#bookreviewer – Page 16 – Rosepoint Publishing

Cher: Part One: The Memoir by Cher #AudiobookReview #BiographiesofWomen

Amazon Charts #19 this week

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Cher: The Memoir, Part One promises to be an engaging and exciting audiobook experience, befitting this incredible book. Read in part by Cher herself, the book is introduced, and each chapter launched, by the author. Rounding out each chapter as she continues the narrative is celebrated stage actor Stephanie J. Block. Stephanie starred on Broadway in The Cher Show for which she won a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award. Together, Cher and Stephanie share the storytelling duties, alternating within the chapters to create a unique audiobook treatment that will bring listeners fully into this period of Cher’s life—from her earliest childhood memories, to her meeting Sonny and their ascent into superstardom, her painful divorce from Bono, her relationship with Gregg Allman and her reach for independence. It is a story of creativity, individuality, motherhood, love, and loss, as only Cher could recount.

“Lending my voice to help deliver Cher’s memoir has been an honor and a thrill. Her life is fascinating, glamorous, surprising, exciting… and at times, completely heartbreaking. Her story is a beautiful balance of ULTIMATE stardom and accessibility. She is CHER for a reason and this book helps the reader get behind ‘the reason,’” says Block.

“When it came to completing the audiobook, I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it all myself due to my dyslexia. But then I thought of Stephanie, who won the Tony for playing me on Broadway in The Cher Show. I knew she would be the perfect choice to get across to the reader the essence of me. I called her and within hours she re-arranged her schedule to start the recording. I felt so safe having her help share my story, and she did a beautiful job,” says Cher.

My Review:

Ooh, I do love memoirs, especially of those I’ve grown up/old with. And, Cher? Yes, one of a kind—didn’t need a first and last name.

Yes, of course, I got the audiobook, although not narrated wholly by Cher, you can hear that unique voice at the beginning of the chapters. I hadn’t known about the part that Stephanie J Block played on Broadway giving her a Tony Award (among others). She does sound like her and there were a few times when I realized I was no longer listening to Cher, but Stephanie.

Still, it was Cher’s “voice,” the telling of her childhood, meeting Sonny, the babies, the split, and still was only the first part of the memoir? I guess the second part is due out late this year.

Always a fan, I’ve been both appalled and amazed at the trails she was blazing, a contrast in naiveté and ballsiness when she needed it. The sixteen-year-old found a steadfast lover, father figure, friend, and (at times) questionable agent in Sonny.

Crazy childhood, she frankly relates the years with the different “dads,” the birth of “G,” and her mother. It was wild and later free of her mother, but then Sonny, eleven years older, took over. He was a hustler, a player, always trying one thing or another and wasn’t long before he noticed something very unique and special about Cher.

No, Cher didn’t just happen. They tried out a couple different names prior to the transition into Cher. But they “clicked” and had fun for years. I loved the Sonny and Cher Show and it’s gratifying now to know that what we were seeing, on the show, was real.

Their split was tough. Like losing Desi and Lucy (George Burns and Gracie Allen before that). Fans are often left lamenting the end of musical groups—it’s a divorce from their public as much as each other. Too bad, as it was so special.

Thoroughly entertaining, nostalgic, and probably most of everything you ever wanted to know. She doesn’t pull punches. Amazing stories about so many big names. She was there. A memoir I’d recommend, fan or not, and better than a National Inquirer.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Actor & Entertainer Biographies, Biographies of Women, Biographies of Celebrities & Entertainment Professionals
Publisher: HarperAudio
ASIN: B0D5J76G3H
Listening Length: 15 hrs 47 mins
Narrators: Cher, Stephanie J. Block
Publication Date: November 19, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links:

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Cher - photo courtesy Goodreads bio — Photo courtesy Goodreads bio

The Author: Cher (born Cherilyn Sarkisian, (1946) later adopted by Gilbert LaPierre) is an American pop singer, actress, songwriter, film director, record producer and author. Among her many career accomplishments in music, television and film, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards among others.

