The Nix
Nathan Hill
"An epic novel about a son, the mother who left him as a child, and how his search to uncover the secrets of her life leads him to reclaim his own"--
Read Time: ~7.3 hr
Lydia
by Tim Sandlin (2011)
About this book
Picking up the characters from his GroVant trilogy, published 15 years ago, Sandlin returns to the small Wyoming town where it all began. Narrator Sam Callahan is managing the Virgin Birth Home for Unwed Mothers, while his aimless adult daughter, Shannon, is having a nervous breakdown; and his mother, Lydia, is on parole after time serverd for attempting to poison Ronald Reagan's dog. Lydia's parole requires writing the life story of centenarian, Oly Pedersen, but then she hatches a scheme for a road trip to California (taking along Oly) so Roger, a young man unofficially adopted by Sam, might discover his origins. Meanwhile, the terrifying Leroy, who dumped Roger off on friends years ago, is hunting him now, believing Roger must die for the universe to achieve balance.
Setting / LocationNew York City
Story EraModern Era
Protagonist / CoreLydia Lead Character
Readers who enjoyed this also loved
The sun in your eyes
Deborah Shapiro
"A witty and winning new voice comes alive in this infectious road trip adventure with a rock-and-roll twist. Shapiro's debut blends the emotional nuance of Elena Ferrante with the potent nostalgia of High Fidelity, in a story of two women--one rich and alluring, the other just another planet in her dazzling orbit--and their fervid and troubled friendship. From the distance of a few yards, there might be nothing distinctive about Lee Parrish, nothing you could put your finger on, and yet, if she were to walk into a room, you would notice her. And if you were with her, I'd always thought, you could walk into any room. For quiet, cautious and restless college freshman Vivian Feld real life begins the day she moves in with the enigmatic Lee Parrish--daughter of died-too-young troubadour Jesse Parrish and model-turned-fashion designer Linda West--and her audiophile roommate Andy Elliott. When a one-night stand fractures Lee and Andy's intimate rapport, Lee turns to Viv, inviting her into her glamorous fly-by-night world: an intoxicating mix of Hollywood directors, ambitious artists, and first-class everything. It is the beginning of a friendship that will inexorably shape both women as they embark on the rocky road to adulthood. More than a decade later, Viv is married to Andy and hasn't heard from Lee in three years. Suddenly, Lee reappears, begging for a favor: she wants Viv to help her find the lost album Jesse was recording before his death. Holding on to a life-altering secret and ambivalent about her path, Viv allows herself to be pulled into Lee's world once again. But the chance to rekindle the magic and mystery of their youth might come with a painful lesson: While the sun dazzles us with its warmth and brilliance, it may also blind us from seeing what we really need. What begins as a familiar story of two girls falling under each other's spell evolves into an evocative, and at times irrepressibly funny, study of female friendship in all its glorious intensity and heartbreaking complexity"--
Then she found me
Elinor Lipman
Meet April Epner, the serious, scholarly, adopted daughter of two equally staid parents. They die, but April finds that she's far from orphaned when her birth mother, Bernice Graverman, comes to claim April's heart and improve her wardrobe and love life, too. April is a Latin teacher, given to wearing flannel jumpers. Bernice is hostess of a third-rate daytime talk show and wears designer labels and toad-sized earrings. She descends upon April's quiet life with the tact of a size-six locust, and the delightful and surprising results of this unlikely reunion will keep you turning pages long after bedtime.
Bad Mother
Ayelet Waldman
In the tradition of recent hits like The Bitch in the House and Perfect Madness comes a hilarious and controversial book that every woman will have an opinion about, written by America's most outrageous writer. In our mothers' day there were good mothers, neglectful mothers, and occasionally great mothers.Today we have only Bad Mothers.If you work, you're neglectful; if you stay home, you're smothering. If you discipline, you're buying them a spot on the shrink's couch; if you let them run wild, they will be into drugs by seventh grade. If you buy organic, you're spending their college fund; if you don't, you're risking all sorts of allergies and illnesses.Is it any wonder so many women refer to themselves at one time or another as "a bad mother"? Ayelet Waldman says it's time for women to get over it and get on with it, in a book that is sure to spark the same level of controversy as her now legendary "Modern Love" piece, in which she confessed to loving her husband more than her children.Covering topics as diverse as the hysteria of competitive parenting (Whose toddler can recite the planets in order from the sun?), the relentless pursuits of the Bad Mother police, balancing the work-family dynamic, and the bane of every mother's existence (homework, that is), Bad Mother illuminates the anxieties that riddle motherhood today, while providing women with the encouragement they need to give themselves a break.