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 other readers, to share these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email bellis@denverpost.com.
“Five Tuesdays in Winter: Stories,” by Lily King (Grove Press, 2021)
Lily King’s novel “Writers and Lovers” is a favorite of mine, so I was willing to read “Five Tuesdays in Winter,” although I tend to avoid short stories. These 10 stories are varied in setting, time, mood, voice, length, character and action, but they are unified in clarity and excellent writing. Each one gave me much to ponder, but I did not feel cheated by their brevity — in fact, I’m amazed how much depth King creates with so few words. My favorite? Hard to choose, but if pressed I would say the title story. — 3 1/2 stars (out of 4); Neva Gronert, Parker
“Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon and the Things That Last,” by Wright Thompson (Penguin Books, 2020)
I had to invoke my 50-page rule for this one; i.e., if it doesn’t grab me by page 50, then drop it and move on. As I can appreciate a fine bourbon, this one initially intrigued me. But apparently the author didn’t have enough actual information about this family-owned, Kentucky distillery to fill out a book-length narrative. It meanders much like a road trip that is detoured, becomes lost and refuses to ask for directions. A fun idea, poorly executed. — 0 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
“Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral,” by Kris Radish (Bantam, 2006)
After the death of her friend Annie at age 56, a package arrives for Katherine Givens with the ashes of her free-spirited, altruistic childhood pal, along with instructions. She’s to head a procession from California to Manhattan with a collection of five women, strangers to one another but Annie’s closest friends. Their charge? To spread their friend’s ashes. A funeral becomes the destination and the power base for change and friendship for all. They discover her deepest secrets and share many of their own. These unorthodox mourners come to see the greatness Annie saw in them and attain the courage to act on it. — 2 stars (out of 4); Bonnie McCune, Denver (bonniemccune.com)
“The Maniac,” by Benjamin Labatut (Penguin Press, 2023)
This novel shines a light on some of the moral questions presented by new technological advances. Part 1 follows Paul Ehrenfest, a physicist who strove to understand “the core of things” but who was leery of the potential applications of quantum physics. Part 2 focuses on John von Neumann, who is credited with inventing game theory and the first programmable computer, and whose work also laid the foundation for artificial intelligence. Part 3 describes the leaps of AI beyond von Neumann’s work, exemplified by the work of Lee Sedol and his AI program, AlphaGo, which beat all master Go players. The eponymous “maniac” could be the 1950s Princeton-based Mathematical Analyzer, Numerical Integrator and Computer (MANIAC), or it could be the geniuses profiled in this work of historical fiction. You can decide. — 3 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
