On the Nightstand for Aug 31st

Reviews for the above books will be posted soon. 

Grave Mercy is a long book - the longest I've read this year. Teaser: There was a point that I ended up throwing the book aside and "NOOOOOOOO!" was actually screeched loud enough that my husband spun around and looked at me. I needed to walk away.

Secrets of Mound Gardening has lots of information so I am reading it slowly and absorbing the information. 

Look for the reviews to be posted in the near future. You won't want to miss what my thoughts were on them!

Virgil Wander by Leif Enger Review

 

Virgil Wander

Author: Leif Enger

359 Pages

Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press

Genre: Humorous Literary Fiction

Description

The first novel in ten years from award-winning, million-copy bestselling author Leif Enger,Virgil Wander is an enchanting and timeless all-American story that follows the inhabitants of a small Midwestern town in their quest to revive its flagging heart

Midwestern movie house owner Virgil Wander is “cruising along at medium altitude” when his car flies off the road into icy Lake Superior. Virgil survives but his language and memory are altered and he emerges into a world no longer familiar to him. Awakening in this new life, Virgil begins to piece together his personal history and the lore of his broken town, with the help of a cast of affable and curious locals—from Rune, a twinkling, pipe-smoking, kite-flying stranger investigating the mystery of his disappeared son; to Nadine, the reserved, enchanting wife of the vanished man, to Tom, a journalist and Virgil’s oldest friend; and various members of the Pea family who must confront tragedies of their own. Into this community returns a shimmering prodigal son who may hold the key to reviving their town.

With intelligent humor and captivating whimsy, Leif Enger conjures a remarkable portrait of a region and its residents, who, for reasons of choice or circumstance, never made it out of their defunct industrial district. Carried aloft by quotidian pleasures including movies, fishing, necking in parked cars, playing baseball and falling in love, Virgil Wander is a swift, full journey into the heart and heartache of an often overlooked American Upper Midwest by a “formidably gifted” (Chicago Tribune) master storyteller.

My Thoughts

In the beginning, I was really enjoying the story of Virgil. It was interesting to meet the people and see how things unfolded through Virgil's eyes. There was humor and the story was interesting, but it just went pretty much nowhere. I wanted a purpose and some reason for the book, but there really didn't seem to be any. I was underwhelmed at best and felt that I can't get those hours reading this book back. No, I won't say it was badly written, because it wasn't, but going nowhere - it just was disappointing.

Sorry - this book is just not for me. 

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley. I was not required to post a positive review - but one of my honest opinion.