"Three Days in June," by Anne Tyler

Anne Tyler's novels always feel like old friends. I have been reading her work since the 1970s, and I don't remember ever not loving her work. It is so wise, so humane, so down-to-earth, and also so reliably beautifully written and entertaining. She is on the short list of writers who, the minute I hear that they have a new novel out, I put it on my to-read list and find it as soon as possible. Tyler is now 81 years old, and still writing wonderful novels, including her most recent: "Three Days in June" (Knopf, 2025). This novel is shorter than most of Tyler's. I mention this partly because I have been noticing that some older writers do write shorter novels; see, for example, Anita Desai's recent novels, which I wrote about on my 3/12/25 post. But, as always, as soon as I started reading this novel, I was drawn in, and struck once again by Tyler's knowledge of human nature, as well as by the unassuming, almost conversational tone of her writing. "Three Days in June" is about a family during the days surrounding a family wedding. The family members, like so many, are loving but also have some issues with each other. We recognize both the love and the tension that can and does arise among family members. There are secrets that emerge, misunderstandings, and decisions to be made. Although I am not sure that I was as totally caught up in this novel as I have been with some of Tyler's prior works, this is a high bar; I still loved it, and would not have missed reading it for anything. Tyler's novels are so realistic, so authentic, and they always make me feel that I know a little more about human nature than I did before I read them. And, to be clear, they are enjoyable to read. I would even call them page-turners if that label did not have the negative connotations, the implied lack of seriousness, that it does. What I mean is that once I start reading her work, I cannot stop, because it is wonderful. (Can you tell that I am a BIG fan?)

"Fasting, Feasting," and "Rosarita": Recent(ish) Novels by Anita Desai

Back in the 1980s, I was reading many novels by Indian writers, and/or with Indian settings. This was partly because I spent most of my childhood in India, and partly because during the early 1980s I published in my school's alumni magazine a regular column on such books. One writer's works that I thoroughly enjoyed were those of Anita Desai, who was born and raised in India and has spent most of her adult life in the United States. My favorite novels by Desai included "Clear Light of Day" (1980) and "In Custody" (1984). I somehow didn't read much of Desai's work after that time period. But recently - these decades later! -- I picked up and read two of her new(ish) novels: "Fasting, Feasting" (Houghton Mifflin, 1999) and "Rosarita" (Scribner, 2024). Both, especially "Rosarita" (96 pages), are slim. They are both engaging, and I am glad to have read them. "Fasting, Feasting" is a rather sad novel about what seems to be a dysfunctional family with cultural preferences for sons over daughters, complicated by some learning issues the daughter in this family experiences. The parents are not, I think, purposely cruel, but they have assigned certain stereotypes and roles to the main characters, their daughter Uma and their son Arun. They often mention Uma's limitations, yet don't recognize her strengths, except to assume that she should be almost a servant to the parents. Arun is the academic star who goes to America to study; all resources are given to support him. But he has his own struggles, especially in the United States. Both of them feel that no one understands them. The title has to do with food and feelings: Both Uma and Arun have ambivalent relationships with food, and sometimes see it as a sign of love, or lack thereof. The main characters, including the members of the family and some others whom Uma and Arun meet and are supported by, are brilliantly portrayed. Desai's writing in this book is, as it was in the past, beautiful. "Rosarita" is about a young Indian woman, Bonita, who goes to Mexico to learn Spanish, and soon encounters a woman who claims to have known and become close friends with her mother many years ago. Bonita has no idea that her mother ever took such a trip, although there were episodes when she disappeared from her family's life for stretches of time; no one in the family talks about these times. Bonita is in disbelief, but is gradually drawn in by the stories of the woman, whom she thinks of as the "Trickster." This very short novel is interesting and readable, but I did not like it as much as I liked "Fasting, Feasting" or any of Desai's earlier works.

"Miss Kim Knows: And Other Stories," by Cho Nam-Joo

"Miss Kim Knows: And Other Stories" (Liveright, 2024), by the Korean writer Cho Nam-Joo and translated into English by Jamie Chang, is an initially seemingly unassuming collection of stories that soon draw the reader in with their unexpected turns of events and revelations of character. I relished the (usually subtle) element of surprise, often slyly expressed. The stories focus on Korean women of various ages and stations in life. They are mostly written in the first person, often in a blunt voice, so we feel the character is speaking directly to us, but doesn't actually care about our opinions of her or of the stories she is telling us. Many of the stories at least indirectly allude to or illuminate ways in which women have less agency, less status, in society and in relationships. Yet the women mostly have a spark, a self-assurance, that works against what society attempts to impose on them. I like that there are some stories which show the strong bonds among women, such as a story about a woman and her mother-in-law who become very close after one's husband, who is the other's son, dies. This is a short book, just over 200 pages, but it is packed with revelatory moments as well as being subtly humorous at times.

The Best Books I Read in 2024

As I do almost every year, here I list the best books (in my opinion) out of the many that I read in 2024 (although in some cases they were published earlier). This year I have chosen 11 books for the list. After each title, I give in parentheses the genre, the year, and the date of the blogpost I wrote on that book, in case you want more information. The list is in order of those blogpost dates (NOT ranked). 1. "Onlookers" (stories, 2023), by Ann Beattie (2/6/24); 2. "Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love" (cultural history, 2012), by David Talbot (2/24/24); 3. "The Year of Magical Thinking" (memoir, 2005) (a re-read for me), by Joan Didion (3/2/24); 4. "Banyan Moon" (novel, 2023), by Thao Thai (3/14/24); 5. "Fourteen Days" (group-written novel of episodes, 2024), edited by Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston (5/20/24); 6. "Ana Turns" (novel, 2023), by Lisa Gornick (6/5/24); 7. "Real Americans" (novel, 2024), by Rachel Khong (6/13/24); 8. "Long Island" (novel, 2024), by Colm Toibin (6/23/24); 9. "Old Lovegood Girls" (novel, 2020), by Gail Godwin (10/5/24); 10. "The Wren, the Wren" (novel, 2023), by Anne Enright (10/24/24); 11. "Tell Me Everything" (novel, 2024), by Elizabeth Strout (11/12/24). PS Although the above list is in order of postings, NOT ranked, I will mention here that my very favorite book on the list, and of the year 2024, is "Tell Me Everything," by Elizabeth Strout, with Colm Toibin's "Long Island" a close second.

