The Haunting Toll of a Missing Child

Posted on by Jan tramontano

When a child goes missing, an unfathomable nightmare begins for a family, the community and the police. Yet, we have a bizarre fascination with these events as evidenced by the upsurge in true crime media. It seems people can’t get enough of podcasts, TV shows, movies and books. Although some of this story has the feel of a whodunnit and what happened, at its core it's about the forever toll a child gone missing takes on families and neighbors. It weakens faith in home as a place of safety. What piqued my interest in this novel is how characters with different kinds of involvement weathered the loss.

Friendship and Feminism: The Book Club for Troublesome Women

Posted on by Jan tramontano

The fact that history repeats itself is never more obvious than when reading historical fiction. This book, The Book Club for Troublesome Women depicts the wives of 1960s middle class families and the societal pressure to keep women at home. This was a time period when women were discouraged from pursuing careers or stimulation outside of their families. Fifty years later, these regressive ideas are gaining momentum once again in the form of misguided restrictive laws based on false memory about how good this was for women.

The Road Not Taken

Posted on by Jan tramontano

Do you ever wonder about what your life might have looked like if you made one different decision? Or wonder if you were not afraid to take risk that might have changed everything? Perhaps, a first love didn't work out the way you'd hoped and you wonder what might have been... It's easy to fall down that rabbit hole but sometimes it's more satisfying to read somebody else's should have could have story. As I was reading this book, I thought about people and times in my own life who I hadn't thought about in years. It's good when a book gives you a look back into your own memories. As long as you don't spin out!

A Tale of Immigrant Resilience

Posted on by Jan tramontano

Newly released this week, this novel is a throwback to the kind of novel that made me an avid reader. It’s a Barbara Taylor Bradford Woman of Substance kind of book. The undaunted heroine rises from meager circumstances. With talent, grit, and ambition, she faces many obstacles but becomes successful and climbs the rungs of society. This is not a criticism. It is a reflection of the circumstances in the early twentieth century and Maisie McIntyre is such a character.

The Long Reach into the Past

Posted on by Jan tramontano

The narrative explores the haunting legacy of the Holocaust through Anne Berest's discovery of an ancestral postcard, initiating her search for family history. The text reflects on personal trauma, societal complicity in atrocities, and contemporary parallels of inhumanity, urging remembrance to prevent repeating the past while confronting present-day prejudices.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Latest Novel: A Dream Count Unpacked

Posted on by Jan tramontano

In this latest novel by Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, she explores the idea of dream count, a backwards look at the past in the hope of arriving at a better future. If the past is filled with so much unrealized potential, how can the failed affairs of old be transformed?

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson: A Story of Resilience

Posted on by Jan tramontano

This novel by Charmaine Wilkerson explores themes of loss, grief, and family trauma within a well-educated Black family in Connecticut. It follows Ebby, a survivor of her brother's murder, as she grapples with her past while reclaiming a family heirloom. The narrative, told through multiple perspectives, adds depth and emotional resonance.

Everything We Never Had, A Story of Fathers and Sons

Posted on by Jan tramontano

This beautifully crafted novel was written for a young adult audience but I would recommend it for teens and adults alike.Long listed for the National Book Award it is the tale of four generations of Filipino Americans grappling with identity, past trauma and the long reach it has into the future.

Slipping into the Past

Posted on by Jan tramontano

This book is not an easy read. If I had read it a couple of years ago, I would have been reminded of how far we've come from the days of back alley abortions, substandard reproductive health care and forced adoptions. Although abortion laws in Canada are still in place, we have taken a giant leap backward with the Dobbs decision overturning Roe. It changes what should have been a historical perspective into a frightening look at where we are heading. I would say this book may now be categorized as historical fiction but if we stay on the current trajectory, it will read as a contemporary novel.

Unveiling Fate, An Evocative Debut Novel

Posted on by Jan tramontano

As the novel begins, a mysterious box is delivered to everyone in the world over age 22. From a bustling city in Europe to suburban enclaves in America to African villages, everyone gets one. Inside the box is a string. Its length determines how long you will live. I was immediately hooked.What would I do? Would I open the book? Would I be able to resist knowing? Would I not want to know? And if I held a short string in my hand, how would I cope? Would I completely change or remain fully entrenched in the life I was living? The same thoughts rippled through the characters in this book.