Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe was written in 1959 and is one of the first great novels to come out of Nigeria, a country with a rich literary history, so I thought it was time to finally read it. It tells the story of Okonkwo, a strong man of an Ibo village, a warrior with three wives and many children. This book gives the reader an inside look into African tribal life, and also shows what happens when the…
Origin by Dan Brown is the latest in the Da Vinci Code Series. This one finds Professor Langdon traipsing around Europe again with another beautiful woman in search of the answers to the questions “Where do we come from and where are we going?” while trying to prevent an all out war between science and religion. I’ve always enjoyed Brown’s books and never expected excellent writing, but this one was rather silly. If you’re a fan of the series, you’ll…
Reluctantly Charmed by Ellie O’Neill is a book set in Ireland, and not nearly as bad as the title would lead one to believe. Kate McDaid inherits an estate on her 26th birthday from her long dead great great great great aunt of the same name. First she must publish “The Seven Steps” once a week under her own name in order to receive her inheritance. Her aunt was believed to be a witch and the poems written by Fairies….
We’ll Always Have Paris by Jennifer Coburn is a Mom/Daughter travel memoir that follows an 8 year old and her mother across Europe on several trips over the course of 8 years. Coburn is convinced she is going to die young since she lost her father at age 19. She decides to take off to Europe with her daughter and make memories while she can. This is not an exceptionally daring, adventurous or even interesting book. It could have been,…
Daughters of Ireland by Santa Montefiore is a big sweeping novel about three women who grew up in a small village in West Cork Ireland. Their lives have gone in different directions, one to New York, one to South Africa, while the third stays behind in Ireland. The novel moves back and forth through time telling the history of their families and the castle that they all grew up playing in. A decent read, somewhat forgettable. It left the reader…
Make Your Home Among Strangers by Jennine Capo Crucet is a great debut novel about a Cuban immigrant family. It is about the first in the family to go to college and what that experience is like. Lizet is accepted to an elite, white, New England college and leaves her family behind in Miami. She finds herself swimming in unknown waters, while an Elian Gonzales based story plays out back home. This novel delves into what it means to be…
Little Fires Everywhere is the brilliant new novel by Celeste Ng.The book is set in Shaker Heights, a planned community in Ohio, where everyone follows the rules, and all are wealthy. In moves an artist and her daughter who never stay put for long, have very little money, and do things differently. They befriend their landlord’s family and all their lives are forever changed. In the background is the custody battle for a Chinese baby whose mother left her when…
Finally a book I loved! Chemistry is the debut novel by Weike Wang. With deceptively simple prose, Wang explores what it means to succeed in a field full of men. She delves into family loyalty, love, relationships, and the complexities of finding your own place in the world. Intelligent, witty, funny, honest; a great read.
The From Aways by CJ Hauser is a novel about life in a small town in Maine. Two outsiders who move to town become unlikely friends and work to save the town with the locals from other rich outsiders who threaten to change the way of life in this lobster fishing village. I wasn’t pulled in by the characters, the story or the writing, and it didn’t make me want to visit small town Maine, although I know it is…
Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio is a wonderful novel about ten year old Icy growing up in rural Kentucky in the 50’s with her grandparents. Icy starts exhibiting signs of Tourette’s Syndrome after her tenth birthday, but this goes undiagnosed until she is an adult. What follows is a beautifully written story of how Icy deals with this. At turns sad, funny, honest; Icy is one of the best characters I’ve come across in a long time. A great…