Seasoned protagonists Archives

Hannah Coulter

by Wendell Berry

I've talked about Hannah Coulter several times: the books I can't stop recommending, a book I've read more than once, what to read when you feel like the world is falling apart. Hannah's second husband Nathan Coulter (her first died in the war) was reticent to talk about his experience in the Battle of Okinawa. "Ignorant boys, killing each other," is all he would say. In this atmospheric novel, an older Hannah looks back on her life and reflects on what she has lost, and those she has loved. I adore Berry, who writes gorgeous, thoughtful, piercing novels, and this is one of his finest. Contemplative, wistful, and moving.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

by Jesse Q. Sutanto

This was a fun romp! This adorable tea shop murder mystery has serious Only Murders in the Building vibes and boasts a pleasantly large cast of (mostly) likable characters. When the titular 60-year-old widow awakes one morning to find a dead body clutching a flash drive on the floor of her tea shop, she calls in the authorities. (She doesn't want to, but her son convinces her she has to). But, unimpressed by their approach to the case and unconvinced they can get to the truth of what happened, she takes matters into her own hands, with delightful and chaotic results and a feel-good ending I didn't expect. This was a wonderful palate cleanser after a string of serious reads.

The Buried Giant

by Kazuo Ishiguro

Ishiguro tries his hand at fantasy, following an elderly couple in post-Arthurian Britain after the wars between the Saxons and the Britons have ended. Axl and Beatrice set out to visit their son whom they haven’t seen in many years. And, it must be noted, who they barely remember courtesy of a mist that’s caused amnesia across the land. As they journey, they’re joined by a Saxon warrior, his orphan charge, and a knight, and their memories slowly start to return. A moving meditation on the way war impacts memory.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

by Olga Tokarczuk

A quirky noir/murder mystery with a dash of fairytale set in the rural mountains of Poland. Janina prefers animals to humans and spends her days translating poetry, studying astrology, and looking after the summer homes belonging to rich people. Then a neighbor dies unexpectedly. And another one. And another one. Soon Janina begins investigating herself, certain mistreated animals are enacting their revenge. She wouldn’t blame them. Now if she could just get the police to listen to her. Translated from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones.

State of Wonder

by Ann Patchett

This is one of my favorite Patchett novels. In this tense adventure story, Dr. Marina Singh, a staid Minnesota researcher, travels into the heart of the Amazon to find out how her colleague died. She’s also tasked with checking in on Dr. Annick Swenson, who is pregnant at the age of 73 and overseeing their pharmaceutical company's top secret research project in the jungle. Patchett combines big business, fertility, conspiracy, and anacondas to fascinating ends.

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good

by Helene Tursten

An entertainingly dark short story collection, translated from the Swedish by Marlaine Delargy, following 88-year-old Maud whose solution to most of life’s problems is murder. She’s gotten away with it so far because, well, who would ever suspect an elderly lady of such crimes? Without friends or family and no rent thanks to a fortunate clause in her lease, Maud is free to travel and do basically whatever she wants. That is, until cops arrive to investigate a murder in her apartment building. Content warnings apply.

An Unnecessary Woman

by Rabih Alameddine

A heart-wrenching novel for bibliophiles. Aaliya Sohbi is a 72-year-old introverted child-free divorcée living alone in her Beirut apartment with books as her closest companions. Her family doesn’t know what to do with her, nor do her neighbors. Aaliya’s favorite pastime is translating books into Arabic, which she never shows to anyone. Filled with musings on literature, art, aging, and Aaliya’s past, Alameddine celebrates the way books show us who we are and the beauty found in a small life.

Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge

by Spencer Quinn

Loretta Plansky, recently widowed, is living in a Florida retirement community, staying busy, and focused on the neighbors’ gardens and her tennis game. Accustomed to getting phone calls from family members asking for money, she’s not surprised when her grandson Will calls and asks for $10,000 to get out of a jam. Except the caller isn’t actually Will and by morning, they’ve absconded with Loretta’s life savings. When law enforcement claims they’ll have no luck finding the scammers, Loretta takes things into her own hands. Her journey takes her to Romania and leads to so much more. I so enjoyed Mrs Plansky's sense of humor, as well as the frequent jokes about American grammar. For fans of the Mrs. Pollifax series by Dorothy Gilman.

The Weight of Ink

by Rachel Kadish

In this historical fiction, 64-year-old historian Helen Watt is asked to look at seventeenth-century letters signed by an unknown rabbi, which were found in the stairwell of an old house in London. These letters have great historical significance and, with the help of American graduate student Aaron Levy, she’s quickly drawn into the mystery of who Aleph was. The letters drive the story forward as academics debate their provenance in the present, while the past storyline introduces us to Ester Velasquez in the 1660s while she works as a scribe for a blind rabbi and a plague looms in the horizon. The characters are well-drawn and demand you feel empathy for them. A great choice for readers who enjoyed A.S. Byatt’s Possession.

How to Read a Book

by Monica Wood

Wood returns with another poignant Maine novel centering three lonely people, two of whom are in their 60s, who are connected by a terrible tragedy. Violet was just nineteen when, drunk and high, she caused the death of a beloved local teacher and was sentenced to twenty-eight months in prison. Harriet runs the book group at the women’s prison, where the inmates spend one precious hour a month finding comfort in tearing apart the classics. And Frank is the victim’s widower, who fills his time by volunteering his handyman services at the local bookstore. This 2024 Summer Reading Guide selection is a deeply moving tale of redemption, second chances, and the power of books.

