Review: Asking for a Friend

I’ve read all of Kerry Clare’s novels and I’m always blown away by how great her writing is and how she tells a story. What’s tough is when I don’t particularly like the story. Then I’m left wondering: is it me? Is the book? Is it the way the book was marketed? These were questions I asked myself when I was reading Asking for a Friend, Clare’s latest which was published in September.

Here’s the book’s description:

The bottom of Jess’s world is falling out. Cocooned in her dorm in the winter of 1998, she’s reeling, and wants to be left alone. But a chance encounter with the older, otherworldly, elusive Clara has Jess awestruck. Clara, newly returned from a two-year trek drifting around the world, is taking a stab at normalcy for once, and the place she starts is university, where she struggles to fit in. Upon meeting Jess, though, Clara feels an instant connection, and everything seems brighter. Soon, the two are inseparable, undeniable necessities in each other’s lives. But when tragedy strikes, they are unceremoniously torn apart, sent tumbling down different paths. And with each passing day, their unbreakable bond is tested more and more.
As they endure love and heartbreak, marriage, anxiety and isolation, and the complicated existence of motherhood, Jess and Clara must learn how to love each other through it all—and whether growing up inevitably means growing apart.
Spanning two decades, Asking for a Friend follows the tempestuous journey of female friendship, exploring whether its fundamentals—history, familiarity, loyalty—are enough to make the relationship everlasting.

It took me a realllllly long time to finish this book. September was a hard month for me and nothing held my interest. That could be part of why this book didn’t thrill me. Another part may have been friends of mine who read it were not fans and weren’t quiet about it. But maybe I just straight up didn’t enjoy the book because it wasn’t the right fit for me.

I do believe the marketing department of the publishing house can shoulder some of the blame for how this book has been received. Because I’m not the only one who expected this book to be…different. We were told we’d get a novel about friendship. And we did but…it was an incredibly toxic friendship. Was it sometimes accurate when it addressed how friendships evolve over twenty years? Absolutely. But if Jess and Clara’s relationship was a romantic one, you can bet everyone would have been saying they needed to break up because their relationship was not at all healthy. Plus, the cover seems so celebratory and I didn’t find a whole lot of celebrating going on in the story.

I think this wasn’t a book for me, personally, because of how much of the story seemed to focus on the journey towards motherhood and raising children. I am not a mother. I do not want to be a mother. I know there needs to be procreation to have a civilization but I honestly sometimes wonder why anyone would give up their freedom to have kids. So, I just wasn’t expecting how much of the story would revolve around pregnancies, miscarriages, infertility, more pregnancies, more miscarriages, births, raising children, and yet more pregnancies. Important topics for some but not what I, personally, want to be reading in my novels.

I really, really wanted to love Asking for a Friend. I think Kerry Clare is so talented but this novel fell so short for me and I’m really sad about that. I know we can’t love every book we read but not loving this book really hurts.

*A finished copy of this novel was provided by Penguin Canada as part of their Penguin Reads program in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Evening

I'm not much of a literary fiction reader but sometimes a title catches my eye and I want to give it a try. Evening by Nessa Rapoport was one of those novels and I ended up enjoying it. Released in fall 2020, the story follows a plot but also focuses on reflecting on choices made in life and what it means to mourn.

Here's the book's description:

In her thirties, Eve is summoned home by her distraught family to mourn the premature death of her sister, Tam, a return that becomes an unexpected encounter with the past. Eve bears the burden of a secret: Two weeks before Tam died, Eve and Tam argued so vehemently that they did not speak again. Her sister was famous, acclaimed for her career as a TV journalist and her devoted marriage. But Tam, too, had a secret, revealed the day after the funeral, one that inverts the story Eve has told herself since their childhood. In the aftermath, Eve is forced to revise her version of her fractured family, her sister’s accomplishments and vaunted marriage, and her own impeded ambition in work and love.
Day by day as the family sits shiva, the stories unfold, illuminating the past​ to shape the present. Evening explores the dissonant love between sisters, the body in longing, the pride we take in sustaining our illusions, and the redemption that is possible only when they are dispelled.

The novel is set in Toronto, a city not so far from my own, but not in the present day. I now can't recall if the exact year was ever divulged but I'd guess it was the late 80s or early 90s.While that doesn't seem like it was that long ago, a lot has changed since that time. By setting the novel in a time other than the present, it added an extra something. I liked that there were no cell phones or laptops or social media during the time the family was sitting shiva together which seemed to allow for a more isolated feeling to the mourning period. 

Normally I love my genre fiction that has a clear beginning, middle, and end (preferably with an expected romantic Happily Ever After) and characters I like (and like reading about) so reading more literary novels is an undertaking for me. I like to expand my reading bubble, though, and I'm glad I did with Rapoport's novel. 

I liked the way the novel was formatted with the book sectioned into days as the family sits shiva. This also helped me feel like the story had a defined structure. At first, I wanted to say that the story was mostly told in "present" day but, upon reflection, there were a number of scenes set in the past that helped illuminate the relationships Eve had with those around her - most importantly, her sister. Even though Tam has died, I was still able to feel like I knew her, through Eve's memories.

I'm not Jewish and am only somewhat familiar with the tradition of sitting shiva. I enjoyed learning a little bit more about it, even though I know the point of the novel isn't to overtly teach the reader.

Grief and relationships between sisters are so well explored in this novel and, even while deeply sad, was beautiful to read. Being one of a pair of sisters means having a unique bond, but one that is common between almost every other pair of sisters. It's hard to explain unless you're in it and I found Rapoport was able to explore that really well, even though the majority of the novel was told from present day when one of the sisters had died. Reading this story made me miss my own younger sister, who's an ocean away, and all I wanted to do is wrap her in a giant hug. 