Cher first rose to prominence in 1965 as one half of the pop/rock duo Sonny & Cher. She also established herself as a solo recording artist, releasing 25 albums, contributing to numerous compilations, and tallying 34 Billboard Top 40 entries in the U.S. over her career, both solo and with Sonny. These include eighteen Top 10 singles and five number one singles. Cher has had 16 Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart between 1965 and 2003, four of which reached number one.

She became a television star in the 1970s and a film actress in the 1980s. In 1987, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the romantic comedy Moonstruck.

With a career surpassing 40 years, Cher is an enduring pop icon and one of the most popular female artists in music history. Since her debut in 1964, Cher has sold over 200 million records worldwide as a solo artist[3] and 75 million more as half of the duo Sonny and Cher.
http://www.cher.com/

#AudiobookReview

Brooklyn: A Novel by Colm Toibin #AudiobookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Editors’ pick Best Literature & Fiction

Book 1 of 2: Eilis Lacey

Book Blurb:

A NEW PRODUCTION NARRATED BY SAOIRSE RONAN, ACADEMY AWARD–NOMINATED STAR OF THE 2015 FILM ADAPTATION!

Colm Tóibín’s New York Times bestselling novel—also an acclaimed film starring Saoirse Ronan and Jim Broadbent nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture—is “a moving, deeply satisfying read” (Entertainment Weekly) about a young Irish immigrant in Brooklyn in the early 1950s.

“One of the most unforgettable characters in contemporary literature” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the hard years following World War Two. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor Eilis in America, she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.

Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, who loves the Dodgers and his big Italian family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.

My Review:

Unhappily, our Netflix doesn’t present the movie version of Brooklyn, and it sounds like the plot might have gotten ground a bit, skipping over the mundane. I might have preferred the movie.

I did, however, listen to the audiobook, and sorry (once again) of my inability to make those notes along the way on an audiobook. It does present a slow start, introducing Eilis Lacey and her life in small town fifties Ireland and that of her large Catholic family, an older sister and three brothers, the latter of whom all split for England and greater opportunity.

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin - UK cover — Brooklyn – UK cover

Eilis is facing that age when her reality is marriage and kids and longing for something more is asking the old familiar, “Is that all there is?”

No, not for her, as the family priest and her older working sister have arranged her sponsorship to Brooklyn, along with a room in a boarding house and a job in a department store. Her sister will take care of their mother, so off she goes.

The transition is not just from a small town to metropolis, Ireland to America, family to boarding house with a variety of cliquey boarders, singlehood to introduction to men. There is the shock of relocation, the homesickness, and the previous lack of adult decision making for herself.

The storyline is not new. We’ve been through this plot before but what sets it apart, of course, is the author’s prose, writing style, description of the era, and transition of old morals to modern. Yes, coming of age, right between the eyes.

As the narrative progresses, there are decisions to be made, back bone to be adjusted, and actions taken that with either choice will forever alter the life she had planned or expected.

Decisions, decisions…

The Italian American with the family making firm plans on advancement, all appearances looking upwardly mobile and a man who obviously adores her. Does she adore him back?

No.

Does she even love him? Did she get swept into another of those life-altering decisions without proper consideration? Yup.

Now, Ireland. She’s been called back. Her sister passed unexpectedly leaving no one to care for her mother. But…blue skies! There is the Irish man who adored her from afar—still available and now transformed with testosterone.

I thought it was no contest and I’m not a fan of the non-ending. So it was a romance. And conflict; eenie, meenie, miney, mo…

This one seemed to have the spectrum of reviews. Did you read it? How did you feel about it?

Best of all might be that it was on my list of Irish authors for this year’s Reading Ireland Month, the #Begorrathon, hosted by Cathy at 746 Books.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-in Fiction, Coming of Age Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
ASIN: B0DGMPHMBF
Listening Length: 9 hrs 50 mins
Narrator: Saoirse Ronan
Publication Date: October 22, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Colm Tóibín is the author of ten novels, including The Magician, winner of the Rathbones Folio Prize; The Master, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; Brooklyn, winner of the Costa Book Award; The Testament of Mary, and Nora Webster, as well as two story collections and several books of criticism. He is the Irene and Sidney B. Silverman Professor of the Humanities at Columbia University and has been named as the laureate for Irish fiction for 2022-2025 by the Arts Council of Ireland. Three times shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Toibin lives in Dublin and New York.

