In 2010, I read Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory by Ben MacIntyre, and it remains one of my favorite WWII nonfiction books. The film with Colin Firth is coming out in 2022, and I can't wait. Operation Mincemeat trailer.
Oh, William is such a complex mix of human emotions, memories, and revelations. How well do we know the people we live with for years? Parents, spouses, children? Not always as well as we think, and the same is often true about how well we "know" ourselves. A lovely, character-driven story of a family, Oh, William makes the reader look into themselves and their own relationships. Now, I have to go back and read Lucy Barton and all of Elizabeth Strout's books that I've missed.
A beautiful cover and a beautifully written book, as many of you have mentioned. I'm late to reading Elizbeth Strout, but it has been such a satisfying experience. How ordinary, how extraordinary!
NetGalley/Random House
Family. Oct. 19, 2021. Print length: 256 pages.
from description of The Nameless Ones: In Amsterdam, four people are butchered in a canal house, their remains arranged around the crucified form of their patriarch, De Jaager: fixer, go-between, and confidante of the assassin named Louis. The men responsible for the murders are Serbian war criminals. They believe they can escape retribution by retreating to their homeland.
They are wrong.
They are wrong.
Anyone who has read about the Serbian Croatian war is aware of the war crimes, mass murders, and ethnic hatred of that period. The brutality of the Serbian forces remains a particularly dark stain in history, and Connolly doesn't refrain from the atrocities.
Fans of the series can't help but love Louis and Angel, who add a great deal of dark humor to the books. The Nameless Ones leaves Charlie Parker in the background as Louis and Angel hunt the Serbian war criminals.
Of course, there is also a supernatural element: Zorya is an eerie, chilling associate with the Vuksan brothers.
Trigger Warning: the book is well-researched, but even though I'd read about some of the atrocities before, they still made difficult reading.
read in march; review scheduled for Oct
NetGalley/Atria Books
Supernatural Thriller. Oct. 26, 2021. Print length: 388 pages.
Glad you loved Oh, William, such a good story.
ReplyDeleteI did, indeed, love Oh, William. I was caught up immediately in the story. :)
DeleteThank you for mentioning Operation Mincemeat. I didn't know anything about it, but am now very eager to check it out. The book and the movie. :)
ReplyDeleteThe story of Operation Mincemeat is as bizarre as the title suggests. Colin Firth as Ewen Montagu is a perfect fit, and I can't wait to see the film. :)
DeleteI've only read Lucy Barton (almost exactly 5 years ago!) and thought it was good, but I didn't love it. I still plan to read this and maybe then I'll go back and reread the others. I love a good character-driven story.
ReplyDeleteI need to read Lucy Barton. Oh, William was so good--made me think about how many times I've said, "Oh, Fee" (with all of the intonations possible) over the years we've been married!
DeleteI just checked out the first John Connolly book in his Charlie Parker series; I'm hoping to start it next week.
ReplyDeleteThe first book, Every Dead Thing, which I read when it came out put me off of John Connolly for years because of the violence. I don't know if it would effect me the same way now, but it took several years before I read another book in the Charlie Parker series. Now, I think I've read them all. :)
DeleteI love Elizabeth Strout's writing and I'm looking forward to her latest. I have it all queued up and will probably read it next.
ReplyDeleteLucy's dawning perception through her memories of her marriage to William were so impressive. What Lucy didn't articulate or admit to herself at the time of incidents, but recognizes as she reminisces are powerful, but they have been camouflaged, not discarded, I guess. The way we subtly ignore certain elements of ourselves and others is fascinating.
DeleteElizabeth Strout is a favorite... so glad to know you enjoyed Oh, William! I'm hoping to read it soon.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy it! I was surprised by how quickly I was pulled in. :)
DeleteI'm a huge fan of Elizabeth Strout's novels, and I really enjoyed getting the backstory of Lucy's marriage to William. I just listened to a Strout interview a couple of days ago in which she said that the idea came to her completely out of the blue while she was watching a one-woman show of Lucy Barton. Seems that the actress (Laura Linney, I think) muttered "Oh, William!" under her breath at some point, and Strout found herself thinking "Oh...William." And she was off to the races with that idea.
ReplyDelete:) What a great start of an idea! One thing I loved about the book is how many ways Lucy says, "Oh, William"--with empathy, exasperation, frustration, surprise, understanding, dismay. And there are a few "Oh, Lucy's" as well. Two little words and a world of possible meanings.
DeleteI can't wait to read Oh William! It feels like I've been waiting to read it forever.
ReplyDelete:) My first by Stroud, and I can see why so many people have loved her writing.
DeleteI'm looking forward to Oh William! I've loved several of Elizabeth Strout's books so I'm hoping this will be another winner. John Connolly is one of those authors I keep hearing about but I don't think I've read yet even though I have some of his books on my shelf! Glad these were good reads for you!
ReplyDeleteI think you will be pleased with Oh, William--I've yet to see a fan of Strout's work who didn't like it. :) John Connolly's Charlie Parker series always had a good vs evil theme, a lot of violence, and a supernatural element. I like them, but they aren't going to be everyone's cup of tea. :)
DeleteYeah Strout makes the ordinary ... seem extraordinary. I read Lucy Barton but haven't gotten to this new one. Glad you liked it. I liked her Olive books quite a bit. She's an interesting author!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read anything else by Strout, despite having added titles to my "list" when I read great reviews. Now, I'm eager to read more. :)
DeleteI've heard so many good things about Oh William! Of course I've to add this onto my wishlist. ;)
ReplyDeleteOh, that ever-growing wishlist!
DeleteI loved My Name is Lucy Barton so much but was a little disappointed by its follow up Anything is Possible. My history with Strout is a bit spotty. I think I am one of the few people who doesn't love Olive Kitteridge. But I did like one of her earlier novels, Abide With Me very much.
ReplyDeleteI do want to read My Name is Lucy Barton. I found Lucy's reevaluation of the past in light of information that wasn't available to her at the time, especially interesting. It's disappointing when a second book doesn't live up to your expectations. Are you planning to read Oh, William?
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