Tag Archives: Humor

Nothing to See Here, by Kevin Wilson

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Told in first person, our main character and narrator Lillian travels to see her friend, Madison, who has a job offer for her. It isn’t until after she accepts the job as governess to Madison’s step-children that Madison tells her the kids burst into flames when they feel angry or frustrated.

The fire children do not make an appearance until 26% (on a Kindle). The first 1-7% is the foundation of Lillian and Madison’s relationship. This includes how the met, their school-girl-days, and their current status. The story of their girlhood makes you feel emphatic towards Lillian and resentful towards Madison. From 7-26% it is Madison preparing Lillian for the children, and Lillian adjusting to her new rich life at her friends mansion house since Madison married a wealthy Senator. From 26%-until the end is the adventure of Lillian with the flammable twins.

Lillian’s voice and POV is what makes the story so comical. Her comparisons, overemphasis, self-deprecation, and sarcasm created lots of laughable moments.
While the beginning starts off hilarious, the story itself that revolves around the relationship of the main character and the two children who are combustible is starkly serious. Though obviously cynical, I felt the twins ability to burst into flames an affect of both satire and analogy. The embedded theme for their paranormal state of combustion seems to mirror the treatment of children who have behavioral challenges that might just be misunderstood or have yet to receive proper coping skills. Does love have its limits? The flammable twins struggle to feel love from their father because of their flaw and ultimately want to feel accepted by their family.

“They didn’t want to set the world on fire. They just wanted to be less alone in it.“

Family dynamics, parental love, and acceptance is a focus in this funny but short tale that includes wearing inflammable clothes and applying noncombustible stuntman gel to those around. How will Lillian learn to handle the children when they “burst into flames”?

I loved this book and laughed out loud! But at the end, I teared up!

Books
For Author Kevin Wilson, Writing Offers A Brief Reprieve From Tourette’s. Read the full article here.

Read USA Today’s article on Nothing To See Here.

|Purchase on Amazon| Goodreads Review|

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

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The main character, Olive, picks up shortly after where she left off in the previous novel, Olive Kitteridge. While this is the second novel in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone because she recaps the main events that happened in the first novel. However, I recommend reading the first novel in order to appreciate some of the returning characters.

Life’s transitions, juxtapositions, and troubles are celebrated through Olive and the other characters. I found the last half of the novel to be extremely emotional. Olive is reaching a fragile point in her life and begins to calculate its significance and purpose. What makes a full life? As Olive ages, she continues to engage in the boulevard of life while trying to amount her existence.

“But here was the world, screeching its beauty at her day after day, and she felt grateful for it.”

In Olive, Again there are thirteen short stories. Out of the 13 short stories, 5 of those are Olive’s direct story. In the remaining 8 stories, Olive makes an appearance in some shape or form. Each short story relates to the central theme of the novel to some degree and occur near or in the setting of Maine.
Topics include suicide, sexual freedom, family, adultery, and aging.

I love Olive, Again and recommend to lovers of literary sagas and contemporary fiction . Thank you to Elizabeth Strout, Random House, and NetGalley for a copy. Opinions are my own.

To learn more about Elizabeth’s Strout’s book tour for Olive, Again click here.

More on this:

Boston Globe article says Olive “gets better with age”.

Visit Elizabeth Strout’s website.

Review for Olive Kitteridge (#1)

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What Rose Forgot, by Nevada Barr

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The plot synopsis provided for this novel is extremely accurate, so I will just be reviewing my likes, dislikes, and other thoughts.

I enjoyed the character of Rose: a yoga doing, meditating, mantra chanting, spunky step-grandmother. Her character was interesting, unique, and easy to relate to. Rose was simply awesome, and I love her! I also fell in love with her sister, Marion, and loved Marion’s character. On the other hand, most of the events that unfold are far-fetched, so you must read with an open mind. Too add to that statement, sometimes the action occurring in the scenes was hard to follow. I had to go back and re-read the page or paragraph and still didn’t comprehend the directional imagery occurring, meaning that some scenes I had a difficult time picturing in my mind because of enigmatic descriptions.

This book is filled with humor, but also serious topics. The humor lies within Rose herself; her take on things not as a senile old lady, but as person with a flamboyant and tickled personality. Though Rose’s humor will cause you to giggle, the sensitive situation that can occur in care units and nursing homes creates an atmosphere of unease and mystery for the reader.

The central theme focuses on ageism and the labyrinth of navigating the waters extended family. While at times I was concerned with Rose and her circumstances, other times I felt detached. It was entertaining, but not a spellbinding page turner. For me, the unique characters are what made this so enjoyable. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Neverra Barr for a copy. Opinions are my own.

Quotes to help you get to know Rose:

“The city of Charlotte must have and ordinance requiting homeowners to plant twenty percent of their land in Azaleas, Rose thinks.“

“…I cannot tell you home much I have been craving a pair of good old cotton underpants.”

““We’ve all got it coming,” clint Eastwood says from some neglected corner of her cerebral cortex.“

|Purchase on Amazon | Goodreads Review|