Recommended, especially for readers of historical fiction and Caribbean/postcolonial history in particular, with a remarkable female character at its core.
Cullhed’s rendering of Plath’s voice will haunt readers. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Sylvia Plath, feminist fiction, and powerful prose.
This enjoyable novel is filled with intriguing characters, whom D’Erasmo wrangles with deft changes of viewpoint, and the prose abounds with lyrical imagery. But its particular strength is its examination of that liminal space between innocence and culpability, leaving readers to judge whether these characters are as innocent as they want to believe.
Both historical and postmodern, this novel gives readers the task of interpreting its multiple parts and narrators, making it an intriguing, stimulating read. Throughout, Diaz’s stirring prose and unforgettable imagery shine through, notably in his poetic descriptions of high finance. He also holds a mirror up to the oligarchs of our own era, reflecting their greed and fragile egos. Highly recommended.
From a lesser writer, this storytelling technique would be fraught with peril, but in her follow-up to Walking on the Ceiling Savas offers a novel as smooth and compact as an alabaster egg, its prose filled with thoughtful sentences and psychological insights. An engaging yet calming read, as soothing as a talk with a sympathetic therapist.
In this touching tribute to her eccentric mother’s life and death, which also offers a wild view of swinging Paris during the 1960s and 1970s, Huisman is sardonic, furious, and sometimes humorous but always affectionate toward her mother. Her prose seems urgent, pulling the reader along, as if she’s trying to outrun her grief. Highly recommended.
Prose’s (Lovers at the Chameleon Club) exuberant, lighthearted novel immerses the reader in 1950s ambience, yet it’s full of winks and nods to the current political climate. Simon, our overheated narrator, pulls us along as he stumbles into Cold War intrigue, and we’re never sure which way the plot will turn until literally the last sentence. What a delightful read!
Ozick’s 30th published work (she is in her 90s) gently evokes the loneliness, helplessness, and regrets of old age. The novel initially seems a wisp of a story, but scattered within are clues that add layers of meaning to Petrie’s faded memories, as well as the impact of his own barely acknowledged anti-Semitism on his life’s trajectory.