Shakespeare's son. The story reminds you that behind every creative success lives a family that supports that person and perhaps more importantly, has needs of their own. It reminds you great loss and great love are everywhere, and how we react to each is incredibly unique and personal.  I also must admit in the midst of Covid-19, I read the plague aspects with greater interest than I would have a year ago. I realize this review makes this book sound depressing; so let me reassure you, it is not. Ms. O'Farrell's mastery of the written word, of concocting terrific backstories for people in historical situations, and of showing us the humanity of all her characters is phenomenal. This is a perfect book for lovers of historical fiction, Shakespeare, and good stories, well-told. ~ Lisa Christie

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