A truth that none of us think much about (or we’d go crazy) is how precarious our lives are or how they could be upended without warning. A tragedy and its blowback on everyone involved is the through line of this beautifully wrought book.
Do you ever wonder about what your life might have looked like if you made one different decision? Or wonder if you were not afraid to take risk that might have changed everything? Perhaps, a first love didn't work out the way you'd hoped and you wonder what might have been... It's easy to fall down that rabbit hole but sometimes it's more satisfying to read somebody else's should have could have story. As I was reading this book, I thought about people and times in my own life who I hadn't thought about in years. It's good when a book gives you a look back into your own memories. As long as you don't spin out!
The narrative explores the haunting legacy of the Holocaust through Anne Berest's discovery of an ancestral postcard, initiating her search for family history. The text reflects on personal trauma, societal complicity in atrocities, and contemporary parallels of inhumanity, urging remembrance to prevent repeating the past while confronting present-day prejudices.
This novel by Charmaine Wilkerson explores themes of loss, grief, and family trauma within a well-educated Black family in Connecticut. It follows Ebby, a survivor of her brother's murder, as she grapples with her past while reclaiming a family heirloom. The narrative, told through multiple perspectives, adds depth and emotional resonance.
This beautifully crafted novel was written for a young adult audience but I would recommend it for teens and adults alike.Long listed for the National Book Award it is the tale of four generations of Filipino Americans grappling with identity, past trauma and the long reach it has into the future.
This book is not an easy read. If I had read it a couple of years ago, I would have been reminded of how far we've come from the days of back alley abortions, substandard reproductive health care and forced adoptions. Although abortion laws in Canada are still in place, we have taken a giant leap backward with the Dobbs decision overturning Roe. It changes what should have been a historical perspective into a frightening look at where we are heading. I would say this book may now be categorized as historical fiction but if we stay on the current trajectory, it will read as a contemporary novel.
This is the 20th book in the series featuring Cork O’Connor. Set in northern Minnesota, these mysteries highlight issues facing the interplay of the white population and the Ojibwe. Cork O'Connor, half Irish and half Ojibwe, always finds himself negotiating the two worlds. I have read about ten of these books and although I missed many … Continue reading Cork O’Connor’s Latest Mystery: Ojibwe Culture Explored
As the novel begins, a mysterious box is delivered to everyone in the world over age 22. From a bustling city in Europe to suburban enclaves in America to African villages, everyone gets one. Inside the box is a string. Its length determines how long you will live. I was immediately hooked.What would I do? Would I open the book? Would I be able to resist knowing? Would I not want to know? And if I held a short string in my hand, how would I cope? Would I completely change or remain fully entrenched in the life I was living? The same thoughts rippled through the characters in this book.
The main protagonist, Jane Flanagan, had a troubled childhood dominated by a single alcoholic mother, and a sister she doesn’t connect to. But she has seemingly risen above it to become an archivist at the Schlesinger Library at Harvard. Residual behaviors, unacknowledged yet ever present, rear their ugly heads at a time when all should have been well. She engages in behavior that may cost her both her ascending career and marriage.
If ever there was a timely novel, this is the one. Since banning books has become a strategic weapon in our national culture wars, here comes an entertaining satire set in a quintessential southern town. Framed as a battle over books and a free-standing little library, it is about the influence books have in its residents’ lives and the town’s cultural norms.
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