Good Material by Dolly Alderton   

10 Wednesday Apr 2024

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A funny, poignant romantic comedy about a couple trying to break up in London.

“Like Nora Ephron, with a British twist….Good Material…delivers the most delightful aspects of classic romantic comedy—snappy dialogue, realistic relationship dynamics, humorous meet-cutes and misunderstandings—and leaves behind the clichéd gender roles and traditional marriage plot…..Alderton excels at portraying nonromantic intimate relationships with tenderness and authenticity….Alderton deserves comparisons to rom-com legends like Hornby.”—The New York Times

“Like so many twentysomething women, I have turned to Dolly Alderton’s writing for solace… Written from the perspective of someone recently heartbroken, but this time it’s a man… The detail is luscious… Radical.”—Annie Lord, The Sunday Times (UK)

“Alderton is one of this generation’s preeminent oracles for love, romance, and heartbreak….[She] exposes the inevitable misfortunes of singledom while never neglecting its inherent beauty….To readers, she’s like an older sister, guiding us through breakups, fights, and first-date mishaps with something like grace.”—Swarna Gowtham, Elle 

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Prophet Song by Paul Lynch  

03 Wednesday Apr 2024

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Author Paul Lynch imagines a contemporary Ireland where a fascist government has taken over and how this gradually destroys one family. This is a grim but powerful novel.  WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2023

“Lynch does an excellent job of showing just how swiftly — and plausibly — a society like ours could collapse. Certain sequences read like a thriller — readers will find themselves literally holding their breath — while others are rendered in beautiful, lyrical prose…. A devastating portrait.” —Independent (IE)

“Harrowing . . . The lesson for readers is not necessarily to wake up to signs of totalitarianism knocking at our doors, but to empathize with those for whom it has already called.” — NPR

“If there was ever a crucial book for our current times, it’s Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song . . . A brilliant, haunting novel.” — Guardian (UK)

“An exceptionally gifted writer, Lynch brings a compelling lyricism to [Eilish’s] fears and despair while he marshals the details marking the collapse of democracy and the norms of daily life. His tonal control, psychological acuity, empathy, and bleakness recall Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (2006) . . Captivating, frightening, and a singular achievement. “ — Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

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The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

26 Tuesday Mar 2024

Posted by in Biographical fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, murder, mystery, nature, United States

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I loved this work of historical fiction, based on the true story of a midwife in 18th century Maine. When an accused rapist is found dead, Martha Ballard and her family are drawn into the mystery of what happened, much of it involving Martha and her work.

“A richly satisfying drama . . . A vivid, exciting page-turner from one of our most interesting authors of historical fiction.” –Kirkus, starred review

“Gripping. . . Examines the ripple effects of a crime in a small community—and paints a striking portrait of a woman devoted to healing and justice. . . Lawhon draws on the real Martha Ballard’s diary to construct her narrative, which contains a number of breathless twists and a large cast of hardscrabble characters. . . Lawhon’s novel is a riveting story of small-town justice and a fitting tribute to a quiet, determined heroine.” –Shelf Awareness, starred review

“Compelling . . .a most uncozy mystery that addresses the unbalanced power dynamics of men and women, rich and poor.” –NPR, Weekend Edition

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The Mona Lisa Vanishes: a Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity by Nicholas Day and Brett Helquist

20 Wednesday Mar 2024

Posted by in detective, History, mystery, Non-fiction, True crime

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“A propulsive work of narrative nonfiction about how the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, how the robbery made the portrait the most famous artwork in the world—and how the painting by Leonardo da Vinci should never have existed at all.  NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2023 by Publishers Weekly • School Library Journal • Booklist • Kirkus Reviews • NPR • The New York Public Library • The Chicago Public Library.” – Amazon.  Easy reading full of very interesting facts and amusing detective errors of the times.

