THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN by Katherine Applegate

Katherine Applegate’s 'The One and Only Ivan'  is a cry for animal rights that works on its reader in slow subtle steps. You won't find speeches or pontifications or long lengthy lamentations. Instead, it’s just a gorilla living what life he can, until the day he can't. Thanks to its restraint the book ends up being a gem.

The One and Only Ivan is a work of fiction, but its inspiration lies with a true story.  Ivan, a real gorilla, lived at Zoo Atlanta, but on the way to that happy ending, he spent almost three decades living in a small cage as the main attraction of an off-highway food court and video arcade without ever seeing another of his own kind.  Ivan shares his life at the Mall with Stella - a mature elephant who is sold to Mack, the Mall owner, after outliving her usefulness as a circus performer.  Money is tight at the Mall and business has slowed down.  Medication for Stella's injured and infected foot is not a priority.  In order to drum up business, Mack acquires a new attraction - a baby elephant named Ruby.  Stella slowly succumbs to her injuries, but not before extracting a promise from Ivan that he would look after Ruby and get her to a zoo. 

What follows is a shining example of what happens when hope meets action.  Ivan has to grow and change in the course of this novel (example - Ivan stops referring to 'his domain' and begins to call his surroundings what they are - a cage).  He comes to realize that wishing alone will never change Ruby's destiny and begins to work on a plan, hoping almost against hope that someone with more power and ability will understand what he is trying to do. 

It is the temptation of every author to simplify ethics when they write for children. Bad guys are bad, good guys are good. This is particularly true of animal abuse stories. After all, who wants to dig up a heart of gold in a character that kicks puppies? Yet the best books for kids are often the ones that allow for at least a glimpse of the human inside the villain. It is one of the reasons why The One and Only Ivan distinguishes itself. Mack is the villain here, no question about it. You don’t go around hitting baby elephants with sharp objects. But there are depths to Mack as well. He’s a man who really did love Ivan on some level when the gorilla was a baby. Then his wife left him and he started hitting the booze to deal with his financial problems. There are a lot of Mack's in this world and it’s worth knowing you can feel sorry for someone but still hold them accountable for their actions. No matter how bad you feel for Mack, the author never lets you forget that he’s the reason for Ivan, Thelma, and Ruby’s imprisonment.

Throughout the book, the author treats us to a lovely use of language.  A seal has a “voice like the throaty bark of a dog chained outside on a cold night.” “Humans always smell odd when change is in the air. Like rotten meat with a hint of papaya.” “Human babies are an ugly lot. But their eyes are like our babies’ eyes. Too big for their faces, and for the world.” And a mop, “moves across the empty food court like a giant brush, painting a picture no one will ever see.”

An excellent story with a wonderful use of the written word.  It's a match made in literary heaven.

THE NEST by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

The Plumb siblings have been waiting for a modest trust fund to be released to them when the youngest of the four turns 40.  Over the years, the fund (known to the siblings as 'The Nest') has grown to about 2 million$ - a nice chunk of change for each of them.  The siblings have been living their lives as though that money was already in their pockets.  What no one counted on was that the oldest would require rehab or that he would be involved in a drunken car accident that caused serious injury to his passenger - a woman other than his wife.  The siblings' mum, who has control over the fund, uses a large portion of it to bail out her boy - leaving the others in serious financial trouble with not much light at the end of the tunnel.

This story just annoyed me.  That four siblings couldn't get their act together and live productive, financially responsible lives by the time they hit 40 bothered me.  It's a classic case of 'count your chickens'. 

The book was okay - there was so much missed opportunity by the author.  The characters were not especially well fleshed out and the story  - for me - fell kind of flat.  The siblings were spoiled, self-centred, dysfunctional adults who behaved like badly brought up children.  Don't get me wrong - I like a story about dysfunction as much as the next person but this one mostly missed the mark for me.

SCARLET FEATHER by Maeve Binchy

I joined the book club at my library. This was January's selection. I must be one of the few people alive who have never read Maeve Binchy. Tom Feather and Cathy Scarlet, friends from culinary school open a catering company called Scarlet Feather. The book follows 'a year in the life' - their jobs, their relationships, their families. Unfortunately, I found both main characters to be completely unlikeable - uncommunicative, judgemental, childish. Luckily, Binchy does a pretty good job of creating supporting characters who are interesting - a pair of nine-year-old twins; Cathy's parents (working class, hard working, kind and fair) - but not really enough to sustain an almost 500 page novel.

