Nice Work, Nora November - Julia London

Genre: Contemporary, Coming of Age, a bit of Romance

What a fun, thoughtful, and delightful read Julia London’s Nice Work, Nora November is. Nora November is recovering from a near drowning experience. She creates an anti bucket list and she tries to overhaul her life which she quickly remembers is just not that happy. She has suffered from depression and has lost strong relationships with some she loves through it - including her sister and cousin. She has met the perfect man as a hostage in an armed robbery and lost his phone number. She hates working as a lawyer in her father’s law firm. She does not follow through on her promise to maintain her late grandfather’s garden plot in a community garden. So…she vows to work on the garden, to learn to cook, to play basketball, to renew relationships, and to find the lost Jake. Her journey has its ups and downs but is a joy to read.  The copy I read was narrated by Karissa Vacker who brought Nora to life for me!

And, of course, Nora is what I loved most about this book. I am clearly a character driven reader. Nora is baffled at the beginning of the book; she can’t remember much of what led to her near death experience, but boy is she determined to change her life. She isn’t wallowing so much as figuring out what will make her happy moving forward. And listen, she doesn’t have a built in support system. She has alienated her sister Lacey and her cousin Walter. She has nothing in common with her social climbing, career oriented parents. Oh her dad is deliciously hateful. She misses her grandfather - who accepted her unconditionally - so much. But what is beautiful is that through her chaos and a variety of mishaps, some more serious than others, she builds a new family:  Kathleen who harrasses her in the community garden, Willow who is an unwilling partner to her mom at cooking class, Nick from the garden center. And while she doesn’t know it, she is circling closer and closer to Jake who has inherited a garden plot from one of his dying patients. Small world, right? And slowly Nora is working to repair her relationships with Lacey and Walter. I loved all of the people and all of the shenanigans. London expertly develops and manages it all - walking Nora forward in a believable way. 

I feel a little bored by my musing on my dislike of change. But gosh, I really do admire Nora’s desire to create a life that she loves. Her depression is portrayed honestly - right down to losing a therapist for insurance reasons - and being shamed over medication. Yet, it does not control the narrative or her life. I love that approach - not lighthearted, but hopeful. I am a huge fan of the list approach. I am list driven. I have always done better at work and on a project with lists. The checking off of items, I love it. And yet, yet, I’ve done few lists in this my first year of being retired from full time work. I’m not a trained counselor, so I won’t try to figure that out, but perhaps a list or two wouldn’t go awry for me. (Dear google, I see the blue underlines for my style choices. I’m doing it anyway.) Finally, I respond to praise - always have; I could explain why, but who has the time? Teacher observations? Way more stressful than the kids and the curriculum. Maybe I do miss the feedback though? Anyway, when Julia London gets us to the “nice work” part of Nice Work, Nora November, I could only think well done. Well done - what a book!

The Midnight Feast - Lucy Foley

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Trouble is afoot in the woods in Lucy Foley’s new thriller The Midnight Feast. A new resort has opened in the woods on Francesca’s family land. She intends to offer the highest class of treatments for her wealthy guests. I had found myself becoming drawn to resorts in my reading. This novel may have cured me. The locals are not impressed with Francesca’s  offerings either. While she purports to be supporting local interests and businesses, she is instead importing goods and cutting off right of ways. Mysterious things begin to happen and everyone wonders if the ancient birds who are thought to be guardians of the woods  are responsible. Echoes of Poe’s “The Raven” adds to the enigma..

With a wide cast of characters, Foley creates a layered and suspenseful mystery. Bella is a mysterious guest. Through her journal we find that she has had very close ties with Francesca and these woods in the past. Eddie is a local working as a dishwasher secretly as he thinks his family won’t approve. Francesca’s besotted husband has secrets of his own that seem to be catching up with him. Everyone seems to. Through this variety of narrators, Foley expertly illustrates how the sins and mistakes of the past can have profound impacts on the future. She plumbs the need for revenge and for reparation. The structure is complex as Foley manages different timelines. We know fairly quickly that someone has died and that the resort has burned. She tracks the progress of the day of those discoveries. She tracks the events leading up to the fateful night - through the different points of view of these characters. She uses a summer journal to explore events from years before - when Francesca and Bella were kids. I am as always fascinated at her ability to manage the complexity of the work - in such a way as to build suspense and keep me guessing. Throughout, she weaves the legends of the birds - who guard the land and exact justice - an excellent fantastical element. 

I recently had a conversation with a friend who finds herself living in a nursing home at a fairly young age. She mentioned how often the older residents speak of their regrets - the relationships they would repair - the things they would do differently. In many respects Lucy Foley is focusing on these ideas in The Midnight Feast. Certainly the events and regrets - the need for revenge and change are much more intense as needed for such a successful thriller, but the needs seem very similar to me. I spend more time than I care to admit revisiting the past - considering what I might change if I could. While some reflection is productive and necessary, the danger of too much time spent there is clear. Foley captures well the horror that can happen if a balance between the two cannot be achieved. I think The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley coming on June 18 is my favorite of her works - a beautiful balance of entertaining thriller and insightful look at human nature.

