In 1876 San Francisco was engrossed in the story of Jenny Bonnet, a young woman found murdered in a small town outside the city. She preferred wearing men’s clothes and made her living catching frogs to sell to restaurants. Author Emma Donoghue found her equally compelling and made her murder the subject of her new novel, Frog Music. Donoghue enlivens the story by connecting ... Read More...
The Word Exchange
A meme (/ˈmiːm/ meem) is "an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture." A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols, or practices that can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena with a mimicked theme. - Coined by Richard Dawkins, 1976 ... Read More...
Be Safe I Love You
Even before she decides to go to Iraq Lauren Clay is fighting a war. A war created by two parents who, for different reasons, are unable to care for her and her nine-year-old brother, Daniel. Instead, Lauren is left, at age 14 to take care of herself, her brother and her father, who lies in bed and cries. Despite having a prodigious talent as a coloratura soprano and having ... Read More...
The Ballad of a Small Player
Lawrence Osborne is a travel journalist in addition to writing fiction, which may be why I read his novels so slowly. His words describe far-off places in a way that makes them appear before my eyes. His novel The Forgiven was one of my favorites in 2012 and now he is back with his latest, The Ballad of a Small Player. Whereas Forgiven took place in the hot, desolate landscape ... Read More...
Hunting and Gathering
For every one of us there is a point when we know we are in love with a book and for each of us it is different. For me, it was page 17 in Hunting and Gathering when the anorexic Camille crumpled up a note from a well-meaning young doctor asking her to call him so he could take her to dinner. One sentence, no special words and yet, to me, it so perfectly encapsulated this ... Read More...
Empress of the Night: Review and a GIVEAWAY
Power lies in hearing what is not meant to be heard. In understanding what motivates those who plot against you. In knowing what could make them turn about-face, come to your side. Empress of the Night, Eva Stachniak’s new historical novel about Catherine the Great, begins at the end by opening with the last days before her death. Catherine is in the 34th year of her ... Read More...
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