Three Book Reviews -- "Speaks the Nightbird", "About Alice", "Memory"

"Speaks the Nightbird" by Robert McCammon

5 out of 5 stars

I love Robert McCammon so when I got into a conversation with a fellow GoodReads.com book-lover, I decided to search out some titles I may have missed. 

"Speaks the Nightbird" is a nice, thick book - just the kind I like. It's rich in characters and plot development, and there are twists to the plot just when you think all has settled down. 

The book is set in 1699, on the cusp of a new century when people in the New World are wondering if the next 100 years will be full of wonder or full of fires from Heaven. It centers around a town in the Carolinas and a witch trial, but it's so much more than a book about a witch trial! There's Spanish gold, Native American healers, mysteriously-set fires, rat catchers, secrets of the heart, -- loads of things. 

The main character is a young clerk to an aging magistrate who was called to the town to deem the witch guilty or not. He's inquisitive almost to annoyance, but he's the one that unearths most of the mysteries of the town. 

I was sorry to reach the end but happy to have rediscovered a favorite author. Highly recommended. 

"About Alice" by Calvin Trillin

 4 out of 5 stars

I picked this book up on a whim for .50 at the local library. It's a very thin book, so a quick read. While it's a quick read, it's also a GOOD read.

Calvin Trillin, a long-time writer for the New Yorker magazine, talks about his wife Alice in this book. Alice passed away, but for him, she's always there.

It's a love story, it's humorous, it's heart-breaking. I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I'd read all of Trillin's other books where Alice has a starring role, but it was a wonderful book standing on its own merit.

Recommended.

"Memory" by Phillipe Grimbert

5 out of 5 stars

Another short book with a powerful voice, "Memory" is about a boy's discovery of the intense secrets of his parents. It's also about the love between his parents, and what comes to pass when a person realizes they've married the wrong mate. 

I won't tell you more than that -- pick up the book for a quick but astonishing read. 

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Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.  She is the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.