A cruise from Southampton to NYC in January. The location sets the tone for The Blue Book. Crashing, icy seas and gusting winds mesh well with the juxtaposition of a woman on board with her boyfriend who discovers her old partner in crime (literally) is on board as well. A setting that should be one of enjoyment, relaxation and companionship is instead filled with angst, ... Read More...
Frances and Bernard
In today’s world of email, texting, and skype there is an instant gratification element to communicating that blunts its finer points, especially in relationships. It is with great delight, then, to read Frances and Bernard, Carlene Bauer’s fictional look at the friendship between two writers, using the relationship between Flannery O’Connor and Robert Lowell as its basis. The ... Read More...
Reeducation of Cherry Truong
In Communist countries “reeducation” is a euphemism for prison camp, forced labor, deprivation, and sometimes, torture. In Aimee Phan’s new book The Reeducation of Cherry Truong there is none of these but the end result is similar: a stripping away of old beliefs and breakdown of long held truths. Cherry is the American-born daughter of Sanh Truong and Tuyet Vo. In the late ... Read More...
The Colour of Milk
and if i could stop time that is what i would do and i would stay in that minute for all my life and for ever. but a minute can not last for ever. Mary is an illiterate farmer’s daughter. The youngest child in her family, she is also deemed the least valuable because she was born with a deformed leg and cannot move as quickly as her sisters. What she lacks in physical ... Read More...
Ru: A Novel
The Communist takeover of Saigon forces Nguyễn An Tinh and her family to leave behind their luxurious life and escape to a refugee camp in Malaysia. From there the family immigrates to Canada and settles in Quebec. Kim Thúy’s novel is called Ru, meaning ‘lullaby’ in Vietnamese, which aptly describes the book’s style of storytelling and reminiscence. It is a slim volume with ... Read More...
Beside the Sea
Two young boys journey with their mother to see the ocean for the first time and have an adventure. Unfortunately, nothing is as planned and the trip is not what it seems. For their mother, finding herself out of sync with the world is not unusual, even regarding something as straightforward as sleep. …we’d suddenly find it was the next morning, like other people do, the ones ... Read More...
