Gena's Reads

The Antidote by Karen Russell, author of Swamplandia!, is historical fiction set in Nebraska in 1935 in the months between a terrible dust storm and a deluge. A farmer, his niece, a prairie witch, a New Deal photographer and a scarecrow come together under extraordinary circumstances and uncover forgotten secrets of their town’s past. Filled with wonder and magical realism, Russell has crafted a story filled with some of histories darker truths while shining a light on the beauty of…

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Song of Belonging by Michelle St. Romain tells the story of Alice, a young woman in Berkeley, CA whose great grandmother Grace in Louisiana leaves her a box full of mysterious gifts that seem to be awakening hidden memories and long kept secrets, as she navigates her new life and career. Moving between California, Hawaii and New Orleans this novel explores both what it means to belong to our own particular family lineage while also belonging to the earth, the…

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We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida is a quirky little book set in Japan. In a rundown area of Kyoto down a back alley is a small office where patients go to see a psychiatrist when they have run out of hope. It is a place you only know of if someone has recommended it to you, as it is mysteriously hard to find. Here they encounter an odd, but beautiful, somewhat unfriendly nurse and an odd but…

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The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is a novel written entirely in the form of letters. Sybil Van Antwerp has spent her entire life writing letters, to friends, family, famous authors she admires. Now in her mid-70’s and with failing eyesight, she reflects on her life with all its joys, accomplishments and tragedy. While in the midst of learning she might have a biological family she has never met, and being courted by two different men, a mysterious person from her…

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Go Gentle is the new book by Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go Bernadette? Stoic philosopher Adora Hazzard has a fabulous job, a wonderful daughter, an apartment in a desirable building in New York, and a group of like-minded women friends who all take care of each other. Life is swimmingly along perfectly, until a handsome stranger crosses her path. Written with the familiar wit and intelligence I’ve come to expect from Semple, I started out absolutely loving this…

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Flashlight by Susan Choi is a novel set in Korea, Japan and the United States. Serk is Korean, but born and raised in Japan. When his family gets the chance to go back to Korea, he stays behind, eventually ending up in the United States where he marries, has a daughter and one day brings her back to Japan with him. When Serk drowns and his daughter’s life is forever altered, the mystery of his disappearance is more complex than…

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Frida’s Cook by Florencia Etcheves is historical fiction based on the lives of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Set in Mexico City in the 1930’s and 40’s at La Casa Azul and present day Buenos Aires, a mystery unfolds around the fictional cook Nayeli Cruz and a lost Rivera artwork. I was excited to read this book and based on the title was expecting to be immersed in the flavors and recipes of Oaxaca and Mexico City, but sadly there…

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The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede is the story set in Gander, Newfoundland just after 9/11 that the musical Come from Away is based on. Living now in Ashland, Oregon home of Oregon Shakespear Festival and so much more theater, we have tickets to see Come from Away this Spring; so even though I tend to not read as many books written by men, I thought I should read this one before seeing the musical. It…

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Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite, author of My Sister, the Serial Killer is a story that follows Enniiyi, believed to be the reincarnation of her beautiful cousin Monife whose life ended in tragedy. As she grows and becomes more like Monife everyday, the women in her family do everything in their power to keep her from the same fate. This is a wonderfully written novel, full of family secrets, heartbreak, magic, and the lengths a mother will go to to…

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The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is the latest novel by Kiran Desai. Desai is one of my favorite authors and this latest epic novel doesn’t disappoint. Sonia, cold and lonely, studying far from her home in India at college in Vermont finds herself pulled into a relationship with an older artist who at first captivates her but then slowly begins to drive her into an even deeper isolation and depression. Sunny is struggling with corruption within his family in…

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