Vintage. 2013 To borrow Ann Patchett’s tagline on her Friday morning social media reel, If you haven’t read it, it’s new to you! This novel is one of those treasures I missed along the way, that I’m so glad I found. Shelved in the book club section of my library, this 2013 novel written by Haitian … Continue reading Exploring Claire of the Sea Light: A Review of Edwidge Danticat’s Novel
There have been many stories addressing issues of child and drug abuse, trafficking, and threats of violence and displacement. This makes it difficult to find fresh ways of telling that story. Author Charleen Hurtubise has done this beautifully. I was immersed from the very beginning. The characters felt very real and the protagonist, Saoirse, though complex and broken, was able not only to survive but to love deeply despite that origin story.
I haven’t read a romance in many years and if this book is any example, they have deepened in a variety of ways. While the rich, handsome hero is in place and the strong heroine may be swept off her feet,she knows who she is and what she wants. The beauty of found family and the pleasure experienced by the wealthy sparkle with description. But beneath the glamor, the globetrotting and a magical life when money and time are plentiful, this story explores some very serious issues.
There is a lot in this book that I never thought about. Much of it covers familiar ground. It is a story of three characters at a crossroad whose lives converge. It is about forgiveness. It is about the long arm of incarceration. And of course, it is about the power of books. But most of all it examines how single, life changing moments may have the power to override all your life has been and will be.
Simon & Schuster 2025 Theo of Golden began its publishing journey as a self published book written by 70 year old Allen Levi as a debut novel. Through word of mouth, he sold 10,000 copies and was then picked up by Simon & Schuster. A dream come true. The reason, I think, is that it … Continue reading Theo of Golden: A Story of Kindness and Generosity
When a child goes missing, an unfathomable nightmare begins for a family, the community and the police. Yet, we have a bizarre fascination with these events as evidenced by the upsurge in true crime media. It seems people can’t get enough of podcasts, TV shows, movies and books. Although some of this story has the feel of a whodunnit and what happened, at its core it's about the forever toll a child gone missing takes on families and neighbors. It weakens faith in home as a place of safety. What piqued my interest in this novel is how characters with different kinds of involvement weathered the loss.
The Stolen Child is a beautiful story of regret, forgiveness, and the pursuit of dreams.
This novel is set in a time not yet popularized in historical novels. Kate Quinn, best known for her World War II novels, The Alice Network, The Rose Code and The Huntress, ventures into the McCarthy years in this intriguing novel. It is the time of the Red Scare, when people are losing jobs, fear for their safety, and face loss of reputation for their ideas and associations.
There were many projects developed for young artists to keep them going under during the Depression. The WPA (Works Progress Administration) and the Federal Art Project (FAP) were created to keep struggling artists working. Artists that eventually came into their own such as Jackson Pollack, Willem DeKooning, Mark Rothko, and Dorothea Lange were kept afloat during this period. They were charged with creating work for public spaces. In this story, a young woman artist entered a contest to paint a mural for her local post office in New Jersey but need meant shifts and she was sent to a town she’d never heard of—Edenton, North Carolina—to paint their post office mural.
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.
Reader’s Cafe 