March is #ReadingIrelandMonth

Happy St Patrick’s Day! – Celebrate with Traditional Irish Soda Bread or Corned Beef and Cabbage

A little story to add to the Reading Ireland Month celebration and all things Irish, the #Begorrathon, an annual event hosted by Cathy at 746 Books.

Reading Ireland Month 2024

I usually reprise my little Beans, Beans story for St Patrick’s Day, but if you’ve been following me awhile, you’ve seen it. So this year, I thought I’d bring back another old St Patrick’s Day story originally posted back in March, 2017.

Rockaway Beach Private Festival, Rockaway Beach OR — Logo courtesy FB Rockaway Pirate Festival page

Well, what in the world were we thinking? Driving an old Class A RV to the coast where I’d signed up for a craft booth to sell my grandfather’s books on Rockaway Beach, Oregon for a Pirate Festival. (Rockaway Beach is part of the Tillamook Coast, of course, Tillamook–famous for fabulous cheeses.)

One of the booth sales ladies in the Yuma Winter Craft Shows told me about the pirate festival in Oregon when I rented spaces during the winter in Arizona to sell my grandfather’s books. Several of his books talked about pirates, so I thought it sounded like a lot of fun and a great venue for his books and promptly put in my reservation for the following June. The dates coincided with our son’s birthday, born on the CE’s birthday. (Sadly, it appears the Festival has run into insurance problems and has had to cancel the last couple of years.)

But, hey, it’s the Oregon coast. Can you say R A I N? (and cold and wind)

Arriving in a downpour Friday evening, I was a little dismayed about the thought of trying to set up our display in the wind and rain on Saturday. I was prepared with boxes of my grandfather’s books, a treasure chest with trinkets, and pirate scarves. And, yeah, the RV was leaking.

Our costumed daughter got right into the whole scene and made braided hair strings (she even decorated Jack Sparrow’s look-alike with one), and we had other pirate-related gedunks.

It was a blustery day, the sun ducking in and out of clouds, but we were able to install our little booth. People were dressed in costumes, there was music and blunderbusses, but not a lot of sales.

To celebrate the birthdays, we found a special traditional Irish café and ordered a big pot of corned beef and cabbage. The lady there—SOOO gracious and generous—threw in soda bread for us all. (We bought a birthday cake and candles separately.)

Irish Soda Bread courtesy Jean Grainger — Photo by Jean Grainger

So it is that I remember with fondness the soda bread, though I’ve not done so grand a job as the lady in Rockaway Beach. Just in case, however, that you also have a fondness for traditional Irish Soda Bread, I’ve attached a page containing a special family recipe from one of my favorite Irish authors, Jean Grainger, who just released Yesterday’s Paper, from the Knocknashee series. She posted this soda bread recipe several years ago in response to requests. Do yourself a favor and check out her book.

Have a safe and happy March 17!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Milkman: A Novel by Anna Burns #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Editors’ pick Best Literature & Fiction

National Book Critics Circle Award Winner – 2018

Book Blurb:

In an unnamed city, middle sister stands out for the wrong reasons. She reads while walking, for one. And she has been taking French night classes downtown. So when a local paramilitary known as the milkman begins pursuing her, she suddenly becomes “interesting,” the last thing she ever wanted to be. Despite middle sister’s attempts to avoid him―and to keep her mother from finding out about her maybe-boyfriend―rumors spread and the threat of violence lingers. Milkman is a story of the way inaction can have enormous repercussions, in a time when the wrong flag, wrong religion, or even a sunset can be subversive. Told with ferocious energy and sly, wicked humor, Milkman establishes Anna Burns as one of the most consequential voices of our day.

My Review:

Yet another example of my apparent lack of appreciation for genius literary fiction. I was ready to DNF in…about ten minutes and several times after that. Yes, an audiobook and even if I hadn’t ramped up the speed, the author would still have been barreling through this book in it’s entirety without taking a breath.

