Book Reviews by Ehlen Administration

To Parts Unknown by John Anthony Miller My rating: 4 of 5 stars George Adams is running from his past. To get out of London he persuades his editor to post him in Singapore. Unfortunately for him he arrives in 1942, just in time for the Japanese to invade. While trying to keep up some semblance of journalism he runs into the most fascinating character, Lady Jane Carrington Smythe. She too, is running away. But will they be able to escape together, and will their respective pasts prevent their future? Author John Anthony Miller paints a vivid scene of the Pacific theater during WW2, and then inserts seemingly ordinary characters put into an extraordinary circumstances. While he does a good job moving the story along, brief interactions with otherwise extemporaneous characters become the foundation of main character George Adams’ introspection and healing from the death of his wife, Maggie, and move him towards forgiving himself for his part and and his interest in Lady Jane. Whi...

by Pamela Blake My rating: 4 of 5 stars Due to the sins of her father, Rose, her mother, her daughter Lucy, and eventually Lucy’s children will never have a normal life. Because those sins were covered up, the secrets threaten to tear apart her very soul. Can she outrun her secrets, and can her daughter put her life back together when it all seems to be falling apart. Eden’s Apple is a tale of childhood trauma and redemption, although no redemption without heartbreak. I thought the internal monologue of Rose was devastatingly accurate, although honestly Lucy’s character escaped me a bit at times. I had a harder time accepting her changes than the other characters, who started out with some redeeming qualities, whereas she was pretty self absorbed from minute one. I enjoyed the pace of the book and the lilting tone, and really enjoyed the exploration of emotions and inner monologue. I think that if you have ever suffered childhood trauma particularly this book will resonate and h...

I Once Knew Vincent by Michelle Rene My rating: 4 of 5 stars We all know Vincent the artist, but to Maria he was Vincent the father figure. Maria grew up desperately poor in the Hague, Netherlands, daughter to prostitute Sien and fiercely protective of her younger brother, Willem. Vincent is willing to give them a chance to become family, but will Sien be able to break the cycle of poverty and prostitution to claim the family Maria so desperately desires? I’m not sure how much of the history in this is accurate, but the story was compelling. The idea of Vincent van Gogh attempting to live a “normal” life but that proving impossible fits with the persona of him as a tortured soul. I also think it is fascinating how Rene weaves together some of van Gogh’s earlier drawings together into a tale of motivation and sorrow that would haunt the rest of his life, as well as Maria’s - the narrator of this tale. This is an example of excellent historical fiction, as it leaves you wondering...