New Year New Books

Dark,Salt,Clear by Lamorna Ash is a thoroughly engaging portrait of the fishing community in Cornwall at the end of the rail line in southwest Britain. A proud, hard working group of people who take enormous pride in their work ethic and self sufficiency. So well written, you may feel a bit queasy when she describes the week on the trawler. A for Ash!

A somber, but beautifully crafted read is Beneficence by Meredith Hall. Unspeakable tragedy tears apart a loving, close family. Over years, through grief, regret, and forgiveness, they heal. Never maudlin, this is a poignant story of dealing with loss and guilt written with tenderness and respect. A+

I will be honest, this book frustrated me because I am goal oriented and find mind altering drugs to be wholly uninteresting. The Sun Collective by Charles Baxter was well reviewed - a story of a son who goes missing, and a young woman who hooks up with a homeless man, all drawn to the activist Sun Collective. The characters are well developed, but rudderless as they look to the cultish collective to provide meaning and purpose. B+ only because it was discomfiting to me personally.