Hiddensee, by Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked, is a retelling of the life of Drosselmeier, the beloved Godfather of the Nutcracker’s Klara. It is the story of young Drosselmeier’s upbringing, how he died, met fantastical forest creatures, came back to life and eventually became the toy maker who carved the famous Nutcracker. A wonderful and engaging story set in the enchanted Black Forest of Bavaria and reminiscent of Grimm’s Fairy Tales; an enjoyable read.
The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson is a book about a woman who writes graphic novels and comics for a living. Her half sister is the perfect, married, stable mother, or so it seems. When her grandmother in Alabama becomes ill, she returns to the South to look after her, and all sorts of unexpected events unfold, not least of which is the appearance of Batman (you’ll have to read it to find out.) This is a great book that…
The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley is a fascinating book set in the mountains of Peru during the mid 1800’s. A small party from the East-India company is sent from England to smuggle cinchona tree cuttings out, as their bark is rich in quinine for treating malaria. What they find is truly magical. Pulley’s descriptions were so fantastical that I often struggled to visualize what she was describing, and I found this tiring. The line between what is real and…
The Wanderers by Meg Howrey is a brilliant novel about three astronauts going through a seventeen month simulation to prepare them to be the first humans to go to Mars. Howrey did a great deal of research for this book and based it on an actual trial simulation. We follow an Helen, Yoshihiro, Sergi and their families during the simulation and learn about the inner life and strength and sacrifice that it takes to venture into space. Beautifully written, transformative;…
In the Midst of Winter is the new novel by Isabel Allende. It brings together three very different people during a snowstorm in Brooklyn. An American professor in his sixties, a young Guatemalan illegal immigrant and a Chilean woman and fellow academic. Their lives intersect after an accident leads to unexpected discoveries that throw them all together. Told in past and present, Allende is, as always, a brilliant storyteller. However, I have read all of her books and this is…