“Beatrice and I walked home in the snow, pulling the weight of my mother’s memories behind us.” “There is a limit to how much we can hold, and how much we can keep in this world. It’s not a good idea to cling to the things you can’t bear to lose. That’s how we break,Continue reading “WHEN WOMEN WERE DRAGONS – Kelly Barnhill”
Author Archives: Tommi Powell
THE FORTUNES OF JADED WOMEN – Carolyn Huynh
“Because there was nothing wrong with having Vietnamese daughters. It was how the world treated them that turned it into a curse.” Carolyn Huynh’s The Fortunes of Jaded Women (Atria Books 2022) was a highly anticipated release for me. Magical realism, historical fiction, Asian diaspora, a matrilineal family saga… I was sold. Now that I’veContinue reading “THE FORTUNES OF JADED WOMEN – Carolyn Huynh”
MAPS OF OUR SPECTACULAR BODIES – Maddie Mortimer
“That the peace aches more than the misery.” My ninth read of the 2022 Booker Prize longlist was Maddie Mortimer’s debut novel, Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies (Scribner 2022). Much like many of the other books on the longlist, Maps is rather a unique story. Mortimer elects to use font and format to provide anContinue reading “MAPS OF OUR SPECTACULAR BODIES – Maddie Mortimer”
US AGAINST YOU – Fredrik Backman
“People we love will die. We will bury our children beneath our most beautiful trees.” “On the hilltop stand two girls, watching the car disappear. They’ll soon be sixteen. One of them is holding a guitar, the other a rifle.” Fredrik Backman is easily one of my top five contemporary authors. The following is quoteContinue reading “US AGAINST YOU – Fredrik Backman”
GET A LIFE, CHLOE BROWN – Talia Hibbert
Disclaimer: I don’t typically listen to audio books because it’s not my preferred way to read. In fact, until today, the only audiobook I’ve read was Alison Smith’s Name all the Animals and that was back in 2005. (Fantastic memoir. If you haven’t read it – check it out!) Talia Hibbert’s Get a Life, ChloeContinue reading “GET A LIFE, CHLOE BROWN – Talia Hibbert”
NIGHTCRAWLING – Leila Mottley
My eighth read of the 2022 Booker Prize longlist (and my last read before the shortlist is announced tomorrow) was Leila Mottley’s Nightcrawling (Alfred A. Knopf 2022). Mottley, a poet, was 17 when she started this novel, and there is a vibrance and urgency of youth that hums through the poetic prose. The words areContinue reading “NIGHTCRAWLING – Leila Mottley”
GLORY – NoViolet Bulawayo
My seventh read of the 2022 Booker Prize longlist was NoViolet Bulawayo’s Glory (Viking 2022). Coming in at 400 pages, it’s considerably longer than the last Booker book I read and at my sweet spot for size. Bulawayo is also not new to the Booker Prize, her debut was shortlisted in 2013. Postcolonial literature isContinue reading “GLORY – NoViolet Bulawayo”
SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE – Claire Keegan
My sixth read of the 2022 Booker Prize longlist was Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These (Grove Press 2021). This slim novella is the shortest entry in Booker history (I think), and it’s easily read in one sitting. Set at Christmas in 1985 Ireland, it’s best read during the winter months, ideally with snow onContinue reading “SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE – Claire Keegan”
THE TREES – Percival Everett
My fifth read of the 2022 Booker Prize longlist was Percival Everett’s The Trees (Graywolf Press 2021). I read it in two days, devouring each hilarious and devastatingly brutal word. I didn’t have a funny novel about lynchings and racism on my bingo card but thank goodness the Booker longlist put this novel in frontContinue reading “THE TREES – Percival Everett”
OH WILLIAM! – Elizabeth Strout
My fourth read of the 2022 Booker Prize longlist was Elizabeth Strout’s Oh William! (Random House 2021). Despite being the third in a trilogy, Oh William is crafted such that it can be read as a standalone. Written as a fictional memoir, the novel scratches at some things I typically dislike in fiction. Not surprisingly,Continue reading “OH WILLIAM! – Elizabeth Strout”
A Girl Named Tommi 