Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold

Inspired by the story of Charles Dickens' life, this novel describes a charismatic but difficult man who abandoned his wife and kept her from their eight children. It is told from the wife's point of view and the reader becomes engaged in figuring out the nature of the husband's character as described through the love-smogged view of his wife's eyes. It is a brilliant character story told in sensitive and lucid terms and makes you want to read a standard biography of Dickens.

The More Than Complete Action Philosophers by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey

Comic books are now called "graphic novels," but this one is not a novel; it is a survey of philosophy that takes the reader lightly through the major Western philosophers from the pre-Socratics to the present. The presentation and illustrations are amusing, but you can still get lost in the technicalities of philosophic thought. I have a particularly hard time with Kant and Wittgenstein, but for reviewing many other philosophers this book is excellent.

Lessons in Truth by H. Emilie Cady

Our metaphysics class found plenty to talk about in this Unity classic written in 1894-5. Cady's theology is very much the same as that of Unity churches today, starting with God as one with all creation. Her language, however, is dated, particularly in using "Father" as reference to the divine. Sometimes she tosses in "Father/Mother," but either way she seems to be talking about God as a separate entity; and this gave me stong urges to edit what is really a well written book. I doubt I would have read this book had I not had a group with which to discuss it. The discussion draws out the aspects that can change your thinking and living.

Somebody Else's Daughter by Elizabeth Brundage

Set in a private school in the Berkshires, Somebody Else's Daughter is a fun read for those of us familiar with Western Massachusetts. The story turns around a father who had given his daughter up for adoption as an infant when her mother was dying; the adopted girl has reached the age of seventeen by the time her biological father moves to her town and becomes her teacher. Lots of teenage problems and some sleazy adults churn up events in the story, reminding me a little of a soap opera. I had a little trouble keeping track of the characters, but otherwise enjoyed this light novel.

The Sea by John Banville

An elderly widower returns to the seaside place where his family had vacationed for years. He tells the story of his relationship to a wealthy family who also vacationed in the area when he was a boy, reliving the past while trying to make sense of life without his wife. It is hard to sympathize with the narrator because at times he comes across as a nasty old man. Even though The Sea won England's prestigious Man Booker prize, I am not very impressed with it. The writing (described on the back cover as "elegiac") was a little too artsy for me and the story a little too meandering.

Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren F. Winner

Ms. Winner grew up Jewish but later converted to the Episcopal Church. This little book (published by Paraclete Press in Brewster, MA) embraces both traditions. While fully committed to her new religion, the author reveres her Jewish background and points out how Orthodox Judaism brings awareness of God to daily life much more than Christianity does. Ms. Winner has been an excellent speaker at Episcopal churches explaining the potental of Jewish practices to enhance Christian life.

If Today Be Sweet by Thrity Umrigar

A sixty-year-old mother and grandmother whose husband has died is spending six months with her son and daughter-in-law in Ohio. Tehmina faces the choice between staying in the U.S. with her only remaining family or returning to what had been a comfortable life in Bombay. Seen through Tehmina's eyes, the difference between life in busy Bombay and life in the isolation of an Ohio suburb comes alive and addresses the question of what things are important in how we create a life for ourselves. Umrigar, also the author of The Space Between Us, writes wonderfully readable novels.