Hi Bookworms. Can you believe August is passing by so quickly? We had friends visiting from Richmond, Virginia, this week, so were busy catching up, showing them around, and going to the mountains for a couple hikes and lunch afterwards at the golf course.
It was a nice visit … though sort of smoky here from the wildfires in British Columbia and around Spokane, Washington. I managed to get this shot before the gray air set in. We are hoping to get rain this week that will hopefully help the situation. It’s been dry as dust during July and early August.
We should have a couple quiet weeks now before September kicks in. We are starting to get our salads from the vegetable garden, which is nice, and I’ll be playing two days of both golf and tennis this week, and riding in another bicycle event next Saturday. So I’m staying active while I can before fall and cool weather set in.
Here’s another fuller picture of the vegetable garden, which my husband is doing a good job staying on top of. Notice the high fence to keep out all the deer and critters.
Meanwhile I don’t really have any good book news this week, but I’ll likely be starting Patricia Cornwell’s memoir True Crime in print and the novel Five by Ilona Bannister on audiobook. These two are on my Summer List, which I am still focusing on. I also have the novel John of John in the wings as well as the nonfiction book Thirty Below about the first women climbers of Mount Denali, which Tina at the blog Turn the Page and I plan to do a buddy read of soon. And now I’ll leave you with reviews of what I finished lately.
Land by Maggie O’Farrell / Knopf / 400 pages / 2026
4.5 stars. This is a long epic novel that follows each member of a family in Ireland in the 1860s after the Great Famine. There’s the son Liam (age 10) who accompanies his father Tomas, a talented map-maker, on an excursion to a secluded peninsula working for the hated redcoats (the British army). Tomas finds a mystical spring while out there that changes him … and he moves the family to a ruined cottage on the peninsula.
His wife Phina doesn’t know what’s come over him, nor his son Liam who turns away from him and goes off to become a missionary. Older daughter Enda, a fiddle player, sneaks away too on a ship bound for Quebec but is naive to what awaits her. Younger daughter Rose helps at home with their loyal wolfhound Brith, while the youngest child Eugene is a quiet child connected to the land and its history. The family parts ways and also comes together … while experiencing tragedies and challenges along the way.
I was caught up in all their stories and the beautiful language and prose that O’Farrell uses to spin the tale. I think I liked the novel, which I listened to on audio, perhaps even better than her novel Hamnet, which is saying a lot. That novel was filled with the tragedy over the loss of Shakespeare’s son and this novel also has its share of tragedy … but has more to it, and I liked following the different characters.
I am just flabbergasted that Land did not get a Booker Prize nomination. What the heck. Apparently O’Farrell, who was born in Northern Ireland, has never received a Booker nomination … which begs the question: what does it take? I’ve only read two of O’Farrell’s historical novels but man she can write! I only wish her tales had less tragic elements to them — various of her characters seem to die at particular points during the story … just when you come to connect with them, bahhh. That’s my quibble.
I’ve now finished 4 women authors’ books on my Summer List that have been top-notch; they are: Maggie O’Farrell, Elizabeth Strout, Tayari Jones, and Ann Patchett … with two other females’ promising debuts by Tara Menon and Addie E. Citchens. It’s been a line-up hard to beat … and I still have the latest from Lauren Groff and Lisa See to come. Though the next great whopper on my Summer List could be John of John by Douglas Stuart. So we will see.
Family of Spies: A World War II Story of Nazi Espionage, Betrayal, and the Secret History Behind Pearl Harbor by Christine Kuehn / Celadon / 272 pages / 2025
4 stars. This is the true story by a woman who was living in suburban Maryland with her family in 1994 when she received a letter out of the blue asking about her family’s Nazi past, which she was unaware of. The letter writer was researching the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and wanted to talk with her father about the role of German spies in the attack. Stunned, Christine called her 72-year-old father Eberhard at the time who finally came clean to her about the German family he grew up in and their past. Whoa, this is an unreal wild tale … that’s hard to even believe.
