A MAN CALLED OVE, by author, FREDRIK BACKMAN, recommended by author, Lesley Kagen

Author / Writer / Book Lover - which are you?

LK ~ Author.

  

Title of Fiction book and year published

A Man Called Ove, published July 15, 2014

Author name

Fredrik Backman.

Type of book

LK ~ A contemporary novel that’s both funny and poignant.

What is it about this book that pulled you in?

LK ~ I loved the style. The voice. His way of approaching the characters and plot. The pace was wonderful as well.

Is there a relationship in the story that resonated with you?

LK ~ Every single relationship in the book worked for me, but the one that Ove continued to have with his departed wife and an old friend that he'd had a falling out with especially moved me.

Do you think that relationship was portrayed realistically?

LK ~ I do.

Anything else you want to tell us about the book?

LK ~ It’ so fresh and original. A great setting, funny, touching, and wonderfully authentic dialogue. The book has everything I look for in a great story. Couldn’t wait to hop into bed each night to read it.

If author or writer, your social media links:

www.lesleykagen.com

https://www.facebook.com/LesleyKagenBooks?sk=app_4949752878

Attention readers ~ Have YOU read this book?  If so, tell us what YOU thought of it!

***To leave a comment - Click the red 'comment' word below photo of book.

JHA ~ Thanks so much, Lesley, for taking the time to recommend one of your favorite reads! This book has great reviews and is going on my TBR list!

To follow this weekly book blog, just click the "Follow by email" link on the right side of this page, or sign up on my website through blogger or google plus.  

Interested in being a contributor? Contact me via email at jilla27@gmail.com. 
You will also find the list of upcoming contributors under the Fridayfictionfriend tab.  I'd love to hear from you if you have a great book to recommend.

THE CATALPA TREE, by DENYSE DEVLIN, recommended by author, Barbara Claypole White

Author / Writer / Book Lover - which are you?

BCW ~ All of the above, but I think of myself as a reader first and foremost. 
(side note from Jill - Barbara's third book will be out this summer, so she is definitely an author too!)

Title of Fiction book and year it was published (doesn't have to be a new release)

The Catalpa Tree (2005: Irish Penguin.)

Author name

Denyse Devlin

Type of book 

Women’s fiction with a dark edge

What is it about this book that pulled you in?

BCA ~ The tag line: “A story about love, loss and surviving them both”

Is there a relationship in the story that resonated with you?

BCW ~ Oh my goodness, yes. The Catalpa Tree has been one of my favorite novels for ten years, and the hero, Oliver Sayle, still lives in my head.

When the reader meets Oliver, he’s waiting to tell his best friend’s fourteen-year-old daughter, Jude, that she’s been orphaned. Sitting in the office at Jude’s Catholic boarding school, squirming as the senior nun watches across the desk, Oliver is trying not to feel intimidated. And he’s desperate for a cigarette. That was the moment I fell in love with him.

Oliver is Jude’s legal guardian. They’ve always been close, but everything changes once they’re thrown together through grief and tragedy. Oliver has his own family, and a young son, but Jude has no one else. As Jude grows into a desirable young woman, they test each other constantly.

And this is why I Iove The Catalpa Tree: It peels back the layers of a messy, complex relationship, going deeper and deeper into every twist and turn, every conflict. It’s impossible not to get swept up in the turmoil of this emotionally gripping page-turner. You cheer, you cry, and when you put the novel down, you have to know where these characters are ten, fifteen, twenty years into the future.

Do you think that relationship was portrayed realistically?

BCW ~ Yes! It’s a wonderful window into an incredibly complicated relationship.

Anything else you want to tell us without giving away too much of the plot?

BCW ~ Read it. Read it now. And fall in love with Oliver and Jude and the glorious settings in France, under the catalpa tree. Did I mention that it’s beautifully written?

If author or writer, your social media links:

Website: http://www.barbaraclaypolewhite.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraClaypoleWhite?ref=hl

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bclaypolewhite

JHA ~ Thank you so much, Barbara, for recommending a novel I'd never heard of, but one you've told me was a big influence in your writing career! It sounds wonderful, and is now on my TBR list!

Attention readers ~ Have YOU read this book?  If so, tell us what YOU thought of it!

***To leave a comment - Click the red 'comment' word below photo of book.

To follow this weekly book blog, just click the "Follow by email" link on the right side of this page, or sign up on my website through blogger or google plus. 

