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Reviews by Hazel R. (North Eastham, MA)

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Circling the Sun: A Novel
by Paula McLain

Every Word is a Pearl (5/21/2015)

For the second time, Paula McLain has knocked it out of the ballpark in bringing historical characters and foreign settings to life. The writing is flawless -- reading this literature is like holding a strand of pearls in your hand -- silky smooth and warm. Although I am …more

Doing Harm
by Kelly Parsons

Fast Paced, but Disappointing (11/4/2013)

Kelly Parsons probably has a future in writing thrillers, if this book is any indication, but to be a true success, he might want to consider some character and plot development. Steve Mitchell, MD, the protagonist, is not a likeable character. He pays little attention to …more

The Laws of Gravity
by Liz Rosenberg

The complicated role of Transplant for Cancer (4/11/2013)

This is a story with medical drama, family drama, and legal drama based on the premise that the central character, Nicole, will die without a cord blood transplant using her cousin's child's banked cord blood. Having worked in hematologist malignancy research for over a …more

The Edge of the Earth
by Christina Schwarz

Exciting Novel, or Tedious Anthropological Journal? (10/28/2012)

Don't judge a book by its back cover. Noted to be "gorgeously detailed, swiftly paced . . . magical", this novel is somewhat of a disappointment, little more than an isolated woman's journal of unfamiliar shore life and small family dramas. Secrets do come to life, and the …more

Live by Night
by Dennis Lehane

Historical Fiction at its Finest (8/8/2012)

This is a novel that those that typically shy away from violence in books and movies will want to read. In the context of historical fiction, Prohibition did beget gangers, and Dennis Lehane gives us a fully nuanced protagonist, flawed, yet worthy of our time and attention …more

My Brilliant Friend
by Elena Ferrante

First in a Trilogy, but Doesn't Stand Alone (6/27/2012)

The prologue of this book will grab you, but you will not understand what has happened any more at the end of the book, as you will in the beginning. There is a lot of character development and the protagonists are quite idiosyncratic, but it was too much of the same thing, …more

BookBrowse Book Club

The Devil Finds Work
by James Baldwin

A book-length essay on racism in American films, by "the best essayist in this country" (The New York Times Book Review).

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Real Americans
by Rachel Khong

From the author of Goodbye, Vitamin, a novel exploring family, identity, and the shaping of destiny.

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The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris
by Evie Woods

From the million-copy bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop.

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The River Knows Your Name
by Kelly Mustian

A haunting Southern novel about memory and love, from the author of The Girls in the Stilt House.

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