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Virgil Wander: A Novel by Leif Enger

October 10, 2018

virgil

Greenstone, Minnesota is a hard luck little town. Once known for its taconite mines it has settled into a slow decline when Virgil Wander’s car goes over a cliff and into the lake one night in the midst of an unexpected snowstorm. He’s only alive because the local junkman was on the shore, dove in and saved him, but he suffers brain trauma that leaves him with vertigo, an ... Read More...

12 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, Grove Press, literary, magical realism

Gone So Long: A Novel

October 8, 2018

gone

Gone So Long is both the title and the main situation in this new novel from Andre DuBus III. Daniel Ahearn is dying of cancer. He lives a quiet life alone in a small New England town and works repairing fine furniture. Before he dies he is determined to find his daughter, whom he hasn’t seen in 40 years. Twenty-five of those years were spent in prison for murdering his wife, ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, family, literary, New England, W.W. Norton

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

October 3, 2018

spark

Jodi Picoult is a seasoned pro at presenting both sides to highly charged and complicated issues—which is one of the reasons I love her books. She moves me out of my comfort zone and gives me perspectives that I might not come to on my own. Generally, she finds hot-button topics shortly after they’ve hit the mainstream news, but in her latest, A Spark of Light, she is prescient ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Ballantine, book clubs, contemporary life, social issues, women

Katerina: A Novel by James Frey

September 27, 2018

katerina

Last week I wrote about The Golden State, a novel that literally flowed, with very little punctuation or grammar, from the protagonist’s mind. Oddly, enough immediately after that book, I read James Frey’s Katerina and he utilizes the same style. The good news? In both cases it works. Katerina is the story of Jay, a writer at two very different points in his life. In 1992 he is ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: coming-of-age, contemporary life, Paris

The Golden State

September 19, 2018

golden

At first glance, Daphne has a great life. She’s in her early thirties, lives in San Francisco, is mother to a beautiful 16-month-old daughter, Honey, and is happily married, with a job that may not be the most satisfying, but pays well. The only problem? Thanks to Immigration officer intimidation at SFO airport her husband, Engin, had his green card taken away and was deported ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, debut, literary, Macmillan, women

The Betrayals by Fiona Neill

September 12, 2018

betrayals

A seemingly happy marriage has cracks that shatter one summer when two families vacation together on the Norfolk coast. Two families with best friends at their center. Rosie and Lisa have known each other since they were teenagers so it was wonderful that their families aligned so well.  Right up until Lisa has an affair with Nick, Rosie’s husband. Suddenly, what was, wasn’t, ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, family, marriage, mental health, Pegasus

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