All “guilty” votes had to be alike in reasoning. But all “not guilty” votes could be for different reasons and still reach the same results. Courtroom dramas are a staple in fiction, but they most often focus on the front of the house—victim, defendant, lawyers, maybe even judge. They seldom stray into the mysterious inner world of jurors. Graham Moore changes that ... Read More...
Leave the World Behind
When Clay, Amanda and their children, Archie and Rose, arrive at the secluded house they’re renting on Long Island they’re thrilled to be escaping Manhattan for a week in the summer. The house is beautiful with a pool, woods, and the ocean not too far away. No people, no noise, and barely any cell phone reception. The family quickly shifts into vacation mode. This is the ... Read More...
Homeland Elegies: A Novel
These days, I’m attuned to fiction that takes my mind off reality. Not necessarily easy or soothing, but novels that grab me with their drama (Against the Loveless World) or distract me with their lovely prose (Monogamy). It’s with some surprise then that I’m reviewing Homeland Elegies, a complex novel I’m still not sure I fully understand. Ostensibly, it’s about Sikander, a ... Read More...
Monogamy: A Novel by Sue Miller
Recently, my reading has involved both unusual plots and characters. Today I’m back with Sue Miller’s Monogamy, a novel that is, appropriately for this week, about grief. Annie McFarlane’s husband, Graham, dies of a heart attack in the night next to her in their bed. A large, boisterous man with an appetite for life he leaves a gaping hole in the lives of everyone who ... Read More...
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
In my post about the fall books I was ready to read I made special note of my excitement about Fredrik Backman’s new book, Anxious People. The novel is about a group of eight people held hostage by a bank robber. I was interested because the bank robber failed at his job and the people he held hostage were so whiny and annoying he thought surrendering to police might be a ... 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...
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- …
- 62
- Next Page »
