Percival Everett’s novel The Trees is a dark and darkly humorous look deep into the foul, blood-clogged engine of racism. Set in a small Mississippi town locked in the 1950s, the death of two good ole boys has left residents stunned. Not because they were particularly liked (they were not), but because the crimes are so gruesome, specifically the removal of certain body parts ... Read More...
Indian Horse: A Novel
I love discovering new writers, the voices of people with stories I’ve never imagined. In the past two years I’ve been fortunate to read more from Native American authors like Tommy Orange and Oscar Hokeah, with their singular style. I can now add Richard Wagamese to this list. A Canadian writer and member of the Ojibway tribe, his novel, Indian Horse is a stunning portrayal of ... Read More...
May Reading Recap
Wait a minute—is May over? I’m pretty sure I was cheated out of a week. Or maybe it’s just that the bad news is coming at a faster pace, whether it’s the increasing attack on women’s rights or the unrelenting uptick in gun violence. I veer between apathy and a rage that wants to know: why doesn’t the government apply the same attention and rigor to young men buying guns as they ... Read More...
My 8 Best Books of 2021
Best is a big word, especially these days when words that have been a part of the lexicon for lifetimes feel as if they’re losing their meaning. The first that comes to mind is “normal”. There is nothing normal about our weather, our politics, America. There’s a COVID vaccine and a booster, but the virus has remained a partisan issue. Which is to say I went to the ... Read More...
Three Girls from Bronzeville
Dawn and her baby sister, Kim, live in an apartment building in the South Chicago neighborhood known as Bronzeville. In the apartment above them lives Debra, Dawn’s best friend. The area is the hub of the Great Migration—Blacks fleeing the Jim Crow South for the prospect of prosperity and equality. Three Girls from Bronzeville is a memoir by Dawn Turner about how she, her ... Read More...
We Are Not Like Them: A Novel
I’m a fan of diverse reading. There are so many places I’ve never gone and experiences I haven’t had in real life. Visiting them in the pages of a book helps expand my horizons and opens my mind in ways it wouldn’t be without reading. Sadly, there are issues happening right here in America that I may think I understand, but I truly have no idea. Racism is one of them and We Are ... Read More...
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