BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

The Great Alone
by Kristin Hannah

ChickLit Meets Adventure With a Hearty Dose of Melodrama (4/20/2023)

This can best be described as ChickLit meets Adventure with a hearty dose of Melodrama. It is a good story—the kind that keeps you turning pages to find out what happens. And if you enjoy books with riveting plots, this one is for you. But that's about all it has. The …more

Fresh Complaint: Stories
by Jeffrey Eugenides

Extraordinary Collection: By Turns Hilarious and Heartbreaking (4/20/2023)

This collection of 10 extraordinary short stories by the ingenious Jeffrey Eugenides is by turns hilarious and heartbreaking. From the decades-long friendship between two women to the 40-something failed poet who is so desperate for money he does something horribly wrong to …more

Manhattan Beach
by Jennifer Egan

Love, Redemption and Hope in a Powerful, Suspenseful Storyline (4/20/2023)

Deftly written with a compelling plot that is populated with fully-realized and colorful characters, "Manhattan Beach" is one of those rare books that succeeds on every level. The imaginative and suspenseful storyline will grab you on the first page.

Eddie Kerrigan of New …more

Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging
by Sebastian Junger

A Truly Remarkable Book (4/20/2023)

"Isn't it fun to be with your tribe?" author Joyce Carol Oates asked the assembled 1,000 who had gathered to hear her speak at the 2016 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. Indeed. As an avid reader, I had never before thought of those sitting around me in this …more

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
by Gail Honeyman

Priceless. Perfect. Phenomenal. (4/20/2023)

Priceless. Perfect. Phenomenal.

Eleanor Oliphant is one of the most refreshing characters to ever inhabit the pages of a book. She is literal and direct in everything she says, using perfect English at all times. She is confident and quite self-sufficient, thank you very …more

Asymmetry
by Lisa Halliday

Pretentious, High-Brow Literary Fiction (4/20/2023)

This book, which is essentially a study of the imbalance of power in relationships, was brilliant…but boring. Philosophical…but perplexing. Intriguing…but incongruous.

Written by Lisa Halliday, it is actually three novellas, the first two of which have nothing in common and …more

1968
by Mark Kurlansky

(4/20/2023)

I was in eighth grade when 1968 dawned, too immature and self-centered to fully appreciate the truly momentous, spirit-shattering and world-changing events—the effect of which is still felt 50 years later. And that is why I read this outstanding book by Mark Kurlansky. This …more

The Immortalists: A Novel
by Chloe Benjamin

Superbly Written With Keen Insight About the Meaning of Life and Death (4/20/2023)

What if you knew far in advance the exact date you would die? That is the premise of this exceptional book by Chloe Benjamin. In 1969 in the New York City, four siblings—Varya (age 13), Daniel (11), Klara (9) and Simon (7)—meet with a gypsy fortuneteller, and she tells them …more

The Heart's Invisible Furies: A Novel
by John Boyne

Witty, Wise and Wonderful! One of the Best Books I Have Ever Read (4/20/2023)

I dare you to read the first sentence—Yes! Just the first sentence!—and not be hooked on this book. It is witty (as in, you will laugh out loud and want to read passages to others because they are so funny), wise and wonderful. This book will grab your heart and not let go.

…more

Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir
by Amy Tan

Difficult, But Interesting, Book (I'd Rather Read Her Novels) (4/20/2023)

If you're a big Amy Tan fan, this book is a must-read. But if you're not a Tan fan, skip it. Read her novels instead.

In chapter after chapter, she pulls back the wizard's curtain not only on her own life, but also on the (sometimes bizarre) ways she conceives of story ideas …more

Less
by Andrew Sean Greer

A Good Book…But Something Critical Is Missing (4/20/2023)

This is a well-written, intelligent book with a clever little plot and a colorful main character. Of course, it is. It won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. But something is missing.

Written by Andrew Sean Greer, the book tells the story of 49-year-old (about to turn 50!) …more

Florida
by Lauren Groff

An Extraordinary, Emotionally Intense Collection of Stories (4/20/2023)

Lauren Groff is an artist. But instead of a paintbrush she uses words, and she does it with such amazing talent that those disparate syllables and sentences come together to create daring, brilliant images of Florida (and other places) in this collection of imaginative and …more

The House of Broken Angels
by Luis Alberto Urrea

Wow! This Book Expanded My World View (4/20/2023)

One of the greatest joys of reading is being transported to places I could otherwise never go. While I could easily travel to San Diego or La Paz, the primary locations of this book by Luis Alberto Urrea, there is no way other than reading that I could become (albeit …more

The Summer Wives
by Beatriz Williams

Beautifully Written and Brilliantly Plotted (4/20/2023)

While this may not win an influential literary prize, this book by Beatriz Williams is incredibly entertaining and will likely keep you up reading well past your bedtime. Beautifully written and brilliantly plotted, this is one of those books that will stay with you long …more

See What Can Be Done: Essays, Criticism, and Commentary
by Lorrie Moore

Erudite Literary Criticism: Mostly a Delight, Sometimes a Slog (4/20/2023)

From Shakespeare to Stephen Sondheim and Amos Oz to Joyce Carol Oates, this scholarly collection of more than 50 essays, mostly erudite literary criticism, is at times a delight to read and at other times a real slog.

Author Lorrie Moore has assembled essays in …more

A Column of Fire: A Kingsbridge Novel
by Ken Follett

A Spellbinding, Gripping Thriller (Bonus: You'll Learn History Painlessly!) (4/20/2023)

This is a work of fiction that is masquerading as nonfiction. Beware! You will learn quite a bit of history while being utterly absorbed in a spellbinding tale. It is the literary equivalent of tricking us into eating our vegetables.

Author Ken Follett has crafted an …more

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper
by Phaedra Patrick

An 18-Carat Gold Charm of a Book: What a Delight! (4/20/2023)

This captivating story of dear Arthur Pepper, grieving widower, discombobulated father and disgruntled neighbor, is a lot like a soft, warm shawl. It will wrap its way around you, and you won't want to let it go. It is a tale about life, love and loneliness—and the …more

March
by Geraldine Brooks

An Original, Imaginative and Inspired Masterpiece (But Do Read (4/20/2023)

This is a masterpiece—an original, imaginative, inspired masterpiece. That is the only way to describe this extraordinary Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Geraldine Brooks.

Published 137 years after Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women," this is the story of Mr. March, who was …more

A Book of American Martyrs
by Joyce Carol Oates

Intense, Heartbreaking and Utterly Engaging. Truly a Book for Our Times (4/20/2023)

This is a creative and philosophical masterpiece. And it is also a really good book—as in sometimes it's hard to do anything but read.

Author extraordinaire Joyce Carol Oates has done the seemingly impossible: She has written a book about abortion from both sides of this …more

Ohio
by Stephen Markley

Genius. Pure Genius. Not an Easy Book to Read—But an Important and Compelling One (4/20/2023)

Genius. Pure genius. I will only say that once (well, twice). Because if I don't make that pledge now, I will pepper my review of this extraordinary literary fiction masterpiece with the word "genius." (Okay, three times.)

That said, this is a challenging book to read on …more