I’ve been reading a lot of short story collections lately, not my usual fare, but short stories are a good way to get a sense of a writer, seeing how he or she handles a number of different plotlines, looking at the way stories develop, the way characters are presented and the patterns that emerge over the course of the… Read more
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
I have received some duplicate ARCs lately, so it’s time for a giveaway! First up… Stealing Athena, by Karen Essex This book has gotten great reviews on other blogs and I am really looking forward to reading it. Since I was fortunate enough to get 2 copies, I’d like to share one with a lucky reader (in the US or… 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
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
This book is the fastest 600 pages I’ve ever read. I received the book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program and I have to admit that I was a little intimidated by its size. I am not a speed reader. I tend to dawdle – I re-read passages, linger over good descriptions and generally take my sweet time – but… Read more
I’ll admit that the deciding factor in buying this book was the photo of the author, Myla Goldberg, on the back cover. I took one look at her big glasses, chunky shoes and Pippi Longstocking tights and thought, “oh, I definitely want to read what she has to say!” And I was not disappointed. Eliza has never been the standout… Read more
Victorine, a young married woman with two children, leaves an unhappy marriage and escapes to Indochina with her childhood sweetheart. They build a life there in the hot, humid weather, exotic flowers and swirls of opium smoke. Then, after 10 years, she goes back to France, back to her husband. She starts out planning to finally end things with him… Read more