Book Review – The Mars Room

The Mars Room is a fictional glimpse into the women’s prison life of Romy Hall. Facing two consecutive life sentences, Romy leaves behind the world as she knew it, including her son, and enters into a world where women will do whatever they can to get by in a system set against them. As they face the consequences of their actions, they’re up against the cruelties of prison – the grunt jobs they have to work for mere cents per hour, the violence from guards and fellow prisoners, being given minimal essentials, etc.

… Yet another BOTM choice I passed up and picked up as a prize from my library’s summer reading club. Again, I voted for it a few times at book club in hopes that it would become our book, but it never won. I’m trying to read all of the books I own, so now I’m just knocking them off the shelf one-by-one.

Book 43:
The Mars Room
by Rachel Kushner

Genre:
Contemporary Fiction

Published:
May 2018

Synopsis According to Mandi:
Without spoilers, The Mars Room is a fictional glimpse into the women’s prison life of Romy Hall. Facing two consecutive life sentences, Romy leaves behind the world as she knew it, including her son, and enters into a world where women will do whatever they can to get by in a system set against them. As they face the consequences of their actions, they’re up against the cruelties of prison – the grunt jobs they have to work for mere cents per hour, the violence from guards and fellow prisoners, being given minimal essentials, etc.

Favorite Quote(s):

“I can only know myself, if I can know anyone. I can only judge me.”

– Rachel Kushner, The Mars Room

Awards (based upon my brief research):
Booker Prize Nominee (2018)
Prix Médicis Etranger (2018)
National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee for Fiction (2018)
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction (2018)

Pages:
338

My Overall Rating:
3 – I wanted to believe this was going to be like Orange is the New Black, but it was actually quite different. It was more slice-of-life, and less story-like. With a slow start, the book jumped around between various interwoven plots, before reaching its culmination. I could have given the beginning a 2, the middle a 3, and the ending a 4 (hence my 3), because the beginning was rough, the middle was just ok, and the ending was solid.

That being said, I did really appreciate Kushner’s sense of humor. There were parts where I literally laughed out loud. What I didn’t appreciate was how she had me rooting for Romy. No, I do not think our criminal justice system is sound, but also, we have to do something for people who commit crimes like those committed by our fictional Romy here… So I struggled with the way Kushner has the reader wanting Romy to get out of prison. I don’t know what the right answer is for what her punishment should be, but there is a reason she is being punished.

Book Review – Ask Again, Yes

Ask Again, Yes tells the story of two intertwining families who share a decades-long bond through their patriarchal careers, their being neighbors, their tragedies and a marriage. From their upbringings to their personalities to the events of their personal lives, the Gleesons and Stanhopes are forever tied to each other yet forever in contention given their differences and the events that unfold. Can they move on from where they’ve been? Can their children break the mold of the past? Will their children even understand their pasts as adults?

Another BOTM choice I passed up (for fear it was too similar to the many other books I’d been reading at the time), I also picked this one up as a prize from my library’s summer reading club. I voted for it a few times at book club in hopes that it would become our book, but it never won, and I finally just couldn’t wait to dive in because I knew I would like it.

Book 42:
Ask Again, Yes
by Mary Beth Keane

Genre:
Literary Fiction, Contemporary

Published:
May 2019

Synopsis According to Mandi:
Without spoilers, Ask Again, Yes tells the story of two intertwining families who share a decades-long bond through their patriarchal careers, their being neighbors, their tragedies and a marriage. From their upbringings to their personalities to the events of their personal lives, the Gleesons and Stanhopes are forever tied to each other yet forever in contention given their differences and the events that unfold. Can they move on from where they’ve been? Can their children break the mold of the past? Will their children even understand their pasts as adults?

Favorite Quote(s):

“They’d both learned that a memory is a fact that has been dyed and trimmed and rinsed so many times that it comes out looking almost unrecognizable to anyone else who was in that room or anyone who was standing on the grass beneath that telephone pole.”

– Mary Beth Keane, Ask Again, Yes

Awards (based upon my brief research):
None yet.

Pages:
390

My Overall Rating:
4.5 – This was an emotional read. The events that unfolded were large enough to keep me pulled in yet believable enough to require me to remind myself that it was a novel. I read it quickly – partly because I didn’t want to put it down, partly because it reads quickly and partly because I’ve been so tired that all I want to do is read.

