You Could Make This Place Beautiful is a memoir by Maggie Smith. It is chiefly the story of the arc of her marriage. It ended in betrayal and divorce. I get the impression Maggie Smith is trying to do an autopsy to discover the cause of death to avoid the pain of it ever happening again. I found it hopeful even though there were dark moments of financial solvency being jeopardized and painful separation from her children due to shared custody. The title is apt. Things have fallen apart, but Smith seeks to repair and put herself back together in a more trustworthy, authentic way. I appreciate her honesty about how she was also part of the reason why the marriage didn't work, but her former husband still comes across as a jerk.
"I am out with lanterns, looking for myself. —Emily Dickinson"
― You Could Make This Place Beautiful
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The Rachel Incident is a dark comedy about moving into adult life. It takes place in Ireland during a global recession, a poor time to start your adult life, but it's not one that anybody chooses. Rachel's parents are cosmetic dentists and suddenly can't afford to pay for her college classes. She works in a bookstore and meets the love of her life, James. The plot is tangled and fast-paced, but I never felt lost; I was only surprised by things I didn't see coming. For all its humor, it addresses abortion, coming out in Ireland in 2010, and financial uncertainty. The book is written as a backward look from a secure place, and it helps to know everything turns out well; at times, I didn't see how it could happen, but it did.
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Who does T. Kingfisher's cover art, and how do they sleep at night? I listened to What Moves the Dead as I did trip recovery and chaos remediation from the holidays--basically restoring the house. I found What Moves the Dead motivating because it creeped me out and made me want to bring order to my world and check for rogue mushrooms. This book is a nod to Poe's Fall of the House of Usher. Kingfisher is neck and neck with Poe on the horror scale, making this book really good and really spooky.
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