The Maid’s Version by Daniel Woodrell (3 stars) This is a very well-written but ultimately not very good story. By that, I mean that Woodrell’s writing is gorgeous — his descriptions of small town Missouri, his flashbacks to the 1920s — but the central mystery (who caused an explosion at a dance hall in 1929) doesn’t do much to grip the reader. I picked this up solely because I loved Winter’s Bone, but it definitely did not live up to my expectations. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin […]
“I am as blank as a piece of white paper in a world with no pencils.”
Did I miss something? Did I read a different version of Still Life With Tornado than everyone else? Because I hated this book. I hated Sarah. I hated Umbrella. I didn’t like the magical realism aspect of having multiple Sarahs that everyone could see despite every other aspect of the book being set in a realistic world. The Art Club/ Miss Smith story line had nothing to do with the big reveal! Was it even really resolved, or just there? The “pay off” at the end was not enough […]
More Please.
I started a review of this a week or so ago, but I couldn’t think of much to say. I find it harder to review books that are further along in a series, especially a series I don’t think a whole lot of people are reading. Reviews are often a conversation with other readers, even if the other readers aren’t reading my review. Anyway, I didn’t know how to approach my review of Wildfire. One difficulty was that this was the last book in the […]
Double Cannonball into the Ocean!
I’m not going to lie, I made sure to time the completion of this so I could use that title. Neil Gaiman is one of the best world builders in business and The Ocean at the End of the Lane is no exception. Why did I wait so long to introduce Gaiman into my life? I needed an audiobook reset after sloughing through Dearie and this was perfect. A charming story read by the charming author himself. At the beginning of the novel our unnamed […]
I expect another Hugo coming N.K. Jemisin’s way
The Stone Sky is N.K. Jemisin’s stunning conclusion to “The Broken Earth” trilogy. Books one: The Fifth Season and two: The Obelisk Gate both were awarded the Hugo Award and I expect that The Stone Sky will complete a hat trick for Jemisin by earning her a third Hugo. “The Broken Earth” trilogy examines familial bonds, both created by birth and those we choose to create. They are a cautionary tale about what can happen when a society chooses to treat people as lesser and then takes away the […]
A Very British Armageddon
A fabulous collaboration between Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman in a very British, comedic take on The Omen, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve now read this book, always finding something new to laugh at. So when I found myself recuperating from a very nasty illness, there was no other choice for me as to who I should spend my reading time with – as well as it serving as a timely refresh and reminder now that a TV adaptation is in the […]