Three Enjoyable if Undemanding Novels

Sometimes we, or at least I (and I don’t think I am the only one) just want an enjoyable but undemanding novel to read. It doesn’t need to be “great literature,” but it has to be reasonably well-written, with interesting characters and a satisfying story. Some genres that might fit these requirements for some people include mysteries, thrillers, Westerns, and romance novels. The ones I like (besides mysteries, sometimes) might be called, regrettably, “chick lit.” As regular readers of this blog may remember (or guess), I dislike that term very much. But without getting into the reasons why (probably obvious), I will say that people understand something about books with this label. Without further ado, and so readers will understand the type of book I read when I feel this need for something enjoyable and undemanding, I will list three I have read recently. The first, and most obviously proximate to, if not in, the category of romance (one I usually stay far away from) is “Royal Holiday” (Jove, 2019), by Jasmine Guillory. This popular author has several bestsellers with titles like “The Proposal,” “The Wedding Date,” and “The Wedding Party.” The current title is endorsed by Reese Witherspoon for her book club. It involves a middle-aged African-American woman who goes to England with her daughter, who has an assignment to “style” a Duchess. Sure enough, the heroine meets a handsome man who works for the Queen. How will these two manage their romance when they live on different continents? It is an easy and fun read, made especially enjoyable (for this Anglophile) by the English setting. The second book in this category is Lori Nelson Spielman’s “The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany” (Berkley, 2020). The sisters in question are in an Italian-American family in which for generations the second-born daughters have not gotten married, which is considered a curse. This novel explores family stories and romances, thwarted and otherwise, that occur over the years; many family secrets are revealed along the way. The setting in Tuscany, where three of the “cursed” sisters in the extended family – one old and two young – go for a trip together is an added pleasure of this novel. The third novel is “Little Wishes” (William Morrow, 2020), by Michelle Adams. It tells of a doomed love affair that began on the Cornish Coast of England, and of how Elizabeth’s lover Tom once a year comes from London and leaves flowers and a note with a wish on her doorstep, but they never actually see each other or communicate except for this gesture that means so much to Elizabeth. But after 50 years, something changes. I won’t give away any more. What I will say is that, knowing these novels are not “great literature,” I still thoroughly enjoyed each one, and loved that they were undemanding. They are not what I would want to read as a steady diet, but they are what I occasionally need, especially in these difficult COVID lockdown days.

"Likes," by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum

“Likes” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020), by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum, is a collection of very different short stories. Most of them are contemporary and take place in California, but one is the mythic fairy tale “The Young Wife’s Tale.” The stories focus on families, friendships, longings, love and romance, successes and failures. This author captures readers’ attention with her vivid, carefully etched prose and her gift of creating highly original yet relatable characters. My personal favorite is “Many a Little Makes,” a long (over 40 pages) exploration of the friendship of three girls that begins in childhood and continues for more than two decades. As readers may remember, women’s friendships are one of my favorite topics, and this story is insightful, realistic, and engaging. Another of my favorite stories is the title story, “Likes,” as in “likes” that one’s posts on Instagram or Facebook or other such social media sites are accorded. This is a delicately told story of a barely teenage girl and her family, told by her father, who wants so much to understand and help her when she is sad, and when she doesn’t have many friends; yet he knows she will not appreciate it if he addresses these feelings head on. The story is full of love, and very touching. There is also an insightful and a bit heartbreaking story -- “Bedtime Story” -- about a marriage, one in which there have been problems, yet there is also so much love and history.

"Group," by Christie Tate

I have very mixed feelings about “Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life” (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, 2020), by Christie Tate. It is an extremely up-close description of a therapy group (actually several groups with the same unconventional therapist) the author participated in. Normally what happens and what is said in such groups is meant to be confidential, but in this case, part of the nontraditional therapy is that everyone – therapist and fellow group members – is free to talk openly about these matters, inside or outside of the group. Perhaps I am being too conventional, but this openness made me a little ambivalent, even queasy. Yet I have to admit that the details of what was said, and especially the extreme candidness of the author, which in many cases was far from flattering to herself or others, were fascinating, if sometimes almost too raw and unfiltered (details about sexual behavior, bodily functions, various forms of misbehavior, and more). I felt that we as readers were put in the position of voyeurs, which made me uncomfortable, yet I have to admit that I kept reading. The main point was that this therapy did work for the author, and for at least some of the other group members. Also on the plus side, it was clear that the group members were often very supportive of, and helpful to, each other.