BookBrowse Editorial Review
Salt Houses
(5/17/2017)
Readers travel through each section of the narrative – from country to country – with a different family member. The story jumps forward in time, often skipping years, to coincide with significant events, both historical and familial, which keeps the storytelling compelling and intriguing. In this way, writer Hana Alyan creates a unique perspective of the effect of political conflict on families. Rather than bringing readers to the brutality of war, we bear witness to the separation of
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Last Gods of Indochine by Samuel Ferrer
(4/19/2017)
Overall, The Last Gods of Indochine, which was nominated for The Man Asian Literary Prize, is a compelling and fascinating read. It succeeds in bringing the ancient Kingdom alive and allows us to imagine something of the society, superstitions and power structures inherent within it, which may also have contributed to bringing about its mysterious collapse. It left me wanting to, not just know more about the history of the Kingdom, but visit its stunning monuments - as long as there isn't
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Dry: Aaron Falk Mystery #1
(2/1/2017)
With more than one mystery being unraveled simultaneously, The Dry keeps up a brisk pace, is full of surprises, and has the right balance of tension without overindulging in the brutal, tense-suspense formula of many potboilers today. It carries the reader to the arid, drought suffering region of Australia in a way that reminded me of Douglas Kennedy's thrilling debut novel set in the lesser known, slightly terrifying, remote and usually uninhabited Australian Outback, The Dead Heart
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Ballroom: A Novel
by Anna Hope
(10/19/2016)
A haunting, highly readable novel of extremes, The Ballroom explores love and loss; progress and terror; and nature versus the institution, all of which will appeal to those who enjoy books with a slow tension-fueled build-up and an emotionally satisfying ending.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
(9/7/2016)
Ivey cleverly juxtaposes the practical ambitions of Forrester and his crew against the deeply knowledgeable ways of the native Indians they travel with and encounter, whose warnings are communicated in a language of legend and symbolism. She acknowledges the vast terrain between their ways of thinking, the loss of a culture and tradition; and then searches for the good, demonstrating the tender aspect of ignorant explorers, opening their eyes to the mystical, even though they bury what they have
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Bones of Grace by Tahmima Anam
(8/3/2016)
The Bones of Grace completes Tahmima Anam’s Bangladesh trilogy. The three novels, which can be be read independently or together, illustrate, through the compelling storytelling and adept characterization of three female family members over successive generations, how historical events impacted their lives and their place in the social fabric of Dhaka and Chittagong since Bangladesh’s independence from West Pakistan in 1971.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Barkskins by Annie Proulx
(7/13/2016)
Barkskins is a sprawling, epic tour of the recent history of man in relation to the forests of the new world and the clash between indigenous populations of those territories and incoming prospectors – a situation that continues today. It is a thought-provoking work of dedication, written in assured, confident prose that's worth persevering through, particularly for readers who enjoy learning about history and the natural world through character and storytelling.
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Paint Your Wife by Lloyd Jones
(4/20/2016)
The writing reminded me a lot of Anne Tyler's – it will be enjoyed by fans of domestic, community drama, but made all the more fascinating and unique because its observations are from within the male perspective. There are a scattering of insightful references to great painters whose wives or lovers were their subjects: most notably Pierre Bonnard, the French artist who painted almost exclusively from memory; and also Rembrandt, Cézanne, Matisse and Chagall.
