This tiny novel - only sixty-nine pages - is really more of a short story. Yet, by offering it to us in book form, Zadie Smith confers on The Embassy of Cambodia (Hamish Hamilton, 2013) a greater depth and weight. Fortunately, this story deserves it. The Embassy of Cambodia focuses on Fatou, a domestic servant… Continue reading Book Review – The Embassy of Cambodia by Zadie Smith
Category: Book Reviews
Book Review – The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
I did not like this book. I remember when it was released and when it was selling out in stores and was at its height of popularity. Even now, people ask for it and seem to enjoy it. I just don't understand the appeal. The Art of Racing in the Rain (Harper Perennial, 2008) is… Continue reading Book Review – The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Book Review – Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
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
Book Review – The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
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
Book Review – The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
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
Book Review – Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
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
Book Review – The Confabulist by Steven Galloway
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
Book Review – The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
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
Book Review – The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
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
Book Review – Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney
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
Karissa Reads Books 