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Rodham: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld

May 20, 2020

rodham

Seldom has there been a public figure more scrutinized, disparaged, and talked about than Hillary Rodham Clinton. You might think it’s the price to be paid for entering politics, but the level of personal attacks against her often seem largely based on the fact that she is a she. Add to this her marriage to a man not known for his fidelity and her defeat in the 2016 ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, historical fiction, literary, politics, women

Pachinko: A Novel

April 20, 2020

pachinko

Historical fiction seems to be the safest bet for my reading right now. Novels that put me in another place, in a different century or even a different decade, all seem to work at distracting my scrabbling brain. Most recently, I fell into the world of Korea from the 1930s to the 1980s in Min Jin Lee’s expansive family saga, Pachinko. It’s four generations of one family as they ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: cultural, family saga, historical fiction, Southeast Asia

Miss Austen: A Novel

April 8, 2020

austen

On Monday I reviewed what was a stunning, but intense book, so it’s with a bit of relief that I’m back with a book I’ll call recovery reading. Cassandra Austen is the older sister of author, Jane Austen. Jane has been dead for many years and Cassandra has felt it was her duty to be the arbiter and controller of her beloved sister’s legacy. To this end, she has been gathering ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 19th century, England, historical fiction

The Mountains Sing

March 16, 2020

mountains

If our stories survive, we will not die, even when our bodies are no longer here on this earth. Hương and her grandmother live alone in Hanoi until they are told to evacuate and move to a remote mountain village for their safety. It’s the 1970s and the midst of the Vietnam War. Hương’s parents and her six aunts and uncles are fighting for North Vietnam. Her grandmother ... Read More...

12 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Algonquin Books, cultural, historical fiction, Vietnam, Vietnam War

The Women in Black

February 19, 2020

women in black

Somehow February has become a dreary month, both for my reading…and well, everything. Bad news and toxicity all around. We’ve been fortunate not to get much snow here in Ann Arbor, but where we live there’s nothing but brown and gray for miles, with a sullen sky overhead. I’m grateful we’ve had very little snow and only a few days with temperatures in the teens, but these ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: chick lit, historical fiction, Scribner

The Gimmicks: A Novel

January 22, 2020

gimmicks

I didn’t plan this, but I’m back today with another unusual book (Monday's review). The Gimmicks is about two teenage brothers in Armenia in the 1970s. One is a giant, standing over 6’6” tall, while the other is a competitive backgammon player. The novel moves between their lives and the life of a former pro-wrestling manager in 1980s America. When the book arrived I actually ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: cultural, debut, Harper, historical fiction, literary

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