BookBrowse Editorial Review
A Short Walk Through a Wide World: A Novel
by Douglas Westerbeke
(5/15/2024)
Debut novelist (and librarian!) Douglas Westerbeke draws readers into the story of nine-year-old Aubry Tourvel who is forevermore at the mercy of her illness. She cannot go back to the same place twice, not even to say goodbye to people she loves, and she cannot stay in any one location for more than a few days. And so, she sets off on a life-long adventure. Perhaps most enjoyably, A Short Walk Through a Wide World is an homage to libraries and the information they contain. Scattered ac
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Fortune Smiles: Stories
by Adam Johnson
(10/7/2015)
Overall, Johnson's storytelling is exceptional, both in subject and style. His writing is audacious and he knows how to use difficult subjects as a way of exposing life's complexities, rather than for cheap shock value. I highly recommend Fortune Smiles to readers who appreciate multifaceted characters and strong, emotive writing that crackles with creativity, though not to the faint of heart.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Academy Street by Mary Costello
(4/15/2015)
With all her imperfections and foibles, Tess makes for an interesting character, and readers will find themselves easily drawn to her story. I felt like I was checking in on a distant friend each time I picked up the book.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Room by Jonas Karlsson
(3/18/2015)
A distinct sense of humor and playfulness underlies the plot but doesn’t sacrifice the novel’s depth. Swedish playwright (and now novelist) Jonas Karlsson has delivered a delightfully eerie debut that will keep a smile on your face as you burn through the pages.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion
(1/21/2015)
It’s difficult not to compare sequels to their original counterparts, and all too often sequels take something that was fresh and imaginative and repeat the same jokes until they aren’t funny, or make unique characters mere caricatures of themselves. And while I suppose there’s a hint of that in The Rosie Effect, I actually like the second book more than the first. It successfully maintains a light-hearted, comical tone, and the new scenarios are funnier (even if a little more suspension
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Painter by Peter Heller
(5/21/2014)
Heller's respect for art and literature as means of expression, his gorgeous descriptions of the landscapes, his driving plotline, and his complex characters all combine to create a thoughtful and deeply satisfying read. I recommend The Painter to people who appreciate the outdoors, to people who could spend twenty minutes contemplating one painting in an art museum, and to people who prefer gray spaces to black and white. Two thumbs up.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Ballad of a Small Player by Lawrence Osborne
(4/23/2014)
In addition to the strong, contemplative narrative, Osborne’s sense of place makes The Ballad of a Small Player an outstanding novel. This book could not have taken place in the desert casinos of Las Vegas or Monaco’s Monte Carlo. In Macau, ancient Chinese lore mingles with Western ideals – luck is a decision of the gods, and insatiable ghosts of the Buddhist afterlife are believed to walk among the living.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Zane and the Hurricane: A Story of Katrina
by Rodman Philbrick
(3/19/2014)
[The characters'] struggles keep you on the edge of your seat, which makes for a very quick read, and it is easy to care about what happens to them. I appreciate that Philbrick illustrates how some people automatically decide to collaborate with each other, while others seem controlled by fear and panic. In this way, his writing feels true and gives kids a taste for some of the deeper issues at hand, though they are never really discussed.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind
by Scott Stossel
(2/19/2014)
[Stossel's] writing is personal and extraordinarily brave. He exposes his struggle to function in daily life, recounts difficult therapy sessions, admits to gut-wrenching anxiety that caused him to soil himself, remembers walking out in the middle of his own speeches, and quietly mentions moments of stress and abuse he suffered as a child. Stossel’s ability to unabashedly share his experiences creates a strong sense of humanity in his book, and his first-person narrative is very effective in de-
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher
(1/8/2014)
With an obvious understanding of the adolescent heart and a gift for natural dialogue, Pitcher conveys Zoe’s yearning to be an adult and how it feels to fall in love for the first time … [She] successfully captures the real complexity and overblown drama of being an adolescent, and she certainly brought me back to memories I thought I had long since forgotten.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Dinosaur Feather by S.J. Gazan
(11/20/2013)
It’s a perfect book to get you in the mood for a dark winter. And – a warning for some, a promise for others – it’s filled with revolting descriptions of creatures from biology’s underbelly. Parasitic tapeworms that munch their way through nerves and tissue and lay eggs inside peoples’ intestines, spiders the size of dinner plates, scorpions crawling under bedspreads… it’s all in there.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Enon by Paul Harding
(10/16/2013)
While the construct of Enon and the progression of the plot feel artificial in many places, once Harding finds his way into his long, introspective, almost mythical passages, his writing – particularly about death – is gorgeous. He has a unique talent for blurring the lines between the present and the past without slipping into the world of the bizarre, and Charlie’s sad, imaginative, wandering mind is something to savor.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Levels of Life by Julian Barnes
(10/2/2013)
So it is with love. Barnes creates a metaphor between love (found and lost) and the intrepid adventure of hot air ballooning and lays the groundwork for talking about the death of his wife. Initially, the connection feels somewhat unnatural, however Barnes’s thoughtful writing and rich illustrative comparisons carry it through.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America
