As a frequent reader of all genres, I have seldom encountered a novel that has captured me so completely from the earliest pages. Mundane moments in the life of a self-employed "funeral cryer" - a Chinese middle-aged woman living in a contemporary village setting - are spun into a masterful tale by our debut author, Wenyan Lu. If this is amongst her first works of fiction, she'll have many fans like me lining up for subsequent efforts. Well done!!

Our "twenty-something" protagonist, 'Del,' finding herself in desperate circumstances after a series of losses - gets a call from a New England cousin which sets in motion an opportunity for her to look into her one remaining asset - her much neglected family home left to her by her long-deceased, divorced mother. She must make some decisions about a possible sale of the land beneath it to her mother's brother whose family's construction firm will roll it into a lucrative development.

Without giving away the plot, suffice it to say, this is literary fiction at its finest. Relationships are explored, characters are defined, and its rich, often humorous dialogue places this as a worthy book club pick. I read all 300-some-odd pages in one fell swoop, and rejoiced in it - board by board, stone by stone. Colleen Hubbard has written a masterpiece.

For "foodies" like me, American writer Carolyn Phillips' new memoir is a must-read. From its first pages to its last, her engaging yet crystalline prose enchants and enriches her readers' lives through the sharing of her life's journey. Most notably, in the beginning, we see a young Caucasian-American woman studying, assimilating, and falling in love during the mid-1970's in Taiwan - an historically important period wherein a virtual "food Camelot" of the "best of the best" Chinese regional cuisines and their learned practitioners coexisted there, primarily Taipei, within this condensed space and time. As the book progresses and her journey is brought to the present, she emerges into the acclaimed food writer, Mandarin speaker, and interpreter/translator and artist she is today. She gives her epicurean Chinese husband and his ever-present family their due throughout the book.

To her credit, Phillips's depiction of Chinese culture - replete with "food ways," pertinent history, and long-held family customs and traditions - enhances the narrative while gracefully taking center stage. Her scholarship doesn't seek to dominate or detract from the story of her life as she matures and blossoms, yet the breadth of it is critical not only to her story but our understanding of her contributions and well-earned legacy. The accompanying straightforward recipes add value and interest. In short, Ms. Phillips has achieved the perfect balance of elements for creating a most readable memoir - a good recipe for a good memoir, if you will.

"Piranesi" is a charming story of fantastical fiction incorporating a parallel world to our own. The alternative universe consists of many interlinked stone structures laid out much as a labyrinth in which innumerable vestibules hold many large statuary and seemingly only two live human beings - all beholden to the tides and other features of sea-based existence. In reading this, despite absurd elements one might expect in a psychedelic-induced state, the writing carries the reader along to its conclusion sufficiently fast enough so that should one tire of its dream-like Piscean world, a satisfying, almost logical ending is our well-earned reward. This genre is not everyone's cup of tea, but for what it is, it seems nicely done. If a book group wanted to dabble in a bit of "magical sci-fi escape fiction" with broad appeal, this would be a good pick.

"The Voyage of the Morning Light" serves up a masterfully-researched and fleshed-out story wherein its main character Kay Ward embarks on her family's commercial trading vessel for an extensive sea voyage c. 1912. Author Endicott's proficiency with time-consistent dialogue seems particularly valuable here for establishing both atmosphere and tone - lending "classic" status to the book while invoking a sense of timelessness to the unfolding story. Readers will find this thought-provoking tale of a young teen and later young woman a veritable buffet of young and new adult themes, with modern touches, including some frank observations along the lines of racial diversity, religion, morality, and blended family life. Kay's thoughts as well as struggles and triumphs with her past and current relationships are central to the novel's momentum. Anyone of any age who adored and occasionally rereads L. M. Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" series - another Maritime-centric tale of a young girl's "voyage to adulthood" - will find Endicott's twenty-first century book with its global backdrop both appealing and refreshing. Book clubs and women's literature fans - take notice!

I was drawn to this book originally because of my acquaintance with an older woman aviator whose experiences during WWII piqued my curiosity. Due to the quality of the writing, I found myself reading through the night and well into the next day. This non-fiction book provides no shortage of subject matter with a dedicated fanbase: feminist history, U.S. military and political history, plus a human interest story that shows this country and key individuals during some of their most defining moments. The author spares no individual or organization due credit or conversely, a dubious place in this prolonged battle to get WASP members equitable military treatment and recognition for their WWII contributions. We have been left with a scholarly and compelling landmark book that validates these women's struggles with a world replete with male power structures. Supporting bureaucracies and egos of any gender that serve to keep the status quo are revealed - along with the brave individuals who rise to challenge it.

Author Marie Benedict provides a clear and accessible read with her engaging first-person narrative of Lady Clementine's life covering the period 1908 to 1945. In this work of historical fiction, she carefully constructs believable thoughts and significant events in the life of wife and true partner of Sir Winston Churchill - one of the world's preeminent democracy defenders and military strategists of the 20th Century. Her special role in the Battle of Britain gets well-deserved attention here. The book - perhaps attributable to problems inherent in the first-person narrative voice - seemingly gives little to no emphasis on Winston's notorious drinking and its impact on her. Despite this seemingly "glossed over" area, this is an appealing account of a remarkable woman who rises to meet the demands of her partner, her country, and her very own emotional challenges, and should prove interesting to readers of womens' literature, WWII history, admirers of the Churchills and Eleanor Roosevelt, and anyone wishing to learn more about the interplay of personalities on the world stage.

