Two Reads: The Half Life of Valery K and Fellowship Point

I loved reading The Half Life of Valery K by English novelist Natasha Pulley. It’s definitely one of my top 5 reads of this year, and one of my top 2 books of this Twenty Books of Summer. It’s categorized as a work of historical fiction, which makes sense given that the setting is mainly in 1963 and 1957 in the Soviet Union. It is based on fact as reviews will tell you, but loosely. The science of radiation is factual, and was skillfully interwoven with the plot. Overall, this novel had strong science fiction overtones, which I found captivating. Goodreads rating is 4.3, and what is most unusual about that is 49 percent of reviewers gave it 5 stars. Fascinating characters that I came to love (Valery K has such a droll, understated sense of humor), and a riveting story of survival. Be prepared—it is an edge-of-your-seat kind of read. Without hesitation, this was a 5-star read for me, my 15^th book read this summer.

     Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark may be long (576 pages), but I found it an excellent way to spend lots of time. Two women in their early 80s, who have spent summers on Fellowship Point, Maine, since their childhoods reflect back on their lives and deal with current dramas that enter their lives. Family relationships, romantic loves, high drama that is revealed from the distant past, and the Point itself, which they hope to preserve against their family’s wishes, all figure here. Don’t let the number of pages daunt you, the font is good-sized and there’s comfortable leading between the lines.

     Currently reading Rumer Godden: A Storyteller’s Life by Anne Chisholm and have nearly finished. That will be my 17^th read. So two weeks from today is September 1^st and I need to read three more books. Some of the books I was hoping to read are still on order at the library, so I’ll have to rummage around here to see what I find. Will I make it by September 1^st? I’d like to.