PRIVATE RITES
Julia Armfield
A trio brought together by blood. The only thing holding them together. The only thing holding them accountable. If not for blood, they wouldn’t be here now. They would’ve gone long ago.
Isla is a therapist, unconvinced she has a purpose. Even as she is helping her clients, she feels invisible and ineffective. She spends her days dreaming in her therapy sessions of clients that recover, clients that move on, clients that don’t need her.
Irene is angry and has always been. Frustrated with herself, more so with others, despondent and full of conviction. She is oftentimes accused of being angry even when she feels she isn’t. There is a hardness to her that makes loving her difficult and altogether not worth the effort.
Agnes the youngest, born of a different mother. Unattached, unmoored. Bends with the wind and sets sail on rocky waters, which is at this very moment, a detriment.
The earth is in a moment of watershed. It’s been raining for what feels like years. The sisters gather at the hospital bed of their dying father. Who to them has died at least once before. All the sisters grieve more for the living than the dead. His passing, merely a rainy day in June.
Beautiful writing. In the beginning, I felt a bit overwhelmed by the words. The sentences were too rich to absorb. I read the beginning several times thinking the entire text would be in a way, indigestible. But Armfield moved on and so did I. The poetry of the beginning lasted throughout the novel. But was interlaced with easier-to-manage latent words. Which is the only way I was able to finish the book.
Armfield has been telling the same story in all the books written by her that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Simply changing the characters’ names and introducing settings that mirror her intention. It is a story of grieving those who are still living. Missing the ones who are near you but somehow somewhere far away. Not seeing the ones in front of you because you’re too busy wishing they were someone else. Not loving and accepting yourself because you’re too busy trying to be anyone but you.
Ghosts. Living.
I find that I appreciate Armfield’s novels more than I enjoy them. They almost feel inert. Unalive. A little selfish, taking more than giving. They are contemplative, and thoughtful, and I’ll always recommend them. This one is no different.
Out tomorrow! Make sure you pick up your copy where books are sold or borrowed.
Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of the audiobook!
PRIVATE RITES…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
THE TRUTH ABOUT IMMIGRATION
Zeke Hernandez
Reading this felt like watering a swamp bush. But even the ocean needs the rain and I’m glad I scheduled in time to read THE TRUTH ABOUT IMMIGRATION.
THE TRUTH ABOUT IMMIGRATION promises the truth about what happens negatively and positively when people migrate. How it affects the economy and culture of the place migrants migrate to. Trends in business ownership, culture, production, and impact on surrounding areas include employees, owners, and patrons.
THE TRUTH ABOUT IMMIGRATION talks little about how the immigrant population is affected, how the originating country is affected by migration, and how we who are in support of immigration can help to support the migrant population in our communities near and far.
It touches briefly on how immigration affects politics and voting. I would’ve liked a lot more information on voting statistics.
Overall, I would’ve liked more specific substantiated statistics. Some of that information is not available. Some of the research is done the way it’s done because those are the most effective ways of collecting, interpreting, and summarizing that information. It may not cover all the aspects and details of what you’re looking for.
THE TRUTH ABOUT IMMIGRATION is a convincing argument for those who believe immigration affects the livelihood of the country they migrate to negatively. It is lacking for those who are in support of immigration. And we need both.
Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy!
THE TRUTH ABOUT IMMIGRATION…⭐⭐⭐xesd
THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM
Laura Dave
The last night they saw him was not the night they lost him. He’s been gone for a long time now.
Nora and Sam have a complicated relationship with their father. He loved them always, just not always in the way they needed or wanted.
And now he’s dead and whatever wants or needs that Nora and Sam have they’re going to have to fulfill on their own.
They’re calling it an accident. And Nora and Sam have a lot of questions about his final days and what they feel is his untimely death. They are having trouble reconciling the facts that have been presented to them. Instead of taking things as they are, they decide to investigate his death on their own.
What they discover will change them and their memories of their father forever. They will never allow their dad to be a ghost again. Regardless of him being alive or dead.
I liked this one a lot. A lot more than her most recent one, THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME. It is slow, so know that going in. It won’t wow you with its pace, and it won’t run you over with expediency. It is more of a family drama than a true thriller but I appreciated it for what it was. Not for what it isn’t and never will be.
Laura Dave does an excellent job creating characters you feel like you know and love. Her storylines are built around the mysteriousness of people you think you know well. And she surprises you by showing you what’s behind the curtain. It’s never what you expect it to be, it’s usually much more.
This one is out now and it’s one backlist title from 2024 that I recommend you make space for in your end-of-the-year TBR.
Thanks to Librofm for the advanced listening copy and Simon and Schuster for the physical arc for me hold!
THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
