28 Monday Dec 2015
Posted in Biography, Fiction, Historical Fiction
I recommend Geraldine Brooks titles to anyone who loves historical fiction. She has done it once again! I was swept away into Second Iron Age Israel, most violent of times. This vivid, imaginative account takes one through the tribal battlefields and into the heart of David’s family of 8 wives and 9 children. Inspired by the lost book of Nathan.
14 Monday Dec 2015
Posted in Fiction
Tags
A woman reflects on her life, particularly her relationship with her late sister, who died after driving off a bridge. The novel alternates between past and present, and includes a “novel within a novel” that adds to the mystery surrounding the two sisters’ lives. Margaret Atwood is an acclaimed writer, and this is my favorite of her books that I’ve read.
“Absorbing… expertly rendered… Virtuosic storytelling [is] on display.”–The New York Times
07 Monday Dec 2015
Posted in Biography, History, Non-fiction
This non-fiction account reads like fiction. Eatwell structured the book like a play; instead of chapters she has written acts and scenes so it reads like a farce. I learned that in 19th-century Britain, it wasn’t unheard of for men to lead double lives and have two families and two different names/personalities. Fans of Oscar Wilde will like it!
“A riveting true crime from yesteryear.” (Better Homes & Gardens)
30 Monday Nov 2015
Posted in Fiction
Tags
A small island holds a horse race each year; what makes it so dangerous is that the horses come from the sea. This novel follows two young people, each desperate to win the race. It is an unusual, beautifully written, and magical story.
“Stiefvater’s novel, inspired by Manx, Irish, and Scottish legends of beautiful but deadly fairy horses that emerge from the sea each autumn, begins rivetingly and gets better and better . . . all the way, in fact, to best.”–Horn Book Review, Starred Review
“Masterful…like nothing else out there now.”–Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
23 Monday Nov 2015
Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction
If you are willing to be transported to the jungle-fringed tea plantations of the Cameron Highlands to discover the only Japanese garden in Malaysia, this most gifted writer will unveil another time, a place, two characters who wrestle with unspeakable brutal pasts, and seek the healing solace in the art of gardening. I guarantee this story and this garden will linger in your mind long after you’ve read the last page.
16 Monday Nov 2015
Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction
In 1919, Rachel Rabinowitz and her brother were placed in the Hebrew Orphans Home in New York City after a series of tragic family events. The orphanage is noted for its efficient care of over 1000 orphans and its modern medical facilities which include an X-ray machine. Dr. Mildred Solomon, a young radiologist eager to show her knowledge, carries out medical research using several of the orphans as research subjects.
Thirty-five years later in 1954, Rachel is now a nurse in the hospice wing of the Old Hebrews Home where she recognizes her new patient as Dr. Mildred Solomon. Rachel must now choose between forgiveness or revenge.
A fascinating but disturbing work of historical fiction by a new author who bears watching.
“Kim van Alkemade has moxie. In her provocative novel, family is saturated with betrayal, care is interrupted by ambition and desire, and the past is intimately explored, invoking the abandoned child in all of us. Orphan # 8 brims with complicated passions and pitch-perfect historical details. A riveting, memorable debut.” (Catherine Zobal Dent, author of Unfinished Stories of Girls)
“This book is utterly unputdownable. At once atmospheric, disturbing and absolutely engrossing, it poses a host of moral questions; I fully anticipate that it will become popular with book clubs.” (Historical Novels Review)
04 Wednesday Nov 2015
After reading the first three words, the first sentence and the first paragraph, the reader will know what happened to the central character in this book. But then the question is Why? and then How? and then For What?
Celeste Ng, in her first novel, has gracefully written a poignant and heartbreaking story of family, ethnicity, communication and grief that the reader will be compelled to read in one sitting.
