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Reviews by Michelle H

Theft: A Novel
by Abdulrazak Gurnah

Compassionate Tale of Three Lives in Modern Day Zanzibar (5/15/2025)

Gurnah tells of lives of Karim, an aspiring, university-educated young man, Fauzia, a young woman dedicated to teaching but fearful of recurring "falling sickness" and Badar, a sensitive soul confined to the servant class, with the steady pace and compassionate tone of a …more

Twist: A Novel
by Colum McCann

Disappointed Colum McCann Fan (5/13/2025)

I am a huge fan of Colum McCann’s fiction -- I've read almost every single one -- but this one left me feeling disappointed. The subject of African workers who repair the cables that lie on the deep ocean floor, carrying almost all of our internet messages, sounded …more fascinating. But the narrator, a middle-aged, alcoholic, failing Irish writer, divorced and with no relationship with his 16 year old son, instead becomes obsessed with the other Irishman on board, a ”mysterious” younger man, Conway, in charge of finding and repairing the cables.

The narrator, Fennel, seems to sense a younger version of himself in Conway. Fennel also becomes obsessed with Conway’s potentially broken relationship with a rising South African actress, performing in Waiting for Godot in England, and spends much of his time on board trying to learn about it over the internet. As he narrates, we are subjected to Fennel’s mediocre writing and often pretentious prose and endless literary allusions, too – how many times can he use the metaphors of “brokenness” and “repair” and “turbulence” without our wanting to shout “Enough! We get it!” I honestly was not compelled to care that much about either of these Irishmen.

I was most absorbed by the scene when, back on land, outside of Accra, Fennel’s maid, a scientist in her own right who has chosen to stay in her impoverished village, takes him to a dump where villagers are melting down the metals in the broken sea cable to resell, in hopes make a meager living. Those are the kinds of people and stories that Colum McCann is usually so wonderful at relating, with careful observation and great compassion. But here, we are stuck with two Irishmen who won’t do the hard work of really trying to solve their own personal issues with meaningful, long-lasting relationships – perhaps try a therapist?

Instead, Fennel returns to his obsession with Apocalypse Now. Heart of Darkness, Conrad, Conway, get it? Oy. The mysterious Conway and his puzzling actions remain cloaked in mystery, and the book ends with Fennel having a revelation that perhaps he can repair his broken relationship with his son by taking a selfie with the famous South African actress and sending it across the ocean in a cable. (less)

Awake in the Floating City: A Novel
by Susanna Kwan

Meditative Beauty (5/6/2025)

I am not a fan of post-apocalyptic books, but I was drawn to this one by the relationship between two intriguing-sounding women. And this "apocalypse" is just caused by rain, it is gentle, without violence, which made it more palatable. I had to really slow down to an …more

Small Rain: A Novel
by Garth Greenwell

A Surprisingly Deeply Absorbing Read (4/21/2025)

Much of this book is a detailed description of a poet's 10 day sojourn in the ICU, in the middle of the pandemic, as medical professionals try to figure out what has caused his aorta to tear. I inwardly groaned when I first opened the book to see lots of very long sentences …more

Mothers and Sons: A Novel
by Adam Haslett

Absolutely Absorbing Read (4/15/2025)

I was enthralled by this story of a gay immigration attorney and his estrangement from his mother, who left her job in the ministry to found a feminist retreat in Vermont with her lesbian lover and long-time friend. The descriptions of the myriad incredible life and death …more

James: A Novel
by Percival Everett

Stunning Take on An American Classic (4/3/2025)

My first thought on reading this retelling of Huckleberry Finn from Jim's point of view was "Why has no one done this before? And why have none of the white people who have revered Huck's story ever thought to deeply consider the way Jim's character is portrayed?" Praise …more

Someone Like Us: A Novel
by Dinaw Mengestu

Strangely beautiful story of the heartbreak of immigrant lives (4/3/2025)

This beautifully written and masterfully crafted novel lets us in to the inner world of Mamush, a struggling international journalist who must leave his wife and ill toddler in Paris to return to DC for the holidays, only to learn that Samuel, the father figure of his life …more

Brotherless Night: A Novel
by V. V. Ganeshananthan

Beautiful and Powerful (3/29/2025)

The powerful, deeply compassionate story of a young Tamil woman in Sri Lanka, working to become a doctor and keep her humanity in the midst of a growing civil war between the unjustly and often brutally treated Tamil minority and the Sri Lankan government. I was woefully …more

Beautyland: A Novel
by Marie-Helene Bertino

Wondrous, Delightful, Soulful (3/23/2025)

The journey of Adina, sent to earth as a baby to report on human life on earth by beings on her planet looking for a new home, is one of the most imaginative, wondrous novels I have read in many years. Her childhood observations, faxed to her superiors, and their matter of …more

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Daughters of Shandong
by Eve J. Chung

Based on the author’s family story, comes an extraordinary novel about a mother and her daughters’ escape from Taiwan.

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The Lilac People
by Milo Todd

For fans of All the Light We Cannot See, a poignant tale of a trans man’s survival in Nazi Germany and postwar Berlin.

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Serial Killer Games
by Kate Posey

A morbidly funny and emotionally resonant novel about the ways life—and love—can sneak up on us (no matter how much pepper spray we carry).

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Ginseng Roots
by Craig Thompson

A new graphic memoir from the author of Blankets and Habibi about class, childhood labor, and Wisconsin’s ginseng industry.

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The Original Daughter
by Jemimah Wei

A dazzling debut by Jemimah Wei about ambition, sisterhood, and family bonds in turn-of-the-millennium Singapore.

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Awake in the Floating City
by Susanna Kwan

A debut novel about an artist and a 130-year-old woman bound by love and memory in a future, flooded San Francisco.

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Reviews by Michelle H

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