“Every lemon will bring forth a child, and the lemons will never die out.” Zoulfa Katouh’s As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow (Little, Brown & Co 2022) is a love letter to Syria, each page solidifying that the “where” is always so much a part of the “who” when it comes to identity. TheContinue reading “AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW – Zoulfa Katouh”
Tag Archives: War fiction
BRONZE DRUM – Phong Nguyen
“Gather around, children of Chu Diên, and be brave. For even to listen to the story of the Tru’ng Sisters is, in these troubled times, a dangerous act.” The bones of Phong Nguyen’s Bronze Drum (Grand Central Publishing 2022) were exhilarating; it was an easy BOTM pick for me. Historical fiction, cloaked in myth andContinue reading “BRONZE DRUM – Phong Nguyen”
PEACH BLOSSOM SPRING – Melissa Fu
Family sagas are one of my most favorite genres. They tend to be epic, chunky novels that hit that sweet spot for me. When I saw Melissa Fu’s Peach Blossom Spring (Little, Brown and Company 2022), I knew I had to have it. It boasts a stunning cover, and it follows a time in ChinaContinue reading “PEACH BLOSSOM SPRING – Melissa Fu”
SALT TO THE SEA – Ruta Sepetys
Ruta Sepetys’s Salt to the Sea (Penguin Books 2016) was a bit of a surprise. It’s been hanging out on my TBR for several years now, but I didn’t much know what to expect when I finally picked it up. As I’ve never read Sepetys before, I’m not sure if the snapshot-style alternating narration isContinue reading “SALT TO THE SEA – Ruta Sepetys”
GLAMOUR GIRLS – Marty Wingate
My “women at war” reading list has continued into 2021, finding me in England during WWII with Marty Wingate’s Glamour Girls (January 12, 2021, Alcove Press). Wingate, a cozy mystery writer, slid quite easily into the historical genre, and Glamour Girls is a quick and easy read with much of the violence of war (andContinue reading “GLAMOUR GIRLS – Marty Wingate”
THE MOUNTAINS SING – Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
It truly has been the season of “women at war” books for this booknerd. After I left Korea, I went to Vietnam and a family saga that spans decades of turmoil. The Mountains Sing (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2020) is Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s first novel in English. A celebrated poet, Mai’s language purrsContinue reading “THE MOUNTAINS SING – Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai”
THE MERMAID FROM JEJU – Sumi Hahn
From the battle torn France of World War II, to the women warriors of Ethiopia during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, and now to the haenyeo in post-WWII Korea, I’ve been on a bit of a “women at war” kick. The Nightingale, The Shadow King, and The Mermaid from Jeju are all three written by women andContinue reading “THE MERMAID FROM JEJU – Sumi Hahn”
THE SHADOW KING – Maaza Mengiste
“But tell me who you are, she says. Tell me slowly and repeat it three times, and I will make sure you are known. I will make a remembrance worthy of this fall. Say your name to me now. Say your name as you are photographed. Say it as you leap into the air andContinue reading “THE SHADOW KING – Maaza Mengiste”
THE NIGHTINGALE – Kristin Hannah
It always surprises people that I’ve never read anything by attorney-turned-author Kristin Hannah before now. It’s even more surprising that she only seriously crossed my radar when I read a blurb for her 2021 release, The Four Winds. I decided I needed to read something by her before this anticipated release, and here we are. Continue reading “THE NIGHTINGALE – Kristin Hannah”
A Girl Named Tommi 