#59 Away by Amy Bloom. The back cover says'"Raunchy, funny, and touching. Away is and elegant window into the perils of self-invention and reinvention in New York in the 1930's. Amy Bloom's heroine, Lillian, is an unforgettable young woman on a quest to make her life whole and to belong in an unstable, yet fascinating, new American world," Caryl Phillips.

The story takes Lillian, the main character, from Russia to New York City after her family is destroyed in a Russian pogrom. Word comes that her daughter, Sophie, may still be alive, so the journey continues to Seattle and then to Alaska toward Siberia in an attempt to find her.

This story has interesting twists and turns and colorful characters. I had a hard time putting the book down.

#58 Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. This book is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and I can understand why. Olive Kitteridge's character is developed from all directions and from many perspectives and relationships. Olive has many sides, as we all do, and is harsh, lovable, misunderstood, insightful, secretive, tragic, and hopeful. The world view comes from a small town in Maine. The lives in this small town could be what happens in any town. The author artfully spins and weaves the story to make a colorful tapestry of the human condition.

Olive could have been my neighbor and friend. I really enjoyed this story.