What did I get myself into?

I was determined to finish it because it was to be on my list of Irish authors for this year’s Reading Ireland Month, the #Begorrathon, hosted by Cathy at 746 Books. Sorry, but I just couldn’t fathom this one.

Sheltered as we’ve been living in the States and only remotely getting news second or third hand, and at a time in my life when I was dealing with babies, I was far removed from what was going on “over there” except that “our boys” were still in ‘Nam and we wanted them home.

The protagonist here is a teenager, grappling with all the angst of teens the world over with the extra burden of an oppressive religion, an almost permanently hysterical mother, her education, and her lack of lining up a proper marriage.

What threw me at the beginning was the lack of names as everyone was referred to as (for instance) Almost Boyfriend, Third Brother-in-Law, Second Sister, etc. And the Milkman, wasn’t.

It’s a non-stop monologue that takes a single thought and multiplies it to all the possibilities that could result from the original thought and end with the worst scenario.

The only character I came close to engaging was Third Brother-in-Law and I couldn’t tell you why. I still didn’t know him any more than any of the main or support characters but the mother was the absolute worst.

A constant run-on self-dialogue that didn’t end and sometimes jumped into other persons, other scenes or situations, making it all but impossible to keep up with where we were now. Or why did we care?

This is supposed to be humorous—sorry—I didn’t find much funny with the horrible things going on (particularly the scene involving the dogs). No plot. No progression in the storyline. Oh, wait. No storyline. Everyone is paranoid, gossip runs rampant in an effort to…destroy(?) each other. A lot of narrative, nothing is settled. And then it ended.

SOOOO much philosophy! Dispensed, analyzed, regurgitated.

I’ll tell you what: Read the reviews on Goodreads. They should have gotten the awards!

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Publishing: Two point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Political Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC
ISBN-10: ‎ 1644450003
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1644450000
ASIN: B07JJJTT29
Listening Length: 14 hrs 11 mins
Narrator: Bríd Brennan
Publication Date: Reprint edition – December 4, 2018
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Milkman – Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Anna Burns was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She is the author of two novels, No Bones and Little Constructions, and of the novella, Mostly Hero. No Bones won the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize and was short-listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction. She lives in East Sussex, England. Author photo credit Eleni Stefanou

#ThrowbackThursday

First Pub on the Right by David Irish Anderson #BookReview #Motorcycles

“Driving a car is like watching a movie, while riding a motorcycle is like being a part of it.”

Book Blurb:

With the quick wit and dry humour of a true Irishman, David “Irish” Anderson documents his epic eighteen-month motorcycle adventure from Ireland to South Africa in this captivating travel memoir.

What begins as a lofty idea in a pub becomes a reality after six years of planning when Irish and his wife purposely set out with their two heavily loaded motorcycles. Somewhere along the way, Irish loses his wife, but amidst the heartbreak, turmoil, and challenges on the long and often bumpy road, he gains a whole new perspective on life.

Follow his exciting journey as he does what you’re absolutely not supposed to do when you see an elephant, involuntarily exfoliates himself during a desert sandstorm, and receives plenty of well-meaning but impractical advice from strange characters.

With a telling eye for detail, Irish artfully captures the characteristics of each country he visits, the encounters with people he meets, the difficulties he faces, and the joy of discovery that comes with travelling to unfamiliar places, providing the reader with a rich tapestry of experience.

My Review:

Yes, of course, I was caught by the photo of the BMW GS on the cover. And while that is not the model of the bike I rode, mine was a R1200C—gorgeous bike—I’d have never attempted this ride. Much less ever had the money for it. It’s hard not to get pangs for the saddle though when you no longer ride.

Then, bonus: The author is from Ireland and I can include this book in Reading Ireland Month, or as we call it, #Begorrathon, an annual event hosted by Cathy at 746 Books. And, too, had to laugh at the title as we often heard from the CE that we’d (finally!) stop at the next café on the right. Hot, tired, hungry, and totally exhilarated by a sweet ride and creating life-changing memories.

