Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe - Fanny Flagg

one sentence summary
Friendship can come from the most unexpected people in the most unexpected ways

review
This is a wonderful novel, telling a story of a small town over fifty years of history. It shows true friendship in all sorts of forms and how much of a struggle it can be. In a hodgepodge of entertaining stories the lives of four women are patched together and you can't help but like them. It also takes an unflinching look at race relations in the Southern USA during this time. I recommend this to anyone who likes witty, amusing stories told in off handed ways.

8/10

The Time In Between - David Bergen

one sentence summary:
a Vietnam War Veteran returns to Vietnam, his children follow to find him after he stops contacting them.

review:
this was in my to read pile for a very long time, so long that I had no recollection of why I bought it in the first place. I dutifully took it with me to the cabin and read it uninterrupted. It is a remarkably well written book, the language and syntax are better than most of what I have read, I understand why it won the Giller Prize. That said the story feels a bit disjointed and unbalanced to me. I wish that more time had been spent on the earlier years of the veteran's children's lives as I found that to be the most interesting aspect of the novel. It is written to make you think and above all feel. If you enjoy reading well written stories no matter the subject matter I recommend this to you.

8/10