Mambo in Chinatown by Jean Kwok is a novel about a girl who has always been awkward, clumsy, not good in school and ends up washing dishes in the restaurant where her father is the noodle maker. Her younger, smarter, more beautiful sister helps her find a job working in a Ballroom dancing studio and suddenly her whole life and self image begin to change. Kwok is a great writer, she creates well drawn characters that we can’t help but…
The Secret of the Nightingale Palace by Dana Sachs is a novel about a road trip taken from NY to SF by a grandmother and her estranged grandaughter. The story moves back and fourth between present day and 1940’s San Francisco. I didn’t really like the grandmother, but the writing is good and there are enough twists and turns that keep the story interesting all the way until the end. Also, wonderful images of early Japanese Tea Gardens in San…
First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen is a follow up to her novel Garden Spells. Centered around the Waverley sisters and their mysterious apple tree, the book is full of Southern charm and magic. Allen creates likeable characters that draw you into their story and their magical world. Although not my favorite of her books, First Frost is a quick, easy, enjoyable read; it goes perfect with a hot cup of tea on a chilly Fall day.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield is a Gothic novel set in Yorkshire, full of ghosts, creepy old houses, and enough twists and turns in the story to keep you up reading all night. This is a book for book lovers. Great writing, great characters, great story. A bookish biographer gets a letter from a famous author who says she wants to finally tell the truth about her life, now that she is dying; thus begins the story…. A great…
Language Arts by Stephanie Kallos is a novel about an English teacher, who teaches his students Language Arts, while he himself has a grown autistic son who is completely non-verbal. It is a sad, beautiful and compelling story. Kallos is a masterful storyteller and throughout the novel, she weaves in stories of the father’s early handwriting education by his formidable fourth grade teacher, his letters to his grown daughter, and stories of his early marriage to his wife, from whom…
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya is a coming of age story set in New Mexico. Antonio Marez is six years old when Ultima, a curandera, one who heals with plants and magic, comes to live with his family. As he grows up in rural New Mexico and struggles to fulfill his mother’s and father’s dreams, he is guided on an inner journey by Ultima. A compelling book that sheds light on New Mexican culture and landscape; a wonderful story…
Lucky Us by Amy Bloom is a novel about a young girl named Eva, growing up in the shadow of her older sister Iris after her mother leaves her on her father’s doorstep when she was is just a child. The story moves from Ohio to Hollywood, to New York and Europe with a cast of offbeat characters hard to forget. Bloom weaves their stories together masterfully and in the end redefines what family means. A totally original, entertaining and…
Flame Tree Road by Shona Patel is a novel set in Bengal at the end of the 19th century. The main character, Biren Roy, is a nobel man inspired by Gandhi, Tagore, Vivekananda, Ramakrisna and Sri Aurobindo. Those are big shoes to fill, and Roy does a good job, working ceaselessly for women’s rights in India. This is a beautifully written, yet tragically sad novel. All the women Roy cares for are lost to him. The novel becomes almost predictable…
The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston is a novel set in 19th century Wales that follows young, silent Morgana as she begins her new life in an arranged marriage to a man she doesn’t know. She soon falls in love with the wild country around her husband’s farm, and begins to feel happy, until the townspeople slowly start to suspect something strange about her and begin turning against her. Full of mystery and magic, beauty and romance, this is an…
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a novel based on the Nigeria-Biafra War of 1967-1970. It follows three people as their lives unfold in this very difficult time. Adichie writes with great honesty, she brings the personal element to this tragic part of Nigerias history. This is a beautifully written, yet hard to read novel. Adichie is one of the most talented writers I’ve read in a long time. Highly recommended.