The Invention of Wings is the new novel by Sue Monk Kidd. Kidd brings to life Sarah Grimke and her sister Nina, two famous abolitionists in the early 1800’s all but forgotten today. Kidd re-imagines Sarah’s life as it parallels that of a slave named Handful, only one year younger than Sarah and given to Sarah on her 11th birthday. The Grimkes came from Charleston’s upper class and it was inconceivable for the sisters to turn against slavery and fight…
In her novel The Good House, Ann Leary takes us into the life of an alcoholic and all the secrets and denial that come with it. Hildy Good’s family has lived in the same small town in New England for generations. She is now the top selling real estate agent there, selling houses to rich newcomers. Her world is slowly unraveling as she can no longer hide the truth about her drinking from her family and friends, but it takes…
We Need New Names is a wonderful novel by a new voice from Zimbabwe, NoViolet Bulawayo. Bulawayo writes with such direct honesty about growing up in Zimbabwe and then moving to the United States, I was completely transported by this book. We follow Darling and her friends through their days in their shantytown, the place they came to after their real homes were destroyed. Darling is able to leave to live with her Aunt in America, but always has a…
The Condition by Jennifer Haigh tells the story of one family that falls apart shortly after daugher Gwen is diagnosed with Turners syndrome, a rare condition that keeps her trapped in the body of a twelve year old girl her whole life. Haigh writes with such exquisite insight and detail that the book becomes about the human condition, specifically how we relate to each other within our families. This is an incredible novel, I couldn’t put it down. Haigh is…
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter is a novel that starts in a very small village on the coast of Italy in the early 1960’s and takes the reader to modern day Hollywood and back. At the heart of the novel is the love story between Pascuale and Dee.Walter writes from many different perspectives in many different formats. Sometimes this was fascinating and worked well with the overall story, and at other times I found it distracting, and just wanted to…
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion is a hilarious novel written in the voice of Don Tillman, a Genetics Professor with Aspergers. I didn’t know this at the start of the book, and just kept thinking-what’s wrong with this guy? A few pages in, I finally realized that Don must be on the Autism spectrum, (even though he doesnt realize this about himself) and everything started to make sense. I loved this book. Don makes lists and timetables for everything,…
Still Life with Bread Crumbs is the latest novel by Anna Quindlen, and perhaps her best. It is the story of Rebecca Winter, an aging photographer from NYC, famous in her younger days, but now short of money and living alone in a run down cottage in the country. She is lonely and a bit lost when we meet her, but this is a story of redemption and second chances. What could have been an ordinary, even forgettable story is…
Songs of Willow Frost is the new novel by Jamie Ford, author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. The novel is set in Seattle’s Chinatown, during the 1920’s and 30’s. It is the Story of Liu Song, whose stage name is Willow, and her son William Eng. William is growing up in Seattle’s Sacred Heart Orphanage along with many other children whose parents have died, or left them there because they cannot take care of them any…
Ghana Must Go is the debut novel by Taiye Selasi. This is an extraordinary novel. It is the story of Kweku Sai, a surgeon from Ghana, and his family that he left years ago when he felt he had failed them. Sai’s ex-wife and four kids all come together in Ghana when their father dies of a sudden heart attack; his death marking a new beginning for his family. Selasi is more of a poet than a novelist, in the…
The Supreme Macaroni Company is the latest by Adriana Trigiana. I usually enjoy her books, but this one I found more fluff than substance. None of the characters seemed very real to me, they didn’t draw me in this time and I never really cared much about them. It seemed like she wanted to finish this series in a hurry and just expected her fans to hang in there with her. This book was very disappointing. If you’re new…