Marcus Ripps is an ordinary guy – he manages a toy factory in Van Nuys, his wife, Jan, runs a small boutique, his son is getting ready for his bar mitzvah. Then the factory moves to China, Marcus loses his job and suddenly the family is struggling to keep a roof over their heads. Enter Marcus’ estranged brother Julian –… Read more
This book starts with a fun premise: Emmett James’ life has revolved around the movies, so he tells his stories in the context of the movies. From his first family outings to the cinema for Jungle Book to his appearance in a soft-core porn film, he manages to tie his significant life experiences to the movies. (Not surprising for an… Read more
I have written before about my love of travel and adventure books. Often, these are more accurately about misadventure – an expedition gone wrong, a plane crash, a shipwreck. Some people live, some die. Why did Robert Falcon Scott lose every member of his expedition, while Edmund Shackleton brought all of his crewmembers – including a stowaway – home safely?… Read more
Anya Achtenberg calls The Stories of Devil-Girl a novella, but it reads more like a poem – a wild, surreal poem that occasionally bursts out in pain, in suffering so clearly described that it’s painful to read. The stories are not straightforward, but it is easy to pick out the threads – abuse (both physical and sexual), poverty, rape, prostitution… Read more
I have always been a fan of travel and adventure books, both fiction and non-fiction, which is what drew me to Kira Salak’s book, The White Mary. Although the book is a work of fiction, she drew on her long experience as a travel journalist to present a story full of detail and vibrant description. It is immediately apparent that… Read more
How do you go on when you have lost everything? That’s the question at the heart of Abbeville. George Bailey has lost everything in the dot-com bust. His office, which once bustled with activity and the smell of money, is now deserted. He may lose his home and he has to pull his son out of private school. How can… Read more
This is definitely a woman’s book. Although it is filled with danger and intrigue, men’s fantasies about harem girls are very different from the blushing virgins and vicious, back-stabbing women you’ll meet in The Aviary Gate – and it’s their loss if they don’t read it. It’s a fascinating glimpse of the inner workings of a harem and its denizens.… Read more
I will be posting from Amsterdam for the next 2 weeks while I am away on business. My internet access will be limited, but I hope to post some reviews very soon. I finished The Aviary Gate on Saturday, before leaving on my trip. Due to a long lay-over and an 8 hour flight delay, I finished two books on… Read more
I have been reading Spenser novels for a long time – a very long time. It’s gotten to the point that not a lot of people remember the old Spenser: For Hire tv series with Robert Urich and Avery Brooks. (When I read a Spenser novel, I still hear Brooks’ voice whenever Hawk speaks.) On the whole, I have been… Read more
One of the things that struck me about Unaccustomed Earth was how sad the stories all seemed. Though not really tragic, there seemed to be no happy endings in sight for any of these characters. I could barely finish “A Choice of Accommodations” – I could see the train wreck coming and I wanted desperately to derail it, to do… Read more