Sex and Vanity

 Formula. Kevin Kwan offers fans another comic novel featuring crazy rich people and their decadent lives. There’s a romance at the center of this novel titled, Sex and Vanity. While Kwan uses the formula about cultural clash and the behavior of some superrich people that has worked for him in prior novels, he also enhances the complexity of the main characters in this novel so that readers can feel some nuance which makes the comedy work even better.

 

Rating: Four-star (I like it)

Click here to purchase Sex and Vanity from amazon.com.

 

 

Hour of the Assassin

 Scapegoat. Be careful about what you eat and drink before and while reading Matthew Quirk’s novel titled, Hour of the Assassin. The violence and blood in the narrative can be off-putting, especially for delicate stomachs. Within the first few pages of the novel protagonist and former Secret Service agent Nick Averose realizes that he has been set up as the scapegoat for a murder he didn’t commit. Quirk keeps the action moving quickly as Nick uses all his skills to find out what’s going on and come out of his predicament alive. Fans of crime thrillers are those most likely to enjoy this novel.

 

Rating: Four-star (I like it)

Click here to purchase Hour of the Assassin from amazon.com.

 

The Vanishing Half

 

 

 Twins. Certain choices can define how our journey through life plays out. The twins in Brit Bennett’s novel titled, The Vanishing Half, choose different paths, and readers get to enjoy each sister’s life as the consequence of their difference choices. Sometimes we define ourselves, and other times we become identified by others as being a certain way. Sometimes a reinvention of identity can involve an erasure of the past to maintain the integrity of one’s new identity. Bennet explores the lives of identical twin sisters from the 1950s through the 1990s as one sister chooses to be identified as White while her sister allows herself to be identified as Black. Bennet encourages readers to immerse ourselves into these disparate lives, as she demands that we think about racial and gender identity with an open mind.

 

Rating: Five-star (I love it)

Click here to purchase The Vanishing Half from amazon.com.

 

 

 

Pew

 Silence. What makes you uncomfortable? The characters in Catherine Lacey’s novel titled, Pew, face what makes them uncomfortable, and Lacey’s fine writing leads readers toward understanding about human nature and life in modern society. When a family arrives in church one Sunday, they find someone stretched out in their pew. Their religious values lead them to reach out to help this person who seems to be homeless and seems to need help. All the inquiries of this person are met with silence, leaving the community discomfited. What do we call someone who does not disclose a name? They decide to call the person, “Pew.” Is Pew a man or a woman? After being taken for a medical exam, Pew refuses to remove clothing, leaving the gender classification unresolved. Skin color does not unequivocally establish the sorting classification that some in the community desire. Without the answers from Pew relating to identity, the community members are very uncomfortable. Lacey leads the narrative forward toward the community forgiveness ritual that pulls the story together in ways that may not satisfy all readers. Lacey’s prose is finely written, and this novel will appeal to those readers who appreciate thought-provoking literary fiction.

 

Rating: Five-star (I love it)

Click here to purchase Pew from amazon.com.

Cesare

Madmen. Open up Jerome Charyn’s novel titled, Cesare, and be prepared to be caught up in life and death decisions in Berlin during the Second World War. A young naval cadet named Erik unwittingly saves the life of Admiral William Canaris, the head of German Military Intelligence. Set amid the horror of Nazi atrocities, the novel riffs on The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, making Erik the character of Cesare, and Canaris the mad doctor. Readers join in a nightmare situation where madness rules as they try to hide and protect Jews from the death camps. Erik’s loyalty to Canaris drives much of the action. Madness increases when the setting changes to Theresienstadt. Historical fiction can take us to places and times that can be perceived as better or worse than our current ones. While this novel is one that takes us to a much worse time and painful places, Charyn’s fine prose and imagery pull us along until we have had enough and must escape the madness and return to the relative sanity of our homes.

 

Rating: Four-star (I like it)

Click here to purchase Cesare from amazon.com.

 

Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership

Systemic. Readers of Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor’s book titled, Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership, will gain a deep understanding of systemic racism and its impact for Black American homeowners. Learn about how redlining worked, how people are exploited, and the long-term consequence of inequality in access to housing. There are human stories here alongside policy analysis. No matter how much you think you know about racial discrimination and predatory lending, this book will teach you a lot more.

 

Rating: Four-star (I like it)

Click here to purchase Race for Profit from amazon.com.

 

 

Front Row at the Trump Show

Observer. ABC News’ Chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl has written a book titled, Front Row at the Trump Show. Karl’s contact with Trump goes back to New York City when the two men were in different roles. From that foundation, Karl offers what he has observed over decades about the relationship between Donald Trump and the media. For those readers interested in contemporary politics, Karl’s book offers a closely observed view of Trump and the White House. The anecdotes related in the book are interesting and the author’s perspective valuable in gaining insight about the current U.S. President.

 

Rating: Four-star (I like it)

Click here to purchase Front Row at the Trump Show from amazon.com.