The Likeness by Tana French

11 Monday Apr 2016

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The second in Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series, this book is a very loose sequel to In the Woods, but can easily be read as a stand-alone mystery. Cassie Maddox is a Dublin detective who goes undercover to solve the murder of a woman who looks exactly like her. While set in contemporary times, the book’s style and plot give it the feel of an old-fashioned page-turner.

The Likeness has everything: memorable characters, crisp dialogue, shrewd psychological insight, mounting tension, a palpable sense of place, and wonderfully evocative, painterly prose. In the Woods was an Edgar Award finalist; this one just might go one step further. –Booklist (*starred review*)

“For The Likeness, [French] has brought back detective Cassie Maddox and fashioned a plot that harks back to both Donna Tartt and Wilkie Collins.”–The Washington Post

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Becoming Nicole: the Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt

04 Monday Apr 2016

Posted by in Biography, Non-fiction

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Amy Ellis Nutt won the Pulitzer Prize in 2011.  In her very capable hands, she puts the reader inside the household of the Maines family and their identical boy twins.  A very mainstream American family must struggle, transform, persevere  in a landmark discrimination case.  A fascinating true story about a courageous girl.

“A transgender girl’s coming-of-age saga, an exploration of the budding science of gender identity, a civil rights time capsule, a tear-jerking legal drama and, perhaps most of all, an education about what can happen when a child doesn’t turn out as his or her parents expected—and they’re forced to either shut their eyes and hearts or see everything differently.”—Time

“[An] exceptional chronicle . . . ‘Stories move the walls that need to be moved,’ Nicole told her father last year. In telling Nicole’s story and those of her brother and parents luminously, and with great compassion and intelligence, that is exactly what Amy Ellis Nutt has done here.”—Sue Halpern, The Washington Post

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Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart

28 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by in Fiction, Historical Fiction, Humor

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I thoroughly enjoyed this work of historical fiction set in the early 1900’s about three sisters pursuing justice after a local bully crashes his motor car into their buggy and refuses to pay damages.  I sincerely hope Amy Stewart writes a sequel – one book about the Kopp sisters is not enough – it’s a feminist romp and a complete hoot!

“Constance Kopp, the feisty heroine of Amy Stewart’s charming novel “Girl Waits With Gun,” sounds like the creation of a master crime writer. At nearly 6 feet tall, Constance is a formidable character who can pack heat, deliver a zinger and catch a criminal without missing a beat. Based on the little-known story of the real Constance Kopp, one of America’s first female deputy sheriffs, the novel is an entertaining and enlightening story of how far one woman will go to protect her family.” —Washington Post 

“Stewart has spun a fine, historically astute novel…The sisters’ personalities flower under Stewart’s pen, contributing happy notes of comedy to a terrifying situation…And then there is Constance: Sequestered for years in the country and cowed by life, she develops believably into a woman who comes into herself, discovering powers long smothered under shame and resignation. I, for one, would like to see her return to wield them again in further installments.”—New York Times Book Review

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When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

21 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by in Biography, Non-fiction

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I read this on a snowy morning in one sitting.  Written by a neurosurgeon who passed away last year, this is a short but very powerful book. Paul Kalanithi was a successful neurosurgeon when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in his thirties. In addition to his work in medicine, he also studied literature, and this memoir is a beautiful combination of the two fields. His words and story are poignant and hard to forget “The future, instead of the ladder toward the goals of life, flattened out into a perpetual present.”

“Rattling, heartbreaking, and ultimately beautiful, the too-young Dr. Kalanithi’s memoir is proof that the dying are the ones who have the most to teach us about life.”—Atul Gawande

“A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular clarity . . . Writing isn’t brain surgery, but it’s rare when someone adept at the latter is also so accomplished at the former.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

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The Double Life of Liliane by Lily Tuck

14 Monday Mar 2016

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Beautiful writing.  Complex at first as the reader swings between past and present, but I fell in love with the book by the end.