Chances Are…

by Richard Russo

My husband says this is the best thing he read last year. I thought it was fine—maybe even good—but definitely didn't LOVE it. In this short novel, three college friends come back together for the first time in years, reunited at the very place where they spent a life-changing weekend together nearly forty years before. That was the weekend that one of their friends—a friend they were all at least a little bit in love with—disappeared, and they've been thinking about her ever since. A story of male friendship, family tragedy, and how the past is never really past.

The Red Address Book

by Sofia Lundberg

An address book provides a window to the past in this touching novel. Doris is a 96-year-old woman still living on her own in her Stockholm apartment. Aside from her caregivers, her primary source of socialization is her weekly Skype calls with her grandniece Jenny. With the help of the address book where she’s faithfully documented memories of her loved ones over the years, Doris reminisces about her time working as a maid in Sweden, modeling in Paris, and moving to the US before WWII. Translated from the Swedish by Alice Menzies.

Deacon King Kong

by James McBride

The story begins with a shooting: it's 1969, in the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn; a beloved drunk deacon named Sportcoat wanders into the courtyard and shoots the drug dealer he'd once treated like a son point-blank, in front of everyone. After this jolting beginning, McBride zooms out to show the reader how this violent act came to take place, exploring the lives of the shooter and the victim, the victim's bumbling friends, the residents who witnessed it, the neighbors who heard about it, the cops assigned to investigate, the members of the church where Sportcoat was a deacon, the neighborhood's mobsters (and their families). All these people's lives overlap in ways that few understand in the beginning, and McBride's gentle teasing out of these unlikely but deeply meaningful connections—and the humor and warmth with which he does it—is what captured me.

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle

by Matt Cain

In this contemporary novel, a 64-year-old closeted gay postman goes on a journey of acceptance. Albert Entwistle is content with his life—he has his elderly cat Gracie and his work as a postman—until he receives a letter informing him he’ll be retiring at 65. Albert can’t make sense of how he’ll fill his days without work and this spurs him to finally look beyond himself and seek connection with his community. And perhaps reconnect with his secret first love along the way.

Monogamy

by Sue Miller

A sad, wistful, reflective literary story about marriage, happiness, and family. Graham and Annie have a strong 30 year marriage. Graham owns a bookstore, and this is a fun thread throughout the novel because much of the couples' life revolves around bookstore events (they meet at an author event!). Early in the book—this is not a spoiler—Graham suddenly dies. This prompts Annie to reflect on their life together, and in the process she trips over new information about him and their life together, causing her to question the very foundations of their relationship.

Killers of a Certain Age

by Deanna Raybourn

No one would ever suspect 60-somethings Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie are professional assassins. And that’s the point! They’re great at their job for the Museum, a top-secret network of elite assassins. But in this rollicking thriller, it’s killed or be killed as the women realize their impending retirement might be more permanent than they want. It looks like their employer is trying to take them out with their final job. Fun and funny, I had a hard time putting this one down.

Fellowship Point

by Alice Elliott Dark

This sprawling saga featuring two octogenarian protagonists reads like a 19th century novel. Agnes Lee and Polly Wister have been friends their whole lives, growing up alongside each other in Philadelphia Quaker families and summering together in Maine. Agnes is beloved by the world as a bestselling children’s author, but not a living soul—including Polly—knows she also pens the popular and critically praised Franklin Square series. Polly knows Agnes sees her as a pushover, especially when it comes to her family, but Polly never lets on she’s wiser than her friend gives her credit for. When an enterprising (and nosy) young editor begins pestering Agnes to write a memoir, she sets in motion a chain of events that tests the women’s lifelong friendship, and threatens to expose the long-buried secrets each has so carefully kept from the other. If you want a big, rich, and immersive novel to sink into this summer, this 592-pager is just the ticket. For fans of Virginia Hume’s Haven Point and Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale.

Chirp

Sipsworth

by Simon van Booy

Eighty-three-year-old Helen Cartwright moves back to her English village hometown after sixty years in Australia. Her husband and adult son have both died and she doesn’t feel the need to seek out new friends. The quiet solitude is enough as she lives out the remainder of her life. When she finds and rescues an abandoned pet mouse whom she names Sipsworth, she has no idea just how much her life is about to change. A moving exploration of grief, loneliness, community, and second chances.

Death Comes to Marlow

by Robert Thorogood

78-year-old Judith Potts is a crossword puzzle author and a member of the Marlow Murder Club. She and her friends Suzie and Becks are looking forward to attending a lavish wedding at the Marlow mansion when the groom is found crushed to death in his locked study. The police rule it as an accident but Judith is convinced Sir Peter was murdered. The women’s friendship made this one enjoyable mystery. While this is the second book in the series, it stands on its own just fine. (This was Donna’s addition to the <a href=https://members.modernmrsdarcy.com/2023-unboxing/>2023 Summer Reading Guide</a>.)

Barbara Isn’t Dying

by Alina Bronsky

I minored in German in college, and so didn't think twice about trying this contemporary German novel from Europa Editions. (Although I read Tim Mohr's new translation; I shudder to think what my experience with the original German would be after all these years!) In this tragicomic tale, Herr Schmidt wakes one morning to discover nobody has made the coffee yet—and his immediate thought must be that his wife has died in the night, because what other explanation could there be? Barbara is in fact alive, but unwell, and as the story progresses, we see this curmudgeonly husband learn to do things he's never thought twice about doing for himself, let alone someone else, in all his long decades of married life: purchase ground coffee, cook a potato, run the vacuum. And that's just the beginning of the adaptations this couple will have to make to their relationship as they enter a challenging new stage. Bronsky covers a lot of emotional ground in just 182 pages; I recommend Fredrik Backman fans take a look.

Seasoned protagonists

Buckle Up!

summer reading starts May 16th