Book Review: The One Man by Andrew Gross! (@the_andrewgross)

The One Man
Author: Andrew Gross
Publication Date: August 23, 2016
Published: Minotaur Books

My Rating: 

1944. Physics professor Alfred Mendl is separated from his family and sent to the men’s camp, where all of his belongings are tossed on a roaring fire. His books, his papers, his life’s work. The Nazis have no idea what they have just destroyed. And without that physical record, Alfred is one of only two people in the world with his particular knowledge. Knowledge that could start a war, or end it.
Nathan Blum works behind a desk at an intelligence office in Washington, DC, but he longs to contribute to the war effort in a more meaningful way, and he has a particular skill set the U.S. suddenly needs. Nathan is fluent in German and Polish, he is Semitic looking, and he proved his scrappiness at a young age when he escaped from the Polish ghetto. Now, the government wants him to take on the most dangerous assignment of his life: Nathan must sneak into Auschwitz, on a mission to find and escape with one man.

The One Man, a historical thriller from New York Times bestseller Andrew Gross, is a deeply affecting, unputdownable series of twists and turns through a landscape at times horrifyingly familiar but still completely compelling.

This novel is near to perfection. The characters were well developed and their emotions are expressed in an intense and compelling way. I certainly felt their grief, fear, guilt, and hope too. By the end I was a crying, and on public transportation.

Book Review: Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet by H.P. Wood! (@hilarywrites)

Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet
Author: H.P. Wood
Publication Date: June 7, 2016
Published: Sourcebooks Landmark
Source: NetGalley

My Rating:

May 1904. Coney Island’s newest amusement park, Dreamland, has just opened. Its many spectacles are expected to attract crowds by the thousands, paying back investors many times over.
Kitty Hayward and her mother arrive by steamer from South Africa. When Kitty’s mother takes ill, the hotel doctor sends Kitty to Manhattan to fetch some special medicine. But when she returns, Kitty’s mother has vanished. The desk clerk tells Kitty she is at the wrong hotel. The doctor says he’s never seen her although, she notices, he is unable to look her in the eye.
Alone in a strange country, Kitty meets the denizens of Magruder’s Curiosity Cabinet. A relic of a darker, dirtier era, Magruder's is home to a forlorn flea circus, a handful of disgruntled Unusuals, and a mad Uzbek scientist. Magruder’s Unusuals take Kitty under their wing and resolve to find out what happened to her mother.
But as a plague spreads, Coney Island is placed under quarantine. The gang at Magruder’s finds that a missing mother is the least of their problems, as the once-glamorous resort town is abandoned to the freaks, anarchists, and madmen.

I received this book through Net Galley.

Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet was a wonderful story. I really felt for many of the characters and their journey. I even loved the weird and mystical Curiosity Cabinet, which was a character too. The Cabinet and Timur's inventions reminded me a bit of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Because of that magical feeling I put aside some of my reservations about the end and how quickly some characters recovered.

They say write what you know and it shows. The author is the granddaughter of a mad inventor and a sideshow magician. I also loved the author's notes about what was historically accurate and what was historical fiction. I am interested in looking into some of her recommendations that helped her writing.

I have family in Brooklyn near Coney Island, so I have spent time there, and I loved reading the descriptions of the place. It felt like home and I became giddy as I recognized the places.

When Hoffman Island and Swinburne Island were mentioned I knew exactly where they were. In the early 1900s, the islands were used as a quarantine station, housing immigrants found to have been carrying contagious diseases when they landed at Ellis Island.

Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet is a spectacular story and definitely worth reading, especially if you like magical and anything Unusual.

4 out 5 Boxing Kangaroos

Book Review: The After Party by Anton DiSclafani!

