1) The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris: This book has so many layers. It takes place right after the Civil War ended. Two brothers who had been slaves, but were now free, were hired to help work the farm in Georgia owned by a couple who were grieving the loss of their only son, who had been reported to have been killed in the War. The brothers' goal was to save enough money to head north in search of their mother who had been sold away years before.
During this time, there is also a story of two Confederate soldiers who were in a relationship with each other and were discovered one day in the woods. The ramifications were immense throughout the town.
The author did a splendid job tying the two stories together. I couldn't put the book down, it was that good. And, get this, it's a debut novel! I highly recommend it.
2) The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon: I struggled to try and like this book. I finished it and was deeply unsatisfied. I kept waiting for it to get better and I was disappointed. The premise was intriguing to me: Jax received 9 missed calls from her older sister who was found dead in the pool of their grandmother's estate. The older sister had fairly recently moved there and was trying to uncover the history of the property. In 1929, the property had once held a famous, modern hotel with a natural spring. There were mysteries and secrets connected to the property and the springs.
I hated the ending.
3) On Canaan's Side by Sebastian Barry: Another book by this author. It was similar to The Secret Scripture in that it was narrated by a ninety-five-year-old lady reviewing her past. Lilie Bere was devasted by the loss of her grandson, Billy. She tells her story beginning in her life in Ireland, being forced to leave and come to the United States. It is a rather sad life that she lives.
The story spans seventy decades and Lily's life was spent in fear, betrayal, loss, grief, and love. Billy had been the saving grace for her world. It was a good story and I liked it well enough!
4) Emotional Inheritance by Galit Atlas PhD: the subtitle is "A Therapist, Her Patients, and the Legacy of Trauma". This book made me miss being a therapist. Her style seemed reminiscent of mine, where I would try to help clients examine family secrets, dynamics, etc. to help them understand how the past of their ancestors (parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc) affect their own lives, in many different ways. In that way, clients can begin to make changes for themselves as they begin to understand what had led them to where they were. This book shared stories of Dr. Atlas's work with clients and how they were able to change. It was quite good and very interesting!
5) Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland: I had read about this book for ages and finally picked it up on clearance one day. I'm so glad that I did!
The story takes place in 1934 in Atlantic City. Esther and Joseph Adler had two daughters, Fannie and Florence. Fannie was pregnant and on bed rest in the hospital so her daughter Gussie was living in the apartment with the family, along with a young girl that Joseph had insisted on bringing over from Nazi Germany as the war began to progress. Florence had always been a prizewinning swimmer and had been practicing to swim the English Channel. Until one day tragedy struck and everything changed for the family.
This is another story where family decisions are affected by family secrets and it's not always clear what is the right thing to do.
There are many layers of relationships going on in this book, also, and the author does an excellent job bringing them all together. I liked the ending of the book very much. I think that the family will be ok.
My favorite books for April: Florence Adler Swims Forever, and The Sweetness of Water.
