Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and all Denver Post readers, to share their mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email bellis@denverpost.com.
“The Hunter,” by Tana French (Viking, 2024)
The villagers of Ardnakelty, Ireland (again the setting for a Tana French suspense novel) are drawn into a gold scam by one of their own. Beyond sense of time and place, French is an expert at sense of people; we see characters from outside and in, and the psychology is dark and tantalizing. There are so many layers to this story that it can be read at the depth you choose. Emotions run the scale from terror to hilarity, and I appreciated them all. — 4 stars (out of 4);Neva Gronert, Parker
“Shuggie Bain,” by Douglas Stuart (Grove Press, 2020)
The unusual in “Shuggie Bain” isn’t the location (Glasgow) but the social milieu. Shuggie’s dysfunctional family moves from place to place and winds up in a council flat for mine workers where he’s bullied as a clear misfit. Father leaves, mother blossoms into alcoholism, and Shuggie becomes her caretaker. After his mother’s death, Shuggie soldiers on, eventually living alone in a tiny flat and finding a job. Leanne, the daughter of another alcoholic woman, and he establish a close friendship. “A heartbreaking story of addiction, sexuality, and love,” author Douglas Stuart creates a touching tale, winning the Booker Prize and other prestigious awards for this triumph. As true to its age as Charles Dickens’ stories of the downtrodden were to his. — 4 stars (out of 4); Bonnie McCune, Denver (bonnieMcCune.com)
“The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History,” by Ned Blackhawk (Yale University Press, 2023)
This is a new framing of American history, from the age of exploration and the conquistadors to the present, with the Native American experience front and center. Reading it is like looking through “Lens 2,” as when the optometrist asks you which view is clearer, “Lens 1 or Lens 2.” Lens 1 lets you see the traditional narratives of American history, focused on white men and their exploits; Lens 2 is the “clearer” or fuller picture that brings into sharp focus not only the Native American experience but also their exploitation by said white men. Winner of the 2023 National Book Award in Nonfiction, among other prizes. — 4 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
“All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me,” by Patrick Bringley (Simon & Schuster, 2023)
Upon the untimely death of his older brother, the author needed to find a place of solace to handle his grief. He resigned from his writer’s job at The New Yorker and became a museum guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In this lively and amusing memoir, Bringley explores the histories and placement of the different collections of the Met, the lives and backgrounds of the guards and staff, and the power of art to inspire and give meaning to our lives. — 4 stars (out of 4); Susan Tracy, Denver
