I read 34 books in 2025 and rated 3 of them at 5 stars. This is by far the best book of the year. While it is nothing like Lonesome Dove – my favorite novel of all time – this book grabbed me from the first page like that Pulitzer prize winner did. I knew immediately I was in for a compelling story.
Violet, Harriet and Frank are linked together through the event that landed Violet (age 22) in prison.
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a beautiful, beautiful novel. This is the story of a family of three, then four women in semi-rural Ireland.

Frances “Frankie” McGrath takes her nursing credentials and optimism to serve in Vietnam. Her struggles in the war are just a prelude to her struggles when she returns to a country where she’s told “women didn’t serve” in Vietnam.

This novel is the classic Jeeves and Wooster story. In this post I add a bit of old-school English literature student analysis. But don’t let that stop you from reading it. It is freaking hilarious.

Michael and Bunny are neighbors: Michael poor, Bunny rich. They become best friends and their paths converge, diverge, and converge again. Violence figures in both their lives. A tough, violent but beautiful novel.