by George Packer
(7/10/2013)
Overall, George Packer's The Unwinding takes an ingenious approach to interpreting today's America. His way of considering the whole via its parts is intimate and insightful, and he allows readers to watch the events of the last 30 years unfold like a science experiment. Though I don't feel like I walked away with a deeper understanding of my place in this "unwinding," I do feel like Packer has given me plenty to think about.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Hour of the Red God: A Detective Mollel Novel
by Richard Crompton
(5/22/2013)
What I like most about this novel is how Crompton allows readers to experience Nairobi with all five senses. Through his vivid descriptions we feel the oppressive heat while waiting in horrific traffic, we taste the dust of the landscapes and the spiciness of chai, and we hear the supportive murmurs of churchgoers as Reverend George Nalo preaches about God and what to look for in a political candidate.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Siege 13: Stories
by Tamas Dobozy
(4/3/2013)
Dobozy’s writing has a strong and classic feel to it, and it is apparent that he knows his craft. His stories walk the fine line between the everyday and the fantastical, and the curious actions of his characters echo a loneliness that is sometimes pitiable and other times cruel, but always interesting.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
A Possible Life: A Novel in Five Parts
by Sebastian Faulks
(2/6/2013)
Have you ever thought about how remarkably different people’s lives are - that an intricate arrangement of choices, chance meetings, unforeseen circumstances, and relationships can combine to create a unique life path? Or, on the other hand, have you ever marveled over the universal sameness of the human experience? In A Possible Life: A Novel in Five Parts, Sebastian Faulks explores these seemingly contradictory yet complimentary ideas through five main characters, living in five differe
BookBrowse Editorial Review
All of Me: How I Learned to Live with the Many Personalities Sharing My Body
by Kim Noble
(11/14/2012)
In her memoir, All of Me: How I Learned to Live with the Many Personalities Sharing My Body, Kim Noble (a name given to her at birth that she has now learned to respond to) describes, with great honesty and a bit of a dramatic flair, her experiences living with DID. Readers learn about Haylee, an assertive, no-nonsense woman; Judy, who suffers from bulimia; Bonny, the responsible mother; Salome, a Catholic zealot; Sonia, who eats paper; Rebecca, who has attempted suicide; Ken, a 21-year-
BookBrowse Editorial Review
It's Fine By Me by Per Petterson
(10/31/2012)
In his novel It’s Fine by Me, Per Petterson uses the shared-yet-unique loneliness [all humans experience] as the foundation for characters who are so vulnerable, so real, so beautifully complex, you ache for them.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Pulse: Stories
by Julian Barnes
(8/4/2011)
The first time I picked up a book by Julian Barnes, it was one of those magical moments in a little independent bookstore. The unassuming jacket illustration caught my eye, so I crossed the creaky wooden floor to explore its pages. And that, as they say, was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. I was instantly drawn to how he illustrates the near-invisible nuances of human interaction and his keen understanding of how people communicate differently than one another. And in this collection of
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan
(7/13/2011)
Duncan's The Last Werewolf is a highly intelligent, sensual, and well-written novel that, with some interesting twists and unexpected turns, is likely to keep you engrossed throughout. I highly recommend this book to fans of classic horror novels and to people who can appreciate that perfect combination of poetic introspection, gothic darkness, and juicy gore.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Brothers of Baker Street: A Mystery
by Michael Robertson
(4/20/2011)
In the second book of the Heath brothers mystery series, The Brothers of Baker Street, author Michael Robertson fuses past with present, Holmesian cleverness with action-packed adventure, and delivers a delightfully entertaining read. I must admit, I have a penchant for novels that conjure images of Gothic/Victorian London: mysteries shrouded in a gray fog, a murderer absconding in the pitch of night along cobblestone roads... Robertson deftly creates this creepiness but with an exciting
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Inevitable: Contemporary Writers Confront Death
by David Shields,<br>Bradford Morrow (Editors)
(3/9/2011)
Editors David Shields and Bradford Morrow have put together a heavy but thoroughly interesting collection of essays in The Inevitable: Contemporary Writers Confront Death. I was genuinely surprised by the uniqueness of the authors' experiences of death; it is encountered in an array of different ways, is interpreted differently, and means different things to people of varying cultures. That element - that intriguing difference - is what I found most compelling about this collection. Death
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Memory Palace: A Memoir
by Mira Bartok
(2/16/2011)
Bartók's descriptions are given great care and are told with poetry. She portrays the respite of her grandparents' backyard - the plum and pear trees, the birds and plants she loves so much - with the same detail as she describes the suffocating cigarette smoke, her grandfather's alcoholism and abuse, and the constant drone of fear in her life. Above all, what makes this book truly outstanding is Bartók's meditation on the role of memory and its relationship to human connection.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Under Fishbone Clouds: A Novel
by Sam Meekings
(1/13/2011)
Under Fishbone Clouds is at once an examination of the nature of love and the human heart, a survey of 20th century Chinese history, an introduction to Chinese mythology and philosophy, and a poetic work of contemporary fiction. It is one of the best books I've read in a while, and will surely only get better upon a second reading. I highly recommend it!
