The Ha-Ha, by Dave King

The Ha-Ha, by Dave King…I give it 5 Stars!
Howard Kapostash is a war veteran who has not spoken in thirty years. He has the same heart and mind, and is the same person, that he was before. He lives in a proverbial shell, an existence sustained with gestures and facial language.
His life begins to slowly [...]

Read Full Post »

The Earth and Sky of Jacques Dorme, by Andrei Makine

The Earth and Sky of Jacques Dorme, by Andrei Makine…translated from the French by Geoffrey Strachan…I Give it Five Stars!
Makine’s novel is the third in a trilogy of books, that are more or less biographical. Time and place are innate and important qualities in his romantic and almost surreal writing.
“The SPAN OF THEIR LIFE TOGETHER [...]

Read Full Post »

The Same Sea, by Amos Oz

The Same Sea, by Amos Oz, is a captivating, lyrical, mystical prose poem for the heart and mind. Oz’s word-paintings fill our senses with emotions ranging from A to Z.
The novel has several characters whose lives join together and are intertwined, through the root of one particular person. The characters often cross emotional [...]

Read Full Post »

The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million

Daniel Mendelsohn will be signing his book, The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million on Wednesday February 13, 2008, at Davis Kidd in Memphis, TN. I wish I could be there for it. Unfortunately, I can’t.The Lost is an excellent book, and compelling family chronicle that takes us on a [...]

Read Full Post »

The Luncheon of the Boating Party, by Susan Vreeland

The Luncheon of the Boating Party, by Susan Vreeland…I give it Five Stars!
Vreeland’s exquisite and beautiful prose make this novel of historical fiction one to read. She details the events leading up to the finished painting, how Renoir chose his models, his relationship with each one, how they connected with each other individually within the [...]

Read Full Post »

The Madonnas of Leningrad, by Debra Dean

The Madonnas of Leningrad, by Debra Dean…I give it Four Stars!
“Sometimes it requires all her wits to piece together the world with the fragments she is given: an open can of Folgers, a carton of eggs on the counter, the faint scent of toast.”
And, so, begins the story of Marina, a woman caught between her [...]

Read Full Post »

Will in the World, by Stephen Greenblatt

Will in the World, by Stephen Greenblatt…I give it Five Stars
Why I let this book sit on my stack of “to reads” as long as I did, is beyond me, being the fan of The Bard, that I am.
Will in the World is a page turner of a biography, a biography that is beyond compare, [...]

Read Full Post »

On Beauty, by Zadie Smith

The novel, On Beauty, by Zadie Smith was awarded The Orange Prize, in June 2006, which is an award going to the best novel of the year, published in England, and written by a woman.
In On Beauty, Smith’s intensity and insight brings us to the forefront of the issues concerning beauty, and has us questioning [...]

Read Full Post »

City of Dreams, by Beverly Swerling

City of Dreams, a novel, by Beverly Swerling
This is a well-researched book that is filled with excellent historical value and factual information. Swerling recreates the time periods with fluid blends, giving our imaginations a peek at what life was like during the generations that span the novel, beginning with Amsterdam, when it was first settled.
From [...]

Read Full Post »

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat, Pray, Love, a book by Elizabeth Gilbert…I Give it Five Stars!
Eat, Pray, Love is a work of non-fiction, a memoir of a woman’s journey to find her essence, her soul, her very Being. We are taken on a journey, through the emotional elevator of her life, after her divorce.
From humor to tenderness, there is [...]

Read Full Post »