Mary Renault, The King Must Die (1958) Mary Renault, The Bull from the Sea (1962) What is a true king? That question runs throughout the two historical novels that Mary Renault wrote about Theseus, the legendary ruler of Athens. As the young hero grows up, from mysterious beginnings, through trials that test his strength both […]
French seems to be the language from which I read translated fiction most often (see this post, and this one). This may be partly because of an affinity to the country and the culture — I studied French in school and spent a term in Paris in college — but I also have a sense […]
Margot Lee Shetterly, Hidden Figures (2016) So, if you’re simply wondering whether I think this book is worth reading, and you’re interested in women’s history, civil rights, U.S. history, the space program, math, or computer science (which I should think covers most of us), I will save you some valuable reading time and say: yes, […]
Betty MacDonald, The Plague and I (1948) Betty MacDonald, Anybody Can Do Anything (1950) Betty MacDonald, Onions in the Stew (1955) Since reading the biography Looking for Betty MacDonald, I’ve been eager to read MacDonald’s lesser-known autobiographical works. And with the new editions from the University of Washington Press, now I can! Originally published within […]
Peter S. Beagle, Summerlong (2016) The Puget Sound setting and mythological overtones of Peter S. Beagle’s new novel, Summerlong, made it sound irresistible to me — and it turned out to be a lovely end-of-summer read. A long-term unmarried couple, one living in Seattle and the other across the water on Gardner Island, find their […]
Alexandra Risen, Unearthed (2016) Subtitled “Love, Acceptance, and Other Lessons from an Abandoned Garden,” Unearthed is a gardening memoir that will appeal even to non-gardeners (like me). To start with, there’s the chance to vicariously experience taking an unloved, abandoned place and turning it into a magical place of refuge and healing — without having […]
Delia Sherman, The Evil Wizard Smallbone (2016) When a book gets compared to the work of Diana Wynne Jones, I’m not sure whether to read it or not. On the one hand, there’s the hope that the reading experience will evoke the brilliant qualities of my all-time favorite fantasy author. On the other, there’s the […]
Elizabeth Lesser, Marrow (2016) What are the ties that bind us as human beings? Can our thoughts and feelings influence our bodily well-being, even that of another person? How does releasing personal hurt, anger, and misunderstanding bring healing to our relationships and the world? When confronted with loss, betrayal, and death, can we learn to […]
John Rocco and Jay Primiano, Swim That Rock (Candlewick, 2014) Swim That Rock focuses largely on the most notable feature of Rhode Island’s geography: its coastline (which, as I mentioned in my state preview, covers almost 400 miles in a state less than 40 miles wide). And it dwells in loving detail on one of […]
Amy Stewart, Lady Cop Makes Trouble (2016) The second entry in Amy Stewart’s historical mystery series based on the real-life Kopp sisters is as compulsively readable and effortlessly enjoyable as the first. Constance Kopp has become the first female deputy sheriff in New Jersey — or thinks she has. But politics and a devious criminal […]