We’ve all read novels by authors who have a way with words, know how to shape a sentence, generate tension…all the good stuff, right? But what about when that good stuff keeps going and going until what felt like a perfect balance turns into words and plot piling on unchecked? I’m left either annoyed or crushed under the weight of too much verbiage. It’s at that point ... Read More...
I Was Anastasia: A Novel
I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon achieves quite a feat—taking a subject about which there is no longer any mystery and making it mysterious. Thanks to DNA testing, it is now known that Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia died with the rest of her family in the summer of 1918, slaughtered by the Communists in the basement of a house in the town of Ekaterinburg. But, for ... Read More...
White Houses
Lenora Hickok was a formidable woman for her time. In fact, she’d probably still be considered a formidable woman. From a childhood of deprivation and abuse she went on to become a renowned reporter, which in the 1930s, was a huge achievement in and of itself. In 1928 she interviewed Eleanor Roosevelt for Life magazine, went on to cover Eleanor’s part in her husband’s 1932 ... Read More...
Song of a Captive Bird
Remember its flight, for the bird is mortal. -Forugh Farrokhzhad I was looking forward to learning about a time and culture, far away from my own, but I never thought I’d be so thoroughly seduced by Jasmin Darznik’s debut novel, Song of a Captive Bird. It is a fictionalized account of Forugh Farrokhzhad, the first woman in Iran to defy her country’s cultural bias and ... Read More...
January Reading Wrap-Up
It may be a new year, but my 2018 reading is starting off much like 2017—disappointing new releases and powerhouse backlist books. I bought Sarah’s Reading Tracker so am hoping to be able to quantify my reading missteps and make better choices. Until then, here’s what worked and didn’t work in January. I’m able and willing to read novels with multiple ... Read More...
The English Wife by Lauren Willig
At a time when much of my reading seems centered on dystopia, trauma, or pathos it’s welcome to read a novel that is simply enjoyable. No hard thinking or difficult emotions to process, just a well-constructed story that you can settle into. It isn’t as easy as it sounds because often this kind of book can be badly written or just written without enough thought and so has gaps ... Read More...
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