Literature
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STILL HERE – Lara Vapnyar
In Lara Vapnyar’s novel, Still Here, four immigrant friends are living in New York and discuss their lives, their dreams, their successes, and their failures. One friend, Sergey, develops a phone app called “Virtual Grave” in which a person’s online presence is preserved after the person has died so that friends and family can call… Continue reading
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UNDERWOOD, SCOTCH, AND WRY – Brian D. Meeks
Arthur Byrne is a college professor with tenure and a penchant for scotch and female teaching assistants and a talent for avoiding technology. The Luddite professor has become a little bit of an embarrassment for the small college, looking to improve and grow, but they can’t do much about a tenured professor. Byrne is assigned… Continue reading
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LET THE GAMES BEGIN – Niccolò Ammaniti
Writing humor/satire is difficult. Black humor can be even trickier to make sure that the reader is understanding that it’s humor, and dark. The fact that Niccolò Ammaniti is being translated probably isn’t helping him at all. But bottom line – I found nothing redeeming in this book at all. According to the Goodreads description,… Continue reading
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THE PEOPLE’S POLICE – Norman Spinrad
I have really mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand it’s gritty and very real feeling, with oddball characters and a dark, Disney-esque New Orleans. On the other hand, it’s very political, with characters that don’t appeal or reach out to me. I haven’t read many books set in the New Orleans area… Continue reading
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IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING – Austin Ratner
Just as there are books that one might call “Chick Lit,” so too are there books best described as “Bro Books.” This is a “Bro Book.” Isidore Auberon lost his mother when he was very young. His father was fortunately absent a lot, but was abusive when present. Isidore works hard to over-come these early… Continue reading
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THE CHILBURY LADIES’ CHOIR – Jennifer Ryan
The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir is a stunning, beautiful historical fiction novel. With the men of England off to war – a war that is too often seen near their own homes – the women of Chilbury defy a local Vicar’s decree that the church choir should be silenced until the men return and instead use… Continue reading
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BEARTOWN – Fredrik Backman
Based on the previous works of Fredrik Backman that I’ve read, I’ve come to think of him as one of the freshest, somber voices in literature that we’ve seen in a long time. That opinion hasn’t changed much, but with Beartown, one of the newest to be translated and published in the U.S., he begins… Continue reading
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NEW BOY – Tracy Chevalier
I’ve read a couple of these Hogarth Shakespeare books (re-tellings of Shakespeare’s plays) and my reactions have been mixed. But Tracy Chevalier’s New Boy is a powerful, poignant re-telling of Othello. Osei Kokote is the son of a diplomat. He has moved around a lot and all too often been the new boy at school.… Continue reading
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VINEGAR GIRL – Anne Tyler
The Hogarth Shakespeare series is on an incredibly challenging task to get today’s writers retelling Shakespeare’s stories. In some cases, such as here with Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler, we see how challenging this task is. I’ve been a fan of Tyler’s since Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant first came out in the 1980’s, and… Continue reading

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