BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Golden Gate: A Novel
by Amy Chua
(9/20/2023)
The juxtaposition of international politics with scenes from an intimate world allows us to recognize and feel the impact that these politics have on all individuals, even if they appear to be far removed. While much noir fiction sets out a formulaic murder mystery, The Golden Gate is layered with historical intricacies and social and racial commentary. It's also an entertaining and enjoyable read with extremely likable characters and an exciting plot with many twists and turns. It left m
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World
by Christian Cooper
(6/21/2023)
Cooper weaves in tips for people who want to start birding, while also conveying the wonder and beauty of observing birds in their natural habitats with all one's senses. He relates his experiences interacting with different cultures as a gay Black man: for example, being seen as a nonthreat in Australia or an exotic draw in Argentina. Beyond social commentary, he portrays intimate revelations about his childhood and relationships with his mother and father. Better Living Through Birding
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Where Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas
(5/17/2023)
Some of these details could be hard to bear, if not for Dallas's stylistic simplicity. She holds back from delving into complex or tortured internal narratives or ruminations on the underlying causes and emotions that are undoubtedly a part of domestic abuse, rape, mental illness and subsistence living. Instead, there is an innocent positivity threaded throughout — represented by Ellen and Charlie's relationship. Where Coyotes Howl is essentially a grown-up version of Laura Ingalls
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong
(4/19/2023)
Armstrong paints a vivid fantasy universe that is sumptuous and abundant in its scope. Delightful details, such as the fictional flora and fauna, set the scene for a community both otherworldly and familiar. The novel evokes current real-life issues regarding the political and religious forces that seek to control women's rights, as Armstrong sets out clear comparisons of the suzerain (ruler) and the religious sect, En Caska Dae, to modern Trumpism. Rather than a simplistic black-and-white exami
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Skull Water: A Novel
by Heinz Insu Fenkl
(2/15/2023)
Insu comes to realize that simple black-and-white ways of viewing the world — Heaven and Earth, bad and good people, right and wrong acts — can all be inverted, especially when the violent transgressions of war have turned the world upside down. Many novels that explore war are unflinchingly brutal and difficult to read, and Skull Water is no exception when Fenkl writes from Big Uncle's perspective. Yet the novel also explores echoes from the war through previous connections,
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Fire Season: A Novel
by Leyna Krow
(9/21/2022)
Fire Season is a thoroughly enjoyable novel that touches upon multiple genres and themes. It initially presents itself as historical fiction, but then weaves in supernatural elements tied to feminist power. The exciting backdrop of the late 19th century Wild West as the territory of Washington is on the verge of becoming a state establishes the paradoxical foundation of America as a place of opportunity for independence, but with restrictions on that freedom for some. The novel takes the
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Candy House: A Visit from the Goon Squad #2
by Jennifer Egan
(4/20/2022)
By presenting so many different characters diffusely spread through various styles of presentation, The Candy House reproduces the fundamental flaws that prevent social media from having the same truly deep and profound impact and connections to humanity that fiction can achieve. We end up with an innately dissatisfied feeling after having engaged with the stories and characters in the novel. As sensational and enjoyable as the plot, language, style and characters are at times, the same e
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Life Between the Tides by Adam Nicolson
(3/16/2022)
Life Between the Tides is one of those rare books that is truly interdisciplinary, transcending genres to effortlessly reveal the wondrous underlying nature of the mundane and overlooked. In doing so, Adam Nicolson unlocks and shares profound truths about the meaning of life. He sets out the true philosophical underpinning as to why it is important to preserve the world around us and all life that inhabits it. It is not for utilitarian purposes, but because the care and preservation of th
BookBrowse Editorial Review
1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir
by Ai Weiwei
(1/19/2022)
We come to find that this book was born from Ai Weiwei's illegal detention and restriction of movement in 2011. Ultimately, it becomes clear that the real crime is his voice. As his life has represented an evolution of artistic and human expression, it was perhaps inevitable that it would become politicized. Upon experiencing this fundamental truth about the nature of individual expression against a larger collective that seeks to maintain a status quo, Ai Weiwei comes to realize that his strugg
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Fight Night by Miriam Toews
(10/20/2021)
Spanning three generations and two continents, one might not immediately recognize the monumental vastness of the themes and truths that Toews is exploring within Fight Night. This is because we are gleefully and gently guided through the events that unfold by Swiv as she tries to make sense of the world. The main thing that stands out is how incredibly funny this novel is — and that's the only way that Toews can draw out such serious and heartbreaking truths about life, by soothing
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
(9/22/2021)
Whitehead is a masterful writer, able to present characters and scenes that draw us in with fast-paced action, while also slowing down to provide enough gratifying and diverting details that allow us to enjoy the historical backdrop where the excitement unfolds. He is cerebral enough to pepper his deceptively simple prose with reflections upon double consciousness, race theory and criticisms of capitalism and privilege. At the same time, while we're entertained, surprised and intellectually stim
BookBrowse Editorial Review
Swimming Back to Trout River by Linda Rui Feng
(6/9/2021)
The story reflects the natural ebbs and flows, the minor entanglements and ripple-effect impacts that each person has upon each other as the moments of life unfold. In this sense, it is surprising that Feng manages to keep the reader's attention throughout, but this is accomplished through the care and thoughtfulness in her writing, and the subtle love and respect that we come to feel for the characters. These elements draw us back to keep reading Feng's beautiful phrases and to keep wondering w
BookBrowse Editorial Review
The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen
(3/3/2021)
Just like The Sympathizer, The Committed is not a pleasant book, but it is an important book. I wouldn't even really call it an enjoyable book, although it is a joy to read Nguyen's masterful turns of phrase and skillful wordplay. He truly is an exceptional writer and it is this gift, along with the pulpy nature of the storyline, that keeps us reading curiously, pushing through our discomfort to engage with the ideas and philosophies that Nguyen presents. It is in this sense that t
