Set in the early 1970s The Mysteries by Marisa Silver is about Margaret Ann (Miggy), the only child of Julian and Jean Brenneman. They married in their early 20s so he could avoid the Vietnam War draft and Miggy was born when Jean ran out of birth control pills. Not necessarily an auspicious beginning for a marriage or having children, but they’ve settled into their own version ... Read More...
The Bohemians: A Novel by Jasmin Darznik
I was interested in Jasmin Darznik’s new novel The Bohemians for its premise about a woman in history I knew nothing about. Dorothea ‘Dorrie’ Lange is an American photographer. If, like me, you don’t recognize the name, this should help: Migrant Mother was taken at the height of the Depression and is considered an iconic depiction of Dust Bowl reality. The ... Read More...
Betty: A Novel by Tiffany McDaniel
A biracial little girl is the main character and the namesake in Tiffany McDaniel’s shattering novel, Betty. Born in 1954 and raised in Appalachian Ohio, the novel follows her and her five siblings, a Cherokee father, and White mother as their lives are acid-etched with racism from the outside and tragedy from within. The South of the 1950s and 1960s was not known for its ... Read More...
Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
When Sitara is 10 years old her life is flipped upside down. She goes from being the beloved only daughter of a high-ranking Afghan advisor to the country’s president to an orphan on the run. It’s 1982 and Communist backed forces stage a military coup in Nadia Hashimi’s new novel, Sparks Like Stars. Sitara’s family is killed in front of her, but she manages to hide from the ... Read More...
Zorrie by Laird Hunt
Towards the end of last year, the only reading that worked for me was fast paced thrillers. More plot, more action, less literary. This year is taking a turn (or a return) to the fiction that’s always drawn me in, the kind where the words matter more than anything else. Laird Hunt’s latest, Zorrie, epitomizes this style; the power of simplicity. Zorrie is a young girl in ... Read More...
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
I’m wrapping up what has been an odd reviewing week for me. One Monday I wrote about a book I loved, but which I read so long ago I had trouble sharing my thoughts. On Wednesday, my experience was a very good novel that would probably have been great if I could relate to the subject. Finally, here I am with a popular author who I’ve decided is not for me: Kristin Hannah. I ... Read More...
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