THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON’T THEY?

By Horace McCoy

Serpents. Tail, Profile Books, London first edition, 1935; this edition, 2010.

I’m not sure how many years ago it was, but one fine day I made the decision to read the classics. I didn’t get very far. Truth be told, I didn’t enjoy many of them. As a writer, I found reasons to prefer today’s structure and general rules. As a reader, with a few exceptions, I was bored.

Last month I came across a very low-cost copy of THEY SHOOT HORSES DON’T THEY, one of the classics I had not yet gotten around to reading. A short paperback, I hoped it would be a quick beach-read – NOT.

The entire story is during Robert Syverten’s sentencing for the murder of Gloria Beatty. Robert shot Gloria on a park bench on the pier after spending five weeks as her partner in a dance marathon. When the police arrested him, they asked him why he shot her. He answered, “she asked me to.” When asked if that was the only reason, he thought about the time his uncle shot a horse with a broken leg and answered, “They shoot horses, don’t they?”

I didn’t enjoy this book for the same reason Robert shot Gloria. She was a miserable human being. Severely depressed and in dire need of help, which she would not get in the early 1930s during the Great Depression. And, Robert was as boring as she was miserable.

The story is told in Robert’s POV and his voice is clear but without emotion. He drones on and on about the details of their time together. I wanted to shake him and wake him up. I wanted to slap her. Or at least walk away from time to time but you couldn’t avoid these two, they danced together one-hour and fifty minutes of every hour, 24x7, for over five weeks! And McCoy dragged us through every intolerable minute. The only emotion in the novel was the chapter breaks which proclaimed the Judge’s statements throughout the sentencing, beginning with The prisoner will stand… and ending with …may God have mercy on your soul… That was a clever and I dare say inventive use of chapter breaks. 

Gloria was miserable, hopeless, depressed. She had attempted suicide, lost her parents, couldn’t get an acting job, destitute. She convinced Robert, a recent acquaintance, to enter the contest with her. At least they’d have food and a roof over their heads. Robert was also destitute but still hopeful of starting a career in films. When the contest abruptly ends, Robert and Gloria walk outside to see the sun for the first time in weeks.

She tells him she has nowhere to go and would be better of dead. He agrees with her. She hands him a pistol and asks for his help. Robert obliges. And we are told this at the very beginning of the story.

I rated this a C. It provided me some painful insight on life during the Great Depression. I loved the format of the interspersed Judges statements. I want to feel for Robert and Gloria but I can't. Other reviews describe it as "existential with deeply layered meaning, providing wonderful symbolism, and complex characters." But I disagree, it may be existential but not deep. Everything, even the characters, are transparent and raw yet unfazed. I’d like to see the rewrite with a little more drama, a lot more emotion, and a sub-plot or two that matter.

I guess I'm not cut out for the classics.

Tell The Wolves I'm Home

by Carol Rifka Brunt

The Dial Press, Random House, NY 2012

June Elba is lonely at age 14. Her best friend is her uncle Finn Weiss, her mother’s brother as well as a famous painter. Finn dies of aids much too young and June befriends a stranger named Toby, Finn’s partner for most of his adult life.

June is stunned she never knew of Toby’s existence until Finn’s death. When Finn moved back to New York from England, years before (after leaving because his father couldn’t accept he was gay) his sister, June’s mother, would only allow Finn to be a part of her and his niece’s lives if Toby was kept a secret.

So when June visited Finn (as she did regularly), Toby couldn’t come home.

Toby was even more lonely than June. Their time together was special and short as, of course, Toby also had aids. Like June's mother and Uncle Finn, June had once been very close to her older sister, Greta. But Greta was jealous of June’s special relationship with Finn and treated June poorly because of it. (We are our parents children.)

This is a story of family jealousy, judgment, and poor communication. It is also a story of growing up lonely and shy but true to yourself. And, learning that that’s okay.

The writing was quite good. The characters are authentic and the story very real. I rate this book a B+. I didn't give it an A, because it is a little slow paced but mostly because the mother’s poor decision and father’s willingness to go along (Finn and Toby’s too) ticks me off!

