BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Book of Jonas by Stephen Dau
(9/5/2012)
The Book of Jonas is a great combination of emotional drama and compelling mystery. Though I’ve never been in the situations Stephen Dau describes, every word rings true emotionally.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
My First Coup d'Etat: And Other True Stories from the Lost Decades of Africa
by John Dramani Mahama
(8/8/2012)
Part memoir, part history lesson, My First Coup d'Etat is a collection of true stories by a Ghanian man who grew up close enough to his country's politics to have some real insight into Ghana's historical events. At the same time, he was far away long enough to have a spectator's perspective. What makes this collection even more interesting is that shortly after its release, the author, John Dramani Mahama, was sworn in as Ghana's newest President.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Happiness Is a Chemical in the Brain: Stories
by Lucia Perillo
(7/25/2012)
Lucia Perillo has previously published over half a dozen books of poetry; no surprise, considering this book is full of stories short on words and long on nuance. She seems to come to no conclusions on what the human condition is, or what it means. At the same time, she presents all kinds of evidence that every one of us is inept and needy, yet wonderful in spite of ourselves. This is a book to make us feel better about our shortcomings - even in the deepest despair there is hope.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Home by Toni Morrison
(5/30/2012)
"Home" is very short - a novella rather than a novel - and the details are sketchy. It gives the impression of something boiled down to its essence, nothing extraneous. Morrison focuses on the internal experiences of characters not given to introspection. This is not navel-gazing, it is voyeurism at it finest... a great example of powerful storytelling from an established writer who has not lost her touch.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Monstress: Stories
by Lysley Tenorio
(2/15/2012)
The style in all of these stories is very straightforward - no postmodern trickery or stories in verse - just standard narratives with exemplary execution. While the book has no overt, all-encompassing theme or recurring characters, all of the stories are like courses from the same meal - some sweet, some warm - that together make for a very satisfying experience.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
(1/11/2012)
Science writing can be difficult to make interesting, but Kahneman does a good job of constantly engaging the reader with real examples for each idea that he presents... If you like reading Malcolm Gladwell, or if you enjoy exploring the inner workings of the human mind, this book may be for you.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Bright and Distant Shores: A Novel
by Dominic Smith
(11/17/2011)
Bright and Distant Shores fits well into the tradition of travel narratives, where cultures clash and moral ambiguity is the order of the day. Lives and fortunes are risked, the innocent come to knowledge, and everyone discovers more about themselves than they do about the 'other' they go looking for. Smith does a good job of building a compelling narrative while feeding our desire for the bizarre and fascinating.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Cat's Table: A Novel
by Michael Ondaatje
(10/5/2011)
As always, Ondaatje's characters have a depth and resonance that is tough to beat. His prose, at its best, is lyrical - and, at its worst, is still better than most. The book is written like a memoir, and works well as the story of someone who is hoping to find that long-lost friend, or maybe just the child he used to be. Though the book is written for adults, I think the YA crowd would enjoy it as well.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Embassytown by China Mieville
(7/13/2011)
I have a confession to make. I am in love with China Miéville's brain. I think his writing is brilliant, unique, and thought-provoking to the millionth degree. He treats the English language as his tool, his toy, and his landscape, and Embassytown is a perfect example of how much he can accomplish in one book.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away by Christie Watson
(6/15/2011)
Tiny Sunbirds Far Away is equal parts plot and character - I never seemed to reach a good place to stop, so I read it in two days, staying up past my bedtime for "just one more page." What this book does best is put you inside the world of 12-year-old Blessing as that world is turned upside down - in a place where the whole social structure is in upheaval as well, so that personal events mirror society as a whole. The cultural upheaval that comes from the post-colonial presence of foreign
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Tiger, Tiger: A Memoir
by Margaux Fragoso
(4/20/2011)
It matters that this is non-fiction. It matters that Fragoso was brave enough to re-live this, and share it with us. I've read tons of fiction that made me happy, angry, frustrated and sad. With this book, I could only ache for the truth of this little girl's life. Anger was useless, and pity seemed an insult to the woman she's become. I applaud her writing, and her commitment to protecting future children from the horror she suffered by illustrating the need for treatment of the perpetrators as
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Home Fires by Gene Wolfe
