Peculiar, Unexpected, Utterly Enjoyable

Miss Perigrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a book that I eagerly returned to each night, a book that I stayed up late (sometimes a little too late!) to read, a book that I praised to friends, a book that I passed along as soon as I finished.  Thumbs up!

As a child, Jacob is very close to his grandfather (who, as a Jewish boy from Poland, was sent to a boarding school in Wales at the start of World War II).  His grandfather regales him with stories of the children he knew at the school, “peculiar” children with remarkable abilities.  As Jacob grows older, he rejects his grandfather’s stories as mere fantasy.  But when his grandfather dies, Jacob feels compelled to visit the mysterious Welsh school where his beloved ancestor spent his teen-age years.

This book wasn’t at all what I expected—but the twists and surprises were part of the joy of this book.  (Ransom Riggs’s novel should appeal to a broad group of readers.)  And the eerie black-and-white photographs that accompany the text are a perfect touch. 

 

This Sleep Brings Suspense

Christine Lucas wakes in a strange room.  She is in bed with a man.  She doesn’t know the man.  Who is he?  Where is she?  How did she get here?

Christine faces these questions every morning.  Because of an injury some 15 years ago, she has amnesia.  She remembers nothing of her life since the accident, and she remembers very few details of her life before the accident.  Each night, as she sleeps, she forgets everything that she has learned that day and everything that has happened to her that day.  (In case you’re wondering, that bedroom that she wakes in is her own, and the man beside her is her husband.)

This is the premise of Before I Go to Sleep, a literary thriller by S.J. Watson.  Early in the book, at the recommendation of a new doctor, Christine begins to keep a daily journal.  Each morning, Christine’s doctor calls to remind her about the journal.  She must read the previous entries each day before she can add new information.  In this manner, she starts to link one day to the next, to fill in the details of her former life, to forge a sense of identity.

But with the aid of her journal, Christine begins to suspect that her husband and her doctor are not telling her the full truth about her life and her past.

Even though I was bothered by a few logical flaws in the novel, even though the repetition inherent in Christine’s condition can sometimes slow the story, and even though you have to suspend disbelief in order to accept that Christine can read her ever-growing journal in its entirety every day before she can move on with her life, this is an enjoyable debut novel.  And especially in the final third, Before I Go to Sleep really ratchets up the suspense.  (I think it’s just a matter of time before this book becomes a “major motion picture.”)

 

Thank You, Jimmy Fallon…

If you’re a fan of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, you’re familiar with his thank you notes.  Now—if you find that you can’t always stay awake for Late Night—you can enjoy Fallon’s new book, Thank You Notes.  You could probably read this entire collection in less than half an hour, but you might decide to just leave it on your desk for those days that need a little laughter.  One of my favorites:

Thank you, tuna casserole,
for being the sweatpants of food.