The Lamplighter's Bookshop
by Sophie Austin
More Bookshop Wanted (5/29/2025)
I was disappointed that the bookshop in itself did not play a more significant role in the story. It served only as a backdrop and was not really important to the plot. The shop could have been any type of store. I felt the "liar" theme was also a bit overdone to the detriment of deeper plot development. Also, a few plot details were left unexplained. Was Naomi black and therefore seemingly unaccepted somewhat at that time? Morton's love in India is always referred to as "they". Could his love have been a man? This fact is never clarified.
Innards: Stories
by Magogodi oaMphela Makhene
Relevant but Confusing (5/13/2023)
The title of the book suggests inner turmoil. However, there is much external turmoil also. Throughout the interconnected stories, there hangs an overlying sense of the seeming futility in being able to overcome oppression. While the book is enlightening in many respects, there are some confusing elements. A glossary of terms or words with which some readers may not be familiar might be helpful.
Scatterlings: A Novel
by Resoketswe Martha Manenzhe
Poetic, but Slow (10/12/2022)
At one point in the novel, the speaker mentions the description and analysis of a sunset as being "excessive and unnecessary." While there are moments of poetic descriptions of nature in Scatterlings, sometimes the passages are just too extensive. In contrast, the storyline and characters often seem not nearly as fleshed out. I was left with many unanswered questions because I never felt invested enough in the characters and their situations because of this lack of specificity.
The Northern Reach
by W.S. Winslow
Great Debut (11/8/2020)
The Northern Reach is an extraordinary debut novel. The interconnected stories that make up the work deal, in almost all cases, with individuals who possess yearnings for what could have been. Their everyday lives chronicle a litany of unfulfilled desires. The harsh Maine seascape perfectly reflects the internal challenges the characters undergo. The lyrical language of The Northern Reach will resonate long after the reader has finished the novel.
Eternal Life
by Dara Horn
Eternal Life (11/4/2017)
As a long-time fan of Dara Horn's writing, I was eagerly awaiting her latest novel. Eternal Life explores an interesting premise--the concept of living forever on earth. However, I found the "magical realism" aspect of the novel a bit off-putting. Many sections of the book seemed somewhat vague and repetitious. Although Horn remains a favorite of mine, I enjoyed this novel less than I did her earlier works.
Karolina's Twins
by Ronald H. Balson
Fast-Paced but Familiar (7/3/2016)
As someone who has read numerous Holocaust-related books, I surmised early on the manner in which the women would attempt to save the babies. Still, I found myself engrossed in Karolina's Twins in order to find out the futures of the children and the complicated role Lena played in the situation. At some points, however, Lena's dialogue seemed almost too "literary" to be believable. While it might have sacrificed some of the intimacy of Lena's presence, a third-person narrator would have made the language used appear more plausible. Despite some flaws, the novel did keep my interest to the end.
If I Forget You
by Thomas Christopher Greene
Fast-Paced but Predictable (4/1/2016)
If I Forget You is, for the most part, a well-written book. However, much of the plot is quite predictable. The story line is one that has been used innumerable times. I was able to guess the "supposed" twist in the narrative well before the end of the book. While Henry's character seems relatively believable, I found Margot and many of her upper-class daily problems a bit much. The fast pace of the book made it highly readable, but perhaps the author could expend additional time to "flesh out" his characters a bit more.
The Dark Lady's Mask
by Mary Sharratt
Imaginative Account (2/1/2016)
Sharratt bases her story on the premise that Aemilia Bassano Lanier, an actual Renaissance poet, could have been Shakespeare's collaborator and muse. Using this concept as a starting point, the novelist creates a fanciful depiction of Aemilia's life and connections to Shakespeare and other Renaissance figures of her day. Sharratt cleverly interweaves quotations and situations from Shakespeare's plays to form parallels to events in her narrative. Some of the connections, however, seem to be a bit of a stretch, even for a fictionalized account. Also, coincidence is used too often to bail out Aemilia from difficult straits. All in all, the novel still remains engrossing in that it does shed light on the social and literary restrictions placed upon even the most educated women of Shakespeare's day.
