Algonquin Books – A Girl Named Tommi

NESTING – Roisín O’Donnell

“Nights like this, she knows this is real, she’s not imagining it. The fear is bright, animal, sure. Pure blue at the heart of a flame.” “But right now, there’s no space for stories.” Rounding out my Booker predictions for the weekend is Roisín O’Donnell’s debut novel, Nesting (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill 2025 –Continue reading “NESTING – Roisín O’Donnell”

ALL THE LITTLE BIRD-HEARTS – Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow

“I would not have knowingly allowed even the image of a bird into my home, however beautiful. But I lived for and loved a bird-heart that summer; I only knew it afterwards.” Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow’s All the Little Bird-Hearts (Algonquin Books 2023), my tenth read of the 2023 Booker longlist, is a peculiar and unsettling read. Continue reading “ALL THE LITTLE BIRD-HEARTS – Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow”

SILVER ALERT – Lee Smith

After I finished Backman’s novella, I still had several hours left of travel. Enter Lee Smith’s Silver Alert (Algonquin 2023), which I downloaded on Libby. A North Carolina resident, Smith’s writing vibrates and roars with the Southern gothic and grotesque – the voices her writing bring to life echo Flannery O’Connor and William Faulkner, loudContinue reading “SILVER ALERT – Lee Smith”

AFTERLIFE – Julia Alvarez

“It tells a story. That it has been broken.” My last read of 2022 was by an author that fits in a special place in my booklover’s heart. I haven’t read Julia Alvarez in years, but you don’t forget How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents or In the Time of the Butterflies that easily. Continue reading “AFTERLIFE – Julia Alvarez”

PURPLE HIBISCUS -Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“She had not learned the art of silent crying. She had not needed to.” I finally got around to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 2003 debut Purple Hibiscus (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill). While Americanah gave me White Teeth vibes, this reminded me more of The God of Small Things with hints of The Poisonwood Bible andContinue reading “PURPLE HIBISCUS -Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie”

HONOR – Thrity Umrigar

Thrity Umrigar’s Honor (Algonquin 2022) was very nearly a rare five-star read, but the generic and forced ending quickly yanked that top rating. I cannot talk about this book, particularly what I disliked that brought the rating down, without spoilers. If you don’t want it spoiled, stop reading now. Last warning. Honor is extremely well-writtenContinue reading “HONOR – Thrity Umrigar”