To Best The Boys

By Mary Weber

Thomas Nelson, Harper Collins, Nashville, TN 2019

Rhen Tellur has been born a Lower and a girl. Two strikes against her in this old-world, some-what fantastical seaport village. She has a slight advantage over most of the Lowers as her Ma was born an Upper, one of the wealthy, and her Aunt, Uncle and BFF cousin Seleni still welcome her into their home and upscale parties.

Still, Rhen is more herself in the pubs with her rowdy guy friends. Or, in Da’s lab working on biological experiments in hopes of finding a cure for the mysterious illness which is paralyzing and killing a growing number of Lowers, including Rhen’s Ma.

Each year every household in the county receives an invitation to Mr. Holm’s estate for the contest. “All gentlepersons of university age (respectively seventeen to nineteen)are cordially invited to test for the esteemed annual scholarship given by Mr. Holm toward one full-ride fellowship at Stemwick Men’s University.”

Rhen Teller is smarter than any of the boys her age and wants to go to college. There's only one way to get there – on scholarship. So, she and best friend Selani dress as boys and enter the contest.

There is romance: Seleni and Beryll are cutely coquettish throughout the story. Victor, an Upper and childhood buddy of Rhen’s, believes her intelligence will enhance his political career. His arrogance has him assuming Rhen would never turn him down as he announces he will court her. And then there’s Lute, the Lower who Rhen has her eye on.

There is angst and danger: the contest can be brutal and harsh. Many have been injured over the years, some have died; generally at the hands of greedy bullies who’ll do anything to win. There are also fantastical creatures to avoid or more often combat.

There are moments of darkness and bright spots throughout. The group of teen friends starts out working together to escape the maze, locked room, and other tests Holms has created. 
There is betrayal.

The love story is interesting (I’m not big on romance), the contest exciting, the descriptions delicious, the characters are uniquely engaging. Told in first person POV, Rhen's voice carries the story. You will love her.

Thanks to my friend Dana Nuenighoff for the recommendation. I rate it an A.

Misery Loves Cabernet

by Kim Gruenenfelder

ST. Martin’s Griffin, NY, 2009

My second time through this light-hearted, funny, “yo girlfriend,” summer beach read.  Rated A.

Charlie is the 'I can do it all' assistant to a young eccentric movie star, Drew Stanton. As she dutifully serves yet again as a bridesmaid approaching thirty, Charlie bemoans her future with a dead-end job, no boyfriend, and a few too many extra pounds.

Charlie’s sarcasm is comical as are some of the situations we find her in. Her situation is relatable as one, I believe, every woman has endured at some point in their life.

Throughout the novel, Charlie is writing her own book of advice for her granddaughter. All the things she knows now, she wished she knew when she was sixteen; like, “some days are a total waste of make-up” (a nod to Gruenenfelder’s prior novel), or “never drink wine from a box”. These nuggets add to the charisma and humor of Charlie’s story.

So, grab a glass of wine and a copy of the book and have a few chuckles on Charlie and Kim.

Then She was Gone

By Lisa Jewell
                    

Atria Books an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, 2017

Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She had a perfect life, perfect boyfriend, perfect family, and a fairy-tale future. Until, at the age of 17, she disappeared and her family fell apart; especially, her mom, Laurel.

I would age this at the New Adult level. While it’s about Ellie, it is primarily told from the perspective of the adults around her, ten years after her disappearance. Jewell creates deep characters and an interesting story-line told in five parts.

While Ellie’s family is prominent throughout the story, the primary characters are Ellie, a 17-year old dream child, Laurel, her adoring mother, Noelle, her obsessive tutor, and Floyd, first Noelle’s and later Laurel’s lover. These characters, as well as the minor characters, are superbly crafted which is what kept me vested in the story. Although I was pretty sure I had the mystery figured out, (and, yes, I did, very early on) I had to know how things worked out for them.