“The playful prose in direct address charmingly invites readers into a story that details everything from the stuffy gender roles of fifteenth-century Florence to a wildly inept police investigation to a rather deceitful and not at all admirable Pablo Picasso.” —The Bulletin

 “A multistranded yarn skillfully laid out in broad, light brush strokes with some cogent themes mixed in.” Kirkus Reviews, starred review

 “A completely engaging book.” Booklist, starred review

 “A wildly entertaining, thoroughly contextualized look at art, history, and fame.” Publishers Weekly, starred review

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The Wildest Sun by Asha Lemmie

13 Wednesday Mar 2024

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Author of Fifty Words for Rain, Lemmie takes us from Paris, to NYC, Cuba, and Key West in the footsteps of one sassy, spirited protagonist who is convinced her father is the famous Ernest Hemingway.

“The Wildest Sun is an emotional, hypnotizing, and powerful ride.”—Shondaland, “The Best Books for December 2023”

“From France to Cuba, from war to revolution, The Wildest Sun is a moving meditation on the stories we tell others, the stories we tell ourselves, and how we break free of the past in order to write a brighter future. Simply marvelous!” —Janet Skeslien Charles, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library

“The Wildest Sun is an epic quest for identity and a tender search for selfhood as a woman and a writer. Asha Lemmie is a master of the heart and with her we meet the vulnerable Delphine as she searches for the larger-than-life man who might be her father. Through decades and across continents, The Wildest Sun is an inspiring and compelling novel. Lemmie’s insightful observations into the writers life with its hopes, fears, and creativity is the lifeblood of this courageous journey for the truth.” —Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times Bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea

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North Woods by Daniel Mason 

06 Wednesday Mar 2024

Posted by in Fiction, Historical Fiction, History, United States

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Follow the history of a New England house from early colonial days to the present. Each chapter focuses on the house’s different inhabitants, including lots of colorful characters. This is a strange, intriguing story with beautiful writing.

“Readers, too, will find themselves in an entrancing fictional realm . . . Like the house at its center, a book that is multitudinous and magical.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A time-spanning, genre-blurring work of storytelling magic . . . Each chapter germinates its own form while sending out tendrils that entwine beneath the surface of the novel . . . As [Mason] floats through thrillers, a bit of comic noir, erotic paranormal fiction and other genres, it’s hard to imagine there is anything he can’t do . . .”—The Washington Post

“Each arc is beautifully, heartbreakingly conveyed, stitching together subtle connections across time. This astonishes.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“North Woods is the most original and spellbinding novel I’ve read in ages. Mason makes bramble, brush, and orchard come alive with the spirits of their unforgettable former inhabitants. Their lives . . . had me glued to my seat.”—Abraham Verghese, New York Times bestselling author of The Covenant of Water

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This Other Eden by Paul Harding

28 Wednesday Feb 2024

Posted by in crimes against, Fiction, Historical Fiction, United States

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The book is a mere 221 pages but the exquisite sentences can be very long, some almost a paragraph.  An unusual book about a little known island off the coast of Maine that became one of the first racially integrated towns in the Northeast.

“Stunning…You could imagine lots of ways a historical novel about this horror might be written, but none of them would give you a sense of the strange spell of This Other Eden―its dynamism, bravado and melancholy. Harding’s style has been called ‘Faulknerian’ and maybe that’s apt, given his penchant for sometimes paragraph-long sentences that collapse past and present…[An] intense wonder of a historical novel.”― Maureen Corrigan, NPR

“Harding’s third novel revisits an appalling moment in Maine history…[A] brief book that carries the weight of history. A moving account of community and displacement.”― Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Pulitzer winner Harding (Tinkers) suffuses deep feeling into this understated yet wrenching story…It’s a remarkable achievement.”― Publishers Weekly (starred review)

[T]his gorgeously limned portrait about family bonds, the loss of innocence, the insidious effects of racism, and the innate worthiness of individual lives will resonate long afterward.”― Booklist (starred review)

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House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng 

21 Wednesday Feb 2024

Posted by in Fiction, Historical Fiction, murder and investigation

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Tan Twan Eng has been one of my top historical fiction writers forever. His new book is exquisitely written based on historical events in 1921 and the Havelin couple are living in the Cassowary House in the Straits Settlement of Penang.  Old friend, Somerset Maugham comes to stay with them for an extended visit looking for new material for his next book – I was immersed in the setting, the times, and the book’s upheaval of events for several blissful days.