“If we know this story, we haven’t seen it yet in American fiction, not until now… Ng has set two tasks in this novel’s doubled heart—to be exciting, and to tell a story bigger than whatever is behind the crime. She does both by turning the nest of familial resentments into at least four smaller, prickly mysteries full of secrets the family members won’t share… What emerges is a deep, heartfelt portrait of a family struggling with its place in history, and a young woman hoping to be the fulfillment of that struggle. This is, in the end, a novel about the burden of being the first of your kind—a burden you do not always survive.” – Alexander Chee, The New York Times Book Review
“Wonderfully moving…Emotionally precise…A beautifully crafted study of dysfunction and grief…[This book] will resonate with anyone who has ever had a family drama.” – Boston Globe
28 Wednesday Oct 2015
Posted in Biography, History, Non-fiction
Tags
concentration camps, Crystal City Internment Camp, evacuation of civilians, forced repatriation, German Americans, Japanese Americans, Texas, World War 1939-1945
Combining big-picture World War II history with a little-known event in American history that has long been kept quiet, The Train to Crystal City reveals the war-time hysteria against the Japanese and Germans in America, the secrets of FDR’s tactics to rescue high-profile POWs in Germany and Japan, and how the definition of American citizenship changed under the pressure of war.
The author humanizes the harrowing experience by following the lives of two young women who were American citizens, and their families, all of whom were herded into the hot and isolated Crystal City camp on the Texas border with Mexico.
“Engrossing…Russell documents in chilling details a shocking story of national betrayal.” (Kirkus)
“This is an informative, disturbing, and necessary reminder of the dangers produced by wartime hysteria.” (Booklist)
“Both scholars and generalreaders interested in World War II will agree, this book is a gripping storyfrom start to finish.” (Library Journal)
“Russell pulls no punches describing the cost of war and the conditions internees endured….a powerful piece.” (Publishers Weekly)
21 Wednesday Oct 2015
Tags
Americans, booksellers, detectives, embassies, France, missing persons, mystery, Paris
Get ready for suspense and red herrings in the world of the bouquinistes – the book stalls along the Seine in Paris. Hugh Marston, the head of security at the US embassy in Paris, passes many a lunch break perusing old books to find the perfect gift. And then one day, we watches helplessly as his favorite bookseller is dragged away at gunpoint. Surprise – the police couldn’t be bothered even as more booksellers begin to disappear. Taking matters into his own hands with the help of his long time friend Tom, CIA, and short term friend, Claudia, a journalist, he uncovers an obscure past that may explain matters. But can he piece the puzzle together before his time runs out?
“Pryor’s steady and engrossing debut combines Sherlockian puzzle solving with Eric Ambler-like spy intrigue. With a cast of characters you want to know better and a storyline cloaked in World War II betrayals…the author winningly blends contemporary crime with historical topics.” –Library Journal Starred Review
“A real page-turner. This is what thriller writers always aim to produce and so often fail to get right…. You can’t ask for better than this.” –San Francisco Book Review
As strong and welcome as a hot coffee on a chilly Paris morning. Bibliophiles, Francophiles, and mystery addicts rejoice! The debut of Hugo Marston is one you don’t want to miss.” –Steven Sidor, author of Pitch Dark
14 Wednesday Oct 2015
My next pick is going to be Mindy Kaling’s new memoir/essays “Why not me?”. It comes out today. I absolutely loved her last book “Is everyone hanging out without me?”, which I listened to on CD (read by the author, even better). If anyone is a fan of her comedy TV writing (The Office, The Mindy Project), this new book is a must-read. Her writing is very funny, sweet and honest.
“…insightful personal essays from one of Hollywood’s cleverest writers… Intrepid and often irreverent, Kaling humbly probes her own triumphs and defeats with laugh-out-loud results”. —Kirkus Reviews
“Kaling has written a second book that’s funnier, sharper and more confident than her 2011 collection of personal essays and pop culture riffs called Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns). Even the title of that initial effort implied that Kaling was trying to find her place; the tone of this new one announces that she’s found it and is more than comfortable inviting people to spend time with her there.”—Washington Post
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