The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

 

First line:  The first time I watched someone die, I was five.

Setting:  New York City, present day

Main Character:  Clover Brooks, a death doula who has dedicated her life to helping people as they reach the end of theirs. She keeps a record of all their regrets, but ignores her own. Because while Clover is very good at dealing with death, she's not so good at dealing with her own life.  "I didn't expect to get to my mid-thirties and still have only one friend. That's the thing about loneliness:  no one ever chooses it."

 My thoughts:  Clover's journey is one of uncertainty, love, fear, hope and second chances. She's a bookish introvert who struggles to make friends. And she's never been in love. I liked her a lot. And the people she meets along the way are so great. They each help her expand her small world in some unique way. I got caught up in this story right from the first page and didn't want to stop reading. This book made me feel all the feels: it's moving, humorous, charming, sad, satisfying, and heartwarming. 

Favorite Quote:  "The secret to a beautiful death is to live a beautiful life. Putting your heart out there. Letting it get broken. Taking chances. Making mistakes." 

Here's to living a life with fewer regrets.

Happy Reading!

The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung

 

"When I was a child, first discovering numbers, the secrets they yielded, the power they held, I imagined I would live my life unchecked, knocking down problem after problem that was set before me. And in the beginning, because I outstripped my classmates, my parents, and even my teachers it seemed possible that it would be so. That was pure hubris. ... Still, I never tried to hide or suppress my mind as some girls do, and thank God, because that would have been the beginning of the end."

Katherine is a math genius at a time when math is still very much a man's world. She's also half-Chinese with questions about her parentage that her father refuses to answer. And she thinks she might have found the mathematical key to solving the Reimann hypothesis. But will people believe the solution is really hers, or will they think some man helped her with it? Love, math and ambition are complicated problems for Katherine as she navigates and narrates her journey through life.

This novel is thoughtful, poignant, intelligent and beautifully written. And Katherine is a quietly compelling narrator. I admired her courage and her stubborn refusal to be viewed as less than just because she's a woman. From her third grade teacher to the college professor who claims to love her, Katherine has to battle just to have her own voice heard. It made me angry for her. (I found it a little heartbreaking, too.) Katherine's story drew me in from the very first page of this novel. (I even liked the math bits.) And though the ending left me feeling a little sad, I'm glad to count this as my first read of 2021. It's a good one.

Happy Reading!

A Gentleman In Moscow

For the crime of having been born an aristocrat, Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is sentenced to spend the rest of his life confined to the Metropol Hotel in Moscow. It is 1922. The Tzar has fallen, the Bolsheviks are in charge, and the life Count Rostov once knew is gone forever. So begins Amor Towles' A Gentleman in Moscow.

I loved this book! I have a feeling that it might end up being my favorite read of 2018. Towles' writing is amazing, and Alexander Rostov is such an unforgettable character. I never got tired of his quiet reminiscences or his perceptive observations of the changing world outside his window.

Having acknowledged that a man must master his circumstances or otherwise be mastered by them, the Count thought it worth considering how one was most likely to achieve this aim when one had been sentenced to a life of confinement.

His inward journey as he creates a life for himself within the walls of the Metropol Hotel is an act of courage, dignity, grace, and above all, humor. He even manages to find love. That along with the varied acquaintances he meets, and the deep friendships he makes over the 30 years he is confined to the Metropol, make this book something to be savored. Near the end of the novel, one of Rostov's friends says this to him:

Who would have imagined when you were sentenced to life in the Metropol all those years ago, that you had just become the luckiest man in all of Russia.

I know I feel very lucky to have read this book, even more so because I got to read it with Bettina. This is the third book we've read together, and I think it's the best. But be sure to check out her review to see what she thinks. And then go check out this book!!

Happy Reading!