Tin House Archives - The Gilmore Guide to Books

It’s Not You, It’s Me: Mini-Reviews

Catherine — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 08:03:19 +0000

I haven’t had a great year of reading (until recently), but generally it felt pretty clear that it was the books not working, not me. Except for these two recent reads, which is why they’re It’s Not You, It’s Me books. In both cases, the writing and story were good, but they were missing whatever […]

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Swimming Lessons

Catherine — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 08:13:10 +0000

When Claire Fuller’s newest novel, Swimming Lessons, begins Ingrid has been missing for eleven years. Her daughters, Nan and Flora, have grown up and her husband Gil now spends most of his time going through the books in their house. He’s always been obsessed with the marginalia and ephemera left behind inside their covers, […]

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Dryland: A Novel

Catherine — Fri, 13 Nov 2015 08:38:13 +0000

Julie Winter is a sophomore in high school and if navigating those waters is not enough, there are the perceptions of her by people at her school. Her brother Jordan was a swimmer of Olympic caliber and so everyone who meets her thinks she must be a potential swimming superstar. When she is asked […]

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Our Endless Numbered Days

Catherine — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 07:02:30 +0000

There are few things more important to little girls than their fathers and Peggy is no exception. Her German mother is a famous concert pianist but she is often brusque and busy while her father has friends who come over and hang out, smoking and talking about exciting things she doesn’t fully understand. He plays, […]

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The Boatmaker

Catherine — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 08:40:01 +0000

In a place where there is a Small Island, a Big Island, and a mainland, there is a man, given to very little speech, but too fond of drinking. When he is sober he is a carpenter A wonderful worker in wood. Every piece he works on comes out right, with nothing wasted. But this […]

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This is Between Us

Catherine — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 08:13:14 +0000

This is Between Us is an intimate look at the minutia that comprises a relationship. And not in that lovey-dovey, fictional way but in the real, confusing, tedious, painful way. Author Kevin Sampsell navigates the terrain of affairs, blended families, teenagers, and jealousy in quirky little vignettes. The story covers five years that begin […]

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The Revolution of Every Day

Catherine — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 07:14:50 +0000

By the mid-1980s there was an entire subsection of lower Manhattan that had been abandoned by the city. Landlords had neglected their buildings, tenants left, and the underworld took over. It was about this time that a small group of people began to reclaim buildings that were empty and close to demolition. They were […]

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Waiting on Wednesday: The Revolution of Every Day

Catherine — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 07:26:06 +0000

Waiting On Wednesday (WOW) is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights an upcoming release I’m eagerly anticipating at The Gilmore Guide to Books. What Goodreads says: In the midnineties, New York’s Lower East Side contained a city within its shadows: a community of squatters who staked their claims on abandoned […]

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Beside the Sea

Catherine — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 08:15:07 +0000

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 […]

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Dora: A Headcase

Catherine — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 13:00:23 +0000

Seventeen is no place to be. You want to get out, you want to shake off a self like old dead skin. You want to take how things are and chuck it like a rock. And guess what? If it’s bad for you, the only way to alleviate the pain is to make it that […]

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