A Certain Age

by Beatriz Williams

 

Synopsis:

As the freedom of the Jazz Age transforms New York City, the iridescent Mrs. Theresa Marshall of Fifth Avenue and Southampton, Long Island, has done the unthinkable: she’s fallen in love with her young paramour, Captain Octavian Rofrano, a handsome aviator and hero of the Great War. An intense and deeply honorable man, Octavian is devoted to the beautiful socialite of a certain age and wants to marry her. While times are changing and she does adore the Boy, divorce for a woman of Theresa’s wealth and social standing is out of the question, and there is no need; she has an understanding with Sylvo, her generous and well-respected philanderer husband.

But their relationship subtly shifts when her bachelor brother, Ox, decides to tie the knot with the sweet younger daughter of a newly wealthy inventor. Engaging a longstanding family tradition, Theresa enlists the Boy to act as her brother’s cavalier, presenting the family’s diamond rose ring to Ox’s intended, Miss Sophie Fortescue—and to check into the background of the little-known Fortescue family. When Octavian meets Sophie, he falls under the spell of the pretty ingénue, even as he uncovers a shocking family secret. As the love triangle of Theresa, Octavian, and Sophie progresses, it transforms into a saga of divided loyalties, dangerous revelations, and surprising twists that will lead to a shocking transgression . . . and eventually force Theresa to make a bittersweet choice.

Full of the glamour, wit and delicious twists that are the hallmarks of Beatriz Williams’ fiction and alternating between Sophie’s spirited voice and Theresa’s vibrant timbre, A Certain Age is a beguiling reinterpretation of Richard Strauss’s comic opera Der Rosenkavalier, set against the sweeping decadence of Gatsby’s New York.

My Review:

Another stellar book by Beatriz Williams. Again, for the same reasons I've so loved all of her other books - the dialog is brilliant, the characters are smart, the female protagonists are strong and well-rounded (there is always something you love and something you don't love so much about them), and of course the plot and the plot twists are nothing short of spectacular. Once again there are elements from her other books in this one. So, if you are a fan of her writing as I am, you'll be happy to hear some familiar names - Julie Schuyler. If my memory serves me right, she is also in A Hundred Summers along with Christina Dane who also makes a brief party appearance in A Certain Age. 

I just love the NY elite in this book and their connections to each of B. Williams' books. By the way, if you too are a fan, if you go to Beatriz Williams' author site, you will find the Schuyler Family tree and how each character is connected and where they can be found in each story.

This is, as the synopsis states, a story of the roaring twenties. There is enough drama to include murder, a cover up, an unsolved crime and an elicit affair to hook you right from the beginning to the very unexpected twist at the very end. 

Delightful and indulgent reading if you ask me. This is B. Williams' version of Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier.  Beatriz Williams' just doesn't miss the mark!

Norwegian Wood
(ノルウェイの森)

by Haruki Murakami 

Jay Rubin (Translator)

Synopsis:

This stunning and elegiac novel by the author of the internationally acclaimed Wind-Up Bird Chronicle has sold over 4 million copies in Japan and is now available to American audiences for the first time.  It is sure to be a literary event.

Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before.  Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable.  As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.

A poignant story of one college student's romantic coming-of-age, Norwegian Wood takes us to that distant place of a young man's first, hopeless, and heroic love.

My Review:

I opted to listen to the audio book version as I wasn't sure what to expect and preferred to allow the narrator to add the right inflection and emotion into the words of Haruki Murakami. I did thoroughly enjoy the entire experience but feel compelled to advise future readers/listeners of this book that although the story is about mental illness (which has no cultural boundaries) there are a lot of aspects about this story that are deeply rooted in the cultural uniqueness of Eastern culture (specifically Japanese). 

The story of Toru, Naoko and Kizuki as three carefree best friends at the end of their teen years and what happens when it is time to transition to young adulthood and leave childhood days behind. After the unexpected suicide of Kizuki, Naoko and Toru's lives become emotional and confusing, questioning everything about who they are, who they love, their loyalties and their own "joie-de-vivre". Toru handles his transition to Tokyo for college much better than Naoko who seems lost in her thoughts and fears. We find that Naoko has experienced a silent mental illness for most of her life and Toru finds himself making it his responsibility to have her overcome her debilitating and incarcerating fears. 

We meet many characters that seem to teach different life lessons to Toru. Toru uses these encounters in order to find direction in life and to try to make sense of those things that are not immediately and obviously right or wrong to him. The book is a coming of age story with a bleak tone but with hints of optimism (specially towards the end and from the characters you least expect it from). At the beginning of the book, Toru is on a plane to Germany recounting these memorable days that began in 1968. There is a great deal of explicitly sexual content in the book, however it is not gratuitous in nature but I found it to really add to the complexity of the characters. The fact that the sex scenes were so explicit and the character's attitudes towards sex were so "free" was integral to the cultural uniqueness of the story and very significant to the "free love" mentality of the time (late 1960s). 

The writing is beautiful. I can only imagine how good it would be to be read in its native Japanese. But, as I don't speak Japanese, I have to trust that the translator did it great justice. Great story even though it dealt with the very sad topic of mental illness. At times the characters frustrated me and made me feel exasperated but beautifully made up for by the fantastic dialog and relationships. 

Toru could easily become one of my favorite characters in the many books I have read. He is the "every man's man" character - admirable, flawed, loving, learning, and spirited but hopeful.

True Blend

by Joanne DeMaio

Great summer beach read.

 

Synopsis:

Amy Trewist couldn't ask for more than her simple life in Addison, Connecticut. From her old farmhouse, to her best friend living in the bungalow next door, to the big red barn at the end of the road, to her small shop across from the town green, what else could she want?

Quite simply, she wants it back. Because while running errands early one morning, a sudden, unexpected encounter threatens all Amy holds dear. When she crosses paths with a stranger, her cherished life seems as fleeting as the sparkling droplets spraying from the town's stone wishing fountain.

But as destiny would have it, a dinner with the reluctant man who came into her life that day changes everything. A secluded beach cottage and love song dedications and dances beneath the starlight slowly lead her back to happiness. And when destiny runs its course, a stunning twist will have Amy finally find the silver lining within one dark summer cloud.

My Review:

Fantastic summer read. Totally surprised at how much I liked this book as I wanted a light read and this book certainly packed a punch. I can't write much about the plot as it is somewhat of a mystery/thriller and that would give away too much. But this is a story about lies, cover ups, a crime and the effect on its victims. Basically, what would you do if you find out that someone you love and trust has lied. That lie impacts your life profoundly. However, the lie is born of chivalrous and protective intentions. Does that justify the lie? Or are the actions that lead to lying what shapes the relationship above the sincere intentions? Fantastic storyline and characters. Not to mention, a really good ending.