Tommi Powell

CHRONICLES FROM THE LAND OF THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE ON EARTH – Wole Soyinka

Wole Soyinka is arguably the best writer to come out of Nigeria. In addition to being an author, playwright, and poet, he’s a political activist. Openly critical of Nigeria (which resulted in his imprisonment) and the US (he destroyed his green card when Trump was elected), he’s never held back or sugar coated his words. Continue reading “CHRONICLES FROM THE LAND OF THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE ON EARTH – Wole Soyinka”

A PLAY FOR THE END OF THE WORLD – Jai Chakrabarti

In 1942, a prominent Polish Jewish children’s author, Janusz Korczak or Pan Doktor,staged a performance of Rabindranath Tagore’s play The Post Office. The Indian play is about a very sick boy who will die. Korczak, consistently refusing sanctuary and insisting he stay with the nearly 200 orphans in his care, wanted to prepare the childrenContinue reading “A PLAY FOR THE END OF THE WORLD – Jai Chakrabarti”

LOBIZONA – Romina Garber

There’s a comforting familiarity to Romina Garber’s Lobizona (Wednesday Books, 2020) – there is an elite school for magical beings and a sporting event, and these magical beings walk the world unbeknownst to but a few humans. But the world Garber created, the way she blends Argentinian folklore with the realities of the undocumented inContinue reading “LOBIZONA – Romina Garber”

THE SWEETNESS OF WATER – Nathan Harris

Nathan Harris’s debut The Sweetness of Water (Little, Brown and Company 2021) was a highly anticipated novel that was immediately met with applause. An instant bestseller, it is an Oprah’s Book Club Pick and it made President Obama’s summer reading list. Additionally, it was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Everyone loves this book. EveryoneContinue reading “THE SWEETNESS OF WATER – Nathan Harris”

THE BATHING WOMEN – Tie Ning

Tie Ning’s The Bathing Women (2000, 2012 – English translation by Hongling Zhang and Jason Sommer) was an unexpected read. The translation received mixed reviews, and I initially found it a bit “off” – but I realized it wasn’t the translation so much as the style of storytelling. It was a bit frustrating, especially earlyContinue reading “THE BATHING WOMEN – Tie Ning”

THE STATIONERY SHOP – Marjan Kamali

Marjan Kamali’s The Stationery Shop (Gallery Books 2019) is a heartbreaking novel of first love and lost love – a novel of how fate is a fickle mistress. The novel opens in 2013 in New England. Roya is an old woman, “nearly American,” who first left Iran over fifty years ago. Walter, her steadfast andContinue reading “THE STATIONERY SHOP – Marjan Kamali”

KLARA AND THE SUN – Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro may be the odds-on favorite for the 2021 Booker Prize, and understandably so. Not only is he a previous winner (Remains of the Day 1989), he is arguably one of the most heralded contemporary English authors. I don’t think anyone was surprised to see Klara and the Sun (Knopf 2021) make an appearanceContinue reading “KLARA AND THE SUN – Kazuo Ishiguro”

THE PROMISE – Damon Galgut

Hailed as “in every way equal to J.M. Coetzee” by Rian Malan, Damon Galgut is an author I was thrilled to see on the Booker longlist. Shortlisted twice, Galgut’s work is a proven favorite among the Booker judges, and The Promise (Europa Editions 2021) very well could win it for him. In the spirit ofContinue reading “THE PROMISE – Damon Galgut”

LIGHT PERPETUAL – Francis Spufford

Francis Spufford’s Light Perpetual (Scribner 2021) just oozes traditional Booker Prize type, so I’m not surprised it was longlisted. The novel opens in 1944 at the Woolworths in South London. The store is packed full of patrons because there are new cookpots available, something that war-torn England hasn’t seen in a long time. A rocketContinue reading “LIGHT PERPETUAL – Francis Spufford”