I thought you might like to see what I’ve been reading (when I should be writing):
Mrs. Hemingway (Naomi Wood, Penguin): Insightful fictional look at Ernest Hemingway’s four wives. There’s a lot to admire in the women but I still don’t get Hemingway’s appeal.
The Bear (Claire Cameron, Little, Brown): Two children must find their way out of the wilderness after their parents are eaten (really!) by a bear. I can’t say I enjoyed it—so violent and tragic—but I can’t forget it either. Not for children or the faint of heart.
Under the Wide and Starry Sky (Nancy Horan, Ballantine): Fanny Osborne meets and marries Robert Louis Stevenson. The novel follows the couple as they travel the world, Louis writing and Fanny nursing him. I found it engaging.
The Invention of Wings (Sue Monk Kidd, Viking): 19th century abolitionist Sarah Grimke struggles against her upbringing, her family, and other abolitionists as she insists also on rights for women. It’s a lovely, moving book and I enjoyed it wholeheartedly.
I lucked out—all four were excellent and worth reading. Watch for them. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for advance reading copies.