So, why did I give this book a decent review rating? The average age at the book club appears to be about 75. Each and every one of them loved this book. They thought the characters had fine moral fibre. They wanted the catering company to do well. They commiserated over the relationship problems. They rooted for the possible romantic ending. They chose another Binchy book for February. Any book that will bring seniors together, provide entertainment, companionship and purpose is all right by me. (I, however, won't be going in February)

THE HUSBAND'S SECRET by Liane Moriarty

"For my wife, Cecilia Fitzpatrick
To be opened only in the event of my death"

Cecilia found the envelope among a stack of old tax records and imagined it contained a sentimental message, given it was dated just a few days after the birth of their first child, fifteen years ago. Cecilia has no idea that the letter is a Pandora's Box that will blow her world apart.

Although Cecilia doesn't know it, the unopened letter will link her to two other women. There is Rachel, the part-time school secretary at her daughters' school. Rachel has rebuilt her life after the murder of her teenaged daughter twenty years ago and her divorce from her husband. As her son and daughter-in-law plan a move to New York with her much adored grandson, Rachel realizes that she must rethink her life once again. Tess, the third, is the daughter of Rachel's work share partner. She has brought her six-year-old son with her while she cares for her recently injured mother. She too is contemplating major changes in her own life and marriage. The lives of these three women are tied to each other by one man’s secret.

This is certainly not great literature. What it is, however, is an interesting, well written tale about moral ambiguity, secrets and their consequences in the lives of three women who suddenly find themselves connected by them. Bring this book on vacation. 

TUESDAY NIGHTS IN 1980 by Molly Prentiss

James is an art critic with synesthesia - a neurological phenomenon that crosses sensory pathways, allowing him to see sounds, hear colours - an ability that allows him to become one of the top art critics for the New York Times. A personal loss on New Years Eve of 1980, temporarily robs him of this ability and his career is sent spiralling downward. Raul is an artist with a connection to a sister left behind in politically unstable Argentina - an artist who, in James' opinion, is 'the next big thing'. Raul, too, suffers a tragic loss in 1980 - a loss that will forever impact his life as an artist. Lucy is a small town Midwest girl who moves to New York to experience life.

Over the course of one year, as the art world faces an unprecedented swell of commercialization, these three people connect and remake each other. James, Raul, and Lucy encounter the depths of fame, humanity, and loss, and are forced to redefine their relationship to art, beauty, and life.

I would assume that this is a reasonably accurate picture of the art world of New York in 1980 - my only experience into this world was taking a bus trip to the Museum of Modern Art to see the Picasso exhibit - hardly enough for me to know for certain. However, the book drew me in and I felt, just for those few hours while I read, that I was part of it.

THE HANDMAID'S TALE by Margaret Atwood

I recently watched the first season of The Handmaid's Tale - the television adaptation of Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel.  The programme is extremely well done and sent me straight back to the book.

This is one of the scariest books I have ever read. The Rebublic of Gilead (formerly The USA) is a totalitarian and theocratic state.  Pollution, radiation and sexually transmitted diseases have caused sterility and only a very few women have the ability to conceive and deliver a healthy child.  The Handsmaids (named for the servants of Rachel and Leah in the Bible who bore children for their mistresses) have borne healthy children in the past and are assigned to elite families for the sole purpose of giving them a child.  The book depicts a world in which no one is free, where everyone is constantly under watch, and women have no control over their bodies. The main reason it is so frightening is because although it seems so far fetched,  it is based on an ideology that is heard every day from the lips of politicians, the media, religious leaders and others:  the need to return to 'traditional family values'.  This book shows how this can go terribly wrong when taken too far.  But how far is 'too far'?  We walk a very fine line when we start to give our freedoms - even little ones - away.  It is entirely possible to lose much more than we bargained for.

This disturbing book raises many issues about personal freedom, government and conflicting ideologies - an excellent and thought provoking read.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS by B.A. Paris

'Behind Closed Doors' is a story of psychological suspense. Jack and Grace Angel's marriage is the envy of all who know them. He is handsome, wealthy and a successful lawyer specializing in domestic abuse cases. She is beautiful, kind and an accomplished artist. They appear to be devoted to eachother. The title of the book should tip you off to the fact that all is not well 'behind closed doors'. Their harrowing story is told alternating between their past and the present. Jack is a sadistic psychopath (not a spoiler - it's pretty much spelled out in the first few pages) with evil plans for Grace and Millie, her younger sister who has Down's Syndrome.

This book was not always easy to read, particularly if the reader has experienced any form of abuse. Still, the author plays a good game of cat and mouse and draws out the story to a satisfactory conclusion. I would definitely put this one in the category of 'beach book' - a fast, exciting read that does not demand too much of the reader.