Liars and Saints

Liars and Saints (2003) by Maile Meloy. I've read this book before, but upon rereading it I found that I liked it much better the second time. It's the multigenerational story of the Santerre family, which starts during World War II when Yvette and Teddy are married. The couple eventually have two daughters, Margot and Clarissa, and then things start to get interesting. As a teenager, Margot is seduced by her dancing teacher and becomes pregnant. Yvette's solution is to have Margot travel to France to have the baby, and that is when the lies begin. As generations of the family are born, the ties become more and more tangled, and also more interesting. At 260 pages, it's a brief book, and a quick read, but Meloy manages to pack a lot of events into a short span. I liked it. Grade: A-

Brick Lane

Brick Lane (2003) by Monica Ali. Ali was born in Bengladesh and raised in England, and her novel reflects that background. It's about Nazneen, a Bengali girl who is married off to an older, unattractive Bengali man living in England. The book reveals much about a world normally hidden to us, a world of immigrants to England and the travails they endure. It's beautifully, at times poetically written, and the story is deeply affecting. I recommend it highly. Grade: A-

The Patron Saint of Liars

The Patron Saint of Liars (1992) by Ann Patchett. Rose Clinton is a pretty young woman, married to Thomas, and three-months pregnant. Unable to live with the situation, she takes the family car and drives east from California to Kentucky, to a home for unwed mothers. The home is located on a site where once flowed a miraculous spring, a spring whose waters had healing powers. But the spring is long dried up, and only the unwed mothers remain. Rose settles in, and contrives somehow to make a life for herself in the new surroundings. It's a beautifully written story, and one that never fails to hold your attention. The people she meets are all indelibly portrayed, and they will stay with you long after you have finished the book. Grade: A

Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures

Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures (2007) by Vincent Lam. This collection of short stories comes from a doctor, with a doctor's knowledge of medicine, but also with a unique insight into people. It gets stronger as you read the stories, each one building a bit on what has come before. Grade: B+