Gena's Reads

Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple is one of the most original books I’ve read in years. Told from the point of view of Bernadette’s fifteen year old daughter Bee, and written mostly in email correspondences, the book could have been nothing more than a gimmick that didn’t really work. However, due to Semple’s wit and clever writing style, the story flows seemlessly through countless emails, memos, police reports etc. We meet Bee’s mother, Bernadette, a brilliant architect who…

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Corfu by Robert Dessaix is a novel loosely based on the life of little known Australian writer/actor Kester Berwick.  The main character, also an Australian actor and traveler, finds himself in Corfu and rents Berwick’s house for a few months while he is away. While there, he meets up with the local ex-pat community, puts on plays, and reads Berwick’s books, letters and other writings. His own life begins to mimic Berwicks, as he tries to navigate his way through…

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A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea is the debut novel by Dina Nayeri  The novel tells the story of Saba and her twin sister Mahtab, growing up in 80’s Iran after the revolution. When they are 11 years old, a terrible accident happens, and Saba is unclear whether Mahtab is alive or dead. Her only memory is seeing her get on a plane to America with their Mother. After Mahtab and her Mother disappear, Saba begins fashioning tales of their…

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The Shoemaker’s Wife, the latest from Adriana Trigiani, is a sweeping family saga following the lives of two Italian immigrants at the turn of the century who move from their small villages in the Italian Alps to NYC, meet, eventually fall in love and start a new life together in Minnesota. This story is based on the lives of Trigiani’s grandparents. Being the grandaughter of Italian immigrants myself, I loved this story. It tells the tale of hardworking immigrants trying…

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The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger is a novel about a marriage between a Amina, a young woman from Bangladesh, and George, an engineer from Rochester New York. They meet online and marry a year later, The novel tells about Amina’s new life in America and her quest to bridge the gap between the two cultures. The novel is loosely based on the life story of a woman who Freudenberger met on an airplane. Freudenberger creates real characters that the reader…

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Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas is historical fiction set in a Colorado mining town in the 30’s.  Dallas brings the harsh reality of living in a mining town to life. The story focuses on the unlikely friendship between 86 year old Hennie Comfort and 17 year old Nit Spindle. As Nit spends her first year in the town, and Hennie spends her last, Hennie decides to pass all her stories on to the young girl, often told while quilting…

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One Glorious Ambition, The Compassionate Crusade of Dorthea Dix is the latest historical fiction by Jane Kirkpatrick. She chronicles the life of New England activist and reformer Dorthea Dix. Living in the 1800’s when women had very little voice, Dorthea crusaded tirelessly on behalf of better conditions for the mentally ill. A lonely woman from a broken family, she feels a call to serve from a very young age. Kirkpatrick’s novel is a deeply personal portrait of this fascinating woman…

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Tapestry of Fortunes is the latest from Elizabeth Berg. If you are a big Berg fan, this is sure to please, if not, you might find it a lot of forgettable fluff. Four women who hardly know each other set off on a life-changing road trip. I didn’t believe any of it. The only thing I will remember from this book is it’s pretty cover. Try earlier Berg for more depth.

NW, the new novel by Zadie Smith is about the North West corner of London, where Smith was born and raised. The novel tracks the lives of four inter-related, yet very different people who live there. Smith is a truly original writer, and has her own distinctive voice and style. However, this novel didn’t work at all for me. I couldn’t wait to be through with it. I felt it was all style over substance, and was left feeling very…

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Noah’s Compass is the eighteenth novel by Anne Tyler, (my favorite is Digging to America.) This novel tells of a 60 year old man who has just lost his teaching job. He moves into a smaller apartment and his first night there he is hit over the head and robbed. He wakes up in the hospital and remembers absolutely nothing of the incident. His search to regain his lost memory leads him to engage with a professional ‘rememberer,’ and the…

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