Current installment of Tommi Reads the World – we’re in the Bs. Country: BeninTitle: Snares Without EndAuthor: Olympe Bhêly-QuenumLanguage: FrenchTranslator: Dorothy S. BlairPublisher: Longman Group Limited (English version) 1981; first published 1960 Bhêly-Quenum’s Snares Without End is a slim novel about destiny, colonization, and the monsters inside. Admittedly, it’s been a long time since I’ve readContinue reading “SNARES WITHOUT END – Olympe Bhêly-Quenum”
Tag Archives: Book reviews
THE FROZEN RIVER – Ariel Lawhon
“To name a thing is a proprietary act. It is a commitment. Of ownership or care or loyalty. It means something. With that single word I have declared that this little beast is mine, and that I have a responsibility to protect her.” While the quote refers to a silver fox, the importance of namesContinue reading “THE FROZEN RIVER – Ariel Lawhon”
THE BERRY PICKERS – Amanda Peters
“…lost in a memory stirred alive by the moon.” Amanda Peters’s debut The Berry Pickers (Catapult 2023) is a quiet triumph of a novel about grief, anger, loss, identity, and forgiveness. When I was a child, I asked for The Face on the Milk Carton for Christmas. (It’s one of a few books I rememberContinue reading “THE BERRY PICKERS – Amanda Peters”
YOURS TRULY – Abby Jimenez
“Because love shows up.” I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – I rarely read romance, but when I do I want romance that is cleverly written and pulls you into a warm hug. That’s Abby Jimenez all the day long. Yours Truly (Forever 2023) is only my second Jimenez novel, but IContinue reading “YOURS TRULY – Abby Jimenez”
JOLLOF RICE AND OTHER REVOLUTIONS – Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi
“…oga dinma, oga dinma, it will be okay. Today. Tomorrow. Someday.” Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi’s Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: A Novel in Interlocking Stories (Amistad 2022) is my favorite kind of short story collections – the kind where the stories weave in and out of each other, building the reader’s connection to a full castContinue reading “JOLLOF RICE AND OTHER REVOLUTIONS – Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi”
THE VANISHING HALF – Brit Bennett
“You could never know who might hurt you until it was too late.” I finally got around to reading Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half (Riverhead 2020) – it was likely the most hyped on my TBR that had just been sitting there for ages, and it was on my “Must Reads” for 2024. (Yes. IContinue reading “THE VANISHING HALF – Brit Bennett”
ALI AND NINO – Kurban Said
Next installment of Tommi Reads the World – the last of the As. Country: AzerbaijanTitle: Ali and Nino, A Love StoryAuthor: Kurban SaidLanguage: GermanTranslator: Jenia GramanPublisher: E. P. Tal (1937), First published in the US by The Overlook Press (1999) “I, your Nino, I too am a tiny piece of this Europe that you hate, andContinue reading “ALI AND NINO – Kurban Said”
MY PEN IS THE WING OF A BIRD: New Fiction by Afghan Women
In my ever-constant desire to devour the world, I’ve decided to commit myself to reading a work from every country. I anticipate the journey to take several years as I intend to only read a couple from the list (which I’m slowly curating!) each month. I’m starting with the As. Country: AfghanistanTitle: My Pen isContinue reading “MY PEN IS THE WING OF A BIRD: New Fiction by Afghan Women”
A Girl Named Tommi 