Gilead (HarperCollins, 2004) is a novel that shouldn't work but does. And masterfully so. There's not much action and there's even less dialogue and yet Robinson keeps the tension tight and the reader engaged. John Ames is in his late seventies and he knows he will die soon. He doesn't have much in the way… Continue reading Book Review – Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
I'm about twenty years too young to feel much nostalgia over the 1960s but I'm exactly the right age to understand that childhood dreams don't necessarily translate into adult life. The Interestings (Riverhead Books, 2013) starts out with six teenagers at a summer camp called Spirit-in-the-Woods. It's a camp for artistically-inclined youth and for each… Continue reading Book Review – The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
The cutesy cover and title of The Rosie Project (HarperCollins, 2013) might keep you away from this novel. But if you give it a chance, you'll likely find yourself hooked pretty quickly. I laughed for the first time on page 3 when the narrator, Don, says this: "I would have been satisfied with our relationship...but… Continue reading Book Review – The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Asia is a continent of extremes. As countries like China and India grow in global power and importance, I think more people are realizing this. Asia holds extreme wealth and extreme poverty in the same hand. Rich Crazy Asians (Doubleday Canada, 2013) focuses on the extremely wealthy population. This is a novel. Novels don't necessarily… Continue reading Book Review – Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
I'll admit that I've never quite gotten the fuss over Houdini. Does there really need to be another book about him? That said, having enjoyed both The Cellist of Sarajevo and Ascension by Steven Galloway, I gave The Confabulist (Knopf Canada, 2014) a shot and I'm glad I did. The Confabulist contains stories within stories.… Continue reading Book Review – The Confabulist by Steven Galloway
This book was okay. That's exactly what my dad always refers to as "damned with faint praise" but I can't muster up much more enthusiasm about The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (Viking, 2014). I wish I could because I know a few people who read this novel and enjoyed it immensely. I simply don't… Continue reading Book Review – The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
How much would you do for someone you love? What would you sacrifice? Where is the line between right and wrong? What does it mean to be a parent? These are all questions that The Light Between Oceans (Scribner, 2012) forces the reader to ponder. We all want to believe that we know right from… Continue reading Book Review – The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
There's a reason very few books are written in the second person. It's a difficult feat to pull off without sounding like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel. The problem, of course, is that, at some point or another, the reader will stop and say, "No. That isn't me. I didn't do that." And the… Continue reading Book Review – Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney
There is a fragility and a terror that surrounds all childhood. Yet, at the same time, there is a security in the naivety of children. When you're a child, the only life you know is the one you live and so it can take years to realize the dangers you've been through. As trite as… Continue reading Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill
Where'd You Go, Bernadette (Little Brown & Co, 2012) is a fun book. But don't let that fool you. There's a lot to this novel. Maria Semple, who has been a writer for some TV shows that you've probably heard of *cough Arrested Development cough*, proves that she can delve into deep topics. Family, infidelity,… Continue reading Book Review – Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
Karissa Reads Books 