The Descendants / Kaui Hart Hemmings

A pointed look at a family in crisis. The book received a resurgence in popularity due to the film adaption. Hemmings beautiful crafts the story of a family patriarch Matthew King and his two daughters as they deal with the coming loss of their flawed wife and mother. The character of Joanie (renamed Elizabeth in the movie) comes to life through the memories of her husband, daughters, family and others. King and his daughters make the decision to visit individual family and friends and notify them the decision to take Joanie off life support, when they discover that Joanie was having an affair and set off to find her lover. A subplot focuses on King's role in deciding what to do with his family's ancestral land.

While the book is thin, it's not a quick read, but it holds your attention every step of the way.

Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy / John le Carré. New York: Alred A. Knopf, 1974 (p. 355)

"Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy by John le Carré is an inaction-packed suspense novel about a high-level mole in British intelligence and one man's mission to uncover the traitor and take him down.

The heart of the novel is more about the men in control of British intelligence during this period. The men who were "trained to empire, trained to rule the waves," but found it "all gone. All taken away." That's the interesting part of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. How did England adapt to its new place in the world? What was the realization like for the English as they saw their power diminish?"

Read the entire review here.