The Witch’s Daughter by Paula Brackston is a tale of witchcraft and sorcery that moves through time from the 1600’s to the present day. What’s not to love? Although I found the story entertaining, the warlock Gideon, who pursues the witch Bess Hawksmith through the centuries is such a repulsive character, it basically ruined the book for me. Disappointing.
Ishmael’s Oranges by Claire Hajaj is a novel about the conflict between Palestinians and Jews for the land that is now Israel. beginning in 1948 Jaffa, moving to London, Beirut and back again, the novel follows the life of Salim, a displaced Palestinian boy who falls in love with Jude, a Jewish girl he meets in London. They try desperately to overcome their families prejudices and hatred of each others culture. They commit to raising children who are the best…
For the Time Being by Annie Dillard, author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, is a book of Dillard’s reflections on what it means to be here and why. She reflects on clouds, sand, the writings of Teilhard de Chardin to name a few. Her thinking and her writing go to places that only she can go. Fans of Dillard will probably enjoy this book. I found it interesting, thoughtful, but not nearly as eloquent as Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. It is the story of Ifemelu, a beautiful Nigerian girl who leaves military-ruled Nigeria for America and leaves behind Obinze, the love of her life. It is about her experience as a non-American black woman in America, which she begins to blog about. Obinze is not granted a visa for America, but goes instead to London and lives the life of an illegal…
The Pearl That Broke It’s Shell by Nadia Hashimi is a novel about the lives of Afghan women in the present day and 100 years ago. It is a complex and often tragic story. Rahima, born into a family of all girls, is turned into a boy in the custom of bacha posh, and is given previously unimaginable freedom. It all ends when she turns 13 and is married to a man old enough to be her grandfather. Her only…
Malinche by Laura Esquivel, author of Like Water for Chocolate, is historical fiction about the life of Malinche, the Native woman who became Hernan Cortes’s interpreter during his conquest of Mexico. Today the word malinche is used pejoratively by Mexicans to describe someone who betrays their heritage. In this slim novel, Esquivel re-imagines Malinche’s life as a slave and places her inside her cultural context to help us understand the decisions she made. Accompanied by a codex, pre-Columbian style drawings,…
The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato is set in Venice, in the present day and in the 17th century, when Venetian glassblowers were the best in the world. Although this is a novel, and Corradino Manin, the protagonist, is a fictional character, the story is based on fact. In the 13th century, all glassblowing in Venice was moved to Murano, an island in the Venetian lagoon. Here, the glassblowers stumbled upon the secret of how to make perfect, clear,…
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson is the follow up novel to Life After Life, not so much a sequel, as a companion novel. Here we meet Teddy, Ursula’s younger brother, and move back in forth in time following his life as a young boy, an old man and father, and a fighter pilot in WWII. Teddy is a likeable character, but his daughter Viola is awful and I never connected with the character of his wife Nancy, I…
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline is historic fiction at its best. Baker Kline tells the story of Irish Catholic immigrant Niamh, later called Vivian, a young girl, orphaned in New York City in 1929 and sent on an “orphan train” to Minnesota to hopefully be adopted by a family there. Between 1854-1929 orphan trains ran regularly from the East Coast to the Mid-West carrying thousands and thousands of children who we be taken to lives servitude and farm work….
Heart and Soul, by Maeve Binchy, author of Minding Frankie and many other novels, is a book about a close knit community in Dublin centered around a new heart clinic that has just opened. Binchy writes feel good novels, creating characters the reader comes to know and care about, and although there are a few not so happy moments, mostly they are full of happy endings for all concerned. An enjoyable, if a bit predictable read.