The After Party
Author: Anton DiSclafani
Publication Date: May 17, 2016
Published: Riverhead Books

My Rating:

From the nationally bestselling author of The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls comes a story of 1950s Texas socialites and the one irresistible, controversial woman at the bright, hot center of it all.
Fortier is the epitome of Texas glamour and the center of the 1950s Houston social scene. Tall, blonde, beautiful, and strong, she dominates the room and the gossip columns. Every man who sees her seems to want her; every woman just wants to be her. But this is a highly ordered world of garden clubs and debutante balls. The money may flow as freely as the oil, but the freedom and power all belong to the men. What happens when a woman of indecorous appetites and desires like Joan wants more? What does it do to her best friend?

Devoted to Joan since childhood, Cece Buchanan is either her chaperone or her partner in crime, depending on whom you ask. But as Joan’s radical behavior escalates, Cece’s perspective shifts—forcing one provocative choice to appear the only one there is.
A thrilling glimpse into the sphere of the rich and beautiful at a memorable moment in history, The After Party unfurls a story of friendship as obsessive, euphoric, consuming, and complicated as any romance.

The After Party was a fast read. I got through 100 pages in a day easily - which was a plus.

They story was entertaining in a Real Housewives of Houston way, only set in the 1950's. The women take care of their families, go to social functions and gossip.

My thoughts on the two main women:
Cece, given her childhood and family life I get her attachment to Joan, but it crossed over into a self-destructive obsession.

The secret Joan withheld was easy to guess before it was revealed. While it was tragic I didn't feel overly sorry for her. Perhaps because she was spoiled. I guess, though, that her decisions are more true to life. Not everyone gets to pick themselves up when they hit rock bottom. In a more inspirational story she would have achieved her dreams to "go where the ideas are."

I loved the descriptions of the fashion of the day. DiSclafani painted a clear picture for my mind to imagine the glamour and elegance. I thought of fashion sketches and illustrations of the 1950's.

Overall I was luke-warm about The After Party. I liked it well enough, especially that I finished it in 4 days, but it's not added to the favorite list.

3 out 5 cocktails.

Book Review: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys! (@RutaSepetys)

Salt to the Sea
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Publication Date: February 2, 2016
Published: Philomel Books

My Rating:

Winter, 1945. Four teenagers. Four secrets.
Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies…and war.
As thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom.
Yet not all promises can be kept.
Inspired by the single greatest tragedy in maritime history, bestselling and award-winning author Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray) lifts the veil on a shockingly little-known casualty of World War II. An illuminating and life-affirming tale of heart and hope.

"The sinking of the Gustloff is the largest maritime disaster, yet the world still knows nothing of it. I often wonder, will that ever change or will it remain just another secret swallowed by war?" - page 178.

I loved Salt to the Sea. The true events in this historical fiction is sadly a forgotten part of history. I am glad that Ruta wrote this novel so that people will know about the disaster and over 9,000 lives lost (5,000 were children) when the Wilhelm Gustloff sank. I love what she said in her author's note at the end (which I encourage any reader to read before starting the story), "When the survivors are gone we must not let the truth disappear with them. Please give them a voice."

The multiple character POVs was well done. We got to see the war and people's experiences through different eyes. I loved the evolution of the characters' secrets. The introductions were brilliantly done to set the tone: Guilt/fate/shame/fear is a hunter.

The Wilhelm Gustloff sunk in under an hour and so the suspense during the sinking was fast and intense.

I am going to get into some spoilers below. You've been warned.

Emilia was my favorite. My heart ached for her. Anytime someone wanted her to go away she was reminded that because of Hitler's prejudice Poles were unwanted, and I just wanted to take her in my arms to love and protect her.

I had a feeling that August was not really her boyfriend but just a coping mechanism. It was just a gut-wrenching feeling I had that the Russians soldiers raped her.

I was a bawling mess by the end of the book. I was so hoping she would survive and be reunited with her newborn daughter, but when she was back with her momma, baby brother and two best friends I knew... excuse me. I need a tissue because I am crying again.

