Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and all Denver Post readers, to share their mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email bellis@denverpost.com.
“Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel (Vintage; Reprint edition 2015)
Dystopian is too glib a word to describe this book, named as a Best Book of the Twenty-First Century by The New York Times. Anything in this plot is possible in today’s world, which might be the scariest part of the chronicle. The story goes from here to there, location to location, but somehow you never lose your place (also a terrifying thought once you realize it’s happening). Even more distracting: All the characters ring true and seem to have stepped from today’s headlines. A pandemic has killed off most humans and left utter chaos in its wake. Yet because there are so many of us, some of us survive, and crippled civilizations struggle to continue. Set mostly in the Great Lakes region, the action touches down in a multitude of locations. Regular humans carry on loving and living, but some monstrous evil personalities attempt to seize power. While it presents humans doing good and wonderful things, it’s also depressing because the forecast seems to be that we’ll never change. But there’s always hope. A masterpiece, surpassing genre, style and expression. – 4 stars (out of 4); Bonnie McCune, Denver (bonniemccune.com)
“The Sellout,” by Paul Beatty (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015)
This is a wicked satire that would make Jonathan Swift sit up and take notice. Beatty explores racism in a so-called post-racist time. The plot revolves around the Black protagonist’s Kafkaesque trial before the U.S. Supreme Court for supposedly attempting to restore slavery and segregation in his small, agrarian community near Los Angeles, and our hero’s reflections on what led him to this point. While the injustices recounted here make you want to weep, some of the lines are laugh-out-loud funny. Winner of the 2016 Booker Prize, the first American book to be so honored. — 3 1/2 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
“Stealing Time,” by Tilia Klebenov Jacobs and Norman Birnback (Linden Tree Press, 2024)
For an amusing, absorbing, and unexpectedly moving read, I recommend “Stealing Time,” a time-travel-jewel-heist-adolescent-turmoil mashup. In 2020, teenager Tori is contending with a chronically unhappy father and her parents’ upcoming divorce. When she discovers that her grandfather was convicted in 1980 of stealing an invaluable diamond, Tori plunges back in time to two days before the theft. Along with an unexpected teen ally, she must prevent the heist and change history for the better. It’s a good premise, but the characters and the writing carry the book. Tori and her 1980s teen counterparts are quick-witted, funny and believable as they contend with differences (dial phones! cigarettes everywhere!), discover similarities, and race to avert a tragedy. The novel’s dialogue, descriptions, and details all sparkle. And its exploration of how past experiences can shape present lives adds depth and poignancy. Good for YA audiences, but a fun read for adults, too. — 4 stars (out of 4); Julie Garbus, Colorado Springs
“Orbital,” by Samantha Harvey (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2023)
Have you ever longed to be an astronaut? Samantha Harvey ushers us into space with six scientists from different countries. In just one day on the International Space Station, they (and we) experience 16 distinct sunrises and sunsets across the planet we call home. With time in space, their bodies change: they become thinner, sleep less, lose appetites. Their inner selves also alter: “In orbit, his sense of life is simpler and gentler and more forgiving. … And day by day the tethers of their lives have broken one after another and everything they are now is a new invention.” Spending time in each astronaut’s head is a sparkling gift. Harvey is a stellar writer, placing words with delicate precision on the blank sky of the page; her sentences of dazzling beauty won her the 2024 Booker Prize. — 3 1/2 stars (out of 4); Neva Gronert, Parker