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley book cover

The Briar Club - Kate Quinn

Genre: Historic Fiction/Suspense

Kate Quinn has never disappointed me - and The Briar Club might be my favorite of her novels thus far. It’s possible I say something like that after each of her new novels. Set in a boarding house (maybe I’ll become fascinated by these like I was with boarding schools and am with  fancy resorts (oh, but I’m reading a book about to change that!), The Briar Club focuses on the very, very  different women and children who live there. Grace, a new and rather mysterious resident, brings them all together for a meal each Thursday evening in her tiny attic room furnished with just a tiny fridge and hot plate. These disparate folks form a family of sorts. Each chapter of the book focuses on one of the house’s residents. Their individual stories come to a crescendo in a complex way illustrating the power of strong relationships even to overcome the darkest secrets. 

Even though it starts with a murder - a ghastly one, I’ll admit, at first I was a bit baffled at this novel. I had come to expect certain things from Kate Quinn, in terms of history and suspense.  And though surprised a bit, I loved the structure immediately. I have been recently fascinated by the short story form (thanks Sidle Creek!), so I love how Quinn creates chapters that  focus on a member of the Briar club and reads much like a short story. We get to know Pete a young boy living in the house owned and operated by his single mother; Nora who loves her job in the National Archives (and maybe a gangster too), Reka an immigrant artist who is furious at what has been taken from her;  Fliss who lives with her daughter there while her husband serves as a doctor in Korea, Bea who is missing her career as a professional baseball player; Claire who is working multiple jobs to earn the money for a home of her own; Arlene who works for HUAC and has been left embittered by an affair from her youth; Grace who seems maybe the most mysterious but is also the glue that holds this group together with her Thursday night gatherings, until she needs them in a big way. We meet many of their “people” along the way, learning a great deal about life just after WWII in our world. The subtlety with which Quinn builds her overarching story within these stories is creatively amazing and reflective of her extreme writing talent. I am so glad she used this format to create such an unexpected work.  She concludes each chapter with a recipe based on the featured character.  Quinn also used the boarding house as a character - between each chapter was a brief interlude where the house would update the reader on the murder.  So many elements working so well together. 

As with my recent read of Maggie Smith’s You Could Make This Place Beautiful and Jolene McIlwain’s Sidle Creek, I am struck very much by the form and its function in this work. If I were still teaching English - I’ve said that a time or two of late - I would have so much material here. I also love the illustration here of the power of friendship. In this novel, friendship alleviates loneliness, enables and supports strength and courage, quite literally saves lives, supports change. Quinn tackles mob mentality, gender equality, corruption, domestic abuse, child neglect, crime, and more. She teaches history, creating the spirit of Washington DC in the 50s - we see politics, recipes, a national baking contest.  How I admire Quinn’s ability to do all of this in such an inviting, suspenseful, and entertaining way. Kate Quinn’s The Briar Club publishing on July 9 is a must read. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morris for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book cover of The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

Dad Camp - Evan Porter

Genre - Contemporary Fiction, Humor

I loved summer camp. I loved my time there as a kid. Even latrine duty at rustic camp had a magic that perhaps wouldn’t be true now. So when asked by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House to read and review Dad Camp by Evan Porter, I was all in. John is at a crossroads with his daughter Avery. After restructuring his whole life to be a superdad, he finds that as she enters her middle school years their relationship is getting more and more difficult. Avery who used to love her time with him is now often annoyed by him. She wants desperately to try out for a travel soccer team for which he will no longer be her coach. When John spots a camp online designed to help daughters and dads work on their relationships, he signs up. With a reluctant Avery along, he soon discovers that the camp may not be as delightful as pictured online, and wonders just where exactly this week might take them.

I love the setting - I’m not sure I would have loved it as much if it had been picture perfect. Camp dorms should be a little rustic. Spiders ought to exist in the bathrooms. The food should not be worthy of a trained chef. Ice breakers should be awkward - and camp leaders just a bit cringey. Porter creates this world with resounding success. When bunks are being claimed and the dads are awkwardly getting the lay of the land and each other, I felt returned right back to my camp days. John’s dad mates, Ryan, Booker, and Lou are introduced here, and while John is the central focus of the book, each of these dads is well developed and dynamic. Porter captures the stay at home dad, the dad who works too much, the hyper gung ho dad, and the over involved dad, without creating stereotypes. We gain insight to each as John does, and the growth and change is poignant in and among the comedic camp antics that punctuate the content.  The men breaking into the office tipsy on non alcoholic beer is just one such moment. Also notable for me - hand written letters home. I love that every day the men hide the pen, paper, and envelope provided for them and that every night they reappear on the pillow. I don’t have the letters that I sent home from camp, but I have some that my children sent me. What a delightful memory. The letters here are used to illustrate the growth and change  - and give us insight into these men. I found myself looking forward to the next one. 