It reveals how back in the 1930s the author’s father grew up in a prominent Berlin family — with parents Otto and Friedel Kuehn — who became involved with the Nazis. His brother Leopold worked for Joseph Goebbels’ Ministry of Propaganda and stepsister Ruth was even said to have an affair with Goebbels before he found out she was half-Jewish and sent the family packing (except for Leopold who stayed in Berlin). Eberhard’s parents were offered jobs as spies in Hawaii where they were paid by the Japanese to monitor military movements around Pearl Harbor among other things. It’s all quite eye-opening. You can’t make this stuff up.
The Kuehns spent lavishly with the salary they were given, though the FBI seemed to be watching them. They weren’t very careful and were arrested after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. You have to read on to the end to find out more … but the author’s father Eberhard turned his back on his parents and enlisted in the army at 18 fighting for the American side.
It’s all very curious. And how the author researched and pieced together for 30 years her family’s hidden background is a bit of the story. It’s quite a feat that she was finally able to put this book out in 2025 … about her paternal grandparents being German spies for the Japanese and taking the family with them down that road … and how her own father never told her any of it … until she confronted him in 1994. The book is carefully constructed and follows the family’s path and WWII chronologically, capturing some of the author’s surprise, horror, and shame about her family’s past along the way. I thought it was well done … and I was caught up in finding out about this tragic and unusual story of this particular family.
It sort of reminded me of Irmgard Hunt’s 2005 memoir: On Hitler’s Mountain: Overcoming the Legacy of a Nazi Childhood … which is another chilling read but important to know about … involving dictators and indoctrination.
That’s all for now. Do you know any of these books above and what did you think?
I think I need to read “Family of Spies.” “Land, too, but the other hits my WWII buttons. Your garden is looking just fantastic!
Thanks Jeanie. Family of Spies is a pretty eye-opening read … that goes quickly. The parents took their kids down a dark path with them. I think you’d be interested in it – it’s a WWII kind of tale I didn’t know about. And the garden is getting good rain today! Woohoo. Have a great week.
I wasn’t planning to read Land, but you’ve sold me on it. I suspect that now I’ll have to get to the end of a very long line at my public library. What an amazing garden! We typically can’t grow a lot of lettuces here in the summer because it is too hot. Hope you get some nice rains that end the smoke troubles.
You are in such a beautiful place, Susan, and where you live feels so safe and secure and conflict-free. I sometimes I want to sell everything and get away from this toxic part of the world where I live.
It’s awful that things are getting so toxic and divided and mean-spirited. Not sure why so much is turning like that now, but it’s not good. I’m glad just to be in a quieter area … most Canadians seem pretty surprised by it all. Luckily the mountains are pretty close and we can go there for a day trip and enjoy nature, which is good you seem to do where you are.
Hi Deb, I wasn’t thinking I’d like Land either … and I wasn’t enthused to pick it up but then I enjoyed it quite a bit on audio. So it surprised me. I hope you might try it.
And we put lettuce in these raised beds closer to the house and I think we might put in more lettuce next year …. it’s worked out well, yay. We are getting rain today! Good luck with your garden …. I think you got most of it earlier in the spring & summer but it looked good.
You’ve made an amazing recovery from knee surgery (which I guess is the point).
I saw a lot of piles of Land in Boston and then in Ireland but figure it can wait until my book group decides to read it. I have been watching lots of Red Sox and went to Fenway with friends on Tuesday. They were doing amazingly until dropping two this weekend. Now they have to play the Blue Jays, which is always challenging.
Hi Constance, good to hear you went to Fenway Park. Cool. Yes the Jays are battling back … and sorry if they beat the Red Sox … but they need to be able to get the Wild Card. They are in last place but there’s still a chance! We root for them here.
