Two Thirds of a Whole – Small World by Laura Zigman

I found this novel very moving: a story of two middle-aged sisters, both recently divorced, who also carry the pain of a sad childhood which they shared with another sister who was seriously disabled by cerebral palsy and died at just ten years old, along with their parents' divorce, and their father's decline into depression.

Joyce, the narrator and younger surviving sister, is an archivist who works on projects for a company that creates family histories from documents, photographs, videos, and other materials. Sometimes the family histories are to celebrate an event like a wedding, bar mitzvah, or anniversary, but sometimes there are other purposes involved. Since the divorce she lives alone in an apartment in Cambridge, MA where she works from the home office she has created in the second bedroom.

Lydia, the older sister, a graphic designer and fine artist, has been living in California for thirty years, but now that her marriage is over, she's decided to come home to New England. Joyce invites her to move in, at least temporarily, and take over the other bedroom.

The sisters work out a companionable, though not very communicative life together, and things seem smooth enough for a few months, until their quiet, never-there upstairs neighbor moves out and a couple moves in, bringing an array of belongings and unusual equipment. Then the noise and disruption begins...

Joyce participates in a neighborhood web group called Small World, but she also writes poems that are inspired both by what she sees posted there, along with her observations. She keeps this to herself. The poetry is an interesting and often very touching adjunct to the narrative flow of the book, and I found it very expressive as a way of understanding Joyce's character.

The sisters have a lot of secrets, about their shared childhood trauma, and about their present. Their communication difficulties are one of main drivers of the narrative, and it isn't until many of those are revealed, that there can be an examination of their bond and a resolution to their conflicts.

All in all, a very contemporary look at how childhood and family dynamics make us who we are, and how we view ourselves and those closest to us. Highly recommend.

Over-Baked – The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

I had high hopes for this book, as it sounded like such fun: a contemporary mystery about a TV baking contest called Bake Week (like The Great British Baking Show), set in a Gothic-like estate in a remote northern Vermont, but it quickly devolved as it is absolutely stuffed with extremely quirky and clichéd characters, and so many of the major plot points were easy to guess very early on. Despite that, I give the author, Jessa Maxwell, kudos for her efforts, and hope to see something stronger should she publish another book. She certainly worked hard to produce something that was structurally well-organized.The six contestants, Stella, Peter, Lottie, Hannah, Gerald, and Pradyumna, each have a particularly unusual backstory that they bring to the event. Then there is its originator, Betsy, the long-time host and contest judge, who is also the owner of the estate, the production lead, Melanie, and a new co-host/judge, Archie, who has been brought in from another cooking show, much to Betsy's irritation.

The novel is told from the points of view of each of the contestants and Betsy, each having a chapter to introduce them, then additional ones as the plot unspools. While we all have a past, with periods of good and bad, and high and low spots, and our own peculiarities, these characters are so overdrawn in their eccentricities or histories that when they are all shoehorned into one book, disbelief is inevitable.

Well-drawn, though sometimes eccentric characters make up the most successful and recognizable mystery books, TV shows, and films: Hercule Poirot, Sam Spade, Nick and Nora Charles, Nancy Drew, Phryne Fisher, and so many more. I couldn't help thinking of the recent clever and comedic mystery films, Knives Out and The Glass Onion, starring Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, and how effective such characterizations can be when written well. Unfortunately, The Golden Spoon and its characters are a long way from any of those.

Coincidentally, when I was checking some details for this review, I came across a South Korean TV series by the same name. It sounds interesting: a poor young man exchanges identities with rich young man and lives a different life...something like a spin on Trading Places with Eddie Murphy, Dan Ackroyd, and Jamie Lee Curtis? Or reaching way back to Charles Dickens: maybe the inspiration was Great Expectations?