The Mother's May Reads

Hope everyone is enjoying their reads and teas going into these summer months. Please read on for The Mother's May reads this month!

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The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

The Paper Palace is an interweaving of two narratives, one, a single day unfolding in the present on Cape Cod by narrator Elle. The other, selected scenes from the past, presented chronologically: May of 1974 in New York, and July of 1979 in Vermont. Initially, the reader believes the story is about Elle who consummates a long burning desire for her childhood love, Jonas and now has to decide between the life she has made with her much-loved husband, Peter, and the life she imagined would be hers with Jonas. But don’t be fooled, although a beautiful love story in parts, there are dark underpinnings of adultery, sexual abuse, and divorce that shape each of the character’s lives and run throughout the book.

Synopsis: A story that unfolds over 24 hours and across 50 years, The Paper Palace reveals decades of family legacies, love, darkness, lies, secrets and one unspeakable incident. It’s a novel full of rich and colorful characters that are closely or loosely related to protagonist Elle. Juxtaposed with beautiful prose and witty dialogue is a trauma contest of which character held the darkest secret and suffered the most. The Paper Palace will challenge readers up to its final page and keep them thinking well thereafter.

The Henna Artist: A Novel by Alka Joshi

The Henna Artist is a compelling and descriptive telling of one woman’s struggle for fulfillment in an Indian society that pivots between the traditional and the modern. The novel opens a door into a world that is at once lush and fascinating, stark and cruel.

Synopsis: Set in the 1950s, The Henna Artist transports the reader back to India a few years after gaining independence from the British. The novel is centered on Lakshmi Shastri, the most highly requested henna artist, side herbalist, and confidante to Jaipur’s caste elite. Before fleeing her abusive marriage, Lakshmi learned the art of healing from her mother-in-law. Though trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, Lakshimi can never reveal her own. The tone of the novel, in addition to Lakshmi’s hard-earned life circumstances, change with the reappearance of her abusive husband who brings with him Radha, a sister whom Lakshmi didn’t know she had.

The novel was pretty good, but floundered throughout when instead of delving deeply into Lakshmi's career, her relationships, or her younger sister's troubles, it hit on every point briefly, just long enough to explain the issue without giving time to explore it.

Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin (Translated by Hildegard Serle)

Recently translated into English, and a number one seller in Italy and France, Fresh Water for Flowers is one of those rare books that soothes the soul. It is an engrossing reading experience whose protagonist defiantly believes in happiness, despite it all. Fresh Water for Flowers is an irresistible novel with distinct French sensibility. Despite its deaths, betrayals, and affairs, it is a triumphant celebration of life and love.

Synopsis: Fresh Water for Flowers moves back and forth in time among life in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The story revolves around a small graveyard in Bourgogne, a quaint French town. There is an array of interesting, nuanced characters, including the main protagonist, Violette Toussaint. The story of Violette’s life is slowly revealed through her own words or through the interconnectedness with the lives of other people: Violette’s difficult childhood, an orphan born with nothing; her tragic marriage to husband Philippe; her daughter; her life working as a bartender then a level crossing keeper; and finally her life as a cemetery caretaker. Despite the multiple tragedies and hardships in Violette’s life, she remains sensitive and a great observer of human fragility. Though the story is profoundly sad at times, it reminds us that every moment can become a gift and even calamities produce opportunities.

“Violette, you must stop looking for reasons, otherwise it’s yourself you will lose…the ivy is stifling the trees, never forget to cut it back. Never. As soon as your thoughts are turning dark, take your pruning shears and cut back those troubles.”

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