Blog with Sidebar - Reading the West

April 4, 2025 In Fiction

Audition by Katie Kitamura

An erudite and carefully constructed novel of the theater and those whose lives are entangled with it, and of family dynamics looked at from two alternative viewpoints. Skillfully written this will appeal to lovers of fine literature.

April 1, 2025 In Fiction

City of Fiction by Yu Hua

Placed in a time when Chinese life was going through drastic changes this exotic and fascinating tale of personal struggle set against a backdrop of social and political upheaval is alternately inspiring and appalling. It is intensely interesting and holds the reader’s interest throughout.

March 25, 2025 In Nonfiction

Fifteen Wild Decembers by Karen Powell

An intimate and frank novelized version of the life and works of Emily Brontë with a wealth of material about her family and the society in which she lived. Excellent historical fiction.

February 28, 2025 In Nonfiction

No Less Strange or Wonderful by A. Kendra Greene

As varied and far-ranging as it is possible to be, this endlessly amusing and informative collection of bizarre stories and studies will keep the reader riveted to the page to the very end.