Recommended Reads

Two books I recently finished and would recommend:

"The Casual Vacancy" by J.K. Rowling and "A Secret Kept" by Tatiana de Rosnay

"The Casual Vacancy" (2012) took a little while to get into. It is a character heavy and a character driven story. The story takes place in Pagford, a small town in England. When one of the members of the town council dies unexpectedly leaving a "casual vacancy", the town must fill the seat. The story centers on the lives of a number of people who are affected by this vacancy - other council members, potential contenders for the vacant seat, their spouses and children, and residents who may be affected by an important vote coming before the council. It is a lot of people to keep straight. I've talked to one or two people who either put the book down or who finished it and weren't wild about it. But I persisted and found myself caught up in the lives the the characters populating this town. Rowling is adept at creating unique characters with distinct voices (no surprise there). In spite of the slow beginning, by the time I reached the end I was so engrossed in the lives of all of these characters it was hard to acknowledge that the journey was over and their story had come to an end.

"A Secret Kept" (2009) by Tatiana de Rosnay is the first book I've read by the author of "Sarah's Key", an international best seller. It is the story of middle aged brother and sister, Antoine and Melanie Rey. Antoine surprises Melanie with a fortieth birthday weekend at a beach-side resort where, as children, they spent several happy summers with their parents and grandparents. For Melanie, the visit triggers a disturbing memory that leads to a car accident on the drive back to Paris. As Antoine and Melanie begin to explore the memories and circumstances surrounding their mother's death over thirty years ago, Antoine must also examine his present day relationships with his ex-wife, children, and father. The intertwining of the disturbing past and a troubled present makes for a compelling read.