My disappointment is the POV. Part One is the set-up. Presented in limited third-person POV change between Laurel today and Ellie THEN. I haven’t read a lot of third person lately I found it well done and refreshing but it took some getting used to.  Part Two is essentially Laurel finally accepting Ellie’s fate and moving on.

But then we come to Part Three which for me totally disrupts the flow of the story. We already know the when, where, and why of the mystery. Here, in Noelle’s voice, we are told the how. (The only remaining question is who, but I bet you can guess).  Who is Noelle talking to? Supposedly Floyd, but she is not present so how can this be? This would have been better presented as Noelle’s journal and earlier in the story amongst the THEN retrospections of Part Two. Part Three revisits information already given to us by Laurel and Ellie and really slows the plot pace down.

Part Four flips POV between an omniscient narrator and Noelle which doesn’t work for me. Then Part Five is told in the first person POV of Floyd (via a video but still). WHAT????? Whiplash.

Then She Was Gone is a contemporary mystery, set in England. (I actually had to look up what a jumper was. Should have remembered from my Hogwarts days.) Great characters and a strong story although the mystery was revealed too soon for my taste, and I would have preferred a different structure.

Overall, I gave it a B. A good read with a flawed format.

the Secrets we Keep

By Trisha Leaver

Farrow, Strauss & Giroux, 2015

 It’s hard to review this novel without spoilers so watch for the alert.

SECRETS is an emotional contemporary YA with themes of devotion between sisters, divisions within family, and the conflict of teen identity crises. I rated this a B+.

Ella’s character and story are deep and well presented. Some of it is a little beyond realistic but that’s why we call it fiction.

Polar-opposite identical twin sisters Maddy and Ella are in a car accident. Maddy is wearing Ella’s coat when she dies. Ella survives but wakes with no memory of who she is. Everyone believes she is Maddy; the super-perfect, popular girl everyone loves. Ella soon figures it out but decides to be Maddy because that’s who everyone around her wants her to be.

SPOILER ALERT:  But when Ella discovers a dark secret about Maddy. She decides she owes it to Maddy to right her wrong. And now she knows it’s okay to be Ella, flawed and alive; after all, Maddy wasn’t perfect.

Everything, Everything

By Nicole Yoon

Delacorte Press, 2015

 I recently had the privilege to volunteer at Esperanza Academy, a private middle school for girls in Lawrence, MA. The ladies I counseled on essay writing were articulate, poised, mature and utterly delightful. I asked each of them their favorite novel. This was one of their recommendations and I have to agree. One of the most romantic stories I have ever read, I rated it an A!

Maddy Whittier was diagnosed at age 4 with SCID, bubble baby disease. She can't leave her home or interact with the world. Her Dad and older brother were killed in a car accident shortly before her diagnosis. Her mother is her doctor. Her best friend is her nurse, Carla. Just before her 18^th birthday a family moves into the house next door and Maddy spies Ollie and his family and for the first time grieves her existence. Not seeing people come and go had made it easier for her to accept her life of reading, online classes, having her vitals checked every two hours and movie and game-nights with mom.

Mom is adamant that friendship with the neighbors will only make Maddy hurt more when she realizes she can't do the things healthy teens do. But after IMing into all hours of the night, Maddy convinces Carla to allow Ollie to visit. He must go through an hour-long decontamination shower each time. They are falling in love. When they kiss, they are both terrified Maddy will fall ill.

Ollie’s dad is abusive. When Maddy hears shouting and witnesses this from her window she runs outside to Ollie’s defense, not thinking of herself. Her mother, now aware of the deception, fires Carla and forbids communication with Ollie. After months of loneliness and longing, Maddy decides she may have a life but she is not living. She plots and plans, lies to Ollie about an experimental drug, and travels to Hawaii for a romantic getaway. But the story doesn’t end there.

 SPOILER ALERT:

As expected Maddy gets ill on day two. Ollie takes her to the ER. Mom brings them home. After a few weeks, Maddy receives a letter from the ER physician that rocks her world. Maddy does not have SCID. We learn her mother couldn't cope with the loss of her husband and son so she created a world where Maddie would always be safe.