BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Reviews by Jane D. (Cincinnati, OH)

The Northern Reach
by W.S. Winslow

Portrait of a small town (11/15/2020)

It's hard to describe this quirky book - it would be a terrific book club selection and I would love to hear the discussions - bet they would go on forever! While I got bogged down in all the characters ( the author provides a family tree for each family he writes about in …more

The Mountains Sing
by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

Lessons from Viet Nam (1/12/2020)

" I realized war is monstrous - if it didn't kill those it touched, it took away a piece of their souls, so they could never be whole again "

The writing in this book is sometimes beautiful and often brutal as it reveals a history of Tran family in Vietnam, giving the reader …more

The Shadow King: A Novel
by Maaza Mengiste

The Shadow King - A War Story (6/21/2019)

The writing in this book is quite beautiful and almost poetic in places but the subject matter was really difficult in its brutality which made it difficult to devour it as I normally would do with a book. I enjoy WWII novels but knew nothing of this conflict in which the …more

The Story of Arthur Truluv: A Novel
by Elizabeth Berg

Good Summer Read (6/3/2017)

While the subject of Berg's book is not new, her characters make the novel a lovely way to spend an afternoon on your porch. 85 year old Arthur Moses and troubled teen, Maddy, have more in common that you would imagine. They first meet in a cemetery where each has gone to …more

Our Short History
by Lauren Grodstein

Get out the Tissues (2/5/2017)

This story of a young single mother dealing with her fast approaching death from ovarian cancer is overflowing with emotion that is spot on. The journey of how she prepares her son for his future without her is masterfully presented and takes us into the deepest parts of …more

The Girl Before
by JP Delaney

The Girl Before - (11/18/2016)

Do not start this book unless you can read thru it fairly quickly. There are two reasons for this - # 1 it is a compelling and disturbing read and you won't be able to put it down and # 2 the author tells two parallel stories at the same time by alternating short chapters …more

Since She Went Away
by David Bell

Good Summer Read (6/3/2016)

The story line centers around a disappearance so right from the start you want to dig deeper into this book.The interesting thing for me was that the story is built around 3 single parents and their children. Jennifer and Jared have a very solid mother/son relationship . In …more

If I Forget You
by Thomas Christopher Greene

I Love a Good Love Story (4/16/2016)

When reading If I Forget You, I felt that the plot was predictable at times but that did not deter from an enjoyable reading experience. The college romance between Henry Gould, a poor Jewish poet, and Margot, the daughter from a wealthy family with all the advantages, …more

All Is Not Forgotten
by Wendy Walker

The Treatment (10/1/2015)

There is lots to be disturbed about in this novel and while I usually pass all of my books on to fellow readers, I would be careful who I would recommend this to - It is not for the feint of heart. It is an interesting but difficult read. The first sentence gets right to …more the subject matter - the brutal rape of a 15 year old girl ( Jenny) who runs off from a high school party after being ignored by the boy who invited her. She runs into the woods where she is brutally raped for over an hour by someone in a black ski mask who actually seemed to be enjoying it all. The graphic details are hard to take in. Even harder to take is the self absorbed psychiatrist Dr Alan Forrester who has been hired by her parents. The good doctor seems to think he has the ability to fix everyone he comes across and in this small town he has plenty who need to be fixed.

Shortly after the rape a somewhat controversial treatment was given to Jenny to induce amnesia and erase the trauma from her mind. " While she had no memory of the rape, the terror lived on in her body" " A type of monster " that eventually led to a suicide attempt. At this point her parents hire Dr Forrester to reverse the damage done by the treatment. The problem is that the solution is equally damaging to all those in his path. So who is the true monster here?

The doctor is the narrator and by his own admission a braggart of sorts who loves his wife even tho he says she is not particularly skilled in anything and he is intellectually superior to her. She is simple and he believes she would never hide a secret from him, she is also attractive and lets him make all decisions - thus he loves her. But you get the point - the author does a great job through out the book of building a case against this egotistical jerk! The worst is yet to come when the doctor gets worried that the evidence in the rape points to his son . He abandons all to protect his son by manipulating evidence and planting it in the mind of Jenny when he is in therapy sessions with her. He works out his diabolical plan which ends up being a disaster for all those in its wake.

This is not a book that makes you feel good after reading it but it is ripe for discussion for book groups. I found it to be an emotional read which would lead to lively discussion. Moral dilemmas abound and bad choices are made all around. The characters are all damaged and drag their childhood baggage around with them - and of course the good doctor is quick to point out all of their problems come from their childhood. As a parent this always makes me a little nervous, wondering what I have inflicted on my own children! Just a little warning - if you start this book I doubt you will be able to abandon Jenny even if you don't like the book. I know I couldn't - I had to see it through to the end. (less)

We That Are Left
by Clare Clark

We That Are Left - Clare Clark (7/15/2015)

If you like historical fiction, an entertaining story and unusual characters then this might be the book for you. The authors packs quite a story in the 10 year span of 1910-1920. Clare Clark does a masterful job of fleshing out her characters from the " infuriating weirdo " …more

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