Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Author: Gail Honeyman

Original title: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Pages: 416
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no
Format: e-book
Genres: Contemporary
Goodreads

Blurb:    
   Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.

My thoughts: 
    This was a really sweet and tragic story at the same time. I loved the voice of Eleanor and how she defines and defies the life realities. When she describes some social norm in a logical questionable manner I cannot but agree with her. Some descriptions are a bit over-exaggerated, which makes Eleanor less believable character.  

   I enjoyed how the story unraveled - layer by layer, telling us bits of her life and letting us see the difficulties of a person, who does not want or cannot behave in an expected manner. It is a heavy novel, which shows how many things we take for granted, things that other people are deprived of.

 Rating:  

    4/5  

Hotel by Arthur Hailey

Author:  Arthur Hailey 
Original title: Hotel
Pages: 442
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no
Format: Hardback
Genres: Contemporary
Goodreads

Blurb:    
   During five days in the midst of a hot, steamy Louisiana summer, the lives of a colorful cast of characters intertwine in a series of public, private, and personal dramas at the famed St. Gregory luxury hotel.
My thoughts: 
    It's a good little story, one of my favorites by Hailey: who knew that daily running of a hotel might be that interesting.
      Recently I re-read it again and the story totally holds up. Arthur Hailey is a good writer, an excellent storyteller, an expert at plotting and character development, and a genius at weaving story lines and characters together.  Despite some old cliche the characters here are excellent. The book is dated, the views and problems are dated but despite all that it is still a great story and fascinating read.

 Rating:  

    3/5  

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

Author: Paula Hawkins
Original title: Into the Water
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery
Format: Audio book
Read by: Imogen Church, Sophie Aldred, Daniel Weyman, Rachel Bavidge, Laura Aikman
Duration: 11h31m
Goodreads

Blurb:
      In the last days before her death, Nel called her sister. Jules didn’t pick up the phone, ignoring her plea for help. Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind. But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped. And most of all she’s afraid of the water, and the place they call the Drowning Pool

My thoughts:
       Firstly, this book is very different from The Girl on the Train. The ads that keeps saying "If you liked The Girl on the Train, you'll love Into the Water" are really far streched. Into the Water does not  focus in-depth on any character, but rather moves between the perspectives of many people.  It took me a while to wrap my head around this book. All the POVs made me confused for the first third of the book, I was trying to remember how they all fitted together.
     Secondly, while both books contain themes of memory and the limitations on its reliability, the mysteries feel very different. The mystery in Into the Water is not as susspense as in The Girl on the Train. It's more like a domestic thriller, with less tension and excitement. It was more of an examination of various ties between people in a small town, and how everyone was in some way linked to the woman found dead.
       I think this whole book was quieter, on the whole, than The Girl on the Train. The people were unlikable, and yet the stories were less dramatic; the climax less reveling. I never felt any excitement at the end, the book just drew gently to a close.
       All of that said, I had a hard time putting this one down and flew through it. It was a decent, worthwhile read, and I can’t say I wouldn't recommend.

Rating: 

         3/5 

A Stranger in the House|The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

Author: Shari Lapena
Original title: A Stranger in the House
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery
Format: Audio book
Read by: Tanja Fornaro
Duration: 9h02m
Goodreads

Blurb:
     Karen and Tom Krupp are happy—they’ve got a lovely home in upstate New York, they’re practically newlyweds, and they have no kids to interrupt their comfortable life together. But one day, Tom returns home to find Karen has vanished—her car’s gone and it seems she left in a rush. She even left her purse—complete with phone and ID—behind.
       There's a knock on the door—the police are there to take Tom to the hospital where his wife has been admitted. She had a car accident, and lost control as she sped through the worst part of town.
      The accident has left Karen with a concussion and a few scrapes. Still, she’s mostly okay—except that she can’t remember what she was doing or where she was when she crashed. The cops think her memory loss is highly convenient, and they suspect she was up to no good.

My thoughts:
       I did not enjoy it as much as I was hoping, judging by the popularity of it, because the plot was somewhat predictable and the characterizations seemed to me unrealistic at some points. Also, I could not relate to the characters and found myself annoyed at the decisions they made throughout the novel. The last three pages were quite interesting, the rest of the story was not impressive. I would not recommend it.

Rating: 

         2/5 

Author: Shari Lapena
Original title: The Couple Next Door
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery
Format: Audio book
Read by: Friederike Kempter
Duration: 6h43m
Goodreads

Blurb:
     Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all-a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately focuses on the parents. But the truth is a much more complicated story.
     Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something. Both Anne and Marco soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they've kept for years.