And thanks, my new knee is managing but it doesn’t bend too much which exasperates me. Still I try to go about life as usual. Cheers. Have a good week.
I like how your garden is coming along. You guys seem to have green thumbs. I have a few indoor plants at home; they grow tall and green and beautiful, but absolutely no flowers. Bummer! 😉 As you know, I started Land. I was liking it too but it seemed to have a slow cadence to it and I grew restless; I returned it and read two more books in quick succession. I’m reading The Palm House now, which is a quick read, fast paced too. Helen of Nowhere was a winner (4*), but it’s an oddball so I don’t know if it’ll be for everyone. I seem to have no problem with oddballs as long as I like the structure and the message. Next, perhaps, it’s The Intrigue by Moreno-Garcia, before re-tackling Land. 🙂 I like the concept of Family of Spies. Sounds like a winner. Maybe I’ll read it when I’m done with this mountain of my own making that I have created from the books from earlier this year, the Booker hopefuls, and the ones to come later this Fall. Hope you enjoy Five a bit more than I did (3.5*). You’re ahead of me now with all the ones we had in common. Happy reading! You seem to be striking gold. Let the luck continue! 😉
Hi Carmen, we are wannabe farmers … ha ha. But it’s nice to try a garden while we’re living here. And I understand about Land … you have to be *prepared* for a long epic … with a slower pace etc. But somehow I eased into the audio while doing yard work and sort of drifted away with it.
I’m glad for your report on these other Long List books. Good to know! I backed off Five after the first chapter lost me (lol) … and just reading the True Crime memoir at the moment. I might start John of John next. Good luck with your reads. So much right now. Have a great week.
Oh, how I love those Canadian mountains! Glad it wasn’t too horribly smoky for your friends’ visit. I hope you get some rain this week. Nothing in our forecast, sadly. I’ll probably do some watering tomorrow morning. At least it isn’t hot. We’re still in the low 60s. Your vegetable garden looks marvelous! Nice job, Susan (and Robert!). Guess you really need high fences to keep the deer from jumping over! Good that you are so active, too. I exercise (weights) 4-5 days a week, plus a 3+ mile walk every day, if I’m not overbooked with other things. I should get my bike out and ride around the neighborhood…
I’ll get to John of John soon. I’ve started Elizabeth Strout’s latest, but got distracted with all of our camping van details and couldn’t focus, so I’m slowly finishing up The Winds of War. I’ll return to Strout’s and then dive into O’Farrell’s. Glad you enjoyed it so well! Did you read The Marriage Portrait? I liked that one better than Hamnet, so it will be interesting to see how I like Land.
Family of Spies was a book club selection, but I wasn’t going to be in town for that meeting, so I didn’t read the book. Maybe I’ll give the audio a try.
Have a lovely week, Susan! Maybe we should both do a rain dance. 😉
Hey Lesley, we are getting rain now today & tomorrow! Woohoo. Not sure if it will cancel my golf game today. We’ll see. My friends’ did get stuck in the mountains with smoke … after we left. We dropped them in Banff for their hiking trip with Backroads. It’s too bad … but that is what August is like nowadays: really smoky. Too many fires in B.C. sadly.
Sounds like you’re getting good exercise there. And reading too. I haven’t read The Marriage Portrait but might return to it. Land is a long epic with a slower pace so you need to be in that mindset for that, but I enjoyed it on audio. I read The Winds of War long ago and we watched the TV series too, which was enjoyable. I think it was on DVD, lol. And Family of Spies was daunting to imagine … with kooky parents. Enjoy your reads & new Van! Looks great.
2 good books this past week. I have liked the O’Ferrell books I’ve read as well, so I am contemplating reading Land.
Hi Helen, Land is a good read … but you sort of have to be *ready* for a long epic that has a bit of a slower pace. Still I enjoyed it … and I wasn’t sure about picking it up … but it worked well. It took me a while. See what you think. Cheers!
It sounds like your knee is holding up well!
