The Gilmore Guide to Books

Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Title
    • Reviews by Genre
  • Podcast
  • Policies
    • Review Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy

Banyan Moon: A Novel

July 28, 2023

banyan

The complex and delicate relationships between mothers and daughters is at the center of Thao Thai’s debut novel, Banyan Moon. Towards the end of the Vietnam War, Minh and her daughter, Huong, left Vietnam for America to settle in Florida. Huong’s daughter, Ann, is born there and the three live together in a decrepit mansion called Banyan House until Ann leaves home. Now, Minh ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, cultural, family saga

May Reading

May 31, 2023

may reading

  May is over? Are we sure? The last time I looked it was the 13th. Thankfully, all the gorgeous flowers and colors here were a distraction from what was another month of meh reading. It would seem I’m getting crankier as I age because I’ve already DNFed 13 books this year, almost as many as I did for all of 2022—and we’re only at the halfway point. I do have some bright ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: contemporary life, cultural, historical fiction, memoir, mini-reviews

True Biz by Sara Novic

March 17, 2023

true biz

So much of today’s zeitgeist revolves around the much needed recognition of vulnerable communities, but what about acknowledgement for the community that can’t hear? Sara Novic explores the realities of deaf life in her riveting novel True Biz. Set at the River Valley School for the Deaf boarding school, the novel encompasses the lives of the school’s headmistress and those of ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, cultural, social issues, young adult

The Queen of Dirt Island

March 8, 2023

queen

The week Saoirse Aylward is born her father is killed in an accident, leaving her mother, Eileen alone to raise her. Their lives in a small village in western Ireland are at the heart of Donal Ryan’s boisterous, tender novel The Queen of Dirt Island. Although the novel stays within the village’s borders it’s an expansive story encompassing four generations of Irish women with ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, cultural, humor, Ireland, literary

The Book of Everlasting Things

January 27, 2023

everlasting

The Book of Everlasting Things is a multigenerational debut spanning the globe from India to Europe. Initially set in Lahore, India in the 1930s and 40s the novel encompasses 70 years in the lives of one Hindu boy and one Muslim girl. Two children, who despite different backgrounds, grow into love only to have it, and their lives, shattered when Great Britain partitions part of ... Read More...

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: cultural, debut, historical fiction, India, religion, world war II

Ghost Season by Fatin Abbas

January 18, 2023

ghost season

Ghost Season by Fatin Abbas opens with a charred corpse being found near a humanitarian aid compound that sits in a remote village on the border between north and South Sudan. The body’s discovery is the grim reminder that violent clashes between the government and rebels are increasing. This is the first in a series of events that upsets the fragile balance between the ... Read More...

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: cultural, debut, literary, Middle East

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • …
  • 24
  • Next Page »
  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Goodreads
  • Instagram
  • Substack

Save time and subscribe via email

No time to keep checking for new reviews? Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. No spam!

Bookshop

Currently Reading

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
by Emily Nagoski
The Dutch House
The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
by Adrienne Brodeur

goodreads.com

Affiliate Disclosure

I’m an affiliate for Bookshop. If you click on a link that takes you to their site and make a purchase I’ll earn a small fee, which goes towards the costs of maintaining this site. Your support is appreciated. Thank you!

Archives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2026

Copyright © 2026 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in