“She asked me to tell you she would break the world for you.” “I begin this story with the lie, and like a great whale leading other sea creatures in her wake, it was followed by a whole pod. I wish I can say I had doubts. I didn’t. I jonahed that whale, swam rightContinue reading “THE TRUE TRUE STORY OF RAJA THE GULLIBLE (AND HIS MOTHER) -Rabih Alameddine”
Tag Archives: Grove Press
DAYS OF LIGHT – Megan Hunter
“It was a language, she saw now, the way he touched her.” Megan Hunter’s Days of Light (Grove Press 2025) is very Bookery, and I read it as part of my “get a jump on possible longlisted books” journey. It’s The Safekeep meets Stone Yard Devotional, and while I loved both of those novels, IContinue reading “DAYS OF LIGHT – Megan Hunter”
WILD HOUSES – Colin Barrett
We’re a week out from the shortlist announcement, and I just finished my ninth from the Booker Dozen. In following this year’s theme of thin volumes and character studies, Wild Houses by Colin Barrett (Grove Press 2024) is a gritty look at small town Irish life – heavy on drugs, violence, and hopes to escapeContinue reading “WILD HOUSES – Colin Barrett”
THE COVENANT OF WATER – Abraham Verghese
“What defines a family isn’t blood but the secrets they share.” “Yes, old man, yes, eyes open to this precious land and its people, to the covenant of water, water that washes away the sins of the world, water that will gather in streams, ponds, and rivers, rivers that float the seas, water that IContinue reading “THE COVENANT OF WATER – Abraham Verghese”
SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE – Claire Keegan
My sixth read of the 2022 Booker Prize longlist was Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These (Grove Press 2021). This slim novella is the shortest entry in Booker history (I think), and it’s easily read in one sitting. Set at Christmas in 1985 Ireland, it’s best read during the winter months, ideally with snow onContinue reading “SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE – Claire Keegan”
YOUNG MUNGO – Douglas Stuart
“He was Mo-Maw’s youngest son, but was also her confidant, her lady’s maid, and errand boy. He was her one flattering mirror, and her teenage diary, her electric blanket, her doormat. He was her best pal, the dog she hardly walked, and her greatest romance.” Douglas Stuart’s follow-up to the Booker Prize-winning Shuggie Bain wasContinue reading “YOUNG MUNGO – Douglas Stuart”
A Girl Named Tommi 