The Red Address Book / Sofia Lundberg / 290 pages

Doris is a 96 year old woman living on her own in Stockholm, Sweden.  Her only living relative is a grandniece, Jenny, who lives in San Francisco.  When Doris was a young girl her father gave her a red address book for her birthday.  She has kept it all these years and it has the names and addresses of the many people that have been in her life.  The story of Doris's life  is told by going through the different people in the address book.  Doris skypes every week with Jenny.  When Doris has a heart attack and is hospitalized Jenny flies to Stockholm to be with her.  She discovers Doris's red address book and the story of Doris's life that Doris had been writing down for her.  I found this a very enjoyable book to read and the author's address book set up for the story was great format.

The Ritual/Adam Nevill/418 pages/Movie Adaptation

I stumbled upon this book quite by accident and was incredibly happy to hear that Netflix had recently released a film adaptation.  The Ritual is a horror romp through the woods with a distinct Blair Witch feel.  Four former classmates, Hutch, Dom, Phil, and Luke, reunite for a hiking holiday among the Arctic Circle forests in Sweden.  When Dom twists his knee in a fall, their leader Hutch makes a last minute decision to cut through a swath of virgin forest.  Upon entering the woods, the hikers are greeted with a gruesome spectacle, as the remains of an animal are hung up like a welcome banner in the trees.  Undeterred, the men shuffle past and into a nightmare, where a creature, seemingly out of some dark fairytale, relentlessly stalks the small band.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, despite some major flaws.  For one, the story is told in the third person and for the first chapter or so, you are lead to believe that Hutch is the main character, but then there is an abrupt shift to focus on Luke, which continues throughout the duration of the narrative.  There is a tension between Luke, who is perceived as a freespirit, and the rest of the group, who have all led more traditional lives.  It's one-dimensional at best, but does fuel Luke's development into a pure lone wolf character and his determination to survive.  The reader is also stuck with Luke, every step of the way.  Confession time:  I am used to the break-neck pace of young adult novels, where no one stops to dwell for more than a sentence or two on internal monologue or setting description.  Nevill will make you experience the creeping fear, mounting tension, and physical discomfort right along with the main characters and it never lets up for a moment.  Ultimately, this is the story's saving grace as you are never left to ponder Luke's motivations or thrown any cheap devices to reveal more information than is necessary.

Well worth the read for the horror genre.  Now excuse me, while I go scare myself senseless and watch the Netflix adaptation.

The Missing/Caroline Eriksson/222 pgs

The Missing is a Swedish-language book that's been translated into English. I thought the translation was well done, though of course I have no idea how closely it hews to the original.

The book begins with Greta, Alex, and 4-year-old Smilla heading out across Lake Malice in a motorboat. They dock at an island in the middle of the lake, and Alex and Smilla get out to explore. Greta is urged to accompany them but she declines. Next thing you know, Alex and Smilla are missing. Greta searches for them but does not go to the police, at least initially.

This story is told almost entirely from Greta's 1st person point of view. To be honest, I found it very difficult to be inside of Greta's head. There is a lot going on there, much of it confusing, depressing, and frustrating. I found I couldn't read very much of this book at one sitting because of this. And I have to say that I am shocked the book is only 222 pages long because it felt like it was at least twice that.

I must warn that this book deals with a number of issues that may disturb readers, including but not limited to:  child in peril, animal abuse, graphic domestic violence, assault, and murder. The main focus of the story is domestic violence and while I don't expect sunshine and roses from my suspense novels, parts of this story situation just felt too real. The book was compelling in its own way but I can't say I enjoyed reading it. I will say that despite the grim subject matter the story did end on a somewhat positive note.

A Man Called Ove/Fredrik Backman/477 pages (Large print)

Ove is 59 and drives a Saab. Anyone who drives anything else is an idiot. Maybe not a complete idiot, but an idiot nonetheless. Ove likes routine and knows right from wrong. He doesn't talk unnecessarily which is to say he barely talks. When he does, he's likely to be shouting. As gruff and unwelcoming as he is, he knows that he was lucky beyond measure to find his wife all those years ago. Sonja kept him in touch with the world and loved him back unconditionally. Now he has new neighbors, and since Ove isn't much into learning names of new people, he thinks of them as the Lanky One and Pregnant Foreign Woman. The couple has two small girls, and the whole family is overly familiar in Ove's mind. Ove just wants to get on with his life and his plan for it. He has no intention of this family diverting him from his plan, but he may have to stop and help them, because goodness knows they need help.

This is our book club selection for the month, and I'm so excited to meet this week. What a heartwarming story of curmudgeon who meets his match in a small, pregnant Iranian woman! Highly recommended.

The 100-Year-Oled Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared / Jonas Jonasson / 384 pages

     If you are looking for a hilarious romp through history, poking fun at just about every important figure, this is the book you are looking for! Allan Karlsson is about to turn 100 and he doesn't want anything to do with it. The nursing home is throwing a birthday party complete with the town's mayor and media but Allan has made a decision. After working his way through a window, Allan makes his way to the bus station. He picks up a rather large suitcase and takes off on the bus. No, the suitcase isn't his and yes, the owner is very angry.
     As Allan travels across the breadth of Sweden, we flashback to his life and where he has been. His father wasn't happy because Socialism wasn't taking hold in his country so traveled to Russia where he could help their cause. The father left Allan and his mother behind. Thus Allan's life is set. He becomes interested in explosives and becomes a rather rich business man. He blows up his own house and his travels begin on a bicycle. I am not sure how he does it but Allan does manage to meet just about every major figure during the 20th Century. He first goes to Spain with a friend to help in the revolution only to end up saving General Franco's life. Franco offers him a chance to go to New York and from there he ends up in New Mexico. It is a little head shaking at all the connections but read the book, you will laugh out loud at Allan's madcap adventures.
    The one thing I thought about with recommending this is someone has to be familiar with all the historical events of the 20th Century. One has to be of a certain age or even a true history buff to understand all the hidden innuendos. The author really did his research and Jonasson admits sometimes a bit too much. I found this a quick read. I was very curious about what was happening in the present as well as what happened in the past. Excellent satire on our world and historical events.

Six degrees of reading: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin.