3.5 rounded up to 4 If you love the smell of old books and the worlds they unlock, The Bookbinder will resonate with you. Set in 1914 Oxford, the novel follows 21-year-old twins, Peggy and Maude, who work at the Oxford University Press bindery. Peggy, captivated by the books she binds, longs for an education beyond her reach as a working-class woman. Meanwhile, Maude, who is developmentally disabled, finds contentment in their simple life, leaving Peggy to shoulder the responsibility for her sister. As World War I looms, women keep the nation running while men fight. Williams weaves historical detail with themes of class, gender, and literature’s transformative power. Peggy’s […]
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A Tale of Mystery and Enchantment
As a follower of Christ, Patti Callahan Henry understands our purpose and the promise of eternity in Heaven. Viewing The Secret Book of Flora Lea through this lens enhances its power. In this mesmerizing novel, Hazel Linden’s world is upended when she discovers a rare book revealing long-held secrets about her missing sister, Flora. The story begins in 1939, with fourteen-year-old Hazel and her five-year-old sister, Flora, evacuated to the English countryside during World War II. The sisters find solace with Bridie Aberdeen and her son, Harry, in a village along the River Thames. Hazel creates Whisperwood, a magical fairy tale world, to distract Flora from the war. But their […]
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A Multigenerational Tapestry with Mixed Results
The Grandmother Begins the Story is a rich multigenerational novel that explores the lives and heritage of a Métis family. This unusual and almost weird novel is told by a chorus of funny, wise, confused, and struggling characters, including five generations of women in an indigenous Canadian family. Even bison, grasslands, dogs, and a car chime in to tell their stories. The characters include Mamé, who’s having trouble settling in the afterlife; her daughter Geneviève, who checks into rehab at age 81 after decades of alcoholism; Gen’s daughter Lucie, who is dying of cancer; and Carter, Geneviève’s great-granddaughter, who’s just discovering her Métis heritage after escaping an abusive adoptive mother. […]
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Disappointing Dive into Dark Themes
Karin Slaughter’s After That Night, the latest in the Will Trent series, left me cold. The novel dives into the lives of Sara Linton, Will Trent, and Faith Mitchell as they navigate a chilling web of privilege and abuse in Atlanta’s elite circles. Fifteen years after Sara’s own trauma, she witnesses the death of a young woman named Dani Cooper, whose brutal assault draws eerie parallels to Sara’s own and she must confront her demons once again. Despite the promising premise, I found myself unable to connect with the story. The narrative felt overly long and failed to maintain my interest beyond the halfway mark. While some may find the […]
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A Heart-Pounding Ride
Nick Petrie unleashes a gripping thriller featuring Peter Ash, a Marine veteran grappling with PTSD. When Peter’s friend Lewis calls for help on a bitterly cold Wisconsin winter night, Peter doesn’t hesitate—after all, Lewis has been his steadfast ally through thick and thin. Their mission to aid Teddy Wilson, a former associate with a brain injury, plunges them into a treacherous blizzard, only to discover a scene of violence and stolen incriminating notebooks that threaten to unravel their lives. Fans of the series already know Lewis as a leader of a clandestine group that takes down dangerous criminals. What Teddy has chronicled in his notebooks proves explosively dangerous, setting off […]
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Signal Fires
In the summer of 1985, tragedy strikes when three teenagers, under the influence of alcohol, experience a catastrophic car crash that claims the life of one of them. The collision shatters the lives of those involved, including Ben Wilf, a young doctor who arrives at the scene. Years later, the Shenkmans move into the neighborhood. During a snowstorm, Ben saves their newborn’s life when the mother goes into labor at home during a snowstorm. Waldo, the Shenkmans’ intellectually gifted yet solitary son, forms a strong connection with Dr. Wilf, who is now retired and grappling with his wife’s dementia. Opinions on this book diverge significantly among readers. While some found […]
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I Know This Much is True Review
“America’s been living on borrowed time all these years, Dominick,” he told me. “Playing the world’s whore, wallowing in our greed. Now we’re going to pay the price.” —Wally Lamb, I Know This Much is True. On the afternoon of October 12, 1990, Thomas Birdsey, a paranoid schizophrenic, entered the Three Rivers, Connecticut, public library, retreated to one of the rear study carrels, and committed a shocking act of self-mutilation. He prayed to God it was an acceptable sacrifice. Thus begins I Know This Much is True, which follows the parallel lives of Thomas and his identical twin brother, Dominick as the two approach middle age. Narrator Dominick Birdsey […]
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