There are plenty of times when fiction ventures into territory that is unfamiliar—in fact, that’s one of the reasons I love it so much. But Salt Houses, the debut novel from Hala Alyan is about a subject that I almost can’t wrap my mind around. The fact of having been driven out, by force or war, from not just your home, but virtually every country where you’ve settled. For ... Read More...
Mr. Splitfoot: A Novel
A wild ride of a novel, Mr. Splitfoot, is of that class of fiction so creative it can hardly be categorized. This is a positive and a negative because it’s subjective enough that a reader will either be highly entertained or completely turned off. Somehow, I fell into both groups. I got the book in 2016 before its release and was unable to make it through more than 10 ... Read More...
Bellweather Rhapsody
Remember the movie The Shining? If so, forget what you thought about it in relation to Stephen King’s book and just recall its many amazing visuals. Now, turn it into a campy musical, turn it back into a novel and you have Kate Racculia’s Bellweather Rhapsody. Set in the Catskills in early November with a grand old hotel about to be the scene, once again, for a huge ... Read More...
The Queen of the Night
Alexander Chee’s new novel, The Queen of the Night works well for cold winter reading because you will need to settle in to really enjoy this massive piece of entertainment. This is not a book to skim through, like any grand diva, attention must be paid. And this Chee does by creating a world overflowing with the sumptuous and the over-the-top for Lilliet Berne, one of ... Read More...
Under the Udala Trees
In Under the Udala Trees Ijeoma is only twelve years old when the civil war in Nigeria begins and her mother must leave her behind while she tries to establish a life for them in the north, a safer part of the country. It is 1968 and they live in Biafra, a southern state that has seceded from the nation. The war has already claimed her father and now her mother asks a ... Read More...
Dietland: A Novel
Once I had a taste of real food, I always wanted more. I spent my days tiptoeing around food, the way one might tiptoe into a baby’s room while it’s sleeping. One wrong move and the baby wakes up and screams. That’s how it was with hunger, too. Once it awakes, it screams and screams and there’s only one way to quiet it. First of all, I promise to restrain myself from ... Read More...