My kids are raised and out in the world - partnering with others and one is raising her own child. I often awaken in the middle of the night just obsessed with something I did wrong or wish I had done better in raising them. Even good counseling hasn’t eliminated those moments for me. I love the insight that Porter offers here for parents of young children. None of us will get it perfect, but the men here and what they learn can offer some advice to all. The focus is on dads and daughters - but extends to all parenting. I have entered a different space in my relationship with my dad - which involves to some extent a role reversal. But it also involves getting to know him in a different way. The time spent with him has offered my insights into his childhood, young adulthood, dating life with my mom in ways that I just didn’t have access to before. This review is not the right place for me to develop this idea, but Evan Porter’s Dad Camp has made me grateful for this time in a more profound way. You might gain some insight into your own parent/child relationships, but you will  laugh, and maybe well up a bit. Dad Camp is a great summer read!

When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion - Julie Satow

Genre: Nonfiction

I am so delighted I was asked to read and review Julie Satow’s When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion. Satow focuses most closely on Hortense Odlum of Bonwit Teller, Dorothy Shaver of Lord & Taylor, and Geraldine Stutz of Henri Bendel. Although very different, these women represent those who were making their way into corporate leadership positions in the world of Department stores and fashion. Through exploring these lives we gain entrance into the fascinating world of 5th Avenue - watching the evolution of the department store and women’s fashion. The era here is one that I love to read about. For me it evoked feelings of PBS’s Mr. Selfridge which was fascinating to me and of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - I mean, who wouldn’t want her fashion style and access to those clothes?

I was born when these department stores were considered the pinnacle for shoppers, but by the time I was shopping, these kinds of stores were struggling to maintain their relevance (which I learned from this book). To be clear, I didn’t live near 5th Avenue, nor did we have the economic freedom to shop for designer clothing. But, oh, I remember Brody’s - a department store in a nearby small town. I remember shopping there with my grandmother, who had a bit more spendable money. We would descend into the basement of the store where pop music would be playing and the decor was all silver and lucite. Here was the world of the teen shopper. I can even - pretty accurately - describe some of the clothes I got there. I was a bit entranced. I was entranced in much the same way by the contents of this book. I would love to walk the corridors of one of the early department stores. Satow describes the executives, the shoppers, and the facilities in a way that they come alive. The inclusion of a number of photographs enhance the reading.

Brody’s Department Store Building

The ladies that Satow focuses on are charting new territory. Odlum is a housewife who becomes involved at the urging of her husband who bought Bonwit Teller and wanted to revitalize it. Dorothy and her sister Ellie came to New York City on a whim and stayed. Dorothy worked her way up the ladder at Lord & Taylor. She loved her career and was, of course, excellent at it. In many ways Geraldine Stutz had the most difficult job to revitalize Henri Bendel because of the unique structure and small size of the building. She had to be very creative and her ideas were often the stuff of criticism - right up until the point where she consistently succeeded. These ladies had to fight for respect by working hard for much less money than corporate men were getting. 

I learned a great deal of history as well. This paragraph will read a bit like a list, but I’d love to whet your appetite to read the title.  I didn’t know that the Nazi’s attempted to weaponize women’s hats and fashion. I learned about the circumstances that surrounded the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the tragic loss of life. For someone who wielded her fashion plates with aplomb, I was also delighted by the history of American fashion as it were - the spying, the thievery, the high stakes copying in Paris. I was unaware of Eleanor Roosevelt’s involvement in its development. Having just visited the Andy Warhol museum for the first time - I was especially interested in reading about his early shoe work for department stores. Other prominent names involved in this era include: Salvador Dali, L. Frank Baum, Amelia Earhart, Jackie Cochran, Christie Brinkley, and Mary Tyler Moore. The history of mannequins and decorated windows are a part of this book. I have vague memories of decorated windows in Pittsburgh department stores.) One mannequin designer often took one of his favorites to social events! I read about the first paper catalog created by Geraldine Stutz to help keep her store relevant. (Evoking for me memories of the yearly arrival of the JCPenney Christmas Catalog) Finally, Satow outlines the advent of the discount department store - Walmart, Kmart, etc. and of course shopping malls are also explored here.  These signaled the demise of the department stores. The fall of these department stores and the change in the careers of these three women are also explored. The loss of actual historical buildings like that of Bonwit Teller was a tragic consequence. 

Satow concludes that the three ladies that she has featured as trailblazing  (2 of whom devoted their entire careers to keeping their stores relevant) would not be overly sad at the demise of the traditional department store. In part because so many other opportunities for women to advance in the corporate world exist now. She also suggests they might be pleased with the democratization of American fashion through avenues like Etsy and social media.I might also add that the current uptick in the appreciation of vintage fashion might be pleasing for the ladies as well. I am new to vintage shopping but am enjoying exploring the clothes from the very eras that this book features. I love having time to create a “fit” that features a vintage piece in what I would consider an updated way. Perhaps now, I can picture myself in the dressing room of one of these upscale department stores just taking it all in. I appreciate Julie Satow’s When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion - excellently researched, well written, informative, and for me memory evoking. Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for the Advanced Reader Copy

Book cover When Women Ran Fifth Avenue by Julie Satow