It still looks very green even if it has been dry.
Thanks for sharing your week, happy reading!
Hi Shelleyrae, luckily things are greener than our lawn, lol. But today we are getting our first rain in over a month! hooray. And my new knee is managing pretty well though it doesn’t bend too much. But I go about life as usual.
Thanks, have a great week.
Love your garden. And praying you get some much needed rain!
Hi Lark, we’re getting rain today! Woohoo. thanks for thinking of us here. I hope you got some rain in SLC. The garden is loving it. Have a great week.
It’s interesting that I listened to Hamnet as an audio and read the print version of Land and liked Hamnet much better. Perhaps when you are listening to O’Farrell’s writing you pick up on the flow and beauty of the language she uses. Land definitely grew on me and by the end it had risen to 5* for me. I thought it was funny that you call the Catholic Church a religious sect! The priest character in the book is pretty creepy and that theme is enough for a whole book group talk on its own, I think. I’ve got to find out more about O’Farrell and why on earth she has such a mastery of deep sorrow and pain.
John of John is the NYT book group pick this month. I plan to get to it soon and listen to the podcast after.
Just started Whistler and I can tell I am going to race through it!
Congrats on the bounty of your garden. That takes a a lot of hard work!
Hi Sarah! I agree, maybe listening to O’Farrell might work better. Land was a long epic novel with a slower pace … so I had to get in that mindset while I was listening doing yard work but I found it easy to follow. And I thought Liam had joined a smaller religious order like the Franciscans but he did not … so I am corrected … I edited the line in my review to say he became a missionary … since he went to India. He was a Jesuit. So that’s a good correction! O’Farrell certainly puts a lot of pain & tragedy in her books … and it can be a bit much but also not overly hard to believe during those historical times.
It’s good we will both start John of John soon. I didn’t realize it was a NYT pick so I’ll listen to that later too. Whistler is a fast one. See what you think. I liked the car crash scenes. And the garden is doing well … Robert did well with it … I’m doing the areas around the house so tackling different areas. Hope all is well & not too smoky there. Cheers. & Happy reading.
Lovely pictures of both the mountains and the garden. I do understand why the high fences are needed. We have lots of deer around our area and it’s a bit of challenge to pick plants that are not as ‘yummy’ for them. Therefore, fences. They can jump high fences though. Glad your recovery is going well and sounds like you guys have been having fun. Hope you get some rain. It’s hot here, but that’s August for you. Take care and have a good week!
Hi Kay, thanks. We are getting rain today, woohoo. It’s nice for the plants. Apparently the fence we put in is high enough so the deer won’t jump over. It’s either 8 or 10 feet. Perhaps 8. The rest of the yard has to be more deer-resistant stuff. Though I haven’t tried the anti-deer spray which I’m told works.
I hope you get thru those August temps … and the humidity. Happy reading. Have a good week too.
That garden is looking really good. I am so envious. I want to read “Land” and hope to get to it sometime this summer. It certainly sounds like my favorite kind of read.
Thanks Dorothy. We’re keeping the garden well watered and it seems to have taken off. Lots of beets, onions, potatoes, and carrots so far. Squash and tomatoes on the way and cucumbers. Land is a long epic … with a meandering pace but it hooked me along the way. See what you think.
Hi Susan,
Good luck with your garden. Salads are fun to make and so good for us.
Really nice reviews of these two books and The Family of Spies sounds very interesting. I can understand Christine’s shock and sense of betrayal. I guess her father wanted to shield her But the father was betrayed too. He had no idea what his parents were doing and when he found out he wanted nothing to do with it and joined the US Army to fight the Nazis.
Hi Kathy, thanks. The salads are tasting good and luckily they’re healthy too, so that’s a big plus.
I agree with what you say about Family of Spies. The author’s father was quite young at the time … and didn’t really know his parents were spies etc. And he did not go back with his parents to Germany once they were out of prison. I think he was trying to shield his daughter from his past family & history by not telling her. It is sad to think of it. Cheers. Have a great week.
