Columns. Margaret Renkl’s column in The New York Times makes my “must read” list every Monday. Sixty of those columns from recent years have been collected and slightly revised for a book titled, Graceland, At Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache From the American South. What I want from a short essay is some observation and insight about the world that makes me think a little bit harder and longer about something important. These columns reflect observation and insight and wisdom that always encourages me to think. Renkl’s prose is finely written, and whether you’ve read her before or start here, you’re likely to find yourself thinking a little harder and longer about something.
Rating: Five-star (I love it)
Click here to purchase Graceland At Last from amazon.com.
Lies. The plot twists are reason enough for thriller fans to pick up Alice Feeney’s novel titled, Rock Paper Scissors. Something is not quite right in the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Wright. Adam is a screenwriter whose face blindness means he cannot recognize faces, even those closest to them. When the couple head to the Scottish Highlands, the lies in their marriage start to unravel, and Feeney offers readers one twist after another as the truth eludes us. The narrative proceeds from multiple perspectives and readers remain uncertain right to the end of the novel.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
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Marie. Fans of compelling and complex fictional characters are those readers who will love Marie, the protagonist of Lauren Groff’s novel titled, Matrix. Marie is the half-sister of Eleanor of Aquitaine who has dismissed the seventeen-year-old from the royal court and sends her to join a remote group of impoverished nuns. Marie thrives in the abbey where her leadership transforms the community and builds self-sufficiency. Groff imagines all that a woman could accomplish in the 12th century within an abbey free from life with men. The prose is finely written, and medieval life comes alive on these pages. Readers who enjoy historical fiction, especially with strong female characters, are those most likely to enjoy this novel.
Rating: Five-star (I love it)
Click here to purchase Matrix from amazon.com.
Infidelity. The Greek myths visit the Lone Star State and the Briscoe family in Stacey Swann’s debut novel titled, Olympus, Texas. First, draw the rural Texas town of your choice. Second, introduce the town’s leading family and imbue them with hubris and infidelity. Third, multiply the characters and stir. The result gives a contemporary take on mythology and the glories of dysfunctional families. Grab some popcorn, watch the family fireworks, and try to predict the next wrong turn in Briscoe family life.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
Click here to purchase Olympus Texas from amazon.com.
Desire. The connected stories in the book titled, Filthy Animals, by Brandon Taylor overflow with desire. As the pages turn, we ache at the misalignment with societal expectations and the longing for connection. We are overheated in the hothouse of student life. We watch characters struggle to learn to love and feel their deep desire. We read Taylor’s finely crafted sentences that are unflinching in examining the lives of the characters in these stories. The pain and love become palpable, and readers cannot look away.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
Click here to purchase Filthy Animals from amazon.com.
Range. Don Winslow displays the virtuosity of his writing range in his book titled, Broken, six short novels written as a homage. In a story dedicated to Raymond Chandler, we feel the style of that master in Winslow’s dialogue and prose. It’s easy to visualize Steve McQueen in the story dedicated to him. I closed my eyes and felt it was really Elmore Leonard writing the story dedicated to that genius. Fans of crime fiction will enjoy each of the stories in this collection for Winslow’s skill and as homage to those to whom the stories are dedicated.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
Click here to purchase Broken from amazon.com.
Avarice. The sharp wit in Rivka Galchen’s novel titled, Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch, provides a balance to the exploration of avarice at the heart of the story. Galchen places neighbors underneath a high-powered microscope and reports what she observes with energy and passion. While set in Germany in the 17th century, aspects of this story are present in every contemporary subdivision, apartment building, or community group. Galchen’s finely written prose will give reading pleasure to all fans of literary fiction, and her lessons about living alongside others will appeal to every reader.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
Click here to purchase Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch from amazon.com.
