⭐⭐⭐⭐ Laurie Lico Albanese’s Hester reimagines Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel, The Scarlet Letter, from the point of view of a woman who might have inspired Hester Prynne. Isobel Gamble is still a teenager when she emigrates from Scotland to Salem, Massachusetts, with her much older husband, Edward. She comes from a long line of women with secret knowledge—including her ancestor, Isobel Gowdie, Queen of Witches—and has learned to hide her synesthesia, a condition that makes her see letters and sounds in color. Albanese describes this brilliantly, weaving it into the story in ways that feel both magical and grounded. Told in a dual narrative between Isobel Gamble and Isobel Gowdie, the novel’s prose is […]
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A House Through the Ages
In North Woods, author Daniel Mason crafts a spellbinding historical novel that explores the intricate connections between humans, their environment, and the passage of time. A Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Historical Fiction (2023), it stands out for its unique structure and rich storytelling. Twelve interlinked stories, each corresponding to a season and month of the year, make up the book. Set around a house in the woods of New England, these tales span centuries, beginning with a young couple escaping their repressive village in colonial Massachusetts. Their humble cabin becomes the backdrop for an extraordinary succession of inhabitants from precolonial days to the present day. Among these inhabitants […]
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