That is a gorgeous view of the mountains! So lush and green and your garden looks beautiful! Something so rewarding about growing your own veggies. I need to start my fall plantings soon so I can get one more harvest before first frost. It’s still too hot at the moment, though.
Hi Rachel, thanks. We are getting rain today which helps a lot. The veggies will do well in the next couple weeks. They take a while this far north to get going … but finally kick in. I look forward to hearing what you plant in the fall. I think everything will be done here by the end of September. Hmm, we’ll see. Enjoy your week.
Well done on that garden, Husband! Love the gorgeous mountains photo.
Thanks Jinjer. I’m glad the mountains aren’t too far away here. We can get into them pretty easily. And the husband is doing all right with the garden … I’ll grant him that …. but other stuff?, lol. Cheers. Have a good week.
The mountains and the garden… both beautiful sights! And it looks like you’ve read some great books, too. The library hold list for Land is very long, but I’ve got at least a couple of her other books here ready to go. And Family of Spies looks pretty interesting, too. I’m concentrating on Austen in August this month, but plan to read John of John in late September or October.
Hi JoAnn, thanks. We are finally getting rain today which helps the countryside. It’s still smoky out but more tolerable. And Land is long epic, but once I got into it I liked the writing quite a bit. See what you think of O’Farrell’s novels.
And enjoy your Austen month. John of John looks to be another winner … so I’ll start that pretty soon. Happy reading & have a great week.
Great photos, as always. I love seeing the settings where people live. Such a gorgeous view of the mountains you have.
Finally Land has arrived for me at the library and I’m looking forward to that. This is a good review and I am seeing many people loved the book. O’Farrell should have been nominated for a Booker for sure. Have you read The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox? That’s a good one by O’Farrell. You are doing well with summer reading.
Now that my complete obsession of relocation research is waning I can finally concentrate on reading again. The book Thirty Below is loaded on the Kindle. Chat later!
Hi Tina, thanks, this view of the mountain was taken when we drove into the mountains about an hour or so. We ate lunch there at this resort golf course on the deck. It was pretty cool. I hope to go back sometime.
I’m curious to know which books you’ve gotten from the library. Land is a pretty long read but it was enjoyable to me. I have not read O’Farrell’s Esme Lennox novel … the only other one I’ve read is Hamnet.
I will email you today … as we need to get onboard for our next buddy read. Chat soon.
Two great photos. I especially like the photo of the garden where we can see it from a different point.
I am still focusing on my 20 books of summer, but not doing so well. I am now read a book by Martin Edwards, Mortmain Hall, a mystery set around 1930 I think, with a strong-willed young woman as the sleuth. Sort of amateur detective except that she is very gifted and has very good resources. It is the second in the series, and I hope to read more of them soon. I think all of them are centered around a particular home or building but I am just going by the titles.
Family of Spies sounds very good and I will have to look into it and tell Glen about it too. Also Land by O’Farrell, which I am sure I will get a copy of, but not sure how soon I will actually read it.
Your garden looks terrific–that fence is so tall! It’s such a treat to walk up to the garden for dinner fixings. Very satisfying. The Denver area got so much rain yesterday–of course, I had to drive to DIA in it to pick up my son, but everything here is just so thirsty, I didn’t even mind.
Both books sound terrific. I had been a bit on the fence about Land–I have loved the books I read so far by O’Farrell, but I’m not sure I’m up for more tragedy right now, but her writing is just such a pleasure to read.
Family of Spies is definitely going on my list. I am so interested in both WWII and family lore–the author was brave to pursue the topic within her own family and then to write about it.
I am also putting John of John on my list for the fall.
Enjoy the rest of summer, and hopefully the fires will minimize soon. We are heading up to Victoria in 2 weeks, by car, and not sure how smoky it will be on the way.