Montana 1948 by Larry Watson

Montana 1948 by Larry Watson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A small book, tightly written, and wonderfully told, Montana 1948 is a coming of age story, set in a small Montana town in 1948. The Haydens are town aristocracy, the grandfather, the retired sheriff, his two sons, the town doctor and current sheriff. It is told from the perspective of twelve year old David Hayden, as he remembers it forty years later. It is the day he stopped being a child and lost his innocence, when he realized that adults were not infallible, and those he loved could do monstrous things. As he relates the story to his wife, he discovers things about that time he had realized before, looking now through the lens of adulthood, not as a young boy.
I can't say enough good things about this novel, it's succinct, thought provoking, and beautifully written. Highly recommended.

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Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 rounded to 5 stars - A wonderful classic by author and essayist Edward Abbey, who spent several years as a park ranger, and who deeply loved the American southwest wilderness and advocated for keeping it that way. Although he occasionally worked for the government, he was an anarchist who was on the government watch list for years. When he died, he requested a "green burial" with his body put in an old sleeping bag and quietly buried in an undisclosed location.
I did a hybrid read of this book, listening to much of it, but also reading along the way. Both methods had things to recommend them. The narrator was excellent, but so were the line drawings in the physical book. The language, descriptive detail and interesting anecdotes makes this a book I would be happy to own, and read aloud on a cold winter night.

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A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean

A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - This is a hard book for me to review. It's a story about a Scottish Presbyterian minister, and his two sons, and fly fishing. It is literary fiction, a tough genre for me, but the prose was so beautiful. Fathers and sons, siblings, what do you do for love? How do you help people when they might not need or want your help? So much to think about and ponder in this little book.

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A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5.0/5.0 - Wonderful play by young playwright Lorraine Hansberry, who died five years later. The play takes place in the southside of Chicago, set between World War II and 1959. It was ground breaking, written by an African American writer about an African American family, at a time when both of these things were almost unheard of. Sadly, sixty-some years later, the storyline is as fresh today, as when it was written.


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The Chosen by Chaim Potok

The Chosen by Chaim Potok
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5.0/5.0 - I wonder how I've missed this book all my life. I feel like it's one that I could read again and again, and get more out of it every time. It's a wonderful book on so many levels, the story, the symbolism, the friendship between Daniel and Reuven, the father son relationships, the tensions between the Orthodox Jews, and the Hasidic Jews, and all the historical details. It is a book to be savored and closely examined. And read again.

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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 rounded to 5 stars - I've been reading classics and plays this year, and this one was very powerful. Published in 1962, it won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play (1963) and later became a movie starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, as a middle aged couple with a volatile marriage. Martha is the daughter of the college president, her husband, George, a professor in the history department. Martha marries the younger George, with the idea that he will be groomed to take over for her father. As the years pass and that doesn't happen, the couple becomes increasingly bitter toward each other. The play takes place over the course of twelve hours and deals with illusions in life, and games that people play.
Albee visited SUNY Brockport (college) in 1981, and in my previous life, I was able to preserve the video of the interview. It is available here: Edward Albee Writers Forum video.

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The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington

The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5/5.0 - Set in the late 1800-early 1900s in Indianapolis, the novel follows the decline of a wealthy family, the Ambersons. George, the crown prince, is a self-absorbed, selfish, spoiled young man, who desires to do nothing, just to be. His concern with appearances keeps his mother from having a relationship with the man she loves, after her husband dies. In turn, it keeps George from pursuing Lucy, who he was in love with. But time and circumstances cause George to grow up and reform.
This book won Tarkington a Pulitzer Prize, and nominations for 4 Academy Awards for the 1942 film adaptation by Orson Welles. It was considered a very important piece, but unfortunately contains racist language (not a lot, but enough) that takes away from its lasting value.

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The Crucible by Arthur Miller

The Crucible by Arthur Miller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - It's hard to believe that I've never read this before, it is such a timeless classic. Everyone knows the story of the Salem witch trials, Miller's retelling is beautifully done. There are lessons to be learned, the dangers of mass hysteria, the bravery of honest men and women who will die, rather than confess what they did not do.
Book 198 of 2021

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Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - Wow, this was so good! I'm am not normally a fan of science fiction, but Philip K. Dick writes books that really intrigue me. There are so many layers, so much to think about, and such great detail. One thing that makes it especially interesting is that it was written in 1968, but takes place in 2021!
Book 188 of 2021

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A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - It has probably been 50 years since I've read a book by Ernest Hemingway, so this short memoir about his time in Paris in the early 1920s was interesting to me. He talks about his friendships with Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, Scott Fitzgerald and others. Throughout the book, he speaks of his great love for his wife, Hadley, all the while foreshadowing their eventual breakup. All in all, this book has encouraged me to seek out more of his writing.
Book 182 of 2021

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