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Reviews by Jeanne B. (Albuquerque, NM)

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Actress
Actress
by Anne Enright
A Rewarding Read (11/5/2019)
Anne Enright is a brilliant writer and The Actress is a brilliant book that occasionally I had to struggle to finish. I'm so glad I did. It wasn't until the end that I fully appreciated the scope of the story. Ostensibly it revolves around the narrator's mother, a famous …more
The Volunteer
The Volunteer: One Man, an Underground Army, and the Secret Mission to Destroy Auschwitz
by Jack Fairweather
The Volunteer (5/23/2019)
The Volunteer is the most difficult book I've ever reviewed for BookBrowse. It is a vitally important piece of history about Auschwitz and the Polish resistance during WWII, which has been meticulously rescued from the cobwebs of time by author Jack Fairweather. His …more
The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls
The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls
by Anissa Gray
A Ravenously Hungry Reader (10/23/2018)
I really wanted to like this gorgeously-titled book. I wanted to like it so much that I read it twice, searching for what I thought I must have missed the first time. But I just ended up doubly frustrated. It's not for the author's lack of talent. Anissa Gray is an …more
America for Beginners
America for Beginners
by Leah Franqui
Like Reading A Lifetime Movie (3/16/2018)
I think your appreciation for this book will depend on what you're looking to get out of it. If you want a feel-good, non-demanding story full of kind-hearted characters and happy endings, this is a pleasant, easy read. If a mixture of clichéd plot lines, wooden dialogue …more
Force of Nature
Force of Nature: Aaron Falk Mystery #2
by Jane Harper
What They Said (11/2/2017)
Almost anything I could write would be repetitive of my fellow BookBrowse five-star reviewers, with all of whom I agree completely. So I will just add this. Jane Harper writes mysteries as if they are the highest literary art form. If you like mysteries of any kind, you …more
Happiness
Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After
by Heather Harpham
A Bittersweet Read (6/16/2017)
Heather Harpham's memoir is undeniably written with grace and charm, a joyful celebration of her life's blessings. But I wonder if I'm the only reader who has experienced her story in different and far more tragic circumstances: a sister who had not one but two children …more
The Second Mrs. Hockaday
The Second Mrs. Hockaday
by Susan Rivers
Mesmerizing Story, Brilliant Author (12/5/2016)
Once I picked this book up, I could not put it down until the last haunting sentence rang in my mind like a bell. It's that good! Other reviewers have summarized the plot so I won't dwell on it here. I would point out, though, that it brings home the sheer cruelty of …more
News of the World
News of the World
by Paulette Jiles
A Little Gem (8/22/2016)
I'm not a big fan of historical fiction but News of the World is as compelling as any contemporary novel I know. 1870's Texas - what a seething cauldron of issues and peoples! (Not unlike our own time.) How interesting to view it through the wry voice of a senior citizen …more
The Life of the World to Come
The Life of the World to Come
by Dan Cluchey
Virtually unreadable (4/9/2016)
It's distressing to have to give a book only one star, but this particular book worked hard for it. It was clunky, pretentious and boring, and then it would get truly awful. I've been reading a lot of really good fiction lately, much of it featured on BookBrowse. But this - …more
Darling Days
Darling Days: A Memoir
by iO Tillett Wright
Mind-blowing and heart-expanding (3/29/2016)
This is a brilliant memoir, unlike any I've read in recent memory. It unfolds in 51 chapters, each a vivid snapshot of one incident or stage in the author's life from birth to the time she leaves her mother's home in her early twenties. To me the effect was more like being …more
Fear of Dying
Fear of Dying
by Erica Jong
Erica, what have you done?! (5/4/2015)
This was a hugely disappointing read! It's barely a novel, more a 60-year old woman's long, whiny monologue about not wanting to get old and die. There are other characters in the book, two-dimensional at best, and things are described as happening from time to time - …more
Dangerous When Wet
Dangerous When Wet: A Memoir
by Jamie Brickhouse
Stupid when wet (3/25/2015)
I found this book to be just one more soppy memoir about a deeply narcissistic man and his dysfunctional, of course "larger than life" mother, his hedonistic romp through the gay sex scene of Manhattan, and his routine, almost textbook descent into alcoholism, rehab, and …more
Vanessa and Her Sister
Vanessa and Her Sister
by Priya Parmar
A real stunner (10/15/2014)
Hmm, so apparently we didn't invent free love in the '60s!
Other reviewers have amply described this book's style and contents. I would just add two observations. One, you will never look at Virginia Woolf the same way again. Though many references are made to her mental …more
How the Light Gets In
How the Light Gets In: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel, #9
by Louise Penny
There is a Crack in Everything (7/13/2013)
This is a lovely book by a deeply compassionate and seasoned author. Although this was my first Inspector Gamache mystery, I had no trouble following the many plot lines from earlier books, which were deftly woven throughout the story. And her characters. They are just …more
Peking to Paris
Peking to Paris: Life and Love on a Short Drive Around Half the World
by Dina Bennett
Slow going (3/31/2013)
As a lifelong fan of adventure travel, I really looked forward to this book. Not even 50 pages into it, though, I realized my mistake. It's not about the travel, it's all about the author and she's a diva. No matter how charming and self-deprecating she is about her …more
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