Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and all Denver Post readers, to share their mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email bellis@denverpost.com.
Bear by Julia Phillips (Hogarth, 304 pages)
“Bear,” by Julia Phillips (Hogarth, 2024)
San Juan Island, Wash., is heaven for tourists and the wealthy who summer there; it is something different for the locals. Elena, and her sister, Sam, live with their mother in a deteriorating home, struggling to survive on servers’ wages. Their mother is ill and dying. Embedded in uncertainty, Sam has always known the one thing she can count on is her older sister. Then a grizzly bear swims the channel and enters their lives. Like a Grimm’s fairy tale, Phillips’ tale is sinister, but not as creepy as I’d hoped. Phillips doesn’t quite pull off the deeper meanings she seems to be striving for. This is suspense-lite, but may be perfect for a plane read, or a beach read. Just don’t go into the water. — 2 stars (out of 4); Neva Gronert, Parker
“Orbital,” by Samantha Harvey (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2024)
Have you ever wondered what it’s really like to live and work in the international space station? This spare novel will answer many of your questions, as it follows a group of fictional astronauts on the 16 orbital passes that constitute a “day” in space. Harvey chronicles everything, from the most mundane activities to the views seen by the astronauts to their random reflections on life on Earth below them. She further has them muse philosophically on the past, present and future of life on Earth, and even speculate about the future of space travel. This novel covers a lot of territory in a few pages (224). Winner of the 2024 Booker Prize. — 3 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
“Playground,” by Richard Powers (W.W. Norton & Company)
Playground by Richard Powers (W.W. Norton & Co.)
Powers astounds yet again. (His earlier work, “Overstory,” won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.) It’s a tale of online gaming, artificial intelligence, social disparity, the fragility of ocean life in the face of climate change and Pacific Island culture, all mashed up in a highly inventive novel. Sounds impossible, but in the hands of this masterful novelist, “Playground” sings. And although its song warns us of dangerous waters ahead, it also offers hope in the form of the power of enduring friendships and the joys found in the natural world. Longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. — 4 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
“Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions,” by Daniel Wallace (Algonquin Books, 2012)
A slim volume with a youngster featured, this is no child’s or young adult tale. It deals with coming of age as well as the age-old intergenerational struggles for parents and kids to understand one another. Son William wishes with all his soul he’d had a relationship with his often-missing father Edward, a mythic figure. Everyone in the world loves him. So why is it so impossible for the two to know and love one another? Is Edward a big fish in a small pond, a big fish in a big pond (the world), or does a pond even exist? This strange, enchanting tale is part fable, part wish-fulfillment, as if William is frantically trying to fill in the blank spaces. Particularly touching is the very obvious longing of a son to really know his father, Ed, who does seem amazing, defeating giants, and rescuing towns and beautiful ladies. But as a dad, he leaves his child longing for a relationship. Strange situations and compelling interludes keep the reader going, but by the time dad dies and transforms completely, you know in your heart that a simple “I love you” could have accomplished so much more. — 4 stars (out of 4); Bonnie McCune (bonniemccune.com)