Reviews
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The Last Bird of Paradise, Garstang, Clifford (4/19/24)
The novels and stories of Clifford Garstang consistently reinforce his standing as an author of unique talent and imagination. Garstang's latest book, view »
Snakes of St. Augustine, Pinholster, Ginger (3/24/24)
In Snakes of St. Augustine, Ginger Pinholster weaves a strange tale that addresses economic struggle, neurodiversity, homelessness, and the intersection… view »
Boys Buy Me Drinks to Watch Me Fall Down, James, Anna Dickson (2/20/24)
In her new book, Boys Buy Me Drinks to Watch Me Fall Down, Anna Dickson James demonstrates a literary range that is truly astonishing… view »
Coming Clean, Johnson, Beth Uznis (2/1/24)
If you have an MFA in writing or have taken a fiction writing workshop, you've probably learned the concept of mirroring, a technique skilled writers… view »
Goodbye, Columbus, Roth, Philip (1/13/24)
This well-read novella and stories, Philip Roth's first book, was published the year I was born (that is, a while ago), so it really doesn't need another… view »
Running the Rift, Benaron, Naomi (1/1/24)
I discovered Naomi Benaron's Running the Rift through a casual, yet glowing online comment from Lorian Hemingway. As it happens, Benaron won First Prize… view »
Bewilderment, Powers, Richard (11/30/23)
Bewilderment is the story of a man and his son set in America's near-apocalyptic future. We meet Theo Byrne, an astrobiologist, and his son Robin in a… view »
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Tyler, Anne (10/31/23)
Anne Tyler’s Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is a generational saga of a broken family, told through the rotating points of view of the family’s… view »
The Invaders, Waclawiak, Karolina (10/13/23)
In this peak into the lives of the privileged in a small Connecticut beach town, Waclawiak deftly explores the clashes of culture and socioeconomic status… view »
Daughter's Keeper, Waldman, Ayelet (7/31/23)
In the early 2000s, when I was starting out as a serious fiction writer, I attended a reading in San Francisco that featured three prominent local women… view »
Love and War in California, Hall, Oakley (6/30/23)
As a California native who writes books and stories set in California, I’ve recently been on a California reading binge. I remember that, some years… view »
Genesis Road, Underwood, Susan O'Dell (5/10/23)
When an author commands words and imagery like a fine poet, and that author delivers a sweeping narrative of a broken life reconsidered, and that life… view »
The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven, Miller, Nathaniel Ian (3/31/23)
Being of Norwegian descent and ruminating on possible writing projects based on the Scandinavian branch of my ancestry, I picked up The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven… view »
Let the Great World Spin, McCann, Colum (1/31/23)
I was directed to Colum McCann by an AI tool into which I had entered Elizabeth Strout, Margaret Atwood, and Dan Chaon for comparison. I almost hate to… view »
Bicycles of the Gods: A Divine Comedy, Simms, Michael (1/18/23)
"And now they're wiping out the honeybees," Jesse was saying, shaking his head in disbelief. "Of all the creatures I invented, the honeybee is the coolest… view »
Love and Rockets, Vol. 4: Tears from Heaven, Hernández, Jaime (1/3/23)
As a lifelong Californian, I'm almost ashamed by the fact that it took the passion of a friend and fellow writer from North Carolina and a fine piece… view »
Lost Girls: Short Stories, Morris, Ellen Birkett (12/22/22)
Lost Girls is a compact, highly readable collection of short stories about girls in distress, girls in and out of control, girls who miss their chance… view »
The Nickel Boys, Whitehead, Colson (12/15/22)
This is my first experience reading Colson Whitehead, and it's very easy to see why he has emerged as one of the truly great chroniclers of the Black… view »
Gravity Hill, Davis, Susanne (11/25/22)
Gravity Hill by Susanne Davis is a deliciously deep and confounding mystery, family drama, coming-of-age saga, and social commentary all wrapped into… view »
Casino Royale (James Bond, #1), Fleming, Ian (9/27/22)
Obviously, any book published in 1953 and containing the phrase, "...the sweet tang of rape," will struggle to stand the test of time. Add to that the… view »
Sleepwalk, Chaon, Dan (9/10/22)
For this reader, Dan Chaon does an amazing thing with his books: He takes me to places I would never want to go, and then absolutely delights me when… view »
Provenance, Mell, Sue (8/20/22)
As an avid reader and frequent writer of family drama, I hold this species of literary fiction to a pretty high bar. Sue Mell's novel Provenance reaches… view »
Cloud Cuckoo Land, Doerr, Anthony (8/15/22)
In his Author's Note, Anthony Doerr says that Cloud Cuckoo Land was "intended as a paean to books," which it most certainly is. A sweeping, time-shift… view »
Sea of Tranquility, Mandel, Emily St. John (7/3/22)
This bestseller, my first reading of Emily St. John Mandel, was a challenging, but thoroughly enjoyable read. I picked the book up for two reasons:… view »
Silverview: A Novel, le Carré, John (6/4/22)
I think it’s fitting that this book came into my hands in a recently opened bookshop in a small town. The shop, the charming new Monarch Books in Arroyo Grande… view »
The Flight Portfolio: A novel, Orringer, Julie (5/14/22)
With my hardcover copy of The Flight Portfolio packed away in storage for longer than expected, I decided to just spring for the paperback when the… view »
Oh William! (Amgash, #3), Strout, Elizabeth (1/8/22)
In my review of the 2016 novel My Name is Lucy Barton, I wrote that it was "Elizabeth Strout's most intimate book." With Oh William!, a delicious follow-up… view »