I wish I liked this book more than I did. I liked it. But I wish I liked it more. One thing about memoirs is that they have to a reason why you should read them. Some are so well written that they deserve to be read just for that reason, but most need to bring something more to the table. This could be a … Continue reading Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Glory is my third book from this year’s Booker Prize shortlist. I’ve read and reviewed two others so far: Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan and Oh, William! by Elizabeth Strout. Spoiler alert! My favorite is still Small Things Like These. In fact, as far as Glory goes, you’re own your own. It was too much for me. I didn’t get very far at … Continue reading Glory by Noviolet Bulawayo
Out of ten members two loved it, three hated it and five liked it in an ambivalent sort of way. Most people had serious trouble with at least one of the characters and a few plot elements. I always say that if the group is arguing over something like the finer points of California’s community property laws, then there’s a bigger problem with the book. … Continue reading The Children’s Crusade by Ann Packer
This book is perfect for your reading challenge. Back in the day, when book blogs were still young, there were all sorts of reading challenges going around that this book would have been perfect for. Translated from the French by Jeffrey Zuckerman, Eve Out of Her Ruins is set in the author’s home of Mauritius, an island nation east of Madagascar. Perfect for your Read Around the … Continue reading My New Favorite Book: Eve Out of Her Ruins by Ananda Devi
I really liked this book. Nnedi Okorafor’s fantasy epic Who Fears Death is something of a cross between Ursula K. LeGuin and Octavia Butler if both had grown up in Africa. The story follows Onyesonwu, a young woman living in what must be a post-civilization North Africa. Her culture is clearly based on Africa and the setting is a vast desert like the Sahara, but there … Continue reading Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
This review may have spoilers. Three lovable misfits spend their senior year together, trying to survive life in small town Tennessee where misfits are not exactly welcome, no matter how lovable they are. The Serpent King is actually a very dark story. The lead character, though the narrator’s focus will shift between all three, is Dillard Wayne Early, Jr., the son of a snake-handling Pentecostal preacher … Continue reading The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
How someone who is not really part of your life can be such a large part of your life. Francis Wyndham won the latest round in my little tournament of short stories, defeating two stories from African Writing Today. It’s taken me a couple of weeks to get around to writing this post–I’ve forgotten the African stories completely. I do remember that I liked them, … Continue reading “Jack” and “Ursula” by Francis Wyndham
May Contain Spoilers 