This book provides an interesting mix of reality with fiction. Emma Donoghue, award winning novelist has used her considerable skills to create excitement and mystery around a real-life 1895 train crash. She fills the story with both people who lived at the time alongside an array of fictional characters.
I was initially intrigued by the idea of a life being driven by a name. It made me think of names I would have preferred instead of my own and how they might have affected my personality and relationships differently. But alas, this book is about so much more than this. This is the story of violent, sustained domestic abuse and the ripple effect it has on the entire sphere of those affected by it. While the names each have their own connotation, they are the vehicle upon which to drive the story. The central question of the book is: how can a single change made on a whim on a single day change the dynamics of a life in ways we could never imagine?
Health Communications, Inc. 2026 I know Cara Benson as a poet and teacher. About twenty years ago, I took a seminar with her. She was ebullient, enthusiastic, exuded confidence in her subject matter. It was an environment in which to thrive. We in the seminar called it poetry heaven. The ten of us who couldn’t … Continue reading A Climate Memoir: Love, Loss, and Healing
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 fact that history repeats itself is never more obvious than when reading historical fiction. This book, The Book Club for Troublesome Women depicts the wives of 1960s middle class families and the societal pressure to keep women at home. This was a time period when women were discouraged from pursuing careers or stimulation outside of their families. Fifty years later, these regressive ideas are gaining momentum once again in the form of misguided restrictive laws based on false memory about how good this was for women.
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