I read each of these books while traveling, so I'm never sure how accurate my reviews are when I'm thrilled to be distracted by a book through an entire flight. I started with Everything I Never Told You, which I purchased on a friend's recommendation. I read it while traveling to and from New York--on… Continue reading Everything I Never Told You & Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (2014, 2017)
Tag: fiction
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra (2013)
Before reading this book, I knew next to nothing about Chechnya aside from the fact that it was in a seemingly constant battle for independence from Russia. And in some ways, I guess that's still what it's known as: a republic that would like to be independent of Russia except that it can't seem to… Continue reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra (2013)
The Signature of all Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (2013)
I cringe to think of how many hours I spent reading this book that I didn't particularly like yet couldn't put down---my reaction is an odd combination, yet it seems to fit because this book was an odd combination of mediocre writing, fascinating botany, a too often predictable plot, and often highly engaging sub plots. … Continue reading The Signature of all Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (2013)
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwen (2007)
I'm not sure how Ian McEwen does it, but he seems to get into the core of human relationships, pulling out the raw feelings that people experience and describing them in a way that makes us nearly drown in each character's emotional turmoil. Creating the 'I'm right there experiencing this with you' feeling is the… Continue reading On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwen (2007)
