The Island of Missing Trees and The Beekeeper of Aleppo: Portraits of Immigration

Posted on by Jan tramontano

I am always amazed by what I learn from historical fiction and how it illuminates diverse perspectives and little known events. Given what is going on in the world right now, regardless of your personal viewpoint, fiction and poetry can make us think in a way we can’t get from other sources. Sure, the horrific images shown over and over inform us, but some writers have a way of making us expand our thinking.

AMERICAN DIRT: A STORY OF TERROR, DISPLACEMENT AND LOVE

Posted on by Jan tramontano

A book like this is why fiction can have an impact on how we view and think about subjects we may know about, but never personally encounter. And it is a great discussion starter.

HOW TO MAKE A LIFE

Posted on by Jan tramontano

There have been many generational family sagas written lately about how choices and experience made in one generation impacts the next.  Most, however, are told in the same tired way. There are two storylines—one past, one current— and they alternate chapters with the endpoint moving toward an intersection of the two. Invariably, I savor the … Continue reading HOW TO MAKE A LIFE