“Every lemon will bring forth a child, and the lemons will never die out.” Zoulfa Katouh’s As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow (Little, Brown & Co 2022) is a love letter to Syria, each page solidifying that the “where” is always so much a part of the “who” when it comes to identity. TheContinue reading “AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW – Zoulfa Katouh”
Tag Archives: 2022 release
THE HOUSE IN THE ORCHARD – Elizabeth Brooks
“On closer inspection it’s obvious that every single one of the apples is rotten, whether they’re brown and speckled with mould, or green-gold and riddled with holes.” October is the perfect month for a slow burning gothic, and Elizabeth Brooks’s The House in the Orchard (Tin House 2022) is a quick read that hits theContinue reading “THE HOUSE IN THE ORCHARD – Elizabeth Brooks”
THISTLEFOOT – GennaRose Nethercott
“May there always be wine, may there always be smokes, may the jesters be kings and the kings become jokes.” “I do not want you to think that what comes after is your fault. I do not want you to think that the ending could have been changed. It is not your fault. It isContinue reading “THISTLEFOOT – GennaRose Nethercott”
BRONZE DRUM – Phong Nguyen
“Gather around, children of Chu Diên, and be brave. For even to listen to the story of the Tru’ng Sisters is, in these troubled times, a dangerous act.” The bones of Phong Nguyen’s Bronze Drum (Grand Central Publishing 2022) were exhilarating; it was an easy BOTM pick for me. Historical fiction, cloaked in myth andContinue reading “BRONZE DRUM – Phong Nguyen”
WHEN WOMEN WERE DRAGONS – Kelly Barnhill
“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”
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”
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”
BOOTH – Karen Joy Fowler
My third read of the 2022 Booker Prize longlist was Karen Joy Fowler’s Booth (Putnam 2022). While Fowler is no stranger to the Booker Prize (she was shortlisted in 2014), this is my first novel by her. While reviews are relatively mixed, I found it a fascinating, well researched and executed historical saga about theContinue reading “BOOTH – Karen Joy Fowler”
A Girl Named Tommi 