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.
“Study for Obedience,” by Sarah Bernstein (Knopf Canada, 2023)
A very accommodating (doormat?) woman moves to a remote, foreign village (where she doesn’t speak the language) to become her brother’s housekeeper and caretaker. She immediately falls under suspicion for witchcraft or worse, as mysterious tragedies repeatedly befall the villagers’ animals and livestock shortly after her arrival. The entire novel is written as an interior monologue from the isolated sister’s point of view. But her lack of understanding, both literally and figuratively, as to the truth of her circumstances leaves at least this reader likewise befuddled. A Booker Prize shortlist nominee. — 1 1/2 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
“Jane and the Final Mystery,” by Stephanie Barron (Soho Crime, 2023)
The last installment of a beloved series makes me a bit melancholy. Jane Austen died at 41 in 1817, so the end of this witty, intriguing, well-researched and delightful mystery series was always expected and yet … . I may have to start from the beginning and reread all 15! Stephanie Barron (the pen name of Colorado resident Francine Matthews) captures Austen’s writing style and her incisive intellect, in addition to social and cultural details. Each book is a visit to Regency England, and I’ve been charmed. The explanatory footnotes should not be skipped. Footnote: The working title of this book was “Jane and the Winchester Schoolboy.” My interest in the setting prompted me to do a little extra research into Winchester, its noted cathedral (where Austen is buried), and the English public school system. What can Barron/Matthews enthrall me with next? — 4 stars (out of 4); Neva Gronert, Parker
“West with the Night,” by Beryl Markham (North Point Press, 2013 reprint)
A modern classic, this is a true adventure story from the woman Ernest Hemingway touted as the best writer he’d ever read. Born in England,
raised in Africa, Markham lived in the margin between white ranchers and African natives, as wild as the animals she hunted. She eventually learned to fly bush airplanes from the best, herded elephants for safaris, and became the first woman to fly solo transatlantic, from England to North America. In the memoir, she followed her dreams, thumbed her nose at conventions, met success and failure with equal poise. This book inspires and fills the reader with awe at nature’s bounty. — 3 stars (out of four); Bonnie McCune, Denver (bonniemccune.com)
“Old God’s Time,” by Sebastian Barry (Viking, 2023)
Tom, a retired policeman now living on the coast of Ireland, is visited by old colleagues purportedly pursuing a cold case. That visit unlocks suppressed memories that are slowly revealed through Tom’s stream-of-consciousness ramblings between present-day reality and his dark past. The cliché “nothing is as it seems” proves apt in this poignant novel, which is well written with elegant phrasing. — 2 1/2 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