This man, however, and at the beginning, his wife, undertook to ride from Cork, Ireland to Cape Town, Africa. Six years in the planning still SOOO much unexpected in the execution that I couldn’t fathom why, first, the money didn’t run out.

Not entirely without experience in long distance traveling overland on a motorcycle since both journeyed through South America, this was still more ambitious. In the end, he traveled forty countries in eighteen months for a total of 39,047 miles.

Virtually impossible to fix an itinerary with a ride of this magnitude, the routes were kept rather loose. It should be noted, of course, that this man also had extensive worldwide knowledge of rafting colleagues, a huge network of acquaintances and friends, having worked or lived on virtually every continent of the planet. For this trip, he’d be doing a lot of wild camping and there was always a question of available fuel.

Irish settled on a BMW 800GS, while his wife chose the BMW F650 as she insisted on riding her own for this trip rather than “two-up” as they did in South America. As they each divvied up necessary equipment, I wondered how he managed the equipment she’d carried at the beginning.

I loved the account of so many places the CE and I have been fortunate enough to see and lived again the scenery, beauty, and welcome of the people this time vicariously on a bike rather than the tour bus. The description of the City of Split on the Dalmatian coast was of particular interest since that’s where our “Croatian son’s” family was living his first time back home following the Balkan War.

The loss of his wife was sudden and heralded a period of heavy introspection and downtime. It seemed the timbre of his voice changed subtly after that to more a chronology than storyline. I was definitely surprised at the turn of events but it turned on a philosophy gene that he continued to explore and engage the rest of the book.

He spoke of “experience overload” which was a familiar occurrence back then. As with most riders, he eventually found an appropriate name for his bike and likened “her” not as a machine but more a part of him as a sentient being with whom he’d shared a magnificent and healing experience.

The narrative exposed a raw personal side of the author and his eventual acceptance of his new life as much as the people and countries in which he rode. He faced a lot of obstacles, many of which would have some giving up. It was by the completion of the trip, however, that he managed to come to terms with everything that happened along the way and to find his way forward.

A travelogue as well as a diary of a motorcycle odyssey, you don’t have to love riding to enjoy the experience of the book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Motorcycles, Travel Writing Reference, Travelogues & Travel Essays
Publisher: Pure Ink Press
ISBN: 979-8987586631
ASIN: B0DWBJCFQC
Print Length: 346 pages
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: David “Irish” Anderson has been an outdoor educator and adventure guide for over thirty years. Originally from Ireland, he has lived and worked on every continent, including Antarctica, while pursuing his passion for exploration and discovery. He caught the motorcycle travel bug at a young age and has spent more nights sleeping under the stars than he can possibly remember. Irish currently lives in Queenstown, New Zealand, where he divides his time between guiding, writing, and planning more shenanigans.

Sunday explorations — AI generated graphic courtesy Freepik.com

The Greatest Band That Never Was by Jeff Meshel #BookReview #RockMusic

Book Blurb:

First Shelly imagined a musical legend.
Then she brought it to life.
Careful what you wish for, Shelly.

2006, dawn of social media. Paralegal Shelly Griffin is 43, single, stuck in small-town dead-end Rust Belt, Ohio. When she discovers a song by Decapede about a dying local beer, she inadvertently triggers the first-ever viral clip on the internet and finds herself leading a frenzied search for the long-forgotten band.

The Greatest Band that Never Was is a saga of overnight celebrity, lives turned upside-down and recreated, found family, local pride, with one indomitable woman changing lives with her dream. And driving it all, the magic of Rock & Roll.

His Review:

A long-standing brewery in Ohio is struggling to stay afloat. Creston Gold used to be a brand that everyone reached for. That was nearly 40 years ago. Allie Bauer is barely able to make ends meet and the production is less than ¼ of the former levels. She cannot afford workers and is about to lose everything.

Shelly Griffin meets the woman and decides to write a story to help boost sales. Her investigation leads her to the decision that she is going to save Allie and the brewery. She is on a one woman crusade to increase sales, rejuvenate the brand and bring it back into a regional juggernaut. Her father wants to publish the story of the declining brewery and encourages his daughter to pursue the project.

