The Secret Place by Tana French was far better than I’d expected. I picked it up because it gets great reviews and because I was interested in moving away from the more romantic fare that I had been reading and back into a mystery. I didn’t realize it until after I’d finished the book, but this is the fifth in the Dublin Murder squad series, and while it stands on it’s own, I have the feeling that there were some references to the previous novels that I didn’t […]
Not exactly a cheery read…
The Book of Fate by Parinoush Saniee was a sweeping and beautiful novel about the life of a woman living through 3 successive revolutions in Iran. I didn’t realize it was a translation until after I’d read it, and the prose absolutely does not give it away. Poetic and beautiful, the writing is captivating. The characters are, while not always likeable, well-developed and painfully real in their hypocrisy and selfishness. Massoumeh, a bright student but overall normal teenage girl, growing up in pre-revolutionary Tehran with two older stalwartly traditional brothers, a younger […]
The downstairs gets their turn
As an Austen fan, reading Longbourne is almost inevitable. I’ve always wondered about the story from the perspective of the servants, and what it must have been like watching Mrs. Bennett furiously attempt to marry off her daughters so that they can avoid the poverty of the servantry. How awful it must feel to watch these wealthy people parade around, attempting to catch equal or wealthier mates to avoid winding up in your own shoes. And knowing that while your own lot in life was nothing to be desired […]
Like a comic… but a novel
The style and subject matter in Vicious inevitably lends itself to comic book comparisons. Dark, beautiful and featuring an alternative reality where extraordinary abilities are real, such comparisons are apt and hopefully the very talented V.E. Schwab sees it that way. In Vicious, Schwab developed the same style and tone that you get from a really good comic still. Beautifully rendered, the text actually feels visual. Schwab pulls the reader directly into the story and it stays with you long after the book is back on the shelf. […]