Nothing lasts forever, as we are all well aware. We accept this as true…in theory. But few moments are more jarring, and depending on the circumstances, more painful than when we come face to face with this harsh reality in our own lives. We’re never quite prepared for it. In Julie Otsuka’s The Swimmers weContinue reading “Book Review Time: The Swimmers”
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Book Review Time: Stakes Is High
For a comparatively slim collection of essays, Stakes Is High delivers a mighty punch. Triggered by the election of Donald Trump in 2016, Mychal Denzel Smith was left a broken man. Yet from this fragile state he has developed a message that is firm and clear. He needed to write this book, to deliver a warningContinue reading “Book Review Time: Stakes Is High”
Book Review Time: Beautiful
One simple adjective can sum up the entirety of a book. Of an experience. With a plot richly textured, and characters explored in their absolute fullness, displaying humanity unvarnished, the novel, Beautiful, proves to be just that. Beautiful. This is the story of two brothers, born and raised in the Mexican village of Merida. Miguel,Continue reading “Book Review Time: Beautiful”
Book Review Time: The Giver of Stars
It’s interesting where our choices take us. We set out on a grand adventure filled with the best of intentions, and an excitement for what is new and yet to be discovered. We envision the story to come. Its characters are laid out clearly before us. Perhaps it’s a sweeping romance. Yes. That’s it. AContinue reading “Book Review Time: The Giver of Stars”
Book Review Time: Intimations
Zadie Smith makes me wish my brain was bigger. Only then, might I stand a chance of keeping with her. Yet in Intimations, there is a marked vulnerability noted in this great writer/thinker, as she pieces together a revised philosophy on life. A revision made necessary by a global pandemic. Covid-19 has changed (and continuesContinue reading “Book Review Time: Intimations”
Problematic: Ernest Hemingway and The Sun Also Rises
We find ourselves in the midst of a reckoning, centuries in the making. The cry to denounce racial and patriarchal constructs has increased across the world. Societies have begun to open their eyes to the inequities that have long existed. With this closer examination of culture, past and present, there has also been heightened (andContinue reading “Problematic: Ernest Hemingway and The Sun Also Rises”
Book Review Time: The Editor
As Barbra Streisand sang so beautifully “People/ People who need…people/ Are the luc–.” Well there’s no need to recite (or in my case, sing) the whole verse. You know what I’m getting at. We need each other. And sometimes we need someone to just give us a chance. An opportunity to reveal our true potential.Continue reading “Book Review Time: The Editor”
Book Review Time: Ordinary People
Insightful realism collides with moments of the supernatural in this tale of relationships on the brink. In Ordinary People by Diana Evans, we are introduced to two couples: city-dwelling Londoners, Melissa and Michael; and long-time suburbanites, Stephanie and Damian. Each relationship has years of investment behind it, as well as, children in tow. And theContinue reading “Book Review Time: Ordinary People”
A Brief Reflection and A Short Book Review Time: Heavy
Losing a loved one cuts deeply. But if you’re fortunate as I have been in my life, what is left behind is a wealth of beautiful memories. If you haven’t already, please read my review of News Of The World by Paulette Jiles, which was published on December 25, 2020. Separate from the review ofContinue reading “A Brief Reflection and A Short Book Review Time: Heavy”
Ever-So-Slightly Condensed Book Review Time (because not everything needs to be written in 500 or more words): The Long Call
In the marshlands of North Devon, along a neighboring beach, the body of a man has been found. The cause of death is a stab wound to the chest. There’s little on his carriage for positive identification, except for one unique physical marker: a tattoo of an albatross on his neck. This was a manContinue reading “Ever-So-Slightly Condensed Book Review Time (because not everything needs to be written in 500 or more words): The Long Call”