My husband Chris is also an avid reader, however, we have distinctively different tastes in books. I realize that not all of my readers share my passion for mysteries and thrillers, so I asked him to recommend some of his favorite recent reads with you all (look for more posts like this regarding other genres that I don’t particularly enjoy, like World War II-era novels). Below are six titles that Chris couldn’t put down, reviewed by the man himself!
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel: I started this book ten years ago when it first came out, was not able to get into it, and put it aside. Big mistake! I finally returned to this first book in Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy during the pandemic, powered through the first 30 pages, and was hooked. I am not typically a big consumer of historical fiction, but this one is different because of the quality of the writing. Mantel’s dialogue is worth the price of admission alone. She tells the story of King Henry VIII (and his wives!) from the perspective of his faithful counselor, Thomas Cromwell, a character who you will come to love for his wit, guile, ruthlessness, and big heart. Mantel manages to capture so much rich detail and such tension in each page that I found myself reading her sentences over and over again, almost in awe of her craft. What an amazing talent. Read this book! You will not be disappointed.
Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel: The second installment in Mantel’s excellent Thomas Cromwell trilogy. At first, I was a little disappointed as she spent a considerable amount of time getting readers up to speed who had perhaps not read the first book (the horror!). However, she quickly regained her form and reminded me why reading the first book was such a joy. Mantel has a way of building tension into each ambiguous conversation and chance encounter, and being inside Thomas Cromwell’s head is an experience I will sorely miss once this series is over. Thankfully, the third book clocks in at over 700 pages so you will have that to look forward to! It contains one of the greatest ending paragraphs of any book I have ever read. But I won’t spoil it for you — you will have to read the book!
The Mirror and The Light by Hilary Mantel: You have to love a book that opens with the sentence, “Once the queen’s head is severed, he walks away.” Sadly, this is the final installment in Mantel’s wonderful Thomas Cromwell trilogy. I am always nervous about the potential for declining quality in the third book of trilogies, but this one did not disappoint (perhaps because it took Mantel eight years to write it!). The dialogue is just as clever, the characters just as devious, and King Henry VIII just as unpredictable as in the first two books. Way better than any Netflix series, I cannot recommend these books enough. To this day, I still find myself asking in certain situations, “what would Cromwell do?”
The Splendid and The Vile by Erik Larson: For the history buffs! I am a big fan of Erik Larson’s previous books, The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake, which I also highly recommend. This one is about the Battle of Britain and Winston Churchill’s courageous leadership through that struggle. Also includes lots of intimate and interesting details about Churchill’s family life during that time (we tend to forget that our leaders are people too!). Provides some useful perspective about “difficult years” and restrictions on daily life — living in Britain in 1940 was no walk in the park!
The Echo Maker by Richard Powers: I had been meaning to read something by Richard Powers for years but found that his subjects seemed a bit esoteric and his writing a little dense. But I finally started this book, and boy am I glad that I did. The story actually picks up right away with a car crash, and you are instantly hooked. This novel is part character study and part science lesson on some very strange (and very interesting) ways that the human brain functions. After reading this book, you will never think of “the brain” and “the mind” as the same again, and you will have certain characters indelibly inscribed in your mind. Or is it the brain? Intelligent and well written, I plan to start reading more books by Richard Powers in the near future. I can’t wait to start The Overstory.
American Pastoral by Philip Roth: You may notice a theme of Pulitzer Prize winners. (Okay, Richard Powers didn’t win for The Echo Maker, but he did for The Overstory). I had been meaning to read this one for years after reading and enjoying many of Roth’s other books. However, the plot summary sounded mundane, and I didn’t find the prospect of a story about 1950s suburban America terribly compelling. Big mistake. This book is a masterpiece. I will warn you that the first 90 pages or so are rough sledding. But they are crucial to the structure of the story and the investment is well worth it. Roth has constructed a story of such empathy, understanding, compassion, and humor that you will carry the character of Swede Levov with you for a long time. Certainly, any suburban father will recognize many parts of his life as well as his hopes and fears in this book. Enjoy!
How do I find these titles to recommend to you? I read a lot, but I also refer to trusted book reviews— on Goodreads, NY Times, and Kirkus. I belong to a book club with opinionated readers and I live next door to a local bookstore insider who lends me advance copies! Basically, I do the legwork so you don’t have to. For more titles browse previous Book Blast posts or visit my Amazon store. Keep reading!
