This is the second of Chevalier’s books that I have read. Last year I tackled “Girl with the Pearl Earring” and despite the critical acclaim, it fell flat for me and I found it obvious, and sort of a chore. I also didn’t like Remarkable Creatures, but for somewhat different reasons. This novel has two narrators: Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot. Set in England in the 1800s, this is a story about women as they try to leave their mark on the scientific community, and […]
The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
This is the second of my (at least!) ten African authors in this year’s Cannonball. I picked this up based mostly on the title and the fact that I hadn’t read anything by an Ethiopian author yet. But this book is not about Ethiopia, really–it’s about being an Ethiopian in America or, more specifically, one hapless immigrant’s experience. The story is told in first person by the main character, Sepha Stephanos, who fled Ethiopia after the revolution seventeen years previously. He met up with an […]
A trip through Dante’s Inferno
As a true lover of Dante’s Divine Comedy, I must confess that Brown’s choice of inspiration for his fourth Langdon novel hit just the right spot for me. While some readers may be bored by his lengthy descriptions of Dante’s cantos on the odyssey from Inferno and Purgatory to Paradise, I wanted more. Some readers may find his near tour-guide-style descriptions of Florence and Istanbul to be a divergence from the plot, but I was entranced and nearly salivating at the chance to visit […]
A Splendid Time Travel Tale (Or, Connie Willis Deserves All of Her Awards)
Kivrin, a historian and student at Oxford in 2054, plans a trip to the Middle Ages using the well-established technology of “the net.” She must do extensive research in order to blend in with the locals. The history department’s technicians must perform complex calculations to get her to the right location. Her instructors carefully set up a rendezvous to bring her back. No one has ever traveled to the fourteenth century before. Kivrin’s favorite professor, Mr. Dunworthy, is deeply worried for her. However, Kivrin has […]
Like The Da Vinci Code, only better
Another Nic Costa crime thriller set in Rome, which reads less like a movie script and more like a subtler and fully-fleshed version of The Da Vinci Code. Young cop Nic Costa has recently been partnered with burned-out detective Luca Rossi and is sitting outside St. Marks Square trying to figure out how to survive the intense summer heat and humidity when reports of a shooting in the Vatican galvanizes the bored Costa into action. Despite strict instructions to steer clear of Vatican affairs, […]
Lady Macbeth
Quick Synopsis: Lady Gruadh comes of age in 11th century Scotland and makes a play to become Queen of Scots Quick Review: A well-told story for anyone interested in Scottish history or the characters behind Shakespeare’s famous (and fairly inaccurate) play Read the full review here