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When These Mountains Burn

August 21, 2020

mountains

There are few things I love more than an evocative writer. Someone who makes me feel what and where they’re writing about. Two that come to mind immediately: Pat Conroy in Prince of Tides, not only for the low country of South Carolina, but for New York when Tom goes there and Kent Haruf for Holt, Colorado, a small town that served as the setting for his Plainsong trilogy. I ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, literary, social issues, Southern life

Thin Girls: A Novel

August 14, 2020

thin

The opening pages of Thin Girls take place in a treatment facility for people with anorexia. The key protagonist, Rose is sharing her thoughts on group therapy and they fairly crackle off the page with intelligence and sharp, incisive humor. She is 23 and has been at the facility for over a year, something she sees as a badge of honor. The only visitor she has is her identical ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, debut, literary, social issues

The Majesties: A Novel

August 11, 2020

majesties

Sometimes novels that begin with a bang end with a fizzle. That’s not the case with The Majesties, which opens with Gwen, the main narrator, lying in a coma. After being poisoned by her sister, Estella, along with their entire extended family and closest friends. At a lavish banquet honoring their grandfather. Gwen is the only survivor; even Estella is dead. Now, as Gwen’s ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, family, literary, Southeast Asia

Utopia Avenue: A Novel by David Mitchell

July 22, 2020

utopia

‘Utopia’ means ‘no place.’ An avenue is a place. So is music. When we’re playing well, I’m here, but elsewhere, too. That’s the paradox. Utopia is unattainable. Avenues are everywhere. Derek, Elf, Jasper, and Griff each has a dream: make it big in the music industry playing music they love. So far, it hasn’t panned out for any of them. But when manager Levon Frankland ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1960s, historical fiction, literary, London, pop culture

What’s Left of Me is Yours

June 29, 2020

left of me

Sumiko’s mother, Rina, died in a car accident when she was a child. Her parents were divorced, her father not a part of her life, so she went to live with her beloved grandfather. Now, twenty years later, as What’s Left of Me is Yours opens, she receives a call about a man from her mother’s past. This call unleashes the flood that overtakes her life, sweeping away her memories ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, cultural, debut, Japan, literary

The Girls from Corona del Mar

June 24, 2020

girls

When Lorrie Ann and Mia become best friends, Mia believes herself to be the shadow behind Lorrie Ann’s golden girl. By the time they reach high school Mia is even more sure that Lorrie Ann is everything she is not. She is kind, caring and good, part of a tight knit family while Mia sees herself as dark and negative, isolated from her family. At 15 she makes the decision to end ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, debut, friendship, Knopf, literary

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