How the Light Gets in

 

How the Light Gets In by Joyce Maynard. New York: Harper Collins, 2024. 432 pages. ***** Publication Date June 25, 2024. 

Maynard's follow-up novel to Count The Ways. Amazon provides an excellent synopsis of the story. This book spans 15 years of fifty-four-year-old Eleanor, her family, and their life experiences. Written against the backdrop of daily life and cultural events, the reader is drawn into a story that spans three generations. 

This story spoke to me on many different levels. Maynard skillfully draws us into Eleanor's family and shows each member with flaws and all. Life may not be perfect or how you expected it to be, but it is beautiful.  Eleanor's life has been difficult and certainly not the experience that she expected, Divorced, estranged from her daughter, and taking care of her son who has some limitations,  since almost drowning, Eleanor takes care of everyone before herself. Finding love in an unexpected place and trying to keep that aspect of her life private brings a new set of challenges and excitement. 

I highly recommend you read Count the Ways before this novel. Both books may be read as stand-alones, however, your experience will be richer reading them both. This is the best book I have read in a long time. Maynard's descriptive style held me captive throughout the book. I experienced every emotion through Eleanor; her love of family at the top of the list. Maynard provides insight into how society perceives those less than perfect and how greed can cause heartache in unexpected ways. An excellent choice for Book Clubs looking for a novel about current issues and how they affect a family. 

Reference

Kintsugi -  Japanese art form, which means joining cracks with gold

Other books by Joyce Maynard:

Count The Ways

The Bird Hotel

From Amazon

Joyce Maynard is the author of twelve previous novels and five books of nonfiction, as well as the syndicated column, “Domestic Affairs.” Her bestselling memoir, At Home in the World, has been translated into sixteen languages. Her novels To Die For and Labor Day were both adapted for film. Maynard divides her time between homes in California, New Hampshire, and Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

The mother of three grown children, Maynard runs workshops in memoir at her home in Lafayette California. In 2002 she founded The Lake Atitlan Writing Workshop in San Marcos La Laguna, Guatemala, where she hosts a weeklong workshop in personal storytelling every winter.

She is a fellow of The MacDowell Colony and Yaddo.

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#womensfiction #familyissues 

The Radiant Dark

The Radiant Dark by Alexandra Oliva. New York: SJP LIT, 2026. 416 pages. ****

Oliva has written a multigenerational novel starting in 1980 and ending in 2138. Carol and her husband have had their first child and her life as a new mother is a lonely one. Life is somewhat predictable until "something flashes in the sky." What was that? Her husband and others get caught up in far-fetched explanations and conspiracy theories. The flickering eventually is determined to be communication from life on exoplanet, Ross128. Those other beings are 11 light years away in their communication and some humans fear what they don't understand. 

Well-written with an interesting premise, a message from another planet that takes 11 light years to get here - should we answer, ignore, or create a way to defend ourselves. If we respond, what should we say and who gets to decide the message? Motherhood is never an easy path, lacking clear direction, support, and understanding. Carol and her scientific daughter do not speak the same language, and Carol eventually finds the love and acceptance she seeks with her new husband and the light teachings of Hector Thomas. One of my favorite quotes from the book is "Every trial is an opportunity to grow. If you cannot see the light in a situation, try to feel it. Feel for the warmth. And if you cannot feel it, then perhaps it's your turn to provide it." 

Following Carol and her family through the years, we are reminded how we are different and alike. Not my usual genre (speculative fiction), I did enjoy it and read it in two days. Sympathetic to Carol's struggle with her dysfunctional family and at the same time, it was easy to be critical from a distance.  More multigenerational than science fiction, however, the story has broad appeal. What if there is life out there watching us from afar? Some people can't agree as to whether we landed on the moon and tensions run high around that discussion. This is a novel that will make you think and question what would you do? 

From Amazon

Alexandra Oliva was born and raised in the mountains of upstate New York and is the author of The Radiant Dark, Forget Me Not, and The Last One. A first-generation college graduate, she earned a BA in history from Yale University and an MFA in creative writing from The New School. She currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family.

For more information: https://www.alexandraoliva.com

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#multigenerationalfiction #bookstagram #speculativefiction 

2024 Top Books

My challenge fin Goodreads or 2024 was 50 books,  I read 55 and exceeded it by 5 books. 

My favorite books for the year, in no particular order.  I recommend each one of them.

Looking for Jane by Marshall

The Little Liar by Albom

What the Wind Knows by Harmon

The Women by Hannah

The Grey Wolf by Penny

How the Light Gets In by Maynard 

I have done more reading than writing this year, My eye condition has improved (I have a Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion in my right eye) and I am enjoying reading once again.  Looking ahead to 2025!

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