“[An}exquisitely crafted narrative collage.”—Jane Ciabattari, BBC.com

“Playful, buoyant prose and poignant scenes…that quicken the heart…In Tuck’s prose—… lively, dizzy, happy—one gets a contagious sense of fun that she has transmuting life into words.”—Publishers Weekly (starred, boxed review)

“Special, provocative, unusual.”—Booklist (starred review)

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Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash

02 Wednesday Mar 2016

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Rash, with his evocative prose and poetry, takes the reader to the Appalachian hills of his native North Carolina. He combines suspense with observations and insights, and tells a disquieting tale about the characters’ attachment to the land even as they abuse its beauty.

“[Above the Waterfall is] as rich and moving as his best. If you like detective novels, the plot twists are dizzying enough to keep you guessing. Fan or not, you’re going to find this one hard to put down.” (Charleston Post & Courier)

“Combining suspense with acute observations and flashing insights, Rash tells a seductive and disquieting tale about our intrinsic attachment to and disastrous abuse of the land and our betrayal of our best selves.” (Booklist (starred review))
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The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

24 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Fiction, Historical Fiction, History

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Author Pearl Buck drew from her own experiences growing up in China to write this novel, a family saga set in the rural countryside in the years just before the political and social upheavals of the 20th century. The book portrays the life of Wang Lung, a poor subsistence farmer who prevails over setbacks both man-made and natural to eventual prosperity.  An atmospheric, reflective novel with strong characterization makes for an enjoyable tale.  The book won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938.

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Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman

17 Wednesday Feb 2016

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I loved this story of a strong woman and her family, friendships, and faith. It’s beautifully written.  If you enjoy historical fiction, it’s not to be missed.

“Lilting prose, beautifully meted out folklore and historical references, and Hoffman’s deep conviction in her characters (especially those “willing to do anything for love”) make reading this “contes du temps passé” a total pleasure.”—Kirkus, starred review

“[A] rhapsodic blend of keenly observed historical elements and vibrantly fabulistic invention generates an entrancing saga of sacrifice, forbidden loves, betrayals, and family tragedies endured in a world fractured by religion, class, and race, and redeemed by art and by love. Hoffman is at her resplendent best in this trenchant and revelatory tale of a heroic woman and her world-altering artist son.” – Booklist, Starred Review

“Hoffman’s subject matter and her evocative writing style are a wonderful fit for this moving story, which illuminates a historical period and women whose lives were colored by hardships, upheavals, and the subjugation of personal desires.”—Publishers Weekly

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Brooklyn: a Novel by Colm Toibin

11 Thursday Feb 2016

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A pure delight to read.  The author depicts a young Irish woman, Eilis Lacey, who leaves a small town in Ireland in the 1950’s to live in Brooklyn and then unexpectedly returns to Ireland. Eilis has to deal with the consequences of love lost and found. What choice should she make?

Brooklyn “is one those magically quiet novels that sneak up on readers and capture their imaginations.” USA TODAY

“[A] masterly tale… There is not a sentence or a thought out of place.” — Irish Times

“Toibin’s prose is as elegant in its simplicity as it is complex in the emotions it evokes.” — The New York Times Magazine

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The Nightmare Place by Steve Mosby

01 Monday Feb 2016

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I don’t read a lot of crime fiction, so I’m not sure why I picked this up, but I’m glad that I did.  It was definitely creepy and a page turner, told from the point of view of a police officer, a murderer, and a helpline volunteer at a confidential call-in support center.  Don’t read it before bedtime!

“Not for the faint of heart or stomach, but for the rest of you, The Murder Code heralds the American debut of a major new voice in crime fiction.”–BookPage

“He writes like the very best American thriller writers. Cancel all other engagements for the day.”–The Guardian

“Mosby joins Ken Bruen, Mo Hayder, Val McDermid, and others on the dark side of UK crime fiction; his thrillers build suspense superbly, but his real strength is in character development. All his characters, particularly the women, are well drawn and complex, without a cliché in the bunch.”–Booklist