Oftentimes when a book is filled with such outrageous, politically incorrect, hilarious humor it can become one note. Thankfully, when handled by a gifted author with the ability to create multi-faceted characters and situations this is not the case with Where’d You Go, Bernadette. Maria Semple is one of those people whose work you read and think, “I’d really like to go out ... Read More...
The Abundance
In Amit Majmudar’s The Abundance, an Indian-American mother is dying of cancer and trying to decide when to tell her children. The holidays are approaching and she fears her news will obliterate the season’s happiness but she is far enough along that there is no way to mask her weight loss and pallor. As her children arrive with their families and she struggles to maintain ... Read More...
Benediction
Yes. You know how much they think of you. Well, I think a lot of them too. But they never say much, do they? They never say much to me. You don’t let people, Daddy. You never have. You think that’s what it is? Yes, I do. Well. I don’t know about that. I couldn’t say. -Lorraine speaking to her father It is the beginning of summer but the end of Dad Lewis’ life. As per ... Read More...
Y: A Novel by Marjorie Celona
In my head, late at night, I draft letters to my mother and my father. I say everything I want to say, everything that needs to be said. In my head I am so eloquent. Abandoned on the steps of a YMCA Shannon is destined to become a foster care statistic. She is an unusual child with special needs due to her mother’s drug use before her birth. By the time she is five she has ... Read More...
Me and Mr. Booker
Me and Mr. Booker is sixteen-year-old Martha’s story of her affair with a married man. It’s Lolita from Lolita’s perspective which is physically less disconcerting but still likely to evoke moral discomfort. The story takes place in a small town in Australia which is notable only for being so unremarkable. As Martha says early on I also think that what happened had a lot to ... Read More...
Beside the Sea
Two young boys journey with their mother to see the ocean for the first time and have an adventure. Unfortunately, nothing is as planned and the trip is not what it seems. For their mother, finding herself out of sync with the world is not unusual, even regarding something as straightforward as sleep. …we’d suddenly find it was the next morning, like other people do, the ones ... Read More...