Interested in being a contributor? Contact me via email at jilla27@gmail.com. You will also find the list of upcoming contributors under the Fridayfictionfriend tab.  I'd love to hear from you if you have a great book to recommend.

CUTTING FOR STONE, by author, ABRAHAM VERGHESE, recommended by book lover, Dr. Arlene O'Connor

Author / Writer / or Book Lover?

A.O. ~ Book lover

Title of Fiction book & year published 

Cutting for Stone, published in 2010

Author name          

Abraham Verghese

Type of book 

Fictional autobiography

What is it about this book that pulled you in?

A.O.~ I am attracted to books that portray life in other countries and cultures.  Not only do I enjoy learning about their daily life and customs, but I love to see that regardless of where we reside on this planet, relationships and the bonds we develop with one another are very similar and the core of our human nature.

Is there a relationship in the story that resonated with you?

A.O. ~ The book is narrated by a son who lost his mother during childbirth and was raised, along with his twin brother, in a missionary hospital in Ethiopia.  As a mother, I was touched by the fact that these 2 boys were orphaned and abandoned shortly after their birth yet an entire community came together to raise them as their own.

The story weaves the lives of many people, including the boys’ adoptive parents, the hospital staff and the community at large.  Characters are developed very well and I felt I intimately knew them, almost as if I were a relative.

Do you think that relationship was portrayed realistically?    

A.O. ~ Yes!  The author did a great job at developing the characters including their idiosyncrasies and nuances.  With that, the characters came alive and became real people.  The interactions between parents and child, friends, husband and wife etc. were very realistic and portrayed a believable life.

Anything else you want to tell us without giving away too much of the plot?

A.O. ~ This is a great and interesting read.  Narrated from the wound and throughout adulthood this story is different and entertaining, touching and redeeming all at once.

Attention readers ~ Have YOU read this book?  If so, tell us what YOU thought of it!

***To leave a comment - Click the red 'comment' word below photo of book.

JHA ~ Thanks so much, Arlene, for taking the time to recommend one of your favorite reads! This has long been on my TBR list, and I need to take the time to read it!

To follow this weekly book blog, just click the "Follow by email" link on the right side of this page, or sign up on my website through blogger or google plus.

Interested in being a contributor? Contact me via email at jilla27@gmail.com. You will also find the list of upcoming contributors under the Fridayfictionfriend tab.  I'd love to hear from you if you have a great book to recommend.

MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND, by MATTHEW DICKS, recommended by writer, Orly Konig-Lopez

Author / Writer / Book Lover - which are you?

OKL ~ Writer and book addict

Title and year published

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, published in 2012

Author name

Matthew Dicks

Type of book 

Contemporary fiction

What is it about this book that pulled you in?

OKL ~ First, how can anyone resist the idea of a story told by an imaginary friend? Oh the secrets they carry!

But I also have a child in elementary school and this story dealt with many issues that all parents face – whether your child is autistic or not.

Is there a relationship in the story that resonated with you?

OKL ~ That’s a tough one actually. The relationship between Max and his imaginary friend Budo was amazing. We moved several times when I was young and each time it was to another country where I had to learn a new language and, as an only child, I relied on my imaginary friend for company a lot of the time.

But it was the friendships between Budo and the other imaginary friends that delivered so many of the emotional punches in the book.

Do you think that relationship was portrayed 

OKL ~ Well, we’re talking about a relationship with a made up friend. But yes, I think it was. At least for those who admit to having imaginary friends. J

Anything else you want to tell us about the book without giving away too much of the plot? 

OKL ~ A year after reading this book, I still get a knot in my stomach every time I drop my child off at the elementary school.

If author or writer, your social media links:

website: www.orlykoniglopez.com

Twitter: @OrlyKonigLopez

Attention readers ~ Have YOU read this book?  If so, tell us what YOU thought of it!

***To leave a comment - Click the red 'comment' word below photo of book.

JHA ~ Thanks so much, Orly, for taking the time to recommend one of your favorite reads! I'm adding this to my TBR list of books!

To follow this weekly book blog, just click the "Follow by email" link on the right side of this page, or sign up on my website through blogger or google plus.  

Interested in being a contributor? Contact me via email at jilla27@gmail.com. You will also find the list of upcoming contributors under the Fridayfictionfriend tab.  I'd love to hear from you if you have a great book to recommend.