The Dutch House by Ann Patchett My rating: 5 of 5 stars Since I have been reading a lot of memoirs over the past few years, I have been, seemingly, focused on relationships, particularly how family relationships serve or fail to show caring and /or protect(?) the person writing the story. The narrator of "The Dutch House" is a man (Tom Hanks does a delightful Audible Book performance) although the author, Ann Patchett is not. Tom Hanks does a commendable job of making the male and female characters distinguishable not by employing any "female" voice (a falsetto for example?) which I very much enjoyed and marveled at. He used virtually the same voice tone throughout for both the main narrator and his sister. The author's dialogue provided the distinguishment in who was speaking. So subtle and so grand. The story is award-winning in its scope and complexity, as well as in its wonderful story-telling. Lots of dialogue, and time travel in the lives of the characte
Vi by Kim Thúy My rating: 5 of 5 stars I listened to this relatively short audiobook (3 hours)and was absolutely riveted, but sometimes so sparked by the narrative that I would go off somewhere on my own reflections of the content and have to find my way back. I was never bored in three hours. Nothing seemed gratuitous or contrived. As one reviewer commented, "it seemed so real". "Vi" tells the story of a woman who leaves Vietnam with her children, taking a risky sea voyage without her husband because he appears to be "too lazy" to take the risky voyage with them. Vi is the youngest child, and only daughter in the large sibline. Her mother is a strong and wise, competent woman, but a kind of reluctant Matriarch (not really a feminist). Vi goes about 'breaking ground' for a different sort of life from what her mother would seem to envision for her, and to bust the traditions that wold prevent her from being in the kind of modern love relationship