GuideReviews Index - page 3
The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta
Tom Perrotta once again focuses his observant eye and listening ear to white suburbia in his new novel The Abstinence Teacher. Here the conflict is between Ruth Ramsay, a high school sex education teacher who is seeing her curriculum tightened and restrained by a surge of born-again Christian outcry, and Tim Mason, her daughter’s soccer coach who has the team join him in prayer after a game to the chagrin of disapproving parents.
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon - Book Review
Michael Chabon may be the best author today at making vivid his most wild, and personal, imaginings. Who else could take readers to a post-World War II where Jews have migrated to Alaska and created a society that is darkly fantastic and devastatingly real – and then make it a fine detective novel with a Jewish Bogart with his own Maltese Falcon in the form of the dead body of a drug-addicted chess player who may just be the Messiah?
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan - Book Review
The renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright has received much historical attention, but author Nancy Horan turns her gaze on Mamah Borthwick, Wright’s lover -- their long-term affair scandalized the public -- who deserves attention in her own right for her work as a feminist. Loving Frank tells the story of Cheney’s affair with Wright and her struggles to mesh her own independence and intelligence with the traditional roles of wife and mother.
Them by Nathan McCall - Book Review
Them is Nathan McCall's debut novel. In it, McCall explores issues of race and gentrification through the story of Barlowe, a middle aged black man who lives in Atlanta's Fourth Ward. When a white couple moves in next door, Barlowe eventually forms a friendship with the wife while continuing to experience tension over the ways that white people are changing the neighborhood.
The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani - Book Review
Anita Amirrezvani's debut novel, The Blood of Flowers, tells the story of a young woman in 17th-century Iran with a passion for knotting rugs. Her life is thrown into an uproar when her father dies, and she and her mother must depend on the kindness of wealthy relatives and hope that the young woman finds a wealthy husband.
Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo - Book Review
Richard Russo truly is Nobody's Fool. After many successful, some would say classic novels (time will most definitely tell), including his most recent Pulitzer-prize winning Empire Falls, Richard Russo creates (or recreates) history by breathing life into the small New England town of Thomaston in Bridge of Sighs.
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides - Book Review
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides is told by Cal, a hermaphrodite who was raised as a girl until adolescence. Cal tells the story of his family of Greek immigrants over three generations, weaving a tale of mythic quality that is at the same time as down-to-earth as the motor city in which they live.
Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky - Book Review
Suite Française is the first two parts of a five part novel by Irène Némirovsky was writing during the German occupation of France in World War II. Before she could finish the novel, Némirovsky was captured by Nazis. She died in a concentration camp, and the manuscript remained unpublished until recently. Suite Française is a poignant, important piece of literature that creates a very intimate portrait of French life in the early 1940s.
Fire in the Blood by Irène Némirovsky - Book Review
Fire in the Blood is a recently discovered novella by Irène Némirovsky, written in French in 1941 before Némirovsky was killed in Auschwitz during World War II. Fire in the Blood is a simple but well written story of village life in France before the war and the passions of youth.
Sandworms of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson - Book Review
Sandworms of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson is the final novel in the Dune Chronicles, a series of novels set in an immersive sci-fi universe created by Herbert’s father Frank and often compared to the Lord of the Rings in its scope and depth. All the events from the original series by the elder Herbert and the prequels by Herbert and Anderson come together here for an ending that is mostly satisfying, though not majestic.
A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon - Book Review
A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon is the author's second novel, following The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. In A Spot of Bother, George Hall is convinced that the eczema on his thigh is cancer and is unable to deal with his daughter's wedding, his wife's affair, and his son's homosexuality. Funny and perceptive, if not uplifting, Haddon's biggest accomplishment is writing something completely different from Curious Incident, and writing it well.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman - Book Review
Neil Gaiman, one of the finest fantasy storytellers of modern times, wrote Stardust to honor the simpler fairy tales and fantasies of times past, where a town was akin to a place magical and a person could wonder without restraint if he or she so choosed. What Gaiman accomplishes with this storytelling endeavor is as imaginative as Tinkerbell’s pixie dust in transporting the reader through a tale of love, danger and adventure.
Tomorrow by Graham Swift - Book Review
Tomorrow by Graham Swift takes place on one night, as the female narrator, Paula Hook, anticipates breaking some shocking news to her children on the titular day. The story, though, covers her lifetime and theirs, and the many events—big and small—that led to the present evening. Graham Swift’s writing is elegant and his ability to inhabit his characters is impressive and makes for a great novel.
