Book of the Week

‘Tom Lake’ by Ann Patchett reviewed by Isabella

‘Tom Lake is classic storytelling in its finest form and a reminder that we all have a past that defines us for better or for worse; a past that, for the most part, we forget, but one that can be coaxed back to shed light on who we have become and why.

‘Tom Lake’ is a true Patchett experience. A story of family, quiet love (for lovers, friends, parents, grandparents and children) and quiet heartbreak. The novel is full of relatable experiences, of friendship, disappointment and self discovery. Of life that just happens.

Lara, her husband Joe and their three adult daughters are spending lockdown on their cherry orchard in Michigan. Lara is (guiltily) enjoying the fact that everyone has to stay put and isolated. The girls for their part are taking advantage of the time to get their mother to talk about a time in her past when she (almost) became a movie star - and dated a man who did indeed become one.

This is a story of young love and aspiration during rehearsals one summer for that quintessentially American play, Our Town, and a later story of more mature love.

Tom Lake is a gloriously generous, at times thorny and always honest, story of family, of what matters in life, of the beauty and drama of the everyday.

The novel unfolds with expected (and unexpected) turns on a firm base of genuine appreciation for other human beings.

Tom Lake is not an edgy, uncomfortable, pull you out of your comfort zone kind of novel. Plenty other excellent books serve that vital purpose. Tom Lake has another, very different, and important role to play.

One Ann Patchett addressed in a recent interview with ‘The Guardian’:

"If the world is kicking me in the teeth, in terms of the news and all the things we have to worry about, that's not what I want in my novel. I don't need to be lifted up.

But I would like the kindness of humanity that surrounds me to have a moment" she says. "There I am. That's what I do.’

And boy does she do that wonderfully well!’

Happy reading!

RESERVE YOUR COPY OF TOM LAKE

Book of the Week

‘I have Some Questions for You’ by Rebecca Makai

Reviewed by Lotte, prolific reader and friend of Books & Company ☺️

‘Rebecca Makkai is an amazing storyteller which is why you should pick up this book.

The story, nice and tense seems to be a regular old murder mystery, but it is so much more!

Bodie Kane, a successful film professor and podcaster, spent her high school years at Granby (a posh New Hampshire boarding school) where she like the misfit, the poor kid from Indiana. In the spring of her senior year Bodie’s former roommate Thalia, a popular it-girl was murdered. The athlectics coach was charged and sent to prison for life.

Now, Bodie is back at Granby 20 years later to teach a podcast class, and Thalia’s murder pops up as a theme. This is not a book about how and why Thalia was killed. It is more about Bodie realizing how she misinterpreted so many things back then, not just when it came to Thalia’s murder, but also about being a teen at a boarding school, the heart-wrenching cry for help and wish to fit in, the culture of ‘boys will be boys’. It is also about how Bodie is now confronting the metoo and cancel culture. Again - Makkai nails it!

Bodie is the narrative voice speaking directly to the former music teacher of Granby about what actually happened back then - and Bodie has some questions for him.

It is brilliant set-up of storytelling, and it makes the book sharp. The prose is detailed, there is a lot of characters (so be patient) and the story unfolds slowly, but surely.

Absolutely a Top10 for me!

PS: if you haven’t read Makkai’s previous book ‘The Great Believers’, you should definitely put that on your TBR list as well.’

Thanks Lotte for a great review and happy reading everyone!

RESERVE YOUR COPY OF I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU

Book of the Week

Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Reviewed by our very own Catalina

‘In this literary masterwork, Kazuo Ishiguro recounts the story of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy that grow up at an English boarding school. Through their lives and experiences, that at first sight seem completely ordinary, Ishiguro subtly hints that this is no ordinary school and, moreover, it is not an ordinary world.

The three friends are at Hailsham because their destiny has already been decided for them and they have no choice but to fulfil their ‘special purpose’. Following the characters as they approach the inevitable end without a fight and without a trace of understanding what is being taken away from them, feels at times heart-breaking and at times exasperating.

The author is a master at telling without telling. Through extremely subtle writing Ishiguro makes us reflect on what it is to be human. What lengths are we ready to go to in the name of progress and modernity?’

This book may not be new but it remains a staff favorite, and as author, and fellow bookstore owner, Ann Patchett, likes to say ‘If you haven’t read it, it’s new to you’

Happy reading!

RESERVE YOUR COPY OF NEVER LET ME GO

Book of the Week

‘Empire of Pain’ by Patrick Radden Keefe reviewed by by Gustav

’As with most visits to Books & Co., 80-90% of the reason is to chat with Isabella & Co., while the rest is to marvel over all the carefully curated books.

This time, Isabella recommended Empire of Pain – a book that chronicles the rise, and fall, of the Sackler family – the family behind the OxyContin pills.

I probably share some knowledge of OxyContin and the US Opioid Crisis with others; however I had never put much thought into the company behind the pills, nor the responsibility of the US federal agencies in restricting access to strong narcotics. Knowing that the opioid crisis has taken more US lives than all the wars they have fought, I figured I should learn a little more. Empire of Pain does an immaculate job of explaining the role of the Sackler family, from the first branch of brothers, Arthur, Mortimer and Raymond, through to the newer generations that would take over Purdue Pharma and create the OxyContin pill; how the family built their wealth by inventing the aggressive (and often misleading, if not fraudulent) marketing campaigns for pharmaceutical products, that reshaped the entire industry – campaigns that the newer generations, in particular Richard Sackler, would use to mass market the highly addictive opioid OxyContin in essence creating the opioid crisis. Keefe goes on to explain how greed exists on both private and public levels, with the FDA, the US courts, politicians and district attorneys all being compromised by the wealth of the Sacklers.

Keefe also does a fantastic job of highlighting why the name OxyContin might resonate with readers, but the Sackler name might not. The Sacklers have used philanthropy to buy status in society, with their names adorning top museums and universities.

I must admit that I became disheartened to learn how money drives a company like Purdue and US government institutions to turn a blind eye to one of the most tragic human catastrophes of modern time, but it is the sheer size of the scandal, along with the fascinating documentation by Keefe that made Empire of Pain unputdownable.

It makes you wonder how much more corruption and greed is being overlooked.’

Happy Reading!

RESERVE YOUR COPY OF EMPIRE OF PAIN