Synopsis: An English society family is thrown into turmoil when one of their own marries a shifty Italian, and they’ll do anything to see that their child is raised properly–that is, in England. Review: EM Forster has been my latest classic discovery. I’d never read anything of his before last year, and I’m completely in love. Where Angels Fear to Tread is a short book that made me linger over every word, to my tremendous delight.
Synopsis: Accused of murdering her family’s benefactor, a teenage girl caught in the legal system explains what led to her arrest and indictment. Review: Author Shannon Cowan has done a remarkable job researching the Canadian legal system viz. young adults around the time that Tin Angel takes place (late 1960s). However, the emotional component of the story never quite came together for me.
Synopsis: A comprehensive, non-judgmental overview of labor and delivery. Review: I have a dear friend who is a doula and a childbirth educator, and she gave me this book when I became pregnant. The Big Book of Birth is written by the woman who runs Realbirth, where my friend used to teach (before she moved) and where my husband and I will be taking childbirth classes.
I was making my way through The Radiant Way by Margaret Drabble, thinking I was really enjoying it, when I realized on about page 75 that it was utterly failing to hold my interest. I couldn’t figure out why, because I generally love these kinds of books–portraits of women rooted in a time and place, books like The Group by Mary McCarthy or Diary of a Mad Housewife by Sue Kaufman. This book has strong, faceted female characters and the prose is layered yet lucid.…
Synopsis: A shy 14-year-old Latin scholar finds a passage into Manhattan’s underworld, where, guided by an unhappy ghost named Euri, he hopes to find out how his mother died once and for all. Review: Greek mythology concerning the after life deftly mixes with New York City’s colorful history in The Night Tourist, a marvelous adventure tale that’s as fresh as they come. Suitable for young readers emotionally mature enough to handle themes of death and grief, The Night Tourist is rich enough to satisfy teen…
Synopsis: The trials and travails of a group of young New York City-based novelists. Review: Grub is a reworking of a 19th Century novel. I can’t speak to its success in that regard because I haven’t read the original, but I will say that author Elise Blackwell pulls off a rare bird: a satire brimming with humanism. I enjoyed every line of this book, which reminded me at times of Whit Stillman’s marvelous first feature Metropolitan. This is a galley I’ll be keeping, rereading, and…
Synopsis: A small boy deals with the death of his mother by setting his imagination free. Review: Up High in the Trees is a beautifully written book about a most engaging child, but it failed to move me. I’m not really sure why. Sebby, his brother Leo, his sister Cass, and his father are all dealing with a grievous loss, each choosing to isolate themselves in a different way. The overall story shows a family splitting apart then coming back together because of the choices…