One of my goals in reviewing books is to not only share my opinion about a book, but also to remain objective enough in my opinions that you, dear readers, can form your own opinion about whether or not you want to read that book. All that is out the window with today’s review because I LOVED American Royals and can’t be remotely objective about it. Still, to feel pure joy ... Read More...
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
There are so many things I wish I could forget, but maybe “forget” isn’t quite right. There are so many things I wish I never knew. Transcendent Kingdom is a novel that lies at the intersection of religion, addiction, science, and mental health. Gifty is a PhD candidate at Stanford, studying reward-seeking behavior’s role in addiction. Her dedication to her research is ... Read More...
The Last Story of Mina Lee
Even though her mother is the only family she has, Margot Lee has never felt close to Mina. Margot left L.A. for Seattle for college and never moved back. She would dutifully call regularly, but visited seldom. Now, she’s arrived in Koreatown for a surprise visit, only to find Mina dead. The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim is not a mystery thriller, but a poignant ... Read More...
His Only Wife: A Novel
In a small town in Ghana, Afi Tekple lives in a house with her widowed mother. It’s in a compound owned by her avaricious uncle and his many wives and their children. Afi did not go to university, but she loves to sew and has been studying and working as a seamstress. But is this barely-getting-by life all there is for her? It seems so, until her mother presents her with an ... Read More...
Against the Loveless World
Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa is about Nahr, whose name means “river”, in Arabic. She has been in solitary confinement for 16 years in a cell she calls the Cube somewhere in modern-day Israel. For her, time has no meaning. Her environment is so strictly controlled that she doesn’t know when the shower will run or the toilet will flush. Her window is so small it ... Read More...
When These Mountains Burn
There are few things I love more than an evocative writer. Someone who makes me feel what and where they’re writing about. Two that come to mind immediately: Pat Conroy in Prince of Tides, not only for the low country of South Carolina, but for New York when Tom goes there and Kent Haruf for Holt, Colorado, a small town that served as the setting for his Plainsong trilogy. I ... Read More...
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