The Porkchoppers by Ross Thomas
Anytime I read a Ross Thomas novel, I lament that he or someone like him is not around to capture these times. True, we live in an era of Peak Cynicism thanks to Trump and his gang. But it’s not like the late-60s/early-70s era which this novel takes place was some sort of political paradise either. I’ve been itching to read a Ross Thomas novel since Briarpatch came on air and decided to finally knock this one out as it’s been on my TBR list for a […]
Galveston by Nic Pizzolatto
Nic Pizzolatto is most famous for being the creator and auteur of the sometimes popular, sometimes controversial hit tv series True Detective. Before he made that, he wrote this little crime ditty that shares a lot of themes with the show. I’ve been meaning to check it out for awhile. I have both love and antagonism towards True Detective. I love moody crime tales but Pizzolatto feels the need to suffuse his with a lot of existential angst, which sometimes works and often times does not. He likes his […]
The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura
I didn’t love The Thief but it’s one that will definitely stay with me. It’s not my typical tale: a story about an almost nameless career petty thief heisting wallets that shifts between the past and the present. In the past, he did a controversial job for some heavy hitter criminals in Japanese society and now he’s on the run. In the present, he’s done running and is getting by with thieving when he meets a poor boy and his mother, the former of whom he takes […]
CBR10Bingo: So Shiny! I don’t read eBooks and very rarely buy hardcovers, so I’m always a bit behind when it comes to new releases. I’ve been traveling quite a bit the last few years, though, which means I’ve had better opportunities to find new books since paperbacks tend to be released much sooner overseas. I snagged a few in Brussels last month, including one from this year’s Man Booker Prize longlist: Snap by Belinda Bauer. Jack was 11 years old when his mother left him […]
The only pull-quote on the front cover of this book: “Zakes Mda may have a more central place in South Africa’s literary and political spheres than any other novelist today.” — The New York Times High praise but not surprising, considering his latest novel, Little Suns, had just won the Barry Ronge Prize for Fiction and was featured in every bookstore when I visited Cape Town. A quick Google search confirmed for me that it’s as impressive as it sounds — the country’s biggest prize […]
Translated from the Japanese by Stephen Snyder A little girl is dead. Her mom knows who killed her. She wants revenge. It sounds like a simple enough plot, what could be more straightforward and relatable than a broken-hearted mother wanting to punish those responsible for the death of her child? But this is not a simple story. As the story starts, Moriguchi, a middle school teacher, is telling her students that she is retiring from teaching. Moriguchi has recently lost her 4-year-old daughter, Manami. She […]
