How to Read a Book

3.5 stars. This is not another one of those cutesy books set in a cozy bookshop in which a) the heroine, who inherited the store from her great aunt, tries to save it from financial ruin; or b) the grumpy owner is charmed by a beautiful, and mysterious customer; or c) the store is staffed by an assortment of lovable oddballs. In fact, while a bookstore brings the three MCs together for the first time, it is reading itself, wherever it takes place, that is explored -specifically how reading fosters empathy by requiring us to think of characters in our books as “fellow creatures.”

Our three MCs are Harriet, a retired teacher who runs a weekly book club at the nearby women's prison; Violet, convicted of vehicular manslaughter at age 19 but recently released from prison; and Frank, the bookstore handyman who is ashamed of having conflicting emotions about his wife's tragic death. Violet is the pivotal character, as she struggles to determine if the bad decisions she made as an immature teenager render her soul unredeemable and her future hopeless. Her mother died of cancer while Violet was incarcerated, and Violet's sister holds her responsible for that death as well. The sister does set Violet up in an apartment in Portland, but she makes it clear that Violet is no longer welcome in their small Maine hometown. Through the kindness of strangers and her own inner drive, Violet makes a new life for herself, although she continues to make some ill-advised choices. But she owns her mistakes (eventually) and I rooted for her in all of her messiness.

Monica Wood has a distinctive voice, unsentimental but not unkind. I wasn't pleased with several of her plotting decisions, but that just means the book wasn't always predictable. Perhaps because Wood is an older adult, she shows the most unfettered affection towards Harriet and Frank. The millennials (with the exception of Violet) are mostly self-absorbed, privileged, and insufferable. OK Boomer!