Something a little serious

If you’ve spent your summer reading lots of fluffy fiction and beachy books, then you might be feeling the need to tackle something a little more gritty, or serious, or dark as the weather changes and we’re getting back to business as usual.  I’ve been on a slightly more serious kick myself, but we’ll get to me and what I’ve been reading next week.  Today, however, I have a few suggestions on what to read after all lighter beach reads.

Before I Go to Sleep, by S.J. Watson.  It’s not long now until we’ll be bombarded by candy, jack-o-lanterns, and round-the-clock monster movie marathons, so if you’re looking to get into the creepy spirit a little early, you cannot go wrong here.  Imagine waking up every morning and not knowing where you are.  The person in your bed swears they’re your spouse, but you don’t remember them…or anything that has happened in the last twenty years.  This is Christine’s life—every night, she falls asleep and loses the day’s memories.  Every morning is a blank slate, not remembering her husband or half her life.  Her secret doctor calls to remind her to write the days events in her journal every day, and she relearns her recent history every morning through this journal.  But she opens it one morning to find that she has written “Don’t trust Ben”, and now she must wonder who she can trust, if not her husband?  What kind of accident caused her condition?  Can she trust her doctor?  Herself?  A brilliant psychological thriller, and a total sleeper hit, one guaranteed to give you the goosebumps and keep you thinking long after the last page.

State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett.  When pharmaceutical researcher Dr. Marina Singh is sent to the Amazon for work, it is for several reasons.  First, she is to collect the remains and effects of a colleague who recently died under mysterious circumstances.  She must also locate another colleague studying the fertility of a local tribe, as their women often bear children well into middle age.  It is this second colleague, Dr. Swenson, who was once Marina’s mentor, that troubles Marina the most, as their past together is something she has tried to leave behind her.  Deeply atmospheric, emotional and detailed, this is Patchett at her finest.  If you love this, you should also try Patchett’s Bel Canto.

In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larson.  Does that name ring a bell for you?  It should.  I reviewed another of his books, The Devil in the White City during the summer.  Larson has been getting rave reviews on this most recent work, both by critics and by patrons, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t pass this along to you, my readers.  This one is a non-fictional account of Berlin during the early years of Hitlers reign, brought to life through the stories of two people: William E. Dodd who in 1933 became the first US ambassador to Hitler’s regime, and his scandalously carefree daughter, Martha.  While Ambassador Dodd, conservative and worried over Hitler’s ambitions, is disliked and unheard by his fellow Americans in the State Department, his daughter Martha is entranced by the glamour of Berlin’s salon society, getting involved with a number of high profile individuals, including the head of the Gestapo.  Larson does what he does best here: keeps us reading with baited breath like the best thriller writers, even though we already know the outcome.  I cannot recommend this highly enough.

I told you we'd get to what I've been reading, and we will.  Next week, we'll talk about what I read over my summer vacation.  I'm interested to see what made your list, too!