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The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

September 19, 2022

marriage

I adored Maggie O’Farrell’s last novel, Hamnet. She returns, with another novel set in the 1500s, but in Italy this time. The Marriage Portrait is about a young Italian princess and bride, Lucrezia of the famous Medici family, known for its support of key artists and scientists of the Renaissance. The Marriage Portrait is both her story and the name of one of the few portraits ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 16th century, historical fiction, Italy, literary

NSFW: A Novel

September 9, 2022

nsfw

I recently read NSFW a debut from Isabel Kaplan and I’m fairly certain my visceral reaction to the novel is a response becoming more and more common to me and to many of the women I know given recent events in America. Which is to say, I found the novel to be triggering in a way that I would not have felt so strongly in the past. NSFW’s narrator is unnamed—an interesting and ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, debut, new adult, social issues, women

Sirens & Muses: A Novel

September 7, 2022

sirens

The bucolic landscape surrounding Wrynn College of Art a private, elite school in New England disguises an atmosphere of intensity in Antonia Angress’ novel, Sirens & Muses. Louisa and Karina are sophomores and roommates, but that’s where their surface commonality ends. Louisa is from New Orleans and can only afford school through loans and part-time jobs. Karina is from ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: art, contemporary fiction, debut, literary

Nightcrawling: A Novel

August 22, 2022

nightcrawling

At a time when most teenage girls are busy with dating, hanging out with friends, and choosing colleges, 17-year-old Kiara is facing a rent increase that is likely to render her homeless. She lives in a rundown East Oakland apartment with her older brother Marcus. Their father is dead and their mother is in prison. This is the world explored in Leila Mottley’s gritty debut ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, debut, social issues, teen years

Booth: A Novel by Karen Joy Fowler

June 21, 2022

booth

I’m not a Civil War buff so have never paid much attention to the time period, but when I saw Karen Joy Fowler had a new novel out, I knew I wanted to read it regardless of subject matter. Which is how I found myself immersed in the serpentine history of one of America’s most infamous families, the Booths. Fowler’s novel is Booth and it is not just about John, but his entire ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Civil War, historical fiction, Southern life

Siren Queen: A Novel

May 25, 2022

siren queen

After the penetrating reality of displacement in An Unlasting Home I opted to change reading direction and dive into fantasy. My choice, Siren Queen, led me deep into a 1920s Hollywood that was at once recognizable, but darkly surreal. A world one young American Chinese woman is desperate to be a part of, but only on her own terms. This premise alone gives Nghi Vo plenty of ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1920s, fantasy, Hollywood

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