“A lot of worlds have existed that you can’t look up online or in any book, even as you think you have the freedom to find things out…And if someone did remember [certain people]…that person’s account would make them less real, because my memory of them would have to be corrected by facts, which are
Home Fire – by Kamila Shamsie
“Home Fire” is a 21st century tragedy. The novel speaks to the unintended consequences of intolerance, isolation, extremism, radicalization and bigotry. Many months ago I reviewed the memoir “They Told Me to Come Alone.” Home Fire seems to me to be the fictional companion to Souad Mekhennet’s memoir.
Home Fire focuses on the Muslim Pasha
Clock Dance – by Anne Tyler
Clock Dance is the story of Willa and her clock dance through life. Willa first learns the concept of clock dance when she is 61 years old. But that part of the story comes later in this review. The novel is broken down into life stages.
We first meet Willa in 1967 when she is
Warlight – by Michael Ondaatje
“In 1945 our parents went away and left us in the care of two men who may have been criminals.” Warlight is a story of intrigue during World War II. The narrator of the story (Nathaniel) is 14 years old when his parents announce that they are leaving for a year to go to Singapore
The Return—Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between – by Hisham Matar
Hisham Matar, an American born British-Libyan author, is an acclaimed novelist and essayist. The Return—Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between, is a memoir about his 2012 return to Libya and attempt to come to terms with the unfathomable loss of his father, Jaballa Matar.
Jaballa Matar was a wealthy Libyan, having made a small
Asymmetry – by Lisa Halliday
“asymmetry a·sym·me·try (ā-sĭm’ĭ-trē)
n.
Disproportion between two or more like parts;
lack of symmetry.” Dictionary.com
“Asymmetry” is three interlocking yet seemingly unrelated stories revolving around writing.
Alice, a 25 year old editorial assistant, meets Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Ezra Blazer at a park where she is reading a manuscript. Ezra is 65 years old when
An American Marriage – by Tayari Jones
“An American Marriage” is a story about resilience in the face of conflicting emotions and frustrated expectations. An American Marriage is about rising above racial inequity and social injustice. And finally, An American Marriage is about coincidence and how life’s twists and turns are sometimes beyond our control.
The novel starts with an introduction to
Elmet – by Fiona Mozley
“Elmet” is an extraordinarily dark and deeply disturbing tragedy touching upon the cruelty of people to each other, with sporadic glimpses of and nods to the strength of family.
The novel is set in rural England, although precisely where (Elmet?) is never made clear. The story begins with a brother traveling in search of his
White Houses – by Amy Bloom
White Houses is a fictional account of the romantic relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and journalist Lorena Hickock. The story is told by Hick, as she looks back at their relationship during her later years.
Hick met Eleanor when she was assigned to cover the Roosevelts while FDR was governor of New York and running for
Where’d You Go, Bernadette – by Maria Semple
“Where’d You go Bernadette,” is a light, funny story of a social misfit, Bernadette, her daughter, Bee and her husband, Elgie. As you might be able to tell from the not so subtle title, Bernadette mysteriously goes missing. You can get the flavor of the book on the first page when Bee is musing: “The