February 14, 2024
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February 14, 2024
One Hour of Fervor by Muriel Barbery
The completion of a story left untold in the author’s book A Single Rose, this loving tribute to Japanese culture is an enlightening experience for westerners. Beautifully told and exquisitely translated, it is a profoundly pleasurable read.
January 24, 2024
You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue
A wildly imaginative tale of the clash between the Spanish, as represented by Cortes and the American natives, led by Moctezuma. Bloody and violent, this depiction of a tragic historic encounter is enlightening, if grim.
January 20, 2024
Hard by a Great Forest by Leo Vardiashvili
This dark novel set in post-Soviet Georgia by a native of that region now living in the UK speaks with Russian soulfulness of loss and atonement, both recurring themes in the history of this contentious and deeply spiritual people. It is finely written and richly adorned with detail which makes the whole a compelling and engrossing read.
January 15, 2024
Harbor Lights by James Lee Burke
Short stories and a novella from one of the finest living writers of American literature, these grim and gritty tales are propelled by a doomed sense of honor, dignity and justice that always leads to tragedy in the service of truth and right.
January 15, 2024
The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
A fictionalized family history rife with violence and vengeance, but with ultimate justice and the redemptive qualities of kindness and forgiveness. The finely written and swiftly moving narrative will maintain the reader’s interest throughout. A fine book with greater meaning.
January 13, 2024
The Fair Folk by Su Bristow
Rife with British historical fairy lore but laden with imagination creating a tale that feels fresh and new, the reader will find the story of Fliss, a young English country girl swept up in a fantastic world that offers both glamour and danger to be compelling and charming.
January 10, 2024
Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
Described as “hothouse jazz noir” by Joe Hill, this complex and fascinating speculative historic mystery is a compelling read that will be difficult to put down. Plenty of meat here, plus an amusement-park ride through alternative culture.
January 10, 2024
The Curse of Pietro Houdini by Derek B. Miller
The battle of Montecassino is the backdrop for this tale of art theft, wartime violence and human connections, even of kindness and justice. A true page-turner for lovers of historical fiction spiced with details of art, architecture and culture.
January 2, 2024