I loved how the author had me rooting for both families despite the fact that the families are essentially combatant throughout most of the story. I wanted the best for all of the characters… even when they were doing ridiculous things. (Come on Peter, you’re better than that!)

While the things that happened between the Stanhopes and the Gleesons have largely never happened for me, to a different degree, I think we can all relate. We all have a family, an individual, a co-worker we disagree with and have had it out with in some way or another. We’ve all had moments where we’ve had to continue in relationships we’d rather not continue in. We’ve all had a difficult situation to navigate from childhood to adulthood. We’ve all been there…

I don’t think this book is a must read, but’s definitely a good use of time if read.

Book Review – The Overdue Life of Amy Byler

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler is the story of a single mom of two who finally catches a break when her ex-husband returns for a summer with the kids. Off to New York City for a convention, Amy reconnects with an old friend, meets new people, lets loose and learns a lot about herself and what she wants in life.

So, I had a baby, hence the Kindle purchase, because I am now a middle of the night reader in addition to a day time reader, because who needs sleep? One of the most exciting things I’ve found since being a Kindle owner/user is Amazon’s daily deals for e-Books. I pretty much check them every day. And then as a Prime member, I will choose no-rush shipping to get my digital rewards, and between my rewards and the daily deals, I’m getting free e-Books!

Book 41:
The Overdue Life of Amy Byler
by Kelly Harms

Genre:
Chick Lit, Contemporary

Published:
May 2019

Synopsis According to Mandi:
Without spoilers, The Overdue Life of Amy Byler is the story of a single mom of two who finally catches a break when her ex-husband returns for a summer with the kids. Off to New York City for a convention, Amy reconnects with an old friend, meets new people, lets loose and learns a lot about herself and what she wants in life.

Favorite Quote(s):

“Some people have to practice forgiveness and will never be naturals. They’ll either do the work and get awesome at it but always have to think it over—or never do the work and die with a sack of hurts the size of an elephant.”

– Kelly Harms, The Overdue Life of Amy Byler

Awards (based upon my brief research):
None yet.

Pages:
328

My Overall Rating:
3.5 – Sure, I was half asleep while reading most of this book, but I also found myself continuing to read at 2:00/3:00 in the morning even after my kiddo was done eating, so… the book was good. However, had I sat down and read this during the day, I think I would have found that I didn’t love, love, love it. It was perfect for a pick-it-up-and-read-a-bit situation. It’s light-hearted. The story flowed easily. But mostly, I thought the story was really cute – a feel good read with likable characters the author sets you up to love. Cute doesn’t make me love a book, but sometimes cute is good, too.

Book Review – Three Women

Three Women explores the sex lives of three real women based on nearly a decade of reporting. Lina, Sloane and Maggie are human. They have desires. And they all face non-traditional sexual circumstances in attempts to accommodate their desires.

Our October book club book was once a Book of the Month option. I did not choose it for my BOTM, but I did win it at an event at my local library, so I do happen to own it, though I will not be keeping it for various reasons as described below…

Book 40:
Three Women
by Lisa Taddeo

Genre:
Nonfiction, Feminism

Published:
July 2019

Synopsis According to Mandi:
Without spoilers, Three Women explores the sex lives of three real women based on nearly a decade of reporting. Lina, Sloane and Maggie are human. They have desires. And they all face non-traditional sexual circumstances in attempts to accommodate their desires.

Favorite Quote(s):

“We don’t remember what we want to remember. We remember what we can’t forget.”

– Lisa Taddeo, Three Women

Awards (based upon my brief research):
#1 New York Times Bestseller

Pages:
304

My Overall Rating:
2 – For me, Maggie’s story was the redemptive quality in this book. While Lina’s and Sloane’s stories often seemed pornographic, Maggie’s gave insight to the mistreatment of women in the sexual context. A teenager wrapped up in a student/teacher relationship, whether she was “asking for it” or not, I think it was wrong of the teacher to pursue anything with his student.

And then the book as a whole… I had to remind myself time and time again that these were true stories. It read like an emotionless novel. The flow made sense, but there was no heart in it. I understand the book was report based, but I think Taddeo should have considered adding some depth to make the reader feel… something… anything.

All this being said, though I always try to come at books with an open mind, I will not be keeping this book. It’s not a book I can have on my shelves with kids around. It’s not a book I would ever reread or recommend to a friend. If it weren’t for book club, I most likely would not have finished this book after chapter two.