How can a person increase sales rapidly? Shelly decides that a regional music venue will do the trick. The musicians need to be local and she remembers her mother telling her a story about a band that fell apart nearly 40 years ago. Shelly decides this will be the answer. She sets out to find the members of a band her mother loved called Decapede. Her first lead is Sam, who lives as a hermit in the forest!

Two young and very talented musicians started with Decapede and they have serious talent competitions. They both also have a very real attraction to Sherry’s mother, Beverly! Can the band be resurrected? The story develops as a herculean effort to put the two back together again! Enjoy the adventure! 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. Any opinion expressed here is my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Rock Music, Small Town & Rural Fiction
ISBN: ‎ B0DP3HFYQF
ASIN: B0DNNF2G9L
Print Length: 764 pages
Publication Date: January 14, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble

The Author: Jeff Meshel grew up in Ohio. As a young music journalist, he interviewed Simon & Garfunkel, Janis Joplin, Frank Zappa and many others. He saw The Beatles live, spent a weekend with The Grateful Dead, got soaked at Woodstock, and left the US after Kent State for Israel, where he has lived happily ever after.

He has worked as a playwright (in Hebrew) and director, lyricist, librettist, singer, blogger (Song of The Week@ jmeshel dot com) and creator of the a capella rock orchestra Vocalocity. He lists his vocation as ‘Music Promulgator’, as if that’s a real thing.

The Greatest Band that Never Was is his first novel.

Enjoy your day!

AI generated Graphic courtesy Canva.com

(*Freepik.com)

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

An atmospheric tale of life and love in a Depression-era traveling circus.

Nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski reflects back on his wild and wondrous days with a circus. It’s the Depression Era and Jacob, finding himself parentless and penniless, joins the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. There he meets the freaks, grifters, and misfits that populate this world. Jacob introduces us to Marlena, beautiful star of the equestrian act; to August, her charismatic but twisted husband (and the circus’ animal trainer); and to Rosie, a seemingly untrainable elephant.

Beautifully written, with a luminous sense of time and place, Water for Elephants tells of love in a world in which love’s a luxury few can afford.

My Review:

Oh, wow. I loved this audiobook. Two narrators; the young one and the nonagenarian. They were wonderful!

No doubt everyone knew about this book except myself that not only became a movie but a successful Broadway production. The prologue sets up the 90-something with his memories of the years with the Benzini Brothers—the Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It’s hard core exposé behind the scenes are probably what most people view as the reality of not only the animals but the persons involved from trainers to clowns.

And it’s not a pretty picture.

Jacob Jankowski is ready to sit his final exam as a veterinary student when his parents are killed and he discovers they pulled out all their financial stops to get him through school, leaving nothing upon their death. Indeed, the bank will take everything. With no where to live, no obvious means of support, and a bankrupt economy as well with few options, he hops aboard the first train he sees. It’s a circus train and it’s 1931.

Now, and throughout the novel, the reader is flipped from the twenty-something to the ninety-something reliving those years with the circus and his attraction to Marlena, the wife of the sadistic ringmaster owner-operator August. The introduction of Rosie the elephant comes late into the book just about the time I was beginning to wonder when she would appear.

The author weaves a raw, emotional story of the young man as he gradually meets and gets to know the characters of the circus and the animals whom he is now charged with their care. The compelling characters are outstanding, well developed, come alive through the voices and their varied positions within the circus.

No, I never saw the 2011 movie with Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, and Christopher Waltz, but now that it’s on my radar, I will. I’m a big fan of both Witherspoon (who performed all her own stunts) and Waltz, an amazing actor who nails his parts so convincingly you want to kill him bare-handed.

