How We Disappeared - Jing-Jing Lee (Hanover Square Press, 2019) This is a story that takes place in three parts. In one part (what I would argue is the heart of the novel) We follow Wang Di through the years of World War Two, a young woman living in Singapore with her family. Her family… Continue reading Book Review: How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee
Behind the Scenes at the Museum - Kate Atkinson (Picador, 1995) I've loved the three previous novels that I've read by Kate Atkinson - Life After Life, A God in Ruins and Transcription so when I found a secondhand copy of her first novel a few months ago I happily brought it home. While the… Continue reading Book Review: Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
Last Impressions - Joseph Kertes (Viking Canada, 2020) I received an Advance Readers' Copy of this book. All opinions are my own. My overall impression of Last Impressions (see what I did there?) is that this is a story that has been told before. And so I found myself thinking about why we tell stories,… Continue reading Book Review: Last Impressions by Joseph Kertes
Carry Me - Peter Behrens (Anansi, 2016) One word that comes to mind when I think of Carry Me is "ambitious". A novel covering two world wars, as well as the complex period between them. A novel covering this period over England, Germany, Ireland, and even a bit of America. It's a lot and it… Continue reading Book Review: Carry Me by Peter Behrens
I know someone who moved to Australia, married an Australian, and named her daughter Alice. She's a big fan of this book. With an endorsement like that, I've been meaning to read this novel for years. When I finally got my hands on a copy, it took me only days to make it through. The… Continue reading Book Review: A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
The Alice Network tells the story of two women and two world wars, connected by one profiteering villain. We meet Charlie St. Clair in 1947, newly arrived in Europe with her mother in order to take care of her Little Problem/unwed pregnancy. Charlie has her own plans though and soon escapes from her mother in… Continue reading Book Review: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
In this novel, Brian Payton explores a lesser known portion of World War II history - the Japanese invasion of Alaska. At least, this was unknown to me and I consider myself decently informed. Our main character is John Easely, a journalist who has snuck his way into the Aleutian Islands where the native peoples… Continue reading Book Review: The Wind is Not a River by Brian Payton
This 20th century Christmas fable comes from the author of Mary Poppins and offers a similar quaint story with a British flavour. The story is really made up of two parts - the opening set is set on Christmas Eve at St. Paul's Cathedral. The first Christmas Eve service since the end of World War… Continue reading Book Review: The Fox at the Manger by P.L. Travers
The Nightingale offers a interesting conundrum to a book reader. It's an engaging, easy-to-read story and so it's not hard to understand why so many readers seem to have fallen in love with it recently. On the other hand, it's also not very well-written. After hearing some rave reviews of Kristin Hannah's latest novel (I'd… Continue reading Book Review: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The convergence of literature and religion is something that has long interested me as a reader, a writer, and a Christian. It's rare that I'm quite satisfied with the way Christianity and the Christian life and walk is portrayed in art (this was one of my primary complaints with such books as Good to a… Continue reading Book Review: The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene
Karissa Reads Books 