(3/9/2011)
As with most good speculative fiction, this imagined future is used to explore current ideas. In Home Fires, Wolfe explores two big questions: What is love and what is death? ...This strange, surprising book is clearly written by a master. Although definitely not a book for everyone, I think Home Fires is great fun, and well worth the work involved on the reader's part.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Annabel: A Novel
by Kathleen Winter
(1/13/2011)
Someone famously said once that reading novels is the best way to understand the thoughts of people other than ourselves. Or something like that. Regardless, this is the biggest reason I read fiction. I am fascinated by human beings and what makes us tick. Kathleen Winters has written a remarkable book that takes the inner lives of a small family and blows the pieces apart for us to dig through and marvel at. This book will show you some of the things inside your own head, as well as making you
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Sunset Park: A Novel
by Paul Auster
(11/3/2010)
Paul Auster is one of those writers who is always multitasking. His stories are never about just one thing, and you can never be sure what's going on behind the scenes until you turn the last page. This is why I hate him, not to mention envy him. And also why I love him... The point here, as with every Auster novel I've read, is that the story of our lives is not the same thing as life itself. The story is just how we make sense of it all.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay
(9/22/2010)
If you like your thought-provoking books with a dose of energetic plot, you'll want to read A Secret Kept. Set in France, both in Paris and Noirmoutier, an island off the east coast of France... I was thoroughly engrossed and finished the book in two days. There was never a false note, and never a dull moment.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Father of the Rain: A Novel
by Lily King
(8/4/2010)
Father of the Rain offers a portrait of an alcoholic parent from the viewpoint of his daughter, Daley. The story begins when Daley is 11, right before her parents' divorce, and follows her until her father's death 25 years later. Both a warning and a tribute to the importance of the relationship between a father and daughter, this novel is a heart-wrenching depiction of the painful influence of this particular parent on a vulnerable child under his care.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Best European Fiction 2010 by Aleksandar Hemon (editor)
(5/5/2010)
There is something for everyone here – at least, everyone who loves short stories... Many short story collections are planned around a theme – same author, subject or place, perhaps – and this one suffers a little from the disparate nature of the stories involved. I liked most of the stories, and was really impressed by others – but the lack of cohesiveness made it difficult to commit to reading the book through... That being said, I often turned the page in disappointment at reaching the end o
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Solitude of Prime Numbers: A Novel
by Paolo Giordano
(3/17/2010)
Those who have an interest in psychology - we who are obsessed with why people do the things they do, all the inner workings of humans - will find much to like here. Virtually all of this book happens inside someone's head... The tiny instances that become founding principles in a person's actions; the thoughtless word or action that ruins a relationship - these things are laid bare in the lives of two children as they grow to adulthood... This book is not a fairy tale, so there is no happy endi
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Map of the Invisible World: A Novel
by Tash Aw
(1/13/2010)
The topic of cultures clashing has always been fascinating to me, and Map of the Invisible World is a great example of how fiction can illuminate a complex history. By examining the lives of a few individuals during the struggle for independence in Indonesia, we see the pain, confusion and damage done to an entire country... This is a magnificently emotional story that still manages to surprise you in the end, not because the story itself is unusual, but because the path the book takes yo
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
by Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn
(11/19/2009)
Half the Sky is full of practical advice for the movement as a whole, as well as for individuals who wish to make sure their dollars are truly helpful on the other side - not just a way for us to feel like we're contributing, but a way to truly make a difference in the global struggle. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand the issues at hand or find a way to help, and I think it should be required reading in high schools across the country.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Children's Book: A Novel
by A.S. Byatt
(10/21/2009)
When I first plunged into The Children's Book, what struck me was how real the characters were. Olive Wellwood and her circle of friends and family didn't feel like characters, they felt like people. The expansive scope of this novel, and the attention to detail in so many areas - theater, pottery, fairy tales, anarchy, socialism and many others - is impressively handled and rarely does the history interfere with the storytelling. However, I was disappointed that the ending didn't come wi