Yes, it’s frankly honest, can be cruel and disturbing. But the tale it tells is mesmerizing, page-turning, and tension-filled right up until the rewarding denouement. If you haven’t had the opportunity to read or listen (the latter of which I’d highly recommend), now is the time. Already read it? Did you love it? Or not. I’d love to know.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: 20^th Century Historical Romance, Coming of Age Fiction
Publisher:
HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
ASIN: B000G12CEK
Listening Length: 11 hrs 26 mins
Narrator:
David LeDoux, John Randolph Jones
Publication Date: May 24, 2006
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Water for Elephants – Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Sara lives in America with her husband, three children, two dogs, two cats, three goats, and a horse. She already has her eye on another horse and a donkey. [Amazon author page]

Sara Gruen is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of five novels: AT THE WATER’S EDGE, APE HOUSE, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, RIDING LESSONS, and FLYING CHANGES. Her works have been translated into forty-three languages, and have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS was adapted into a major motion picture in 2011 starring Reese Witherspoon, Rob Pattinson, and Christoph Waltz, and then into a smash Broadway musical, currently running at the Imperial Theatre, written by Rick Elice and PigPen Theatre Co. and directed by Jessica Stone.

She lives in Western North Carolina with her husband and three sons, along with their dogs, cats, horses, birds, and the world’s fussiest goat. [Goodreads author page]

#ThrowbackThursday

The Builders (Open Door) by Maeve Binchy #BookReview #ReadingIrelandMonth25

Reading Ireland Month (or the #Begorrathon as it is affectionately known) will return for the tenth year in March 2025. This will be my fifth year. It is hosted by Cathy at 746 Books. Cathy is a supporter of everything Irish and a promoter of Irish culture. She has an amazing list on her page for suggestions of what to read and listen to. Check out her page and sign up!

If you post, tweet or use instagram, please use the hashtags #readingirelandmonth25 or #begorrathon25

I am slow this year putting together a list of reading material, but hoping to read several as well as listen to more. I am also looking for a movie to watch and will try to include a quick bit from Marc Gunn, my favorite musical Celt Father.

I jumped the gun and read Melanie Forde’s new novel, Guardian of the Crossroads and Carlene O’Connor’s novel You Have Gone Too Far in February, but you could still check them out.

In the meantime, consider this my first for the annual celebration, a novella, short, fast read by Maeve Binchy. The last one I read by this author was in March of 2023, A Week In Summer, a real short story.

Book Blurb:

Original short fiction by a beloved best-selling author on her best topic relationships. Charming novella from a masterful writer on the power of family secrets. Nan Ryan lives by herself at 14 Chestnut Road. When builders arrive to fix a deserted house next door, everyone expects the worst. But when the handsome workman looks to Nan to help unravel the mystery of the previous residents’ disappearance, a strange relationship develops. With family dynamics and crooked developers in the wings, things are about to get very messy…

My Review:

Written to promote adult literacy in Ireland, Binchy manages to develop engaging characters and wring as much emotion from them as possible in less than one hundred pages. Nan Ryan lives alone, her children with lives of their own, manage visits that are little more than welfare checks and then gone. Then a crew arrives to fix up the house next door that was deserted a couple years ago.

The foreman of the team, Derek Doyle, pops in for tea and as a relationship develops, Nan changes her family dynamics. The relationship between her three children has been somewhat strained. As her interest and activity in Derek develops, however, an interesting paradigm impacts all the characters.

And I applauded the change.

While I wasn’t too sure about the conclusion, it was a happy little ending, even if a bit fast and tidy. If you are a Binchy fan, you can read it on your commute home (unless you’re driving, of course).

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Two-Hour Travel Short Reads, British & Irish Literary Fiction, Romance Literary Fiction
Publisher: GemmaMedia
ASIN: B002A7WVNU
Print Length: 93 pages
Publication Date: May 1, 2009
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK

The Author: Maeve Binchy was born in County Dublin and educated at the Holy Child convent in Killiney and at University College, Dublin. After a spell as a teacher she joined the IRISH TIMES. Her first novel, LIGHT A PENNY CANDLE, was published in 1982 and she went on to write over twenty books, all of them bestsellers. Several have been adapted for cinema and television, including TARA ROAD. Maeve Binchy received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Book Awards in 1999 and the Irish PEN/A.T. Cross award in 2007. In 2010 she was presented with the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bord Gáis Irish Book Awards by the President of Ireland. She was married to the writer and broadcaster Gordon Snell for 35 years, and died in 2012.