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One Woman Show

October 16, 2023

wrapping

Caroline Margaret Brooks Whitaker Wallingford de Braganza Deen (aka Kitty), the epitome of 20th century American wealth, is depicted through art in the novel, One Woman Show. How does one represent a woman as art in a written format? Author Christine Coulson, whose imagination is as expansive as the art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where she worked, makes it look simple in ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 20th century, art, book clubs, literary, women

The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok

October 13, 2023

leftover

From the time she was a child Jasmine has known she was leftover. Born in a small village in China during the years of its restrictive One Child Policy she wouldn’t even be alive if her twin sibling hadn’t been a boy. Marriage could have been her way out, but instead, in Jean Kwok’s new novel, A Leftover Woman, her husband makes it clear that her only value is in providing him ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, literary, Manhattan, suspense

Shark Heart: A Novel

September 19, 2023

shark

Today’s review needs a bit of a preface: My husband doesn’t read (I know, I know, I love him anyway). He teases me about my obsession with books by noting there are only so many stories and I’ve read them all so how can I keep reading? Theoretically, this is true. Most novels revolve around the same basic themes: love, family, secrets, experiences. But within those parameters, ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, debut, literary, science fiction

All That is Mine I Carry With Me

September 12, 2023

all that is mine

The scene is cleanly set when in the simpler times of 1975 10-year-old Miranda arrives home from school to find the house locked and, after she uses the hidden key to get in, empty. Her mother should be there. Her mother is always there to greet her after school. Her car, keys, handbag all in their proper place, but Jane Larkin is gone. And that’s the last of clean, simple ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1970s, book clubs, childhood, family, literary, marriage, mystery

Where There Was Fire

August 28, 2023

where there was fire

The verdant, extravagant beauty of Costa Rica hosts the three-generation family saga found in Where There Was Fire by John Manuel Arias. The Valaverdes are a united family in 1968 until the night a fight leaves their lives in ashes. Now, the remaining family members, Teresa and her daughter Lyra, reluctantly reunite almost 30 years later, both looking for answers before it’s ... Read More...

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

Kala: A Novel

August 14, 2023

kala

Even when it’s a tourist destination on the Irish coast a small town is still just a small town to the teens who live there—a boring place to escape as soon as possible. For the six disparate, but tightknit friends in Colin Walsh’s novel, Kala, teen boredom and energy lead to a prank that goes wrong, starting a domino effect that leaves one of their group missing and their ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: coming-of-age, Ireland, literary, mystery

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