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Lady Tan’s Circle of Women

June 9, 2023

lady

Lisa See’s depictions of the women of China and Southeast Asia have always been entertaining and educational reading so I was pleased to hear about her new novel, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women. Set in 15th century China it’s the story of one of China’s first female doctors. Yunxian Tan is a little girl when, her mother dies at the age of 28. She is sent to live with her ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 15th century, book clubs, China, historical fiction, women

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...

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

Symphony of Secrets: A Novel

May 11, 2023

symphony

When Bern Hendricks is asked to authenticate a piece of music believed to written by his hero, famed 20th century composer, Frederic Delaney, it’s the chance of a lifetime. A scholar of his works and a new professor, it will be a triumph for Hendricks, both personally and professionally. But when he discovers documentation about a woman never acknowledged anywhere in Delaney’s ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: historical fiction, music, racism, social issues

The Covenant of Water

May 1, 2023

covenant

Abraham Verghese is back with a new novel 14 years after his critically acclaimed bestseller, Cutting for Stone. The Covenant of Water is a saga spanning 70 years about one family with an unusual history—in every generation there is a family member with an aversion to water who ends up drowning. Verghese uses this mysterious affliction as the thread woven through a sprawling ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 20th century, historical fiction, India, literary

The Shadow of Perseus

March 21, 2023

shadow

For some, the retelling of Greek myths may have run its course, but for others (me!) I’m still on board to read mythology from a different perspective. My first 5-star novel of the year was Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes, a fiercely feminist, wickedly funny adaptation of the Medusa myth. Now, author Claire Heywood is tackling the same subject in her new novel, The Shadow of ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, Greece, historical fiction, literary, women

Dust Child

March 14, 2023

dust child

The Vietnam War has been written about from many points of view in fiction, but for the most part my reading has focused on the years of the war, rife as they are with the atrocities perpetuated on the Vietnamese, both by their own people (ARVN soldiers in the South, Viet Cong in the North) and then the Americans. Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai takes a longer view by ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, historical fiction, Vietnam, Vietnam War

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