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Category Archives: Fiction – Historical
Final Thoughts on Kate Atkinson’s A God in Ruins
This novel is hard to review without including “spoilers” – and there is no doubt that anticipation of the ending is a significant part of the experience of reading this novel. If you do not want to read a direct … Continue reading
Some Brief Inarticulate Gasps About A God in Ruins
I finished it this evening – and yes, it’s fantastic. Kate Atkinson seems to be a bit of a vulture-like novelist, in that she circles, circles, circles, and then swoops (this comparison gets more interesting when you know that the … Continue reading
A Rhyme for Purple (And Other Charmingly Digressive Thoughts on Kate Atkinson’s A God in Ruins)
Let me tell you a little bit about A God in Ruins. Its protagonist is Teddy Todd, and the narrative swoops around, diving at will into various moments in Teddy’s life. We know his parents are Hugh and Sylvie and … Continue reading
Final thoughts on John Williams’ Augustus (by Jill)
Remember how on Tuesday I said that we never get to have Augustus’ voice tell us anything in the novel? Well, guess what Part III of the book is? That’s right, it’s Augustus Caesar’s final letter, written to his friend … Continue reading
This is supposed to be a progress report on John Williams’ Augustus, but I have a feeling it’s going to turn into me feeling sorry for myself because I’m far away from home and getting a cold. (by Jill)
Here’s the deal. I have about fifty pages to go in Augustus, and I really, really want to finish it before I write a post about it, but I need to talk about something tonight. I’ve been whining in … Continue reading
Thoughts on Charles Frazier’s Nightwoods (by Jill)
I still remember the day my boss brought me this book. It was the summer of 2012, and I looked at it and thought, “Well, I guess I’m going to read this book before I read Cold Mountain.” And … Continue reading
A Review of Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief (by Bethany)
I am slightly less annoyed with this book than I was the last time I wrote about it (which was here). It is possible at times to forget that “Death” is telling the story, although I still snorted whenever I … Continue reading
A Review of Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See (by Jill)
Long before this book became the 2015 Pulitzer Prize winner, to me it was a book with a pretty cover that Powell’s Indiespensible book club sent me. And then it was everywhere. And continues to be, over a year after … Continue reading
A Review of Susanna Kearsley’s The Firebird (by Jill)
I might not have read The Firebird, the so-called companion novel to The Winter Sea, as quickly if I hadn’t been getting on a cross-country flight several days after finishing it, but I thought carrying a Kindle and a book … Continue reading
A Review of Susanna Kearsley’s The Winter Sea (by Jill)
I’m happily ensconced in my suite at the Royal Caribe Hotel in Orlando, Florida. I both love and hate traveling alone. While I like to think of myself as a person who would enjoy nothing more than to spend six … Continue reading
Postcards From Purgatory 