“Exquisite . . . Tan takes on a behemoth task here: combining sensational fact and intimate fiction in a British colonial Asian setting complicated by white privilege, politics, social hypocrisy, gender inequity, racism, homophobia, and more . . . [He] succeeds in delivering another intricate literary gift.” ―Booklist, Starred Review

“The House of Doors is brilliantly observed and full of memorable characters. It is so well-written, everything so effortlessly dramatized, the narrative so well structured and paced, that this is a book that will mesmerize readers far into the future.” ―Colm Tóibín, author of THE MAGICIAN

“In this bold historical fiction, he courageously exposes his motherland’s flaws, exploring thorny issues of race, racism, gender and gender preference, bigotry, infidelity, and colonial power in richly mannered, atmospheric, and expressive prose, which is simply beautiful . . . no one can argue with the ambition, ardency, and achievement of Eng’s complex latest. “- Air Mail

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Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

14 Wednesday Feb 2024

Posted by in detective, Fiction, murder, murder and investigation, mystery

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Vera Wong’s quiet life running a tea shop in San Francisco is abruptly changed when she discovers a dead body in her store. As the victim’s friends and family try to solve his murder, Vera grows close to each one of them. This is a charming mystery led by Vera, a bossy, funny, and lovable character.

“Vera Wong is my new favorite sleuth! This book is comfort food for the soul. Every chapter is bursting with wisdom and heart.”—Elle Cosimano, USA Today bestselling author of Finlay Donovan Is Killing It

“Following the success of Dial A for Aunties, Sutanto is back with another charmer, this time following the exploits of orthopedic-sneaker-wearing Vera Wong Zhuzhu, who finds a dead body in her Chinatown tea shop. When the police investigation isn’t thorough enough for her liking, she concocts a plan to find the murderer, aided by a locked flash drive she found on the body and stashed away for safekeeping. Sutanto excels at skewering with affection, and an earnest hilarity shines through in this entertaining whodunit.”—The Washington Post

“A mystery with warmth, humor, and many descriptions of delicious teas and foods. Recommended for fans of Sutanto and of character-driven cozy mysteries.”—Library Journal, starred review

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The Postcard by Anne Berest; translated from the French by Tina Kover   

06 Tuesday Feb 2024

Posted by in Biographical fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction

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“January, 2003. Together with the usual holiday cards, an anonymous postcard is delivered to the Berest family home. On the front, a photo of the Opéra Garnier in Paris. On the back, the names of Anne Berest’s maternal great-grandparents, Ephraïm and Emma, and their children, Noémie and Jacques—all killed at Auschwitz.” (amazon)  Who sent the postcard and why? This was an illuminating read  – the best book I have read this year.

★ “Electrifying…Berest is aware that she’s relating a tragedy, but her narration rejects the impulse to let her family members’ stories rest at that…Acknowledging both the horrors of the Holocaust and the humanity of those it targeted, The Postcard is a commanding family memoir.”—Foreword reviews (starred review)

“Moving…Ms. Berest has done her research, artfully weaving grim facts and figures into her family history…Let’s hope that a book like this, which encompasses both the monstrosities of the past and the dangers of the present, will guard us from complacency.”—Heller McAlpin, The Wall Street Journal

“Powerful, meticulously imagined… The Postcard (translated into a lucid and precise English by Tina Kover) takes its readers on a deep dive into one Jewish family’s history, and, inextricably, into the devastating history of the Holocaust in France… [A] powerful literary work… that contains a single grand-scale act of self-discovery and many moments of historical illumination.”—Julie Orringer, The New York Times Book Review 

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