Author Archives: Tommi Powell

I am Charlotte Simmons – Tom Wolfe

When the Duke Lacrosse case (2006) rocked the world, and most certainly North Carolina, many people remarked at the similarities between what was revealed as life on Duke and the life at the fictional Dupont University in Tom Wolfe’s I am Charlotte Simmons (2004). For those who argued that Wolfe had sensationalized a culture ofContinue reading “I am Charlotte Simmons – Tom Wolfe”

Tall Houses in Winter – Doris Betts

(No copy of the cover for this one – so a picture of the author will have to do.) I have a small affection for North Carolina authors – especially when their stories are set in my backyard. There’s something about reading a work of fiction and fully understanding the small town dynamics, the connectionsContinue reading “Tall Houses in Winter – Doris Betts”

The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova

How is it that I had not heard of one of America’s most bestselling female authors in the literary genre and only stumbled across her first novel by accident when perusing the bargain bin at Borders? I suppose I was too deeply entrenched in my thesis in 2005 to do much outside reading. Whatever theContinue reading “The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova”

Child of My Heart — Alice McDermott

Alice McDermott is known for crafting her stories in simple but powerful ways. Her novels are void of bells, whistles, and pretty packaging. Her prose is strong, sure and intense in its brevity; literary tricks and fancy poeticism are not necessary to carry her work. She’s a remarkable writer, one America should be quite proudContinue reading “Child of My Heart — Alice McDermott”

The God of Animals – Aryn Kyle

There are some books that just surprise you. I’m finding more and more that this happens with the novice author and their first novel; when I finish the book, close its pages and stroke the spine, I wonder how the author can possibly top it. Zadie Smith left me with that feeling – as didContinue reading “The God of Animals – Aryn Kyle”

Lost on Planet China — J. Marteen Troost

This may prove difficult for me to write as I have been in love with this author, and I am a little disappointed in him at the moment. He let me down. I’ve written about J. Maarten Troost’s first two novels with passion and excitement. I urged the masses to run to the nearest bookstoreContinue reading “Lost on Planet China — J. Marteen Troost”

Chang-rae Lee — ALOFT

Chang-rae Lee is a first generation Korean American. He graduated from Yale and teaches at Princeton. (ohhh fancy pants Ivy Leaguer.) His first novel, Native Speaker (1995) won the PEN/Hemingway award. The publication of A Gesture Life in 1999 seemed to secure his position as an Asian American author whose beautiful prose appropriately painted theContinue reading “Chang-rae Lee — ALOFT”