The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry is a novel set in Victorian England. When her husband dies, Cora, a natural scientist, leaves England with her son in tow and heads to Essex, searching for fossils and whatever else she might discover there. She finds herself in a small town full of rumors of the legendary Essex Serpent. She befriends a Vicar and his family and although science and religion clash, they have more in common than she would have thought….
The Liar’s Dictionary by Eley Williams is a funny and very clever debut novel following two story lines; Malory a young intern in present day England is working to digitize the dictionary and taxed with finding and eliminating any “Mountweazels” that might exist, while Peter, a Victorian lexicographer, is becoming increasingly disillusioned with his job and life and attempting to exert some artistic freedom into his work. Mountweazel n. the phenomenon of false entries within dictionaries and works of reference….
Inland by Tea Obreht is historical fiction based on the little known Army Camel Corps, when camels were brought from Turkey to the Western United States in the late 1800’s to explore the new territory and be used as pack animals. Two stories converge, Nora a frontierswoman dealing alone with a drought and unsure where the men in her life have gone, and Lurie a wanted man who forms an unusual bond as he travels across this desolate landscape. This…
Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline is the sequel to his book and movie Ready Player One in which Wade Watts, aka Parzival, and his friends, the high five, embark on an epic quest inside a virtual reality video game set in the not too distant future, when life in the real world has become overpopulated and miserable. I loved the first book for all its 80’s references and the feelings of nostalgia it created; if you didn’t grow up…
The Girl with the Louding Voice is the debut novel by Nigerian author Abi Dare. It tells the story of Adunni, a young teenage girl in rural Nigeria who is married off after her mother dies, but longs to escape her married life and return to school to get an education. Tragedy strikes often in young Adunni’s life and the obstacles in the way of her dream seem insurmountable, yet her indomitable spirit never allows her to give up. By…
Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah is set in a very small town on the edge of the Olympic National Forest. One day a young girl about 5 years old appears in town with wolf pup, she is wild and terrified, traumatized and speechless. From there the mystery begins to unfold. The town Police Chief and her sister, a child psychiatrist try to get her to talk and to find her family. What they discover is heartbreaking. Hannah is a prolific…
Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman is the prequel to Practical Magic and the Rules of Magic. Hoffman takes us back to 1600’s Salem Massachusetts; to Maria Owens, the matriarch of the Owen’s clan and to the origins of the Owen’s family curse. Part magic, part historical-fiction, I loved all three of these books, but you need to start with Practical Magic, or at least see the 1998 movie with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman.
Jack is the new book by Marilynne Robinson, author of Gilead and one of my favorite writers. Jack tells the story of drifter, drinker, sometimes bum and prodigal son of the Presbyterian minister in Gilead. When Jack falls in love with Della, a beautiful, black, well respected high school teacher and also the daughter of a minister, he tries to pull himself together. I have heard many people complain that Robinson’s writing is too slow, almost boring, not enough happens….
World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil is a truly beautiful little book. Part personal memoir, part poetry, each chapter highlights another of natures astonishments; together with gorgeous illustrations they form this wonderous book. It is an important reminder that nature is always there to teach and guide us if we can just find the time to slow down and listen and the eyes to see. From the smallest creature to the greatest, Nezhukumatathil unpacks some of natures greatest mysteries in…
Imagine you could get a do-over of your life, rolling back time and fixing any regrets you had, making a different choice, changing the direction your life went in. Now imagine thousands of parallel lives, thousands of do-overs. That is the premise of the new book by Matt Haig, The Midnight Library. I think we’ve all wished this at one time or another, so it was a fun fantasy to escape into. However, as much as I was enjoying Nora’s…