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Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
Subtitled: An African Childhood. I read this long ago but picked it up again after seeing the movie of the same name very recently. (Highly recommended.) The author grew up in Rhodesia which became Zimbabwe, when white farmers were under attack and eventually forced out. Her childhood was feral, with a challenging mix of freedom and terror. Racism and colonialism were rampant, filtered here through the eyes of a very observant child. The book is as vivid, raw, and shocking as it was back in 2001.
Field Notes From An Extinction
In this quirky novel, we meet Ignatius, an ornithologist, who is studying a rare species on an island in Ireland in 1847. His supplies from the mainland arrive depleted; however, in one basket he discovers a small, malnourished girl, the last thing he needs. He tries to return her to no avail, and the two ultimately develop a fraught, peculiar relationship. His sources of support, both local and institutional, dry up, the birds succumb to egg hunters, and the future looks grim, indeed. An odd yet satisfying read.
Eleanor, an online therapist, has been trying to buy a house but always gets outbid. Matt, her smooth, gung-ho agent, brings her an offer she can't refuse: a model home on a development that seems to have stalled but has hopes for the future. As soon as she moves in, the nightmares proliferate. All manner of malfunctions occur, and her dead mother, whose modest legacy funded the sale, is very present. Under such circumstances, Eleanor's own mental health starts to fray, as her client base is whittled away when the house becomes unlivable and she can't concentrate on their sessions. It turns out insurance won't kick in because it was the builder's fault and he's dead, as well as his company. Despite such a grim scenario, I actually relished the book, which takes the adage "everything that can go wrong will" to the nth degree.
The eponymous character known as Sarah grew up in Michigan plagued by familial abuse. She flees to Ireland with desperate derring-do (a stolen passport provides a new identity) and becomes a successful artist. After a difficult relationship with possessive Paul who sat next to her on the plane and up took her in when she needed a place to stay, she finally connects with Daithi, a carpenter, and creates a loving home. She renames herself Saoirse, meaning freedom, but is always afraid her past will catch up with her. Descriptions of her artwork give clues to the story, and episodic chapters flesh out the rest. Lots of suspense, and a fascinating denouement.
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