Evening wasn't a novel I would typically pick up but I'm thankful I chose to read Nessa Rapoport's novel. During a time when the entire world is dealing with various levels of grief, it was interesting and enlightening to read a story where a family is grieving the untimely death of a young woman. I think the way the novel made me feel is going to stick with me for awhile.

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Publishers Group Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: His Only Wife

His Only Wife had been on my radar before it was published back in September 2020 and before Reese Witherspoon chose Peace Adzo Medie's debut novel for her book club. I had started reading it months ago but had to set it aside. I tried again as an audiobook and listened through to the end in almost no time at all.

Here's the book description:

Afi Tekple is a young seamstress whose life is narrowing rapidly. She lives in a small town in Ghana with her widowed mother, spending much of her time in her uncle Pious’s house with his many wives and children. Then one day she is offered a life-changing opportunity—a proposal of marriage from the wealthy family of Elikem Ganyo, a man she doesn’t truly know. She acquiesces, but soon realizes that Elikem is not quite the catch he seemed. He sends a stand-in to his own wedding, and only weeks after Afi is married and installed in a plush apartment in the capital city of Accra does she meet her new husband. It turns out that he is in love with another woman, whom his family disapproves of; Afi is supposed to win him back on their behalf. But it is Accra that eventually wins Afi’s heart and gives her a life of independence that she never could have imagined for herself.

I think part of what made me put the book down so many months ago after only a chapter or so is how slow the story is to start (and, honestly, it doesn't really pick up the pace at all). There's so much backstory and I felt like I was being told everything instead of being actively engaged and shown the story. It made it really hard to start caring about the characters when you're plopped in the middle of the action and then have a whole bunch of history to get through before the story carries on.

One of the most difficult things about reading this book was constantly having to remind myself that my culture is not the same as Afi's and my normal is not her normal. I was often finding myself frustrated at how she had to bow down to her elders and her husband. I'm all for showing respect for those in your life but it really bothers me when someone's voice is being minimized and their concerns aren't being addressed because she's just supposed to go along with what her husband wants - even if that's spending almost all his time with his mistress and not his wife. I tried really hard not to let that affect me but I have a feeling those emotions got the better of me and I couldn't help but be annoyed and frustrated throughout the story.

If I had realized that this novel would skew more literary than contemporary, I may have given it a pass. I respect that literary novels have their place in the world but that place is not often on my reading list. I like my stories with a Happily Ever After (and a clear direction) and this one had an ending I wasn't quite expecting. It is fitting and there is a lot of promise but I fear for what could happen and derail Afi's plans. 

I think His Only Wife falls into the category of a good read but not one for me. I found myself wanting to see how the story ended but I wasn't actually all that invested. I'd encourage others to pick it up if they're intrigued and I'm really interested to see what other readers thought of Peace Adzo Medie's novel. Will I read what she writes next? Quite possibly. I think there's potential for her stories to get even better and I look forward to hearing what she publishes next.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Thomas Allen & Sons, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Too Much Lip

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll likely know that I've been to Australia twice and I absolutely love the country (and I don't shut up about it). I don't, however, read many Australian authors. I have a feeling that some of that has to do with rights and what is available to Canadian publishers for Canadian bloggers to read. All that to say, when I came across Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko, I was intrigued and immediately interested. It's a super dark comedy that was different than anything else I've read this year and I enjoyed it.

Here's the synopsis:

Wise-cracking Kerry Salter has spent a lifetime avoiding two things - her hometown and prison. But now her Pop is dying and she's an inch away from the lockup, so she heads south on a stolen Harley. Kerry plans to spend twenty-four hours, tops, over the border. She quickly discovers, though, that Bundjalung country has a funny way of grabbing on to people. Old family wounds open as the Salters fight to stop the development of their beloved river. And the unexpected arrival on the scene of a good-looking dugai fella intent on loving her up only adds more trouble - but then trouble is Kerry's middle name. Gritty and darkly hilarious, Too Much Lip offers redemption and forgiveness where none seems possible.

I do have to say I don't think I was quite in the mood for this book when I read it. I'm definitely a big mood reader and I hadn't realized quite how dark it was going to be. It's definitely more drama than comedy, I felt, but that's not a bad thing. Just took awhile for my brain and expectations to catch up.

Not only was this book set in Australia, but it takes place close-ish to where I've traveled. The town Kerry grew up in is fictional but a few real towns were mentioned so I could get a better idea of the location. It also caused massive wanderlust for me! I can't wait to go back. 

You may have noticed the synopsis mention "Bundjalung country." Bundjalung people are an Aboriginal nation in Australia, which, we should all know is a country with some problems with how they've treated the original custodians of the country (and I say this as a Canadian who knows her own country has many problems as well). Like a lot of readers, I've been trying to seek out more BIPOC authors for the last couple of years and show my support to those authors (and show publishers that we want and need stories by authors who aren't white and straight). I'm really happy to have stumbled across this book (seriously, I had to find it myself in the publisher's catalogue...no one was talking about it).

This novel is about more than a granddaughter returning home as her grandfather is dying. Lucashenko does not shy away from really tough subjects that need to be explored in literature and in life. There were disputes over land rights as well as a lot of trauma in the family. Some characters, like Kerry, have questions about their sexuality. Yes, there was a lot going on but it wasn't confusing in the least. It made my heart hurt and yet also made me laugh out loud a few times. And it taught me a few new words, too.

I think I would have liked Too Much Lip a little bit more if it were less literary (not my favourite) and more comedic. This is, completely, a personal reading preference and doesn't make the book any less good. Because it is that: a really good book. Melissa Lucashenko's novel was an engaging read though and I definitely recommend it, especially to those like me who are trying to expand their reading horizons. I'd also love to talk this book through with someone else who's read it!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*