Blog Category: all
Posted by BHanley on Thu, May 30
Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations is a superb treatise on the author’s life, purposefully meandering from childhood to cultural identity, marriage, having children, being an Indian-American, writing, in-laws, the 2016 election, and more. There's a lot of ground covered in this memoir. Its potency is further intensified and enriched by pictures and illustrations. Words can't always capture a look that a singular drawing does. If you were looking for a book or memoir to help process...
Posted by JGranatino on Mon, May 20
Nigerian beauty Ayoola doesn’t have a care in the world. Not with her sister Korede always there to clean up her messes. A textbook sociopath, Ayoola is already over her boyfriends’ deaths before they finish bleeding out. Feeling obligated to protect her younger sister, Korede does everything from bleaching blood stains to reminding Ayoola not to post upbeat things on Instagram while her boyfriends are newly “missing.” When Korede’s love interest starts falling for her sister’s beauty, Korede...
Posted by BHanley on Tue, May 14
The Other Americans masterfully examines the aftermath of a patriarch’s violent death and the effects it has on family, colleagues, and community members. Told from a myriad of perspectives, the story begins with the hit-and-run death of Driss, a Moroccan immigrant living in California who owns a restaurant business. Perspectives include Driss’ wife and daughters, the police and detectives, and the business owners next door. Over the course of the novel, each individual character’s...
Posted by BHanley on Wed, May 01
Home Fire is a riveting story about a tight-knit British-Pakistani family of three siblings whose life goals, secrets, and choices bind them together and drive them apart. Isma, the eldest daughter and pseudo-mother, moves to Massachusetts after being offered a professional opportunity. She leaves behind her twin siblings, Aneeka and Parvaiz. Aneeka has started college, while Parvaiz is ambling through life without a clear future. One day, Parvaiz stops communicating with his twin and...
Posted by JGranatino on Mon, Apr 15
Appropriately known as the Mount Everest of haunted houses, Hell House mentally and physically destroys all who enter. When offered a huge sum of money to research life after death, four people, a physicist, his wife, and two psychic mediums, agree to stay at the abandoned house for one week. With its unique and terrifying history of sins and insanity, the Belasco house’s evil targets each of them individually. From classic poltergeist behavior to more sinister sexual attacks, this house has...
Posted by JGranatino on Thu, Apr 11
In 1930s Malaysia, a young houseboy named Ren has been entrusted with the task of finding his dying master’s severed finger and burying it with his body, enabling the soul to leave the earth. Jin Li, who works for a dressmaker who hides her job as a dancehall girl to help pay off her mother’s mahjong debts, comes upon the mummified finger, and worrying this is a sign of bad luck, she asks her stepfather’s son to help her find the owner of this gruesome souvenir. Meanwhile, a man-eating tiger...
Posted by JGranatino on Mon, Mar 18
Famed artist Alicia Berenson has been convicted of her wealthy husband’s murder and sent to an institution for the criminally insane, remaining silent throughout her arrest, trial and incarceration. Psychotherapist Theo Faber is keenly interested in her case, especially when he sees her last painting entitled “Alcestis”, which he believes to be a key in finding out her possible motive for the crime. He secures a position at the institution and gradually works his way to meeting with Alicia,...
Posted by BHanley on Mon, Mar 18
Bursting with raw intensity and dazzling brilliance similar to The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas delivers a surefire powerhouse follow-up in On the Come Up. Bri is a 16-year-old aspiring rapper looking to help her family out by making it big. Growing up in Garden Heights (Los Angeles) where many people struggle with bills, drugs, and gangs, Bri wants to be a beacon of hope for her community. Bri is a captivating force in all her teenage determination, complexity, and heart. You...
Posted by BHanley on Thu, Feb 28
America for Beginners by Leah Franqui is a poignant story, told with careful, respectful prose. A year after the death of her husband, an Indian woman, Pival Sengupta, decides to visit her gay and estranged son in the United States. Under the guise of a country tour, Pival travels with Satya, the tour guide, and Rebecca, a hired actress to be her traveling companion. Pival’s eyes and mind are opened on this journey, as are the perspectives of her guides, as they navigate the...
Posted by JGranatino on Thu, Feb 14
The beloved poet, Mary Oliver, passed away on January 17, 2019. Winner of the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize and many other literary honors, Oliver was a prolific poet and essayist best known for her widely accessible, simple yet profound verses reflecting a reverence for the natural world and a deeply personal faith. Devotions is a particularly interesting volume, as it contains over 200 poems covering more than 50 years, selected by Oliver herself. In every poem, this...
