Secret Daughter (William Morrow, 2010) is a book about adoption, cross-cultural marriage, and familial rifts. The "daughter" of the title is Asha, a baby girl born into an India where high dowry prices mean daughters are undesirable. Her father wishes to get rid of the baby girl, as he did with the daughter born previously.… Continue reading Book Review – Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Category: Book Reviews
Book Review – The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton
Primarily, when I think of G. K. Chesterton, I think of Orthodoxy. Then I remember that he also wrote the Father Brown mystery stories. After reading The Man Who Was Thursday I find myself in the unusual position of agreeing with Chesterton in the non-fiction world far more than I do in the fictive. This… Continue reading Book Review – The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton
Book Review – Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster
I had two reactions to Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster (Henry Holt, 2007). The first – and perhaps thus the truest- came right when I finished reading it. Peter and I were on the ferry, on our way home. I closed the book and set it down on my lap. Peter looked up… Continue reading Book Review – Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster
Book Review – The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
The Casual Vacancy is not Harry Potter. This obvious fact needs to be stated because, I’m willing to bet, 90% of The Casual Vacancy’s readers have picked it up because of the author’s name. I certainly was one of them – driven by a certain curiosity to see what else J.K. Rowling can do. Of… Continue reading Book Review – The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
Book Review – The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
I’m not quite sure what I think of Jeffrey Eugenides as a writer, so it’s perhaps strange that I’ve read all three of his novels. Eugenides is a strong writer, in that once I start to read his writing, it’s hard to put down. Yet I don’t feel satisfied when I get to the end.… Continue reading Book Review – The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
Book Review – The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey
I can distinctly recall the picture on the front of the Vancouver Sun. It was a computer-generated idea of what Jesus might have looked like. The man was neither greatly attractive or unattractive. He was an ordinary, Arab-looking man. He had dark skin, dark hair, and dark brown eyes. He looked nothing like the pale,… Continue reading Book Review – The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey
Book Review – Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Ender's Game is a science fiction novel that takes place in Earth's future, after humans have fought two wars against a mysterious alien enemy known as "buggers". Science fiction isn't a section I normally wander into in bookstores but Ender's Game, published in 1985, is as old as I am and still hugely popular and… Continue reading Book Review – Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Book Review – The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
It's a bold move to write a novel about the life of a Chinese man when you are an American woman. And even though Pearl Buck spent most of her life previous to writing The Good Earth in China, I'm not sure whether or not she got this story right. The Good Earth follows approximately… Continue reading Book Review – The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Book Review – The Fault in Our Stars – John Green
I feel prepared to make the argument that The Fault in Our Stars is not a young adult book. It's a book about young adults. I think there are books, written for a young adult audience, or any particular audience, that are well-written enough and important enough that they become greater than their intended audience.… Continue reading Book Review – The Fault in Our Stars – John Green
Book Review – Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
This summer I read Jane Eyre for the first time and greatly enjoyed it. So it made sense to read Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (who is not a French man like I presumed for some reason). Wide Sargasso Sea is an unofficial prequel to the famous novel and has since become fairly famous… Continue reading Book Review – Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Karissa Reads Books 