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.
“The Oathbreakers,” by Matthew Gabriele and David M. Perry (Harper, 2024)
The authors examine a wide range of historical sources, including contemporary accounts, letters, court documents and even medieval poetry to depict what led to the downfall of Charlemagne’s empire. The surviving Carolingian grandsons fought a civil war that ended with the Treaty of Verdun in 843, effectively dividing the Frankish empire into three parts, the antecedents of modern France and Germany. History buffs will enjoy this tale of fathers and sons, rebellion and betrayal, promises made and broken, plots and intrigue, and ultimately oaths taken and broken. — 3 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
“The Cold Millions,” by Jess Walter (Harper, 2020)
Like the Spokane River, Jess Walter’s beautiful, brutal story spins and twists and terrifies. Then … a sweet, smooth stretch lulls you before the next rocky tumult takes your breath. Walter starts off with a surprising icy plunge as we meet Waterbury, an honest cop, and from then on we’re in deep. The early years of the 20th century were turbulent in Spokane, Wash., as drifters tramped into town, some seeking work, others adventure. The rich cream, the few extremely wealthy mine owners and entrepreneurs, lived lavishly, their fortunes built by the cold millions “living and scraping and fighting and dying … with no chance in this world.” Walter teaches us about wealth and unions and messy American economic history; about human nature; and a little more about writing. — 4 stars (out of 4); Neva Gronert, Parker
“Night Watch,” by Jayne Anne Phillips (Knopf, 2023)
This novel is about the impact of war violence on both veterans and civilians, and on everyone’s mental health, in this instance following the U.S. Civil War. Despite the grimness of the subject matter, there is a beauty in the writing, notably elegant passages on the bucolic setting in the West Virginia mountains. (Winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.) — 3 1/2 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
“The Giver,” by Lois Lowry (Clarion Books, 25th edition, 2018)
First published in 1993, this young adult speculative fiction quickly became a perennial favorite. It won the Newbery Award and set the bar high for thoughtful, adventure-seeking teens probing “what-ifs” in their questioning attitudes toward life. Jonas thinks he lives in a perfect, if small, society. Surely his country is ideal if everyone is the same. Same privileges, same rules, same responsibilities. As he approaches the age of 12, he learns he is to be a Receiver of Memory, destined to have knowledge of the past, including things violent and evil. As he absorbs the burden he’s been given, he faces many challenges, including whether to desert his home country, particularly haunting these days in our reality, when our country still struggles to define how to create a decent, humane society. Will he escape to the wide world, and what will be his fate? (First in a four-part series.) — 3½ stars (out of 4); Bonnie McCune, Denver (bonniemccune.com)
“Crossing to Safety,” by Wallace Stegner (Random House, 1987)
Only Wallace Stegner could, as his protagonist says, “make a book that anyone will read out of lives as quiet as these.” More than I love these lives, I love Larry Morgan’s narrative viewpoint. His is a perceptive, wise, and totally human voice that carries us through years of growth, love, pain and, most importantly, the ebb and flow of an enduring friendship, showing how relationships shape our lives. Stegner’s writing reads so easily it seems effortless. Every word is carefully selected, yet doesn’t feel forced, like he keeps a page-worn thesaurus beside his typewriter. The words are simply there. The reader can be there, as well, and dwell on meaning, and not fret about the writing — the exquisite, tender writing in this final novel of an acknowledged master. — 4 stars (out of 4); Neva Gronert, Parker