Category Archives: reviews

Things that are terrifying or filled with sadness are not necessarily without beauty. The Book Thief is a story that exemplifies that principle. The characters are real and complex and the plot is captivating. But more than that, it’s a … Continue reading →

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera Perfectly postmodern and European, Kundera did an excellent job of breaking all the rules of novel writing. Philosophizing for pages at a time, addressing the readers directly, making the main characters more … Continue reading →

We all experience poverty. Our poverty may not all be monetary, but we experience loss and lack. This story captures one man’s discovery of his own poverty, after growing up working class and accumulating wealth through good luck and a … Continue reading →

The Help has been THE book of the year, and I didn’t want to let 2009 pass by without reading it. If you’re one of the few who hasn’t heard of it, it’s set in the civil rights era in … Continue reading →

With its Latin-speaking father, spunky children and old-fashioned adventures, this book feels as if it could have been written 50 years ago. It’s literary and insightful, and treats the subjects with dignity, something children will recognize and delight in. I … Continue reading →

Midnight’s Children is the sort of novel that defies an easy explanation. It’s magical, but I wouldn’t classify it as a fantasy. Though set in India and certainly an Indian novel, it was written in English and is very approachable … Continue reading →

The Complete Persepolis is a graphic memoir, a coming of age story of a girl growing up during the Islamic Revolution. It’s sweet, funny, educational, serious, and sad all in turn. The reader acutely feels the longings of the author … Continue reading →

Just finished reading Charlotte’s Web with Kate. Reading old favorites aloud to my children is one part of parenting I have so looked forward to and it did not disappoint. She has done very well comprehending the story, asking good … Continue reading →

Love in the Ruins is a novel set in an apocalypse caused by the overindulgence of modernity. From today’s perspective it is in one sense quaintly antiquated and in another deadly accurate in its grasp of the human condition. I … Continue reading →

I had a sliver of hope that Meyer would finish the Twilight Series in a way that it would be redeemed for me. Breaking Dawn, if anything, was more “eh” than the other books. At least I found out what … Continue reading →

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman is simply an excellent read. Fadiman skillfully describes the collision of two worlds, western medicine and traditional Hmong culture, by using the case of one little girl as a … Continue reading →