Memphis - Tara M. Stringfellow (The Dial Press, 2022) In 1995, Joan, her mother Miriam, and her younger sister Mya flee her father's violent temper and return to their family home in Memphis. They move back into the house that Miriam's father built, the house she grew up, and where Joan's aunt August still lives.… Continue reading Book Review: Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow
The Bandit Queens - Parini Shroff (Ballantine Books, 2023) Ever since her husband disappeared five years ago, Geeta has been an outcast in her village. Popular opinion says she killed Ramesh but the truth is, Geeta has no idea where he is and she’s happy to never see him again. Geeta sticks to herself, making… Continue reading Book Review: The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
Brutes - Dizz Tate (Catapult, 2023) I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book. All opinions are my own. Pub date was February 7, 2023. As readers, we all have certain tropes that we enjoy, that maybe we have a soft spot for, even if we've never fully thought about it. One of mine,… Continue reading Book Review: Brutes by Dizz Tate
We Should Not Be Afraid of the Sky - Emma Hooper (Penguin, 2022) A wealthy woman gives birth to 9 identical baby girls. Horrified by the act of giving birth to essentially a litter, she tells her servant woman to take the infants to the river. While two of the babies have died already, the… Continue reading Book Review: We Should Not Be Afraid of the Sky by Emma Hooper
Abyss - Pilar Quintana (World Editions, 2023) I received an Advance Readers' Copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Publication date is February 17, 2023. translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman. Set in Cali, Colombia, Abyss is a story about eight-year-old Claudia and particularly her relationship… Continue reading Book Review: Abyss by Pilar Quintana
Forgive is the latest book from Timothy Keller. Keller is pastor and theologian, based in New York City. He's written many books now and I found him to offer the most balanced and Biblical approach of any Christian writer currently living. Forgiveness is a huge topic to tackle. It is one of the most painful… Continue reading Book Review: Forgive by Timothy Keller
After enjoying The Pull of the Stars so much recently, I decided to read Emma Donoghue's most recent book. While also set in Ireland, Haven reminded me more of The Wonder in the way Donoghue explores questions of faith and Irish Catholocism in particular. Artt is a well-known and highly respected monk when he arrives… Continue reading Book Review: Haven by Emma Donoghue
Sea of Tranquility - Emily St. John Mandel (Harper Collins Publishers, 2022) ...this is what the Time Institute never understood: if definitive proof emerges that we're living in a simulation, the correct response tothat news will be So what. A life lived in a simulation is still a life. -Emily St. John Mandel, Sea of… Continue reading Book Review: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Set over three days in a maternity word for pregnant flu patients in Dublin in 1918 - there’s a LOT going on here. And yet this isn’t a book that feels overwhelming. It feels steady. You feel swept up in the unceasing action of a busy hospital. Rarely a moment to rest, life and death… Continue reading (Audio) Book Review: The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
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
Karissa Reads Books 