Review: The Girls of August

The Girls of August
Hardcover, 240 pages
Grand Central Publishing, 8 July 2014
2 stars

Four friends gather for an annual beach vacation, each year renting a house in a new location.  This began as a way to get away while their husbands were all in medical school together, and has become a way to reconnect with one another, calling each other the Girls of August.  When one of them dies tragically, their vacations are brought to a halt and their friendships gradually dwindle away.  When the widower remarries, the three women agree to a vacation to meet the new wife, a much younger woman who doesn't quite fit into the group.  Their vacation on the South Carolina coast will reveal the changes the women have undergone since their last time together.

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I'm not entirely sure where to start with this review, because I almost didn't finish the book.  At 240 pages it was a quick read, which was an incredibly good thing.  Had it taken more than two or three hours to read this book, I would have put it down.  I was looking forward to a sweet, touching book about women supporting each other through their friendships, and instead I got a ridiculous, scrambled book about women acting like mean middle school girls.

The characters were flat, cardboard people that Siddons apparently couldn't be bothered to develop.  Until one of the characters began acting erratic and a major life event was revealed about halfway through the book, I honestly kept confusing two of the characters because there was so little depth to either of their characters.  What Siddons did reveal about their personalities through their behaviors was so hateful and mean that I couldn't imagine she was writing about characters she liked.  Grown women were catty, sarcastic, and downright cruel and bullying to one another.  Apparently this was because some of them were "going through things."  I didn't find this in the least bit believable.

The writing was painfully simple and uninspired.  These women were vacationing on a beautiful semi-private island off the coast of South Carolina and Siddons spent more time describing the decor of the house and the details of their food than the supposedly beautiful locale.  The story itself was jumbled and made no sense.  The women spend most of their trip bitching, sniping, and being generally unfriendly to the new wife and eventually even to each other.  Accusations of assault, sabotage, and affairs abound, and in the end...well, the ending came out of nowhere and made absolutely no sense.  When the bomb was dropped regarding a major event in the life of one of the women...I hardly paused in my reading.  There was so little build up to the announcement that I couldn't bring myself to care.  That, to me, is the sign of an unsuccessful book.

(I received a copy of this book from Grand Central Publishing in exchange for an honest review.)

Review: The City by Dean Koontz

The City
Hardcover, 416 pages
Bantam, 1 July 2014
3 stars

Jonah Kirk is the nine-year-old grandson of a top-notch piano player, the son of a extraordinarily talented lounge singer and an absentee father, and a musical prodigy in his own right.  He's just beginning to explore his musical gifts, when an accidental meeting with a group of very dangerous people has disastrous consequences.  Jonah is a young man coming of age in a remarkable family during a time when his city was coming of age as well.

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Jonah Kirk, now in his late-50's, is telling the gripping story of a very important time in his young life.  Koontz is in his element here, weaving a story that is lyrical to read, though it takes some time to wade through.  The plot moves slowly, almost luxuriously so, because Koontz is so descriptive, taking his time to make sure you can visualize every bit of Jonah's city.  The city almost becomes a character itself due to Koontz vivid descriptions of its people, it's art, and it's architecture.  Koontz explores the idea of a city having a soul, as personified by "Pearl", the mysterious woman who teaches Jonah to interpret his dreams.  

This novel was as much a character study as it was the coming-of-age of Jonah.  The character development of the "good guy" characters - Kirk's family and friends - was rich and expansive.  Disappointingly, however, the "bad guy" characters felt one-dimensional and a bit stereotypical.  The characters sometimes felt as though they were being used to explore themes and not carry the story themselves.  Jonah's relationship (or lack of one) with his father, his dedication to his mother, his friendship with the quietly formidable Mr. Yoshioka, and his love of Amelia Pomerantz all felt as though they were just as important to the story as the plot itself.  When Koontz allowed the characters to shine on the page, the story was wonderful to read.  Unfortunately, sometimes too much space passed between these glimpses of brilliance.

My problem with this novel was perhaps in my expectations.  I am a long-time fan of Koontz's novels because they're usually such page turners.  An interesting main character, an intriguing premise, a whole lot of suspense, and a thrilling conclusion.  While The City definitely had an interesting main character, it was missing everything else.  It was by far a more philosophical novel than I'm used to from Koontz, and as a result it sometimes felt like work to read.  In the end, The City was a good book I just couldn't get into.

(I received a copy of this book from Bantam Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Review: The Farm by Tom Rob Smith

The Farm
Hardcover, 352 pages
Grand Central Publishing, 3 June 2014
4 stars

Daniel is a garden designer living in London with his partner, Mark.  His parents, Chris and Tilde, have recently retired to a remote farm in Sweden, his mother's childhood home.  Daniel believes his parents are happy in their retirement until he receives a frantic phone call from his father.  His mother has had a mental breakdown and has fled the hospital where she was being treated.  Daniel is about to board a flight to Sweden when he receives a call from his mother, claiming everything his father has told him is a lie and she's on her way to London to see him.  As the accusations begin, Daniel is caught between his parents, unsure if he can believe his mother...especially once her conspiracy begins to implicate his father.

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"If you refuse to believe me, I will no longer consider you my son."

The Farm is a quick, engrossing read, the kind of book you'll want to finish in one sitting.  Short chapters end in cliffhangers, resulting in a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat.  Descriptions of the stark Swedish countryside, of hunting mushrooms in the forest, and of creeping around the house of a neighbor come to life through Smith's expert voice.  As well as bringing individual scenes to life, Smith also successfully conveys the suffocating isolation the residents of Chris & Tilde's new home feel, as though the location was a character itself.

The real-life events that inspired the events in this novel - the mental breakdown of Smith's mother - creates the ring of truth that makes this story so compelling. Tilde appears sane and reliable even as her story becomes less believable, moving farther into her suspicion and mythology.  The reader experiences the same confusion and skepticism that Daniel does.  The tension he feels in being asked to choose between his mother and his father is palpable to the reader, especially as he begins to realize that he does not know his parents as well as he had previously believed.

The Farm is a true psychological thriller.  There are no car chases, shootouts, or dramatic last-minute rescues.  At it's heart, it is about trust - how much do we really know about the people we love and who would we believe?  This fast-paced novel is sure to please Smith's existing fans and gain him several new.

(I received a copy of this book from Grand Central Publishing for an honest review.)