Book Review: A Fine Imitation by Amber Brock! (@ambrockwrites)

A Fine Imitation
Author: Amber Brock
Publication Date: May 3, 2016
Published: Crown
Source: First to Read

My Rating:

Set in the glamorous 1920s, A Fine Imitation is an intoxicating debut that sweeps readers into a privileged Manhattan socialite’s restless life and the affair with a mysterious painter that upends her world, flashing back to her years at Vassar and the friendship that brought her to the brink of ruin.
Vera Bellington has beauty, pedigree, and a penthouse at The Angelus—the most coveted address on Park Avenue. But behind the sparkling social whirl, Vera is living a life of quiet desperation. Her days are an unbroken loop of empty, champagne-soaked socializing, while her nights are silent and cold, spent waiting alone in her cavernous apartment for a husband who seldom comes home.
Then Emil Hallan arrives at The Angelus to paint a mural above its glittering subterranean pool. The handsome French artist moves into the building, shrouds his work in secrecy, and piques Vera’s curiosity, especially when the painter keeps dodging questions about his past. Is he the man he claims to be? Even as she finds herself increasingly drawn to Hallan’s warmth and passion, Vera can’t supress her suspicions. After all, she has plenty of secrets, too—and some of them involve art forgers like her bold, artistically talented former friend, Bea, who years ago, at Vassar, brought Vera to the brink of catastrophe and social exile.
When the dangerous mysteries of Emil’s past are revealed, Vera faces an impossible choice—whether to cling to her familiar world of privilege and propriety or to risk her future with the enigmatic man who has taken her heart. A Fine Imitation explores what happens when we realize that the life we’ve always led is not the life we want to have.

I received an ARC of A Fine Imitation through First to Read.

This is the first time I have enjoyed a book I received from First to Read. Though to be fair, this is only the fourth book I have received from them.

I got caught up in the mystery of the past and present. My predictions about were Emil were mostly correct, though the details were off.
I was complete correct about Vera's husband, Arthur, and that gave me satisfaction. I felt a range of emotions for the characters.
I certainly liked Vera and rooted her to be free. Her mother was cold. Bea was entertaining, but also lost and untamed.

The people in the building were amusing because they were exactly how one would expect high society to behave. It sort of reminded me of Downton Abbey (in New York City) meets Edward Scissorhands. Emil being like Scissorhands, the shiny new toy to amuse the tenants. Once they grew bored they question who he was, and their feelings quickly turned.

Overall I thought it was a good story. The pacing was steady, the jump back and forth in time was smooth, some of the prose was poetic, and the ending was not only plausible but what I was hoping for.

4 out of 5 murals.

Book Review: Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit!

Anna and the Swallow Man
Author: Gavriel Savit
Publication Date: January 26, 2016
Published: Knopf
Source: First In Line

My Rating:

Kraków, 1939. A million marching soldiers and a thousand barking dogs. This is no place to grow up. Anna Łania is just seven years old when the Germans take her father, a linguistics professor, during their purge of intellectuals in Poland. She’s alone.

And then Anna meets the Swallow Man. He is a mystery, strange and tall, a skilled deceiver with more than a little magic up his sleeve. And when the soldiers in the streets look at him, they see what he wants them to see.

The Swallow Man is not Anna’s father—she knows that very well—but she also knows that, like her father, he’s in danger of being taken, and like her father, he has a gift for languages: Polish, Russian, German, Yiddish, even Bird. When he summons a bright, beautiful swallow down to his hand to stop her from crying, Anna is entranced. She follows him into the wilderness.

Over the course of their travels together, Anna and the Swallow Man will dodge bombs, tame soldiers, and even, despite their better judgment, make a friend. But in a world gone mad, everything can prove dangerous. Even the Swallow Man.

I received an ARC from First In Line. Thank you, First In Line. It was their pick of the month for December. (Yes, I know I am late but it is what it is.) The novel's release date is January 26th.

Anna and the Swallow Man is a really beautiful story. It is being compared to The Book Thief, both were edited by Erin Clarke (she stated so herself in her letter to the readers). The biggest similarities are that both take place during World War II and center around a young girl.