My thoughts:
       I liked this novel more than the above one, though the characters are also plastic and unrealistic. What I appreciated is the multiple hints in this or that direction, so we could constantly guessing who's done it. I guessed somewhere in the middle, but still I wanted to know why, so the story was going nicely for me. The ending though, was a bummer, which made the whole story pointless.

Rating: 

         3/5 

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Author: Celeste Ng
Original title: Everything I Never Told You
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Contemporary
Format: Audio book
Read by: Cassandra Campbell
Duration: 10h01m
Goodreads

Blurb:
    Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.
    So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos.
     A profoundly moving story of family, secrets, and longing, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.

My thoughts:
       I listened to this book on audio and this is my first 5 star book of the year although it was written in 2014. I read Little Fires Everywhere in December 2018 and loved it as well. I was a bit afraid that I might be disappointed, as I loved Little Fires Everywhere, but instead I found a new favorite author.  I will be reading whatever she writes next for sure.
     It is a beautifully written story, and I was again impressed with how Celeste Ng mixes the characters' destinies, lives and brings together into a beautiful piece of writing.
      This is the story of a dysfunctional family dealing with the death of 16-year-old Lydia, the middle “favorite” child. You get to see snapshots of each family member's life, in the past and in the present. The story of Lydia is also interesting. She seems to be in a lot of mental turmoil leading up to her death and we slowly uncover what happened to her. She is constantly under pressure, particularly from her mother, to excel academically and from her father to make friends, try to fit in and be "normal". We learn just how desperate she is to please them and at the same time escape from them. Her only help is her brother Nath, who understand all her troubles without saying. This connection between then is really exceptional and was my favorite part of the book. Different of age and gender they are really close and support each other to overcome their parents’ disappointment and indifference towards Nath and uncontrollable admiration and love towards Lydia. I never thought that love can be so dangerous, even more dangerous than indifference.
      Additionally, I appreciated how Ng tackled issues of race, womanhood, and identity. But first and foremost, I think this story is truly about parents who are trying to live through their child’s life, the things that they themselves wanted and failed to achieve. It made me feel so much sadness for the children, and even for the parents as they seemed to be so sure that they were doing the right thing for their daughter.

Rating: 

         5/5 

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Original title: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Pages: 359
Edition Language: English
Series: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe #1
Format: paperback
Genres: Contemporary, YA
Goodreads

Blurb:    
   Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.
  
My thoughts: 

     Another over-hyped book, that did not bring any pleasure in my reading life.  Saying that I hated this book would be an outright lie. But it did nothing. What I got was just an okay “something plot” with okay characters. 

    Like I hinted, there was no plot. It was hard going into this book and reading every single word and just promising myself "something is going to happen" when really, nothing exciting did. Dante and Ari were characters that one can enjoy reading about, maybe even relatable to some, but there was still nothing that was even interesting about either one.
    There were some bright spots like Dante and Ari’s friendship, discovering your identity. But that doesn’t erase the fact that I’m unsure what the point of this book was and so I grew bored very quickly and began skipping a lot. 

      My main issue was actually the epic moment when Ari was coming to the realization that he is gay. It looks like from every corner there was a nice, understanding relative with convenient smile: Oh Ari, don't you realize, you love Dante, and not just love, but LOVE. What the hell? I actually felt the pressure; the poor boy confused and cannot figure out his emotions and here come such understanding relatives and tell him whom he loves. I hated this part, they almost pushed him to Dante; it is good it all worked out, but there was so much pressure in so little words; this can change a person’s life. 

     Do not know if I would recommend it, but I see the book has its circle of admirers. I would probably soon forget about it and unhaul.

 

Rating:  

    2/5 

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Author: Sayaka Murata
Original title: Agnes Grey
Pages: 164
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Format: paperback
Genres: Contemporary
Goodreads

Blurb:    
   Keiko Furukura had always been considered a strange child, and her parents always worried how she would get on in the real world, so when she takes on a job in a convenience store while at university, they are delighted for her. However, eighteen years later, at age 36, she is still in the same job, has never had a boyfriend, and has only few friends. She feels comfortable in her life but is aware that she is not living up to society's expectations and causing her family to worry about her.

