Marilyn Levinson's 3 favorite reads in 2023

The emotional component of Horse is what drew me to this beautifully written book that deals with slavery, the South before the Civil War, horse racing, race, and the love between a horse and a young enslaved groom.

Though not a horsey person, I was enthralled by the bond between Jarret and Lexington, the thoroughbred horse he took care of for most of Lexington's life. How when Lexington became blind, he taught the horse to follow verbal commands.

This is an historic novel based on the real life of Lexington, who lived in the mid-1800s and sired the most champions in the history of racing. I love the way Geraldine Brooks seamlessly blended fact and fiction, the past and the present as Lexington's skeleton is re-discovered and placed in a site worthy of his history.

It is a complex book about much more than a horse.

The Last Devil to Die is the fourth Thursday Murder Club Mystery. Having read them all, I looked forward to reading this book, and I wasn't disappointed.

I so enjoy reading about the series' protagonists, four pensioners, as the English call retired people living on their pensions, who reside in a senior residence somewhere in Kent. Somehow, they manage to get involved in solving murders that often involve criminals from other countries.

What I love about this series—and this book especially—is the friendship these four older, very different people share.

In The Last Devil to Die, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron try to find out who murdered a friend of Stephen's, Elizabeth's husband. They join hands with the local police, whom they've befriended in previous books, and boldly confront criminals in their determination to find the murderer. There are adventures, romances, and most especially, the poignant segment of Elizabeth and Stephen's dealing with Stephen's dementia.

I was sorry when the book ended, for I longed to hear more about the doings of this geriatric Gang of Four.

I was completely wowed by this historical novel about Belle, whom J. C. Morgan employed to curate his famous Pierpont Morgan Library in the early days of the 20th century.

That he hired a woman was unusual. He never knew that Belle da Costa Greene, as she'd presented herself, was not Portuguese as she claimed, but a biracial woman passing as white. Belle's parents were both light-skinned. While Belle's mother chose to pass for white so her children could benefit, her husband, Richard Theodore Greener, Harvard's first black graduate, would not. And so they divorced.

Extremely intelligent, Belle traveled in high society and astutely purchased many manuscripts, books, and works of art that made the library what it is today. Though determined to keep her secret in order to keep her position and support her mother and siblings, Belle also had romances, one of which hurt her deeply.

The book is extraordinary in the way it brings to light Belle's resourcefulness as she paved her way in a time when she had to hide her identity from the world.