FAMILY LIFE

Family Life by Akhil Sharma - This is a novel that is so personal and so painful that you can't stop reading because on every page there is hope for a better outcome. It's about an immigrant family from India in the 1970s, and is told by the younger son both as a man and as a boy. His observations are so cultural and so sharp that as you read you both want and don't want the story to be true to life. At the end, at least in my copy of the book, there is an author interview which hints at just enough of an answer to satisfy the questions. I couldn't put this down, and found it to be compelling from its immigrant and cultural attitude of confidence, fear and insecurity. To say anymore would be to give the story away and this begs to be read afresh with no idea of what is to come. If you like a modern story about Indian culture, you can't go wrong here.

THE BEAUTIFUL AMERICAN * THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN

The Beautiful American by Jeanne Mackin - Loved it. This story happens in Paris before World War II where the lovely Nora of Poughkeepsie, NY lives with her boyfriend on the fringes of the art scene. Man Ray and Picasso figure as characters in the shadows of Nora's and Jamie's lives, while the well known American model Lee Miller looms large. What makes the book so good is that it's like separate stories are all entwined into one large portrait of small Nora's interesting life. She narrates thoughtfully, but gratefully for me, not annoyingly, which is why I enjoyed the book so much.

The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins - It's true, you can't put  this one down. Our narrator is a nut case, but she's so sincere and weaves such a good story that you can't fault her for any of her craziness. At least I couldn't! It's a mystery, not a thriller, which is what made it so readable for me. A thriller would seem forced and unreal, but a mystery could really happen, and this is a good one, all the more entertaining because of the masterful storytelling of mad Rachel. You really don't know what will happen next or what she will do next.

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS * WORLD'S GREATEST ATHLETE * OLIVE KITTERIDGE

The Fault In Our Stars - Popular tween book  morphs into a pretty good movie. The story has it all - sick kids, love found, love lost, great parents and a reclusive author who disappoints his number one fan. It's modern day melodrama that tempers the truly sad and hard story with one that you can be angry at so that the sad one won't seem so bad. The picture I chose to depict the movie is from one of my favorite scenes.

World's Greatest Athlete - One of the only track and field movies, the premise is that a young man from Africa can win all the events in the 1973 NCAA Track and Field meet. It was recommended by someone we met in California, I think the guy Steve met while helping some other guys rescue their boat which had gone aground as it was pulling into their slip. It's a silly yet sweet Disney movie abounding with innocence, but only worth the watch if you're a T&F fan. Olive Kitteridge - I just read my review of the book which I read in 2009, and I'd written that I ended up loving it. Which is ironic, because that's not how I remember it. I was so annoyed with Olive and angry at the author that I wouldn't read her next book and don't think I missed anything. First of all there's cold, blowy and overcast New England as a character. No thanks. Then there's Olive who is dissatisfied with everything and everyone, self diagnosed with depression that she uses as an excuse for being outspoken and unkind to her family and people in her town where she's a teacher and everyone knows everyone else. I have to say Francis McDormand nailed it, and once I started, I had to see the HBO four part mini-series to the end. It was worth the watch on vacation on my iPad. Not on my own home time on TV. That woman, Olive, scares me, and I'm happy to say that I've chosen and succeeded to not have anyone like her in my life.  I was going to put the dinner table scene here, but it has such negative connotations that I won't have it sullying my sweet little blog.