Reading Highs and Lows

I thought I had lined up four great reads, newly published books I'd been awaiting eagerly. Never has a quartet of (unrelated) books surprised me so much in one month's time! I loved, loved, LOVED two of them and hated, hated, HATED the other two. Normally, my reading is on a much more even keel...I enjoy most things I pick out, but easily move on to start the next book without too much emotional attachment or detachment to the one just concluded. But, my reading highs and lows during September have had me riding a literary roller coaster. In order of appearance, here's my steep ups and downs:

The Magicians by Lev Grossman. I'd looked forward to delving into this so-called "Harry Potter in the Real World" novel where students attend Brakebills, an upstate NY college for magicians. I trudged through the book, thinking that at some point, I'd begin to see a transformation of the whiney, self-involved, unhappy characters and their wizardry. It never got better and I was extremely disappointed with this overly-long tale of dysfunctional relationships and misery that could have been written by the love child of Bret Easton Ellis and Robert Heinlein.


That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo. Truly one of the best books of the year and absolutely engaging from page one. A poignant, extremely funny, touching, sad yet ultimately uplifting story of a family and the three marriages that affect Jack Griffin's life: his parents', his own, and his daughter's upcoming nuptials on Cape Cod. A joy to read; you won't be able to put it down!


Jericho's Fall by Stephen L. Carter. Although I'd enjoyed Carter's previous novels, Emperor of Ocean Park and New England White, immensely, his attempt to write a spy thriller falls very short. Although the cover says "the best spy novel in 20 years", don't believe it. The action all takes place on a mountaintop in Colorado where the former head of the CIA is dying of cancer and has a secret to protect. By the end, you won't care about the secret or the characters. For top-notch spies, read Daniel Silva !



South of Broad by Pat Conroy. What can I add about Conroy that hasn't been said already? It's time to celebrate his first novel in 14 years and it's grand and compelling! Set in Charleston, it follows the lives of several friends, from different sides of the tracks, from their senior year in 1969 through the '90s. (One odd question: why did he name two of the characters Niles and Fraser?) The intertwined plots are artfully mixed with Conroy's beautiful descriptions and obvious love of South Carolina's Low Country. His characters' emotional traumas run the gamut and sometimes strain the imagination, but this is true storytelling in plush and elegant prose. I absolutely loved it!

So, for me, 2 thumbs way up and 2 thumbs way down! Anyone want to agree or disagree?