"All My Puny Sorrows" by Miriam Toews

This was a depressingly realistic book about a Mennonite family, told by the sister of a brilliant pianist, who is in her late forties and determined to kill herself. She eventually succeeds by stepping in front of a train, which was the same suicide route their father chose. Some of the hospital sequences and commentaries from friends reminded me of my experiences with Alice. And the wisdom of Persevering despite what life throws at you was a nice message.

"The Red Garden" by Alice Hoffman

For the most part, I enjoyed this book, which contains a sequence of closely related, chronological stories in a small American town. I liked the underlying hint of magic, and the impression of how closely related we are over the generations. Facts are quickly forgotten, but the souls and personalities of people persist over the generations. The author gave a bit of historical context as time progressed, which was interesting. My one complaint was that after awhile, some of the elements became a bit repetitive, but it was definitely a pleasant and easy read.

"All You Zombies" by Robert A. Heinlein

I read this short story after watching the movie "Predestination" which followed the story quite carefully, down to the dialog. The movie did add elements, such as the Fizzle killer. Ray tells me the movie, like the book, is a mental puzzle. The protagonist is mother, father and daughter due to having 2 sex organs and access to time travel. I found the story, like the movie, to be interesting but coldly unsatisfying.

"The Gathering" by Anne Enright

At first I thought this book was too literary, too vague about mind and memory. By the time I finished it, I liked it a lot. The author, who is Irish, describes her feelings about her large family, her husband and daughters, her brother's suicide and his sexual abuse by his grandmother's former lover and landlord in a very mature and honest way. I felt that I encountered real thoughts and feelings, full of hatred and self loathing and regrets and love and joy. 

It's amazing how seamlessly Enright wove together a variety of timeframes and imaginings. I can see why this book won the 2007 Booker award. She has another book up for an award this year.

"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" by J.K. Rowling

This was an enjoyable read in my continuing project of rereading all the Harry Potter books. It's fun noticing the differences between the movies and the books.

"Childhood" by André Alexis

There were times when I loved this book and times when I hated it. I liked very much the intelligence with which the author explored emotions and memories. I occasionally disliked the strong autobiographical feel it had... it seemed a bit self indulgent. 

I'm glad I read this book but it left me feeling a bit sad because it so perfectly captured the poignancy of time and change as part of the human condition. It also highlighted how little we truly remember, and how little we know other people.