  My thoughts: 
    It is a very short novel and I have heard so many positive things about it, so I was actually hunting for it in the stores. But in the end, I was left disappointed and confused by the book.
        The novel is about a character who doesn’t change in a society that doesn’t change, and how both have found comfort in conformity. It’s never explicitly stated, but Keiko is obviously autistic. She comes off as robotic and unemotional. She has no interest in sex or relationships in general. She works, thinks and lives mechanically. She even has her sister come up with lines for her to repeat in social situations to seem like a “normal” person. So, since she knows her place in the world and she’s satisfied with it why everyone keeps pushing her to something else? She starts and ends as a convenience store worker. So why everybody is making a problem out of it?
      Additionally, the switches between somehow simplistic and almost philosophical way of thinking left a confused impression. Maybe the message of the novel is more relevant to closed Japanese society, but I was not impressed. 
       Still, it is generally a well-written book that is easy to read. Besides, for a novel mostly set in an ordinary convenience store it was never boring. So Sayaka Murata really managed it well. 

Rating:  

    3/5 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Author: Mark Haddon
Original title: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Pages: 272
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Format: Paperback
Genres: Contemporary
Goodreads

Blurb:    
   The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger's Syndrome. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour's dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his whole world upside down.
My thoughts: 
     I just LOVED the theater adaptations of this book. I went to two performances in two different languages and loved it every time. Sad, heart-breaking story. However, the book was a complete torture. I was struggling for months and could not care less for Christopher. It bored me immensely and I do not know on what power I finished it. It does not mean that I am giving up on the author. On the contrary, I think that the Christopher's perspective did not sit with me well and I am looking forward to other books of Mark Haddon.

Rating:  

    2/5   

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Author: Rainbow Rowell
Original title: Fangirl
Pages: 544
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no
Format: e-book
Genres: Contemporary, YA
Goodreads

Blurb:    
   Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage.   
       It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.
      While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.
  
My thoughts: 
    I just do not know what people find in this book. I read some YA and this is not the best example of the genre. I was totally bored from the begging to the end. the fan fiction episodes were so dull. I did not like the romance. The family dynamic was the only interesting part of the book. And again, I did not find the relationship between the sisters so believable. When you went through a lot with a person (especially when it is your twin sister) you just do not forget about her the next day you are in college. Either they were apart from the start or the concept of sisterly love is somehow wrong.
Did not liked it, do not recommend it and it does not worth all the hype.  

Rating:  

    2/5 

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Author: Liane Moriarty
Original title: Big Little Lies
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Contemporary
Format: Audio book
Read by: Danièle Douet
Duration: 15h37m
Goodreads

Blurb:
Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads. It is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

My thoughts:
       I did not think I'd like this book as much as I did, because everyone was talking about it and it is not always a good sign , but I liked it for its honesty and cruelty.
     The author looked into some incredibly serious topics - domestic violence, sexual assault, what teenagers really get up to on the internet, bullying, and parental interference in school processes. Some of it was tough to read, and sometimes even scary.
     The moms in Big Little Lies are written so well. I loved all the different stereotypes represented in each of them and how the different dynamics played out between them and their families. 

     The TV series isn't as good as the book. The ending was disappointing compared to the book and altogether it was bleak.

Rating: 

         4/5 

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Author: Celeste Ng
Original title: Little Fires Everywhere 
Edition Language: English  
Series: no  
Genres: Contemporary
Format: Audio book  
Read by: Jennifer Lim
Duration: 11h27m
Goodreads 

 Blurb:         
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.
Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the alluring mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
When the Richardsons' friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town and puts Mia and Mrs. Richardson on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Mrs. Richardson becomes determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs to her own family – and Mia's.
Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of long-held secrets and the ferocious pull of motherhood-and the danger of believing that planning and following the rules can avert disaster, or heartbreak.

    My thoughts:
     I found my new favorite author.The writing is just so great. It was a very emotional read and I can not say much about the plot as it is simple. The little snippets of life of two different types of families: well set and packaged Richardsons and single mother with a teenager girl. The story is actually provoking to think about the meaning of life, our place and our relationships with the world. It touches some hot social issues, but in a way that we are still left to decide ourselves what is right and what is wrong or maybe it is still a grey area in spite of all debates and researches.
     What especially got my heart in the book is the description of motherhood. It was so touching and true and sad, that I could not help but hold my breath.

     I heard some negative reviews of the book, that is again another suburban contemporary story with nothing new and original. For me, however, it is a great book at the right time. Maybe someone did not grow up to it while others overgrew it, but for me it was an enjoyable ride and all unanswered questions leave a lot of space to think over.

Rating: 

         5/5