"Family Reservations," by Liza Palmer

A mother and three competitive daughters. (Queen Lear rather than King Lear?) The elite world of fine dining, also ultra-competitive. A Marin County (where I live) setting. The combination sounds perfect to this fan of family stories, restaurant stories, and settings very familiar to me. Well, "Family Reservations" (get it?) (Lake Union, 2024), by Liza Palmer, is an absorbing novel, definitely, but with painfully sharp edges. The famous restaurant owner Maren Winter (the last name is perhaps too much on the nose) is ruthless, has always controlled everything in her restaurant/professional life and in her daughters' lives, and makes sure that anyone who crosses her will pay, even her own daughters. I found this novel fascinating, but at the same time I found myself wincing and cringing many times as I read it. The four women (mother and daughters) distrust and compete with each other, and are sometimes outright cruel to each other. Consequently, the novel is at times difficult to read. But throughout, there are faint, mostly-hidden signs that underneath everything, there is also love among them. I will leave you to guess how it all turns out. Despite my wincing and cringing, I somehow enjoyed the book, and if you like family stories and restaurant settings, you might too.

"Women in Sunlight," by Frances Mayes

Many of you know, or know of, the American writer Frances Mayes' memoirs about her time in Tuscany, Italy (most famously, "Under the Tuscan Sun," "Bella Tuscany," and "Every Day in Tuscany"). I did not know, however, that Mayes has also written fiction about expatriates in Tuscany; I have just read and thoroughly enjoyed her novel "Women in Sunlight" (Crown, 2018). It is a lovely portrayal of a sort of dreamlike yearlong stay in Tuscany by three late-middle-aged, talented North Carolina women who have only recently met, exchanged their stories -- which include, among them, those of recent widowhood, betrayal, divorce, and the pain of a daughter seemingly lost to drugs -- and within a very short time, decide to take a yearlong lease on a villa in a small town in Tuscany. They become very close friends, and enjoy the pleasures of their new lives: gorgeous scenery, friendly local people, a new writer friend living nearby, delicious food, travels around Italy, learning Italian, time to engage in art, writing, cooking, and gardening, and -- of course! -- some new men in their lives. There are intriguing plot elements, but the main pleasures of the book are the women's new and joyful, pleasurable lives in this beautiful place. So, although some of the plot points, and the timing, are not very realistic (how many people could and would in a very short period of time pick up their lives and decide to live for at least a year with brand-new friends in a country across the ocean? With no issues about money, on top of it?) but this reader at least, and I suspect most readers, will not dwell on this lack of realism. One slight obstacle I felt when reading this novel was that the book frequently toggled back and forth among its characters' viewpoints and thoughts, sometimes not making it clear whose voice we are hearing. But this is a small issue, and perhaps my issue rather than the author's. I have to add that one of the pleasures of the book for me was the way that the characters often casually referred to the books of famous women writers. Overall, this novel is so delightful that one can simply sink into it with a sigh of pleasure. I imagine most readers will, at least in passing, entertain the thought of following in the paths of these characters and experiencing a glorious stay in Tuscany as well.

"Shred Sisters," by Betsy Lerner

As I was reading "Shred Sisters" (Grove Press, 2024), by Betsy Lerner, I was thinking about how very often novels are about sisters. Although (or maybe because?) I have three terrific brothers but no sisters, I often wonder about what it would be like to have and be a sister. Of course (of course!) I get much of my information about sisters (as I do about life in general!) from books. Among novels about sisters that I have read and enjoyed are my beloved Jane Austen novels ("Pride and Prejudice," "Sense and Sensibility"), Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women"; "Atonement," by Ian McEwan; "They Were Sisters," by Dorothy Whipple; "The Story Sisters," by Alice Hoffman; "Atlas of Unknowns," by Tania James; and many, many more. Reading "Shred Sisters," I was reminded of how often sister-focused books follow certain tropes, subtly or not. One is that each sister has a distinctly different character and role. Another is that there is usually deep love among sisters, but also deep divisions and violent emotions. Often the novel focuses on the latter, but by the end of the novel, the sisters have gained a new appreciation of each other, and/or have reconciled or at least reached a place of resolution and even peace. Along these lines, the sisters in "Shred Sisters" are very different from each other. Olive (Ollie) is dramatic, glamorous, fearless, and utterly unpredictable. Amy is serious, careful, successful at her studies, and a little dorky. Amy feels a lot of worry and fear, but also anger, about the ways Ollie flits in and out of their family's lives, often flirting with danger along the way, and seeming not to care about the effects of her unpredictable and irresponsible behavior on her family. Amy is very conflicted about constantly having to pick up the pieces Ollie leaves behind. But the basic connection and love between them persists. This is all disturbing and difficult, yet the basic love in the family (including Ollie's and Amy's longsuffering parents) comes through. Of course not all fiction about sisters is like this, but authors often do make sure to clearly differentiate their sister characters from each other, assigning them different characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses, and describing conflicts between or among them.