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Heliopolis by James Scudamore
(11/17/2010)
Scudamore is unafraid of exploring difficult subjects--the patronizing nature of so-called philanthropy, the discomfort of not belonging, the independence that charity takes away, the uncertainty of how to help another person without being insulting, who owes what to whom--and his writing is at its strongest when he offers no solutions to these social conflicts. Instead, he freely examines the raw feelings of shame, stifled anger, and apathy that plague his characters. Scudamore respects the com
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Sugar King of Havana: The Rise and Fall of Julio Lobo, Cuba's Last Tycoon
by John Paul Rathbone
(9/8/2010)
What makes this book especially unique is Rathbone's personal relationship to the material... His work takes on a sense of personal importance and inadvertently shows how Cuban exile has the potential to create feelings of displacement in subsequent generations.
There is a beautiful, lost quality to his narrative, his quest to piece together his heritage... But there is also a noticeable idealization of Julio Lobo - perhaps, too, a part of Rathbone's nostalgia - that keeps Lobo's story from ap
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross
(7/8/2010)
What Ross does well is to encourage readers to make connections between the three couples' situations by weaving similar details throughout all three stories. His use of description, particularly his sense of place (whether in New York, Hawaii or Ohio) transports readers and allows the setting to contribute to the telling of the story....I waiver between recommending this book and not, but I think that if you take the time to consider it, especially if you have the commitment to read it a second
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky
(5/5/2010)
Alina Bronsky's Broken Glass Park is one of the most thought-provoking works of literature I've read in a long time, and with her remarkable ability to communicate emotion with precision and intent, Bronsky creates just that - literature... Throughout the entire novel, there are no wasted words in Bronsky's writing and her dialogue is both poignant and raw. I am so delighted that this book was translated into English (from the German) and with such a strong debut, I'm looking forward to w
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Dog Boy: A Novel
by Eva Hornung
(5/5/2010)
There is an eerie, apocalyptic feel to Romochka's situation, and the way he wavers between following his absent mother's advice... and doing what he needs to survive creates a vulnerable uncertainty in his character that is truly intriguing. However, as the novel develops, Romochka's conscious thoughts and feelings, which are supplied by the omniscient narrator, often seem too self-aware and deliberate for a four-year-old in such a situation... This produces a slight mistrust between the narrato
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The House of Tomorrow: A Novel
by Peter Bognanni
(3/17/2010)
Peter Bognanni's The House of Tomorrow is a fresh and creative novel that I truly enjoyed reading... The plot of the story isn't particularly fast-paced or driving, and at times it feels slow, but [the novel] is more about the rich conversations people have while practicing musical instruments together, how sharing CDs can be a window into someone's soul and how shared situations create a deep bond between people even if they don't always treat each other right, just like Sid and Nancy.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Farmer's Daughter: Novellas
by Jim Harrison
(2/3/2010)
I hoped for the sensual descriptions of the sweeping American Mid-West, and I wanted the landscape to actively contribute to the telling of the stories. And Harrison not only lives up to those expectations, he exceeds them. Though all three of his novellas are distinct from one another, they are joined by the exploration of isolation, displacement, raw sexuality, human connection... Each novella in The Farmer's Daughter is better than the last.