This novel is defined by the sheer emotionality of the reading experience depicting Ethiopia's pursuit of independence from fascist Italian occupation. As one turns each page, one discovers yet another facet of war and how one terror passes only to yield to another of greater degree. The intensity of feelings these scenes promote are not intended to comfort the reader - rather to immerse one in some of one's worst nightmares - a disquieting experience beyond the capacities of sensitive readers. The author's clever use of dualities in style (e.g., lyrical prose describing violence) and in substance (class, gender, economics, and qualities of leadership - or its absence) are among its other hallmarks.

This book would appeal to any reader of classic feminist or African literature and should be required reading for any government major or careerist needing a foundation in the roots of conflict. This brilliantly constructed novel, timewise, serves as a pre-quel to Mengiste's prior novel, "Beneath the Lion's Gaze," which captured the ensuing years of constant instability and combat in Ethiopia from a mostly male perspective. This - her latest - "The Shadow King" will be studied by and for women in war zones for its uniquely feminist discourse.

Rawi Hage, our author, through uncensored images of war and use of spare language simultaneously elegant and profane, provides us with one of the best novels about war anyone possibly could imagine... Using magical realism, he exactly captures the randomness of life and loss and the dark humor one finds in such circumstances... The symmetry and rhythm of his prose engage his readers in a dance from beginning to end - inviting you to join his characters who dance when words and religion by themselves fall short .. Not for the violence-averse, repressed or prissy set, this book would appeal to serious readers looking for an excellent read from a superbly talented writer... This book would appeal to those whose worlds were rocked by Margaret Atwood's "The Blind Assassin."

Jeanne Mackin's latest novel provides its readers a moving yet entertaining story... With a historically-accurate backdrop of the time period surrounding the Paris fashion world during the lead-up to WW II as well as the war's aftermath, the story itself features Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli's rivalry. Mackin cleverly interweaves both factual and imagined scenarios in this microcosm of their years of competion and outright conflict... The protagonist - a young and newly widowed American schoolteacher - draws on the readers' sympathies as her life in Paris moves her into the worlds of fashion, art, and political uncertainty...

This would be a good read for an individual or book group seeking a fun romp with some historical significance and some ensuing foreseeable discussion...

Having just finished the book in much the same way I do any compulsively readable book - in one or two "good goes," I am struck by five thoughts, give or take:
1) This would appeal almost exclusively to a certain type of female audience. Men who choose history or historical fiction would find little or no new information in this particular read and would not select it. I echo other reviewers in that one or two women in my book group avoid any of this type of "unpleasantness" and would nix this as a group choice.
2) Many European readers whose antecedents survived the war in both the Western and Eastern theaters - from the pre-war 1930's well through its aftermath, will be all too familiar with the horrors, the fears, and the social interactions described as lived and reported by their own family members. A new generation of Europeans and perhaps North Americans readers for the first time will have their eyes opened to some uncomfortable truths.
3) The food tasters (for purposes of the plot) seemed to have a lot more freedom and slack supervision than would seem credible. Luckily, no one alive can contradict the author's version and apparently no further research has been done to contradict this otherwise.
4) We readers, as in real war, are left with many unanswered questions, ironically, save the fate of our female protagonist's husband. Rosa's Gregor for much of the book is presumed missing somewhere on the Eastern Front. The plot finishes up with that circumstance resolved.... just how effectively, the reader is left to ponder...
5) Our main character's mother was a Berlin dressmaker of some apparent skill - which seems a useful "chick lit" device that gooses up both the social interactions and the sexual situations involving her daughter Rosa - possibly consistent with a formulaic romance novel...
In summary, on the losing side of an unrighteous war, there are are very few heroes to be celebrated; even "survivor status" has its detractors - particularly among the survivors themselves...

Once past the discovery - that in our young author Lea Carpenter - Margaret Atwood meets John LeCarre - I could see my path through the woods and found my reading journey delightful. Through Atwood-like literary devices, she utilizes a female point of view in her brilliant yet vulnerable main character and deft handling of varying points in time in the crafting of this highly emotional yet controlled story. Told in two voices, one - the third person female of the lead character, and the other - a young male CIA case officer's detailed first person account of his experiences as they shed light on the lead character's father's sudden death and shadowy employment history, the story is propelled by the lead character's life events and painful losses, the least of them any pretensions to privacy in this media-focused, highly scrutinized world into which she is thrust.

Just as in LeCarre's novels - ethical ambiguity, expedient bureaucracies, insightful distillations, and timely 'political global atmospherics' take center stage - with individuals trying to hold fast their humanity.... I look forward to more from Ms. Carpenter and her main character Anna... an auspicious beginning for reader and writer alike?