The SONG of HARTGROVE HALL-A Rather Shabby Downton Abbey

British novelist & screenwriter, Natasha Solomons' The SONG of HARTGROVE (2015) is a family saga set in the soggy British countryside in a delapitated manor with all manner of feigned decorum.  As in Downton, there is the British aristocracy with their pomposity.  The story begins in 1946 and centers around a family of 3 brothers; Harry "Fox" was too young or to remember their mother.  Jack the eldest oozes captivating charm and George is the diffident, hard worker & Edie is the damsel that dazzles all 3.  Edie became a celebrity singer during the war (still looked down upon amongst the elite.)  Edie's Russian/Jewish lineage is also kept discreet.  George's homosexuality is also quite a private matter.  Fox becomes a budding composer/conductor who collects indigenous folksongs.  He lusts for Edie; Jack's betrothed.  Edie & Fox share a love for music. Music plays a repititve note in this adagio book.  Edie & Fox orchestrate an illicit rendezvous. The book is written with time changes between present & past.  The crescendo of betrayal builds & putters.  Edie, pregnant confesses their affair to Jack.  Jack demands she must choose.  She chooses Fox with whom she has a family (perhaps the eldest daughter is Jack's) and a long, happy life together.  Bro - where's the band of brothers.  How about guy code?  Sleeping with your brother's wife is simply not acceptable in society or in general.  The curmudgeon father of the brothers is referred to as General.  Meanwhile, Hartgrove Hall ain't what she used to be and General wants to sell.  The brother's plead to salvage the estate.  The frivilous plot contains a musical concert that saves the old place.  I found the novel dry as day old scones.  (Even Downton is becoming tired.)  I'd pass on this soapy melodrama that aims to be grand.  Dame Maggie Smith would turn her nose on this declasse' drivel.  

Non-F Kurt Vonnegut's "A Man Without a Country" Memoir & Anecdotes

"A Man Without A Country" is Kurt Vonnegut's (KV) comical take on his life and life as we think we know it.  Published in 2005, the title is a caustic jab at Pres G W Bush (and there are plenty) and the NYT for propagating the assumption of "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq justifying Presidential  carte blanche to invade Iraq & perpetuate endless warfare.  Vonnegut, not unlike his literary icon Mark Twain & comedic doppelgänger, understood the power of humor to invoke the truth and the power of truth to instill the need for laughter; "that's the soul seeking some relief."  I just used a semi-colon much to the chagrin of KV who admonishes his reader at the onset never to do so.  (He's not the only one to be irreverent.)   However, at the end of his fascinating memoir, comical & cutting social commentary and blatant critic of our selfish, lazy, self-destructive nature, KV makes use of this grammatical symbol.  His bombastic defense is "Rules only take us so far; even good rules."  Read as an anti-war, anti Bush or environmental plea to save the planet, KV's razor sharp wit and keen philosophical observations make his final publication a delight to read; a call to wake-up & smell the coffee. Oops(;) I did it again. His life is endlessly fascinating and his words notably quotable.  "Another reason not to talk about war is that it's unspeakable."  Unlike his heroes Twain & Einstein whom KV claims gave up on mankind, he chose to acknowledge happiness, "If this isn't nice I don't know what is." Vonnegut died in 2007 at the age of 85.    

E.L. Doctrow's "Andrew's Brain" Last Work Adds to a Lasting Literary Legacy

E.L Doctrow (b. Amer 1931) has received numerous, prestigious literary honors.  In 2012 he received the Pen/Saul Bellow Award for achievement in Amer Fiction placing him among the most elite American writers.  In 2013 the Amer Award of Arts & Letters awarded him the Gold Medal for Fiction for a lifetime of literary excellence.  ANDREWS BRAIN was published in 2014, the last novel written by this literary giant who passed away in 2015.  This ingenious story is told in an ongoing dialogue between Andrew and his unnamed psychiatrist.  Andrew is a prof. of neurology whose fascination with the mysterious functioning of the brain & consciousness is interwoven into his life story of love, loss & suffering which implodes in the shadows of the tragic demise of the Twin Towers.   Doctrow's preternatural writing explores the cunningness of the brain & the preciousness of life, love & happiness.  "True happiness comes of not knowing you're happy, it's an animal serenity, something between contentment and joy."  Doctrow has left behind a proliferate literary legacy.  "How goddamn awful, so much of life having been a wasteful expenditure of time, of living not bravely or at home on the planet of delights."  Doctrow was a zeitgeist in his writings which are all delightful and reflective works of art.    

French Author Anna Gavalda's "Life Only Better"-Novellas As Good as they Get

Anna Gavalda (b. France 1970) is a well known French writer whose short stories deserve int'l recognition.  Gavalda's is highly regarded in both France & Germany.  LIFE, ONLY BETTER is a diptych novella that demonstrates a nouveau style of writing which is joie de vivre to read.  One story follows a young female, Mathilde, recovering from a recent heartbreak. The other story is of a young male. Yann, whose love life is waning.  Both stories share a surprising, serendipitous search along the course the coeur mandates.  The writing is crisp, clever and incredibly beautiful. Mathilde's  prized possession, a love letter from her ex is a erotic and enthralling. "The hollow between your collarbones sparkled with a tangy juice that fizzed on the tongue…now, I have only words with which to savor it.  I loved you more than I can say.  And much less well."  Yann writes the woman he's leaving a Dear John letter explaining his reasons for leaving that are hilarious and scorching; the premiere of all kiss off letters.  Yann enumerates 3 reasons for ending their flailing relationship. Yann tells her, "{first} I'm leaving you because you always ruin the ends of movies for me.  You do it to me every damn time."  Let me count the ways I loved this irresistible, insightful jewel of a book…c'est la vie, only better.