This story of three interwoven characters beautifully depicts the human toll war takes on innocents and soliders. It also exposes the brilliant ability of people to adapt, overcome, and live.
June is an 11 year old left to take care of her siblings when her mother and sister are killed by a bomb in the Korean War. Her younger siblings don't fare any better, and when June is left alone she, too, is prey to the evils of men in a war zone; until she meets Hector, an American GI.
Hector and June end up at an orphanage where she becomes the black sheep among the gaggle of children left behind and he falls in love with a minister's wife. Sylvie, the subject of Hector's passion, turns out to have a devasting story of her own.
The novel follows these three, using backstory and dialogue, from their childhoods to the present. Hector's tale felt to me like the main plot but I think that may be open to interpretation depending on which character you find most relatable.
The Surrendered is beautifully written and difficult to put down - though the subject matter is hard to read. This is not light reading - coming in at 480 pages - but an enlightening tale you are sure to remember for a long time.
Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout
This novel is a Pulitzer Prize winner and an Oprah recommendation so I won't review too thoroughly as it clearly doesn't need my 2 cents.
Olive is a collection of short stories woven together by a common thread: Olive Kitteridge a retired school teacher. She is crochety, mean, and hard to like; everything they say you shouldn't have in a main character. But she's like most of us. We see her judging herself (and others) like we all do. And there is a lot to judge - from her infidelity-longing-unable- to-follow-through husband, to her son, Christopher, who can't get far enough away from his mother, and she can't understand why.
Each story opens us up to new limb on Olive's tree , making us wonder where it will end - and end it does, in a twist you'll find surprising.
Hush, by Kate White
This is a beach read; a summer quickie.
Lake Warren (see the name even evokes summer time) is a marketing consultant for a fertility clinic. She is coming off of a recent divorce and gets herself into hot water with one of the new doctors at the clinic. Twists and turns ensue as she learns she can't trust anyone, even her closest friends. The one piece I would have liked to see more realistically depicted is her relationship with her children, who are away at camp during the entire book. Otherwise it was a fun, mystery/thriller.
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