One Day by David Nicholls

         Apparently I have a thing for books that are going to be made into films.  I just finished One Day, which while reading I had a film screening in my mind.  I am sure it is because Ann Hathaway was on the cover of the book that I pictured Emma as the awkward not quite Patrician beauty, but beauty nonetheless.

         The book focuses on one day across almost twenty years, St. Swithin’s Day.  The actual day is not of much importance other than the fact that we get to catch up with our two main characters Emma and Dexter every year on this day—sometimes together, sometimes not.  Through either letters or dialogue we see Em and Dex evolve. 

They both begin as recent college graduates who are both insecure and opportunistic.  Like most young adults Em and Dex struggle to find their way both in love and in their careers.  Both toil over their choices whether deliberate or not.  These decisions and their repercussions make the reader want to laugh, cry, and even get angry.  Trust me, ask my husband about my facial expressions while reading this novel.

         What makes this book so completely readable is that it is relatable.  I see myself it both Dex and Em, which I am sure was the author’s intent.  I too struggled with a career choice, my love life as well as my identity, much like our two characters.  One Day gives us a glimpse of most people’s twenties and thirties, with a special friendship guiding the way.

         By no means scholarly, this novel is definitely entertaining.  The dialogue alone is worth a read.  One Day most definitely fits in the category of fun summer beach reading!

        

P.S.  The movie comes out August 19^th.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

         It is 7 o’clock and I am in the car on the way to a nice dinner with my husband, and rather than talk to him, I am finishing State of Wonder.  It is that good. 

         The novel follows Marina Singh as she travels reluctantly, at the request of boss and lover Mr. Fox, to the Amazon from Minnesota in search for information regarding her colleague Anders Eckman.  A message from her former formidable medical professor, now “coworker” at Vogel Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Swenson announced the death of Anders. 

         After passing whatever social graces the Bovanders deem acceptable, Marina is granted access to the location of Dr. Swenson and her research team deep in the Amazonian jungle.  A disappointing explanation regarding Anders causes Marina to wish to flee back to her home state away from the oppressive heat and the wildlife that can only be found in the heart of the Amazon.  But it is this unique environment that contains a drug that could potentially rock the healthcare industry.

         Crazy encounters like a cannibalistic tribe that could only happen in the less developed and wild Amazon keep the story entertaining, but it is the depth of the characters that make this story so accessible.  When Marina was upset, I was upset.  When Marina was hopeful, I was hopeful. When Marina was enamored, I was enamored.  My feelings matched her own as I moved through the narrative. 

         As my first interaction with Ann Patchett, I can guarantee that I will be purchasing her other books.   I am only sorry I haven’t read her prose before now. 

P.S. An update: Sarah’s Key comes to theaters on July 22^nd with Kristin Scott Thomas playing Julia.

         

The Twisted Thread by Charlotte Bacon

         Claire Harkness is the girl that all the guys want and all the girls want to be—until now.  Starting with a death on a prestigious campus would lead one to believe this would be a compelling murder mystery, but it sadly was not.

         Armitage Academy’s newest English teacher/intern, Madeline Christopher is the only character with any real depth.  As the predominate narrator and an “outsider” we slowly begin to understand the upper crust boarding school with its eccentric faculty and even more peculiar traditions.  Madeline is a bit of a hippy in a world of perfectly polished prep students.   She is a character that, despite her flaws, or maybe because of them, has worth. 

         The novel actually loses steam when it returns to the murder investigation.  Each time the murder investigation is brought back into the picture we take a look into Armitage’s past, specifically the female students with their “twisted” traditions.  The girls come across as superficial, which goes with the stereotype, but there are moments when the author tries to humanize them and it falls flat.  The chapters dedicated to the faculty are also unnecessary, they do not temp the reader into believing any of them are a suspect either. 

         The Twisted Thread is not a novel about a murder, but rather a novel about social classes.  When the author focuses on these societal differences between the haves and the have nots it flourishes, when the murder comes back into the plot it begins to stray.  The only time the discussion of the murder truly takes a hold of the reader is when former Armitage student and current local detective Matt Corelli meets Madeline. 

         This book was a decent and a quick read, but too many characters and subplots make this thread unwind.