If Herman Koch is the master at writing all the unpleasant things we might think about our fellow man, then Maria Semple is the heart behind the tough things we think about ourselves. In her newest novel, Today Will Be Different, that angst is directed at not being nice enough and not being present in life. Every day. All day. It’s a tall order, but one Eleanor Flood is ... Read More...
You Will Know Me
Devon is a gymnast and has been a gymnast probably since she was in her mother’s womb. Something as little as losing two of the toes on her right foot when she was a toddler wouldn’t and didn’t stop her and now, at fifteen, she’s ready to become a Senior Elite—the girls with a chance to go to the Olympics. She is the shining star at the center of Megan Abbott’s new ... Read More...
Invincible Summer
Less than a quarter of the way into Invincible Summer and I realize why the novel feels so comfortable—I’ve superimposed the characters from Four Weddings and Funeral over the ones Alice Adams creates. This is not a bad thing because the story is not derivative, but you do have a small, tightly knit, British group of friends who get together once a year, not for ... Read More...
Imagine Me Gone
Imagine Me Gone is a novel of family, characters, beginning with a woman who marries a man she knows has a problem she can’t fix or help him overcome. In 1963 Margaret marries John, despite his having been hospitalized for a severe depressive episode shortly before their marriage. With prose that is wondrously intelligent, funny and painful Adam Haslett traverses one ... Read More...
A God in Ruins
In her new novel, A God in Ruins, Kate Atkinson answers the question that arises when one is spared from death but others are not: Is my life worth it? In her previous novel Life After Life Ursula Todd is reborn back into her life for second and third chances to change history in World War II but rather than doing so on a global scale she opts for the life that allows ... Read More...
Winter Street
It’s Christmas Eve and Kelley Quinn is trying to make sure everything at his bed and breakfast is ready for their biggest party of the holidays. All is going well until he walks into a guest room and discovers his wife Mitzi in bed with the man who’s supposed to play Santa. From there, things at the Winter Street Inn and in Kelley’s life pick up speed like the proverbial ... Read More...
