GuideReviews Index - page 2
'The Story of Edgar Sawtelle' by David Wroblewski - Book Review
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski is a modern day Hamlet and a love story about the connection of a boy, his dogs and the world around him.
'The Gone-Away World' by Nick Harkaway - Book Review
A pink fuzzy book. Neon green type. Letters beginning to disappear like long lost sanity. It’s like the cover of ‘The Gone-Away World’ was dipped in a vat of nuclear waste and came out smiling, slightly anarchic, like the Joker on a comic binge. Yep. That’s the personification of Nick Harkaway’s debut novel to a T.
'Man in the Dark' by Paul Auster - Book Review
Man in the Dark by Paul Auster is about August Brill, a 60-year-old book critic and insomniac trying to make it through one night, holding onto the love of his granddaughter and the memory of his wife to shelter himself as the weird world rolls on.
Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon - Book Review
Jews with Swords. That was what Michael Chabon had in mind for the
original title of Gentlemen of the Road. Combine the original and
published titles together and you get a sense of the unique atmosphere,
sly wit and daring do that Chabon is about to tell.
'Testimony' by Anita Shreve - Book Review
Anita Shreve is a bestselling author known for books like Body Surfing, The Pilot’s Wife, and The Weight of Water. Her latest effort, Testimony, is an introspective look at a private school community blown apart by one scandalous incident.
'The Given Day' by Dennis Lehane - Book Review
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane is a psychological thriller that takes place in Boston.
'Song Yet Sung' by James McBride - Book Review
Song Yet Sung by James McBride follows an escaped slave in pre-Civil War Maryland.
'The Other Queen' by Philippa Gregory - Book Review
Philippa Gregory is back with another historical fiction novel of the kind that has made her popular. In 'The Other Queen,' Gregory focuses on Mary Queen of Scots.
'The Heretic's Daughter' by Kathleen Kent - Book Review
'The Heretic's Daughter' by Kathleen Kent is a novel about the Salem Witch Trials. Kent is descended from one of the accused women.
'Bleeding Kansas' by Sara Paretsky - Book Review
'Bleeding Kansas' tells the story of the Grelliers, a farming family whose Kansas roots extend back to the fight over slavery. Though times have changed many of the struggles they face, including clashes between neighbors over war and religion, are just as critical. Paretsky’s novel paints an intimate portrait of a family and community dealing with each other’s differences.
'Trauma' by Patrick McGrath
Trauma, the latest novel by Patrick McGrath, tells the story of a New York psychiatrist who specializes in helping Vietnam vets suffering from trauma. As he learns more about his own family life, though, he finds himself caught up in his own trauma, and fighting the madness he knows is approaching. McGrath’s paints a dark picture of 1980s Manhattan as a backdrop for the human suffering Trauma explores.
'The Monsters of Templeton' by Lauren Groff - Book Review
'The Monsters of Templeton' is a debut novel that’s gotten a lot of buzz—and it’s well deserved. Lauren Groff has written a book that’s an ode to her hometown, Cooperstown, New York. Filled with monsters, ghosts, ancestors with secrets, and illegitimate children, 'The Monsters of Templeton' is monstrously enjoyable.
'People of the Book' by Geraldine Brooks - Book Review
In 'People of the Book,' Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Geraldine Brooks presents a fictional history of the Sarajevo Haggadah -- an important Jewish book that originated in thirteenth century Spain. 'People of the Book' is a set of stories about the book's survival, woven together through the story of a conservationist who is trying to unlock the mysteries of the book in the mid-1990s.
'Beginner's Greek' by James Collins - Book Review
'Beginner’s Greek' is the debut novel from James Collins, and it’s a shame he’s waited this long to begin. The story of Holly and Peter is a simple, old-fashioned story that’s sweet but not treacly; beautifully-written but not precious. 'Beginner’s Greek' is utterly delightful.
'Unaccustomed Earth' by Jhumpa Lahiri - Book Review
Jhumpa Lahiri is one of today’s most acclaimed writers, having won a Pulitzer Prize for her first collection of short stories, 'Interpreter of Maladies.' Her placid, poetic writing is back in another collection of stories, 'Unaccustomed Earth.'
'Wit's End' by Karen Joy Fowler
'Wit's End' by Karen Joy Fowler is a funny, quick-paced mystery novel about a woman who learns more about her family history by moving in with her godmother, a reclusive mystery writer. Fowler is best known for writing 'The Jane Austen Book Club,' and her new novel is likely to entertain her loyal fans.
'The House at Riverton' by Kate Morton - Book Review
In 'The House at Riverton' by Kate Morton, a former English servant who worked for a prominent family at the beginning of the nineteenth century remembers her relationship with the family and secrets about a suicide that she has carried for 70-something years.
'The Senator's Wife' by Sue Miller - Book Review
'The Senator's Wife' by Sue Miller is the story of two women -- one at the beginning of her marriage, one in her later years -- who live adjacent to each other. Miller's skilled writing creates a page turning story of their lives.
'Last Last Chance' by Fiona Maazel
Last Last Chance, Fiona Maazel’s debut novel, is the frenetic, disjointed narrative of Lucy, a 30-year-old woman struggling to stay sober. Meanwhile, her father was a scientist working on the pneumonic plague; he killed himself after someone stole vials of the plague from his lab. Despite this, Last Last Chance is billed as a comic novel—while it isn’t exactly a-laugh-a-minute, it does have more humor than its subject would suggest. It’s also surprisingly powerful and moving.
'Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories' by Tobias Wolff - Book Review
�Our Story Begins� says it all. Tobias Wolff captures our stories with his clear distinct voice. With his focused direction, a short story never says so much.
'When We Were Romans' by Matthew Kneale - Book Review
'When We Were Romans' by Matthew Kneale is a story told from the perspective of a nine-year-old boy who flees England with his mother and sister because his mother is convinced that the boy's father is trying to harm them.
'The Painter from Shanghai' by Jennifer Cody Epstein - Book Review
The Painter from Shanghai, from first-time novelist Jennifer Cody Epstein, tells the fictionalized story of Pan Yuliang, a real woman who was one of the most prominent—and controversial—painters of the 20th century. Superbly written, Cody Epstein’s novel paints its own haunting and inspiring tale of the woman who went from being sold into prostitution to exhibiting her paintings in the finest salons in Paris.
'Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict' by Laurie Viera Rigler - Book Review
Laurie Viera Rigler is, like so many other avid readers, a Jane Austen addict. In her first novel, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, Rigler imagines a twenty-first century Los Angeles woman who finds herself transported to eighteenth-century England. Sure to appeal to Jane Austen fans everywhere, Confessions is a delightful read.
'Whitethorn Woods' by Maeve Binchy - Book Review
Whitethorn Woods is the latest entry in Maeve Binchy’s lengthy and bestselling career. Whitethorn Woods is essentially a collection of interconnected short stories that take place in a small town in Ireland. By turns sweet and somber, the overall tone of Whitethorn Woods is uplifting, and will please Binchy’s fans looking to revisit her unique depiction of today’s Ireland.
'The Double Bind' by Chris Bohjalian - Book Review
The Double Bind is a story about a young woman working at homeless shelter who becomes fascinated with photographs taken by one of her clients, photos that suggest he might be tied to her own past in mysterious ways. Chris Bohjalian’s novel is plotted like a mystery but is written like the best literary fiction.