The Two-Family House
by Lynda Cohen Loigman
Interesting Family Dynamics (10/25/2015)
Despite the fact that the family "secret" is easy to discern early on in the novel, I found the book quite enjoyable. The many interactions amongst the family members kept the story fast-paced and readable. Some facets of Rose's depression might have been better explained. However, most of the characterizations were quite believable.
The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs
by Matthew Dicks
Role Reversals (5/31/2015)
The author presents a novel role reversal in the mother -daughter relationship in which the child is portrayed as more insightful than the adults surrounding her. However, the level of wisdom of fifteen-year-old Polly and the level of naivety of her mother Caroline did not always seem believable.
Some of the minor characters would be more interesting if they were "fleshed out" to a greater extent. For example, it would be interesting to learn more of Caroline's mother's transformation from a depressed alcoholic to a successful and compassionate woman. Tom, Caroline's husband, also might be a more understandable character if he were described thoroughly.
Ultimately, the basic premise that Caroline has allowed her high-school slight to morph into such an enormous part of her life to the extent that it is an integral part of her life-long guilt does not seem realistic or compelling enough to be the basis for an entire novel.
Fishbowl: A Novel
by Bradley Somer
Engaging and Poignant (4/26/2015)
The novel is able to explore the profundities of the human condition, yet the author does so in a witty and, at times, even comical manner. By delineating the lives of diverse residents of an apartment building, Somer describes each individual's concern with loneliness. Despite the residents' seeming initial anonymity, they ultimately find the beauty of interconnections with others. I became totally caught up in the situations of the many characters and their predicaments. Fishbowl is an engaging and poignant book.
Between the Tides
by Susannah Marren
Interesting Despite Flawed Characters (4/4/2015)
The novel was fast-paced and kept my interest. However, one problem with the book is that, for the most part, the two main characters, Lainie and Jess, come across as unsympathetic because of their self-centeredness. Some of their upper-middle-class problems seem petty and foolish compared to problems faced by ordinary people. This aspect of their characterization makes it hard to identify with them or root for them. The conclusion was somewhat shocking, but it was not too much a stretch of credibility. I would have liked to have seen a few of the issues left up in the air at the end of the novel resolved to a greater degree, however.
Her Name Is Rose
by Christine Breen
Engrossing Tale (1/25/2015)
For the most part, I found the novel engrossing. The major characters, especially Iris and Rose, were defined enough to make the reader care about their experiences. As I read, I became caught up in their life complications and adventures. As someone who lives in the Greater Boston area, I enjoyed being able to recognize the Boston locations described in the book. My only criticism would be that there is an inordinate amount of coincidence used to connect plot points. The way some of the relationships were resolved at times seemed to be somewhat too simply accomplished.
The Last Flight of Poxl West
by Daniel Torday
A Novel of Many Themes (12/29/2014)
Although the novel is, on a surface level, about the challenges of warfare, at heart it is about all aspects of the human condition. The consequences of abandonment, the confusion between love and passion and the spiraling effects of one's actions are just some of the issues dealt with in Torday's book. At points, I found the chapters narrated by Poxl's "grandson" Eli more interesting than Poxl's narrative. Eli's search for what constitutes a hero is perhaps more compelling than Poxl's ultimately somewhat flawed insights into his own behavior. Also, on a lighter note, I enjoyed the novel's references to events and places in Greater Boston that are familiar to me.
A Fireproof Home for the Bride
by Amy Scheibe
Interesting but Flawed (12/5/2014)
As someone who was a child in the fifties, I found the references to the music and styles of the times brought back memories of my early years. However, while aspects of the novel were engaging, I felt the character of Emmy was problematic. It was hard to believe she had the personality to draw people to be so interested in her. Even though some aspects of the book were described in almost too much detail, description explaining Emmy's charisma was scant. For example, would a teenager with only a high school education and no journalistic background be so readily invited by an experienced newspaperman to be his cub reporter as Jim asked Emmy to be?
Over-drawn figures of speech were much too frequent. At one point Jim warns Emmy about clichés. He tells her "to beat them out" of her writing. Scheibe would do well to heed the advice of her character's mouth piece and try to strip away some of the "purple prose" in her book. It serves to distract the reader from the content.
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