Pushing down the original first paragraph a bit given the spoiler-y nature of it. We know from the blurb that something happens and our main trio of characters separate, so it’s not entirely spoiler, but it’s still details that might impede your enjoyment. Or maybe not! This book, more than anything else, is about our main character, mostly unnamed, the titular Heart the Lover–King asks the question, what if you had a true love (lost) but also a facility with language? Could you process and […]

Best for: Those who enjoy a well done love triangle that doesn’t consume the main character. In a nutshell: In the late 90s, writer Casey is working in a restaurant, trying to finish a novel six years in the making, and processing the recent sudden death of her mother. Worth quoting: “I think of all the people playing roles, getting further and further away from themselves, from what moves them, what stirs them all up inside.” “You don’t realize how much effort you’ve put into […]

Euphoria is novel clearly inspired by the life and work of the anthropologist Margaret Mead. Like Mead, King’s protagonist Nell Stone is dedicated to learning about the tribes of New Guinea and bringing that knowledge to the West. She is joined on her journey by her new husband and fellow anthropologist Schuyler “Fen” Fenwick, though the two sometimes seem to work at cross-purposes. Their story is mostly narrated by a third anthropologist, Andrew Bankson, who introduces the couple to a tribe called the Tam, seven […]

It’s not hard to feel for Casey Peabody. She’s a 31-year-old writer living in a glorified shack in Boston while waiting tables to make ends meet. Burdened with massive student debt and dealing with officially sanctioned sexual harassment work, she’s also trying to deal with the sudden and shocking death of her mother. Through all that Casey is also trying to finish a novel she’s been working on for six years. Over the years she’s seen her group of writer friends divide into two categories: […]