I purchased Imogen Edwards-Jones’s The Witches of St. Petersburg (Harper, 2019) strictly because of the gorgeous, icy blue cover. As stunning as the cover is, it doesn’t begin to do the story justice – this is one of the more captivating premise-wise historical fiction novels I’ve picked up in a while, and I simply couldn’tContinue reading “THE WITCHES OF ST. PETERSBURG – Imogen Edwards-Jones”
Tag Archives: historical fiction
GREAT CIRCLE – Maggie Shipstead
“I was born to be a wanderer.” Maggie Shipstead’s Great Circle (Alfred A. Knopf 2021) is likely my pick for the 2021 Booker Prize. (And it has nothing to do with the fact a coonhound makes an appearance.) I love the uniqueness of Lockwood’s No One is Talking About This and it’s still my darkContinue reading “GREAT CIRCLE – Maggie Shipstead”
A PLAY FOR THE END OF THE WORLD – Jai Chakrabarti
In 1942, a prominent Polish Jewish children’s author, Janusz Korczak or Pan Doktor,staged a performance of Rabindranath Tagore’s play The Post Office. The Indian play is about a very sick boy who will die. Korczak, consistently refusing sanctuary and insisting he stay with the nearly 200 orphans in his care, wanted to prepare the childrenContinue reading “A PLAY FOR THE END OF THE WORLD – Jai Chakrabarti”
THE SWEETNESS OF WATER – Nathan Harris
Nathan Harris’s debut The Sweetness of Water (Little, Brown and Company 2021) was a highly anticipated novel that was immediately met with applause. An instant bestseller, it is an Oprah’s Book Club Pick and it made President Obama’s summer reading list. Additionally, it was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Everyone loves this book. EveryoneContinue reading “THE SWEETNESS OF WATER – Nathan Harris”
THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND – Jojo Moyes
The Girl You Left Behind (Penguin Books LTD (Great Britain), 2012, Viking Penguin (USA), 2013) is the first Jojo Moyes’s book I’ve read. I’d been reluctant to read Moyes due to plagiarism allegationsand likely will not read The Giver of the Stars for those reasons, but I did enjoy The Girl You Left Behind. WrittenContinue reading “THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND – Jojo Moyes”
THE RIB KING – Ladee Hubbard
Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben may be the two you recognize, but they’re certainly not the only racist imagery used to market goods in America’s tortured post-civil war through today era. Black iconography has long been something that has fascinated Americans, and black caricatures and stereotypes were used to sell, sell, sell – largely toContinue reading “THE RIB KING – Ladee Hubbard”
WHEN WE LEFT CUBA – Chanel Cleeton
Next Year in Havana was a delight of a read, and I was thrilled to see that Chanel Cleeton let another Perez sister tell her story. When We Left Cuba (Berkley 2019) follows Beatriz Perez, the sugar heiress turned exile turned spy. Beatriz’s role in the Cuban Revolution was touched on in Next Year inContinue reading “WHEN WE LEFT CUBA – Chanel Cleeton”
GARDENS IN THE DUNES – Leslie Marmon Silko
It is only fitting that I picked up Leslie Marmon Silko’s Gardens in the Dunes (1999) just days after learning of Larry McMurtry’s passing. The two authors were friends, and the book opens with a special thanks to him for “all the books and encouragement.” I heard echoes of Gus in Grandma Fleet, particularly inContinue reading “GARDENS IN THE DUNES – Leslie Marmon Silko”
THE FOUR WINDS – Kristin Hannah
“Hope is a coin I carry, given to me by a woman I will always love, and I hold it now as I journey west, part of a new generation of seekers.” (The Four Winds 448). Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds (St. Martin’s Press, 2021) was one of the year’s most anticipated releases. Hype forContinue reading “THE FOUR WINDS – Kristin Hannah”
NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA – Chanel Cleeton
I picked up Chanel Cleeton’s Next Year in Havana (BERKLEY 2018) a few months ago because of the cover and the title. While I wish the “Reese’s Book Club” label wasn’t on it, this cover, in particular the colors, is quite captivating; the fact that the story itself outshines the cover is high praise. NextContinue reading “NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA – Chanel Cleeton”
A Girl Named Tommi 