The View from Mount Joy by Lorna Landvik - Book Review
The View from Mount Joy by Lorna Landvik, bestselling author of Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, tells the story of Joe Andreson, a high school hockey player who moves to Minneapolis. The novel follows the story of his life through middle age, and traces the impact of his high school years and the friends he made. The View from Mount Joy is a meandering story, but Landvik will keep you reading.
Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician by Daniel Wallace - Book Review
Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician is Daniel Wallace's follow up to his successful novel, Big Fish. Read this review of Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician to find out if Wallace works his magic again.
Madonnas of Leningrad - Book Review
Madonnas of Leningrad is an astonishing debut novel that captivates and moves the reader. Debra Dean’s novel tells the story of Marina, a young woman enduring the siege of Leningrad during World War II. Years later, as she begins to suffer from Alzheimer’s, her adult daughter struggles to understand her mother’s experiences during the war. Emotional but sentimental, powerful but never overwhelming, Madonnas of Leningrad should absolutely not be missed.
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan - Book Review
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan is a slim novel, and the prose is spare. Its ambition is small, too: the main story takes place on just one night. Don’t let this smallness fool you, though. Edward’s and Florence’s entire lives are contained in Ian McEwan’s stunning novel. On Chesil Beach is the latest achievement from one of the best authors of our time, and it should not be missed.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - Book Review
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is superbly written, has a page-turning story, and will help you learn more about Afghanistan. In his follow up novel to The Kite Runner, Hosseini has once again created a heartbreaking masterpiece that connects readers with life in Afghanistan over the past several decades and highlights the common hopes, dreams and struggles that make us human.
Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier - Book Review
Tracy Chevalier, bestselling author of Girl with a Pearl Earring, has written another historical novel, this time turning her attention to late 18th-century London and the writer William Blake. Burning Bright tells the story behind Blake’s writing of his masterpiece, Songs of Innocence and Experience, through the eyes of a teenage boy and girl who are neighbors to Blake in London.
What is the What by Dave Eggers - Book Review
What is the What is an astonishing, eye-opening, and heartbreaking book that defies classification. Once you’ve read it, the story of Valentino Achak Deng refuses to leave your mind. Even if you’re not familiar with the Lost Boys and their struggles to escape from war-torn Sudan, you’ll be drawn into this pseudo-autobiography. What is the What tells a devastating story but never plays for sympathy. Instead, the hope, complexity, and tragedy of the situation take center stage.
Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman - Book Review
Alice Hoffman is known for her lyrical writing and stories laced with magic. Fans of her previous works will find both in Skylight Confessions, an epic novel that’s steeped in the imagery and magic of fairy tales. The saga of Arlyn Singer is tremendously sad at times, which lends her story a weighty authenticity, and Hoffman includes enough love and hope that the book is, on the balance, thoughtful and uplifting.
The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory - Book Review
If you find England’s King Henry VIII and his six wives fascinating, you’ll want to pick up The Constant Princess or one of Philippa Gregory’s other novels that chronicle the lives of women in the King’s court. More than a historical novel, The Constant Princess is an appealing look at Queen Katherine of Aragon before she married King Henry. The sweeping descriptions of life in Spain along with the political intrigue of the English court make for a suspenseful and fast-moving read.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield - Book Review
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield is a rich story about secrets, ghosts, winter, books and family. The Thirteenth Tale is a book lover's book, with much of the action taking place in libraries and book stores, and the line between fact and fiction constantly blurred. Setterfield makes the words come to life. Some passages even gave me chills. With a mug of cocoa and The Thirteenth Tale, contentment isn't far away.
The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Book Review
The Memory Keeper's Daughter starts on a snowy night in 1964 when a doctor delivers his own twins and discovers that one of them, the daughter, has been born with Downs Syndrome. In a hasty decision he gives the daughter to a nurse to take to an institution and tells his wife the baby died. The nurse raises the daughter as her own. The Memory Keeper's Daughter moves through the years, showing how one decision changed so many lives. This is a powerful and highly recommended novel.
The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy - Book Review
The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy is an exquisitely written book of murder and obsession that takes the true details of the unsolved 1947 Elizabeth Short murder and creates a fictional story of a police detective determined to solve the case. The Black Dahlia is a page turning mystery novel, but it is also much more. Ellroy uses the story to delve into the dark recesses of the human psyche and force the reader to deal with obsession, evil, right and wrong.