The End of the Affair - Graham Greene (Heinemann, 1966) Maurice Bendrix's affair with Sarah Miles has been over for a couple of years when he unexpectedly runs into her husband, Henry, one evening. Bendrix reluctantly agrees to have a drink with Henry, only to find all his love and hate of Sarah reignited when… Continue reading Book Review: The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
The Marriage Portrait - Maggie O'Farrell (Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2022) Lucrezia is the youngest daughter of Medicis of Florence. Raised in luxury but strictly watched over by her mother and father, her life as a young girl in the 1550s is dictated for her from birth. Yet there is a wildness to her, something… Continue reading Book Review: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Loved this book. Who is the main character? I'm not sure and I don't even care. Ponzi scheme set in 2008 inspired by Madoff Vincent is an amazing main character - she’s smart and vulnerable, fluid and changing but consistent in her basic character. She feels real. The setting of a remote luxury hotel located… Continue reading (Point Form) Book Review: The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
Hello and Welcome to the Fifth (yes, fifth!) Annual Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards! This is my annual, very rigorous, very competitive, highly esteemed way of looking back at what I've read over the past year and rating it by a merit system known only to myself. Eligible books must have been read by me… Continue reading The Fifth Annual Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards
When Lillian Leyb's whole family is killed in a Russian pogrom - brutally slaughtered by their neighbours simply for being Jewish - she boards a ship to a new country and ends up in New York City, sharing a cramped apartment with a cousin and a rotating cast of other roommates. A job at a… Continue reading (Audio) Book Review: Away by Amy Bloom
This is the second book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia that I've read (the first was Mexican Gothic) and so I feel comfortable saying that she has a knack for taking a familiar style of tale and adding her own flavour to it. In particular, a knack for telling a story from a Mexican perspective as both… Continue reading Book Review: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Chivalry - Neil Gaiman & Colleen Doran (Dark Horse Books, 2022) What if the Holy Grail ended up in thrift shop in a quiet town in England? What if a little old lady who frequented the shop found it and, liking it, brought it home? What if she liked the way it looked on the… Continue reading Book Review: Chivalry by Neil Gaiman & Colleen Doran
Pastoral - Nevil Shute (William Morrow, 1945) I've read two Nevil Shute books now - A Town Like Alice and On the Beach - and enjoyed them both a lot. I appreciated the way Shute balances the reality and tragedy of war and death while focusing on individual characters and creating ones who feel like… Continue reading Book Review: Pastoral by Nevil Shute
Hotel Magnifique - Emily J. Taylor (Razorbill, 2022) I am the aunt who gives my nieces and nephews books as gifts. I decided several years ago that books would be my go-to gifts for birthdays and ever since I've enjoyed finding and sharing books with my two nieces and three nephews. They are a variety… Continue reading Book Review: Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor
I received an Advance Readers Copy of this book thanks to the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Publication date was September 1, 2022. Kǫ̀ is a young boy, on the cusp of manhood, growing up in a remote northern community. Along with his community, he is learning to… Continue reading Book Review: This House is not a Home by Katłįà
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