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.
“Villa E,” Jane Alison (Liveright, 2024)
On the Côte d’Azur, a spiral staircase anchors an extraordinary villa high over the Ligurian Sea. Designed by Eileen Gray, desired by famous architect “Le Grande,” the modern villa is the axis for a novel of twisting relationships: Eileen and her lover Bado, Bado and LeGrande, LeGrande and his wife Von — all entwined in love, jealousy, avarice and betrayal spanning decades. It’s a convoluted story, sparely written, and one I found poignant. — 3 1/2 stars (out of 4); Neva Gronert, Parker
“The Last Runaway,” by Tracy Chevalier (E.P. Dutton, 2013)
This novel offers a new perspective on the workings of the Underground Railroad, with its setting across several actual communities in northern Ohio in the mid-19th century. The heroine is a young, English, Quaker woman who finds herself stranded alone in rural Ohio, following a series of unexpected tragedies. She is truly a fish out of water, both culturally and philosophically, yet she adheres to her Quaker values and finds ways to help runaway slaves on their route to Canada, risking not only her own safety but also expulsion from the only community she has left. But who actually is helping whom in this story? And, indeed, who is the “last” runaway? — 3 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
“This Strange Eventful History,” by Claire Messud (WW Norton & Company, 2024)
Winner of a fistful of awards, Claire Messud has a vita as detailed as this historical novel. She’s American, but her family has roots in Algeria and France, just like the novel. In fact, a grandfather produced a handwritten, detailed family history of over 1,000 pages, which incorporates the history of several wars and travels, just like the book. But complexity is not the main attraction, rather, the question is “Where is home?’” It must be where your loved ones and family are, regardless of politics or personal quirks. Her secret strength? Page after page, sentence after sentence, she captures some little detail of life once noticed, then forgotten. How a sore foot can throw a person’s entire perspective out of whack. Or the appeal of children’s idiosyncrasies at the same time they annoy. This history is one in which you want to immerse yourself over several readings. Check Shakespeare’s “all the world’s a stage” speech to see the inevitable finale for each of us. – 4 stars (out of 4); Bonnie McCune, Denver (bonniemccune.com)
“The Lion Women of Tehran,” by Marjan Kamali (Gallery Books, 2024)
Kamali’s moving novel tracks the lives of two young, Iranian women, from their childhood friendship through mid-life. Their divergent paths mirror the contradictions in Iranian society of the late 20th century. One woman follows conventional societal expectations, marries and revels in the elite’s fashions and parties. This family emigrates to the U.S. and escapes the Iranian political upheavals of the 1970s. The other woman defies convention from an early age and pays the price for her defiance over and over. She stays in Iran and becomes increasingly more radicalized, ultimately taking on a leadership role among the so-called “lion women” in protests against first the repressive royal family and later against the Revolutionary Guard. Readers learn not only about Iranian political and cultural history, but also about the power of friendship and how it can span both time and distance. — 4 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
