The Blind Contessa's New Machine: A Novel
by Carey Wallace
The Blind Contessa's New Machine (6/9/2010)
This short book has an ethereal beauty to it. The reader feels transported into a gauzy world of another time and place where emotion and reason are not center place. The two main characters seem to float above the rest of us in a place where their love and devotion are so strong that the constraints of this earth don't apply. A delightful read!
The Swimming Pool
by Holly LeCraw
The Swimming Pool (3/17/2010)
This book drew me in right on its opening pages. There was a sense of mystery and of impending doom that kept me turning pages long after "reading time' was over. The characters were well fleshed out and my sympathies were with each of them in turn. As the story unfolded, I was caught up in the tangled lives surprised at the twists and turns. A page turner to the end!
Making Toast: A Family Story
by Roger Rosenblatt
Making toast (10/30/2009)
An excellent "how to" for anyone suffering the loss of a family member. Written with unerring sensitivity to the pain of loss and the joy of healing. Gently told with both compassion and humor, this somehow uplifting book on a seriously sad topic, is one to tuck away on a shelf after reading - just in case.
The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel
by Maureen Lindley
The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel (8/12/2009)
While I generally like historical fiction, I found this book confusing and barely believable. It would seem impossible for a young girl of this time and place to become so disenfranchised from family and station and to endure the many and varied sexual and other adventures. The author did not allow me much empathy or inclusion into her main character.The book was just "a read".
