With the Booker dozen under my belt, I decided to swing for the National Book Award . (I’d already read two, so I figured why not.) First up is Angela Flournoy’s longlisted The Wilderness (Mariner 2025). An ambitious novel, it felt at times much longer than its 290 pages. It’s weighty, with so much heartContinue reading “THE WILDERNESS – Angela Flournoy”
Tag Archives: Mariner Books
CONFESSIONS – Catherine Airey
When I saw Catherine Airey’s Confessions (1.14.25 Mariner Books) being compared to The Goldfinch, I groaned. I’m serious. I audibly groaned. I think The Goldfinch is one of the more overrated novels of my time, and I still hold the opinion that the story deserved to have someone different tell it, someone with a lessContinue reading “CONFESSIONS – Catherine Airey”
ENLIGHTENMENT – Sarah Perry
“She was the most alive person he’d ever met.” “Her mouth was blotted red, as if she’d painted her lips, regretted her sin, and rubbed her shame on the back of her hand.” “Grace Macaulay – in whose veins ran Essex rivers and Bible ink…” “For God’s sake, Thomas Hart, for God’s sake: isn’t itContinue reading “ENLIGHTENMENT – Sarah Perry”
BANYAN MOON – Thao Thai
“He’s polish without substance, and I’ve hitched my wagon to nothing but a handful of glitter.” “The living must trespass on the dead; everything left behind a gift, an inheritance, no matter how unintentional.” Thao Thai’s debut Banyan Moon (Mariner Books 2023) is a heart hug of a family saga. From the 1960s Vietnam toContinue reading “BANYAN MOON – Thao Thai”
WHEN TWO FEATHERS FELL FROM THE SKY – Margaret Verble
Margaret Verble’s When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky (Mariner Books 2021) is one of those disappointing novels that simply does not live up to its potential. It’s a perfectly okay read, but I wanted it to be as great as a historical novel written by Verble about a Cherokee horse diver should have been.Continue reading “WHEN TWO FEATHERS FELL FROM THE SKY – Margaret Verble”
A Girl Named Tommi 