Lisa G

BookBrowse Reviewer

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BookBrowse Reviewer Lisa is a BookBrowse Reviewer and has written reviews featured in The BookBrowse Review.

Lisa Guidarini is a Reference Librarian, Professional Media/Literature reviewer for Library Journal (and BookBrowse of course), and a voting member of the National Book Critics Circle. You can visit her at her blog: bluestalking.typepad.com

BookBrowse Editorial Reviews (10)

BookBrowse Editorial Review

Harvest
by Jim Crace

(4/3/2013)

Jim Crace's writing is sensual with an impressionistic feel, in the sense that cause and effect are often seen through a prism and you get a full picture of the story only when you stand back and take it all in its entirety. We know the time period is significant, a little research revealing the disastrous effects resulting from the virtual overnight growth of the wool trade. The enclosure of formerly common land causes many to go hungry, and the gulf between rich and poor grows ever wider, invi

BookBrowse Editorial Review

The Blackhouse
by Peter May

(10/31/2012)

Peter May's tight prose and gorgeously rendered sense of place keeps the reader turning the pages. An accomplished writer of mysteries, at no time does Peter May let up the sense of suspense; this is a masterful work by a masterful writer, likely to hook mystery fans, especially those with an interest in the British Isles.

BookBrowse Editorial Review

Gold
by Chris Cleave

(7/25/2012)

Chris Cleave's emphasis on relationships is at the heart of the book. His ability to make us care about his characters is his great strength. We may not always like the choices the characters make, but Cleave at least lets us see their motivations. Of course this doesn't necessarily absolve them of guilt but we at least begin to understand their actions and see the characters for who they are – flawed human beings.

BookBrowse Editorial Review

Darwin's Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution
by Rebecca Stott

(6/28/2012)

The true singularity of Stott's book is her in-depth study of philosopher/scientists starting with Aristotle - who, like many early thinkers, concentrated on the evolution of animals - proceeding through all the other major theorists in the field up to the age of Darwin himself. If Stott had stopped there it would have been a very good book, one I'd highly recommend. But what makes Darwin's Ghosts amazing is she goes even further to investigate how the developing scientific thinking on th

BookBrowse Editorial Review

The Lifeboat: A Novel
by Charlotte Rogan

(5/9/2012)

Rogan does a magnificent job keeping the tension tight throughout the book and the sense of place is masterfully accomplished, bringing alive all five senses by way of sharp, well-honed descriptions. The Lifeboat is gripping, edge-of-your-seat fiction that forces the reader to examine his or her own true nature, begging the question, "What would you be willing to do in order to survive?"

BookBrowse Editorial Review

The Cove: A Novel
by Ron Rash

(4/18/2012)

One reason Rash's novel packs such a punch is that its themes are, like love and hatred, timeless. You could take the basic structure of The Cove and place it anywhere, at anytime, and it would still be relevant to modern readers. But it's not only the framework of his novel that makes it such a good read. Rash's characters aren't stereotypical. They breathe life into story and give the structural skeleton its flesh. The overall product is a complete work of literary fiction which, though

BookBrowse Editorial Review

The Outlaw Album: Stories
by Daniel Woodrell

(1/11/2012)

Granted, this is not recommended general reading. It's for the sort of person who craves the gothic, the real life horror of such writers as Stephen King, mated with William Faulkner's Snopes clan, tossed with a dash of the worst violence from the daily news. There's no uplift, no sun coming out tomorrow. This short volume is masterful dark writing at its best, set in a distinct, culturally isolated area, filled with characters no one in his right mind would ever want to know. This is the grote

BookBrowse Editorial Review

Zone One: A Novel
by Colson Whitehead

(10/19/2011)

Zone One may not be Whitehead's finest novel, but it's a satisfying, riveting read. The beautifully long, descriptive sentences are richly sensuous, and the languid plot is driven by characters rendered life-like through the author's choice of third-person omniscient narration. Those in love with the written word will most appreciate Whitehead's magic. Lovers of zombie genre novels may find it less appealing. It's a story to be savored slowly, melting on the tongue like fine chocolate. Wh

BookBrowse Editorial Review

The Astral: A Novel
by Kate Christensen

(9/21/2011)

The Astral is a close examination of how difficult relationships can be and what factors converge to bring about their demise. Though somewhat dark in overall tone, Christensen knows how to relieve the tension... I give this book four stars for its entertaining, deeply thought-out plot and vivid characters. What small flaws it does have - such as slight lags in the plot - are more than made up for otherwise. A recommended read.

BookBrowse Editorial Review

The Paperbark Shoe: A Novel
by Goldie Goldbloom

(6/15/2011)

The Paperbark Shoe is a miracle of a book - so perfect, it's astonishing that it is Goldie Goldbloom's first. Along with the characters, we experience sweat and toil, success and defeat on unforgiving land, and we mull over the pain of the injustices we all wreak on each other. The relief we may feel because we aren't physically like Gin and Toad is made moot when we remember that what binds us all is a shared human nature.

Reviews (1)

Small Memories
by Jose Saramago

Wanderings of a genius (5/27/2011)

Operating on the belief it is the small memories that make up the sum of one's life, Nobel-Laureate (1998), novelist, poet, playwright and journalist José Saramago relates - in stream-of consciousness, often repetitive style - his story from his earliest memories to an indeterminate age as a young adult.

Small Memories is soul-touching, the beauty of the prose as much an element as the story of Saramago's life. It bounces back and forth in time, but never is the effect jarring. Written like a book-length poem, the beauty of it shines through in a way almost miraculous. It is the work of a literary genius, a born poet born with a vocation that became his gift to the world. A simply stunning book, one to be read and savored, over and over again.

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Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from…or why…

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by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray

Two women on opposite sides of the law team up to bring down gangster Lucky Luciano in this gripping novel.

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