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Reviews by Diane S.

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The Well
by Catherine Chanter
The Well (3/3/2015)
I'm not going to rehash the plot because the description on the book page is a very good one. I'm just going to write what I thought of the book. When I first started this it seemed a bit wordy, though I was interested to see where this was going and of course to find outmore
God Help the Child: A novel
by Toni Morrison
God help the child (2/21/2015)
Absolutely amazing, Morrison can put a story together as very few can. Although only a short novel, so much is said, so much emotional territory is covered. When Sweetness, a light skinned black gives birth to a blue black baby, she is appalled as is her husband who quicklymore
The American Lover
by Rose Tremain
The American Lover (2/18/2015)
Loved so many of these varied stories. Her writing is amazing, fitting each story in each country and time period perfectly. From the Jester of Astapovo, where a man who signals in the trains, abhors the fact that nothing will ever happen in his life, just monotony, themore
Vanessa and Her Sister
by Priya Parmar
Vanessa and her sister (2/2/2015)
Starting in 1904, this novel spans six years in the life of the Stephen family and the very talented members who make up the Bloomsbury group. I loved this book and loved that the novel is told from the journal or diary writings of Vanessa Bell. Additional letters frommore
Honeydew: Stories
by Edith Pearlman
Honeydew (12/30/2014)
These stories are told in a vey economical use of prose and yet vividly descriptive. Many take place in Godolphin, Mass. And four stories contain Ronnie. Two, prominently feature her and her store forget-me knot, and were among my favorites. One story on female circumcisionmore
Driving the King
by Ravi Howard
Driving the King (12/8/2014)
Though Cole lived in Montgomery until the age of four, his parents moved to Chicago where he was exposed to Chicago's burgeoning Jazz scene. Returning with his group to Montgomery to perform in a non segregated show, he was attacked. This is the story of Weary, a young manmore
Lila
by Marilynne Robinson
Lila (10/24/2014)
There is something about the character Lila that I connected to in a big way. How she came to Gilead and married to a preacher is a story that is both poignant and life confirming. She is such a diverse character, wise yet naïve, suspicious yet giving, always thinking andmore
The Children Act
by Ian McEwan
The Chidren Act (9/23/2014)
An author, I believe, takes a risk when he centers his novel around one character. So often a reader will rate their enjoyment of the book on whether or not they can relate to the character. In this story the main character is Fiona, approaching sixty she is a high courtmore
Florence Gordon
by Brian Morton
Florence Gordon (9/21/2014)
Many years back, one of my favorite TV shows, was shown on our local PBS station and was called Waiting for God. It was about a group of seniors in senior housing and the character I loved was named Diana. She asked for and took no mercy, had a very ironic wit and basicallymore
Em and the Big Hoom
by Jerry Pinto
Em and the Big Hoom (9/16/2014)
Absolutely love the title of this little gem of a book. Bombay, India and a family of four, the son in his twenties, his younger sister, his dad who they call the big hoom and his mother, whose bi-polar illness has effected them all.

Love the way this was written,more
Nora Webster
by Colm Toibin
Nora Webster (8/20/2014)
In plain and unsentimental prose, Toibin gives us the story of a woman, Nora Webster, whose husband of many years has died. Leaving her alone, with two younger boys and two older daughters, she must find her way through life for herself and her children.

I enjoyed this quietmore
Small Blessings
by Martha Woodroof
Small Blessings (8/11/2014)
When Rose first arrives, a thirty-something unmarried woman, at the college bookstore where she has been hired, she manages to charm everyone in her path. I had a few inner doubts, wondering if this book was going to be one of those unrealistic all sweetness and lightmore
Neverhome: A Novel
by Laird Hunt
Neverhome (8/9/2014)
Over four hundred women fought on both sides of the Civil War. This is a story about one of the woman, Constance, who leaves her husband to take care of their farm in Indiana and goes off to fight for the Union.

In a short number of pages we follow Constance, who becomes Ash,more
Fives and Twenty-Fives
by Michael Pitre
fives and twenty-fives (8/9/2014)
An honest and significant work highlighting those who served in the Iraqi war, their motivations for joining, their fears and their struggles trying to assimilate back into a normal life. It is narrated by three different men, the most interesting to me was Dodge, the Iraqimore
We Are Called to Rise: A Novel
by Laura McBride
We are called to rise (8/9/2014)
The opening scene in this novel was humorous, sad but humorous as well. I could really picture this happening, it was so realistic and vivid. Than everything got serious, pretty quickly. The novel is narrated by four different characters, the youngest named Bashkim is eight.more
Everything I Never Told You
by Celeste Ng
Everything I never told you (7/9/2014)
From the opening sentence, I could tell this was going to be a somewhat difficult read. In the fifties, mixed marriages were frowned on, not just black and white, but in this case Chinese and white. Marilyn had long wanted to be a doctor at a time when woman were expect4dmore
The Painter
by Peter Heller
The PAinter (6/6/2014)
When I first started this book I had some trouble getting into it. What kept me reading were the wonderful words and beautiful descriptions of scenery and wildlife and the compelling, but complicated persona that is the character Jim Stegner. This is a novel of contrasts,more
The Hollow Ground: A Novel
by Natalie S. Harnett
Hollow Ground (6/6/2014)
A very strong debut set in the 1960's in Pennsylvania coal country.
Brigid Hawley is eleven yrs old, a girl that has had to grow up fast, due to the impoverished circumstances of her parents and their dysfunctional lives. When the underground fires consume her aunt's housemore
What Is Visible
by Kimberly Elkins
What is visible (6/6/2014)
Took me a while to read this one, not because I did not like it but because I kept looking things up in Wiki. Most everyone has heard or read about Helen Keller, but I for one had never heard of Laura Bridgman. Her story, on fact, began fifty years before that of Kellers.

more
Love and Treasure
by Ayelet Waldman
Love & Treasure (6/6/2014)
What first attracted me this book was the mention of the Hungarian Jews, most of the Holocaust books I have read seemed to be of the German or Polish Jews. That this takes place after the Americans have liberated the camps was also a plus. The 42 car gold train, as it camemore

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