Month: November 2023

What I Read – November 2023

Karissa2 Comments

Read: Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston (Harper Audio, 2005) Bangkok Wakes to Rain - Pitchaya Sudbanthad (Riverhead Books, 2019) Girlfriend on Mars - Deborah Willis (Hamish Hamilton, 2023) Stubborn Archivist - Yara Rodrigues Fowler (Mariner Books, 2019) The Wild Heavens - Sarah Louise Butler (Douglas & McIntyre, 2020) Daughter - Claudia… Continue reading What I Read – November 2023

Book Review: Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri

Karissa6 Comments

Roman Stories - Jhumpa Lahiri (Alfred A. Knopf, 2023) This is a collection of short stories that aren't necessarily linked but feel like they are. They are all set in the city of Rome and many of them share the theme of outsiders or newcomers to the Italian city. Many of them are told in… Continue reading Book Review: Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri

Book Review: The Wild Heavens by Sarah Louise Butler

Karissa12 Comments

The present tense action of The Wild Heavens takes place over a single day but the broader story of the novel is drawn out over many years. We are first introduced to a young seminary student who, after a shocking discovery in the woods of British Columbia, leaves his pursuit of the priesthood and changes… Continue reading Book Review: The Wild Heavens by Sarah Louise Butler

Book Review: Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler

Karissa10 Comments

Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler (Mariner Books, 2019) Stubborn Archivist has a lot of the hallmarks of a debut novel - an unnamed narrator whose life reflects the author's in a lot of ways, a focus more on character and situation than plot, a lot of play with perspective and style including a lot… Continue reading Book Review: Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler

Book Review: Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis

Karissa17 Comments

Girlfriend on Mars - Deborah Willis (Hamish Hamilton, 2023) Amber Kivinen has been accepted as a contestant for the ambitious MarsNow program. One of 24 selected from hundreds of applicants, Amber will participate in a reality TV Program to pick two finalists who will launch into space and be the first man and woman on… Continue reading Book Review: Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis

Book Review: Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad

Karissa8 Comments

Bangkok Wakes to Rain - Pitchaya Sudbanthad (Riverhead Books, 2019) Even as I was reading Bangkok Wakes to Rain, I found myself thinking, How am I going to classify this book? It's a novel but not exactly. It's a collection of short stories but that's not quite right either. It has sections that feel like… Continue reading Book Review: Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad

Book Review: Normal Rules Don’t Apply by Kate Atkinson

Karissa9 Comments

I've read and loved enough by Kate Atkinson (and reviewed some too!) to expect a bit of weirdness from her work. I was excited to see that her latest release is a collection of short stories and looked forward to seeing how her talents fared in this format. My initial impression of Normal Rules Don't… Continue reading Book Review: Normal Rules Don’t Apply by Kate Atkinson

Fall Highlights So Far

Karissa6 Comments

I've been working hard to stay up to date with my book reviews this past month but have focused a little less on sharing life here. We have celebrated Rose and Peter's birthdays and Canadian Thanksgiving. The girls both started soccer again. Pearl re-started piano lessons and Rose started them for the first time. Pearl's… Continue reading Fall Highlights So Far

Book Review: Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang

Karissa7 Comments

Having read Zhang's previous novel, How Much of These Hills is Gold, I knew to expect a novel that played with reality, one that would introduce strange and wonderful elements and leave me to decide what was real and what might not be. That's exactly what I got with Land of Milk and Honey. At… Continue reading Book Review: Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang