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Reviews by Nicole S. (St. Paul, MN)

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The Antidote: A Novel
by Karen Russell

Karen Russell does it again (3/5/2025)

Did you find Swamplandia to be unsettling and yet, a terrific read? The Antidote starts with a graphic gut punch and though you want to look away, Russell's talented writing keeps you reading. The book is a kind of science fiction (Prairie Witch) meets historical fiction ( …more

Digging Stars: A Novel
by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma

Beautiful (7/10/2023)

This book transports you into the heartache of a father daughter relationship that is as layered as the sky they both love. This relationship existed against a backdrop of the peculiarities of being an immigrant in America. Rosa's search provides heart break, answers, more …more

Innards: Stories
by Magogodi oaMphela Makhene

Ridiculously good! (4/29/2023)

Wow! This book captures the complexities of apartheid South Africa with an eye toward the complexities of white nationalism and supremacy. It is good. The language transports you to South Africa, the descriptions build the world, and the storytelling breaks that world into …more

This Other Eden: A Novel
by Paul Harding

Sad and beautiful (1/15/2023)

This book blew me away. It is such an intimate tale about people who want to be left to themselves. A small group of social outcasts in every sense of the word, except among themselves. With each other, they are a community. Gorgeously written and terribly sad, I know that …more

Scatterlings: A Novel
by Resoketswe Martha Manenzhe

South Africa and morality (11/6/2022)

The 1927 immorality act tore through this family in ways that mirrored the nation. This is a moody story that takes you into the dust and tears. The sun blazes down and sets the scene of an unforgiving landscape and an unforgiving time. I learned a lot about a law that I …more

Dinosaurs: A Novel
by Lydia Millet

What happened? I don't know. I love it! (9/5/2022)

So I tried to explain this book to a friend. It's a book where nothing terrible happens and nothing too dramatic happens. The main characters are all likable and reliable in some way. The story meanders but you really are not sure where it's going. I really liked the book.

I …more

Fruiting Bodies: Stories
by Kathryn Harlan

Uncomfortable stories (5/11/2022)

I love quirky, disquieting stories! I like Short stories like Link's Magic for a beginners or Machado's Her Body and other Parties. I love queer stories.
This just missed the mark for me. I couldn't quite get into the tales and I was not fully engaged in the flora and fauna …more

Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey
by Florence Williams

I wanted more science (11/11/2021)

I set my mind on a different type of book and did not find what I was looking for. I wanted a much more in depth treatment of the neuroscience and that was not what this book was aiming to achieve.

Daughters of Smoke and Fire: A Novel
by Ava Homa

Details that make your heart ache (9/9/2021)

I do not know a lot about the setting of this book, but that did not stop me from learning. Prepare to be transported and to learn from the protagonist. There are moments of sheer beauty and moments of true despair. The book captures each with a level of detail that brings each to life.

Crossing the River: Seven Stories That Saved My Life, A Memoir
by Carol Smith

I was not in the right space (3/1/2021)

I want to be fair to the author, this book requires the reader to be in the right head and heart space. I was not there. It is heavy and sad. It has glimmers of joy and healing. It may be that I read this during month 11 of Covid (depending on when you start counting), but …more

The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World: A Novel
by Laura Imai Messina

Beautiful prose (1/10/2021)

The writing creates a sense of sparseness. You get a sense that each word was carefully selected to carry the most weight it can. Though the backdrop is deep and troubling loss, this is ultimately a story about life and wonder. As we each must grapple deep questions about …more

A Girl is A Body of Water
by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

Great storytelling (7/26/2020)

We learn early in the book that a great storyteller deserves a level of respect from her listeners. This is a great story. The descriptions of Uganda are evocative and lush. Kirabo is the type of girl heroine that you cheer for and at times grimace at. But her search for …more

Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender, and Parenting in America
by Nefertiti Austin

A lot to take on and some well covered ground (8/10/2019)

Parts of this book were unique and engaging. There were other parts that felt well tread and the author did not offer much new. It is a great primer on the fears and hopes of mother's and how racism amplified those experiences.

The Shadow King: A Novel
by Maaza Mengiste

Gripping! (6/10/2019)

Maaza Mengiste had me hooked with the first page. What an incredible story. I found myself googling the historical pieces of the book to see if they were true and I was enthralled by the unraveling of this historical fiction. Mengiste Ms writing makes the foreign seem …more

The Accidental Further Adventures of the Hundred-Year-Old Man
by Jonas Jonasson

Light, breezy and pleasant (1/30/2019)

I was looking for a book that didn’t require a lot from the reader. This story is easy to read, it’s pleasant and in the end you feel good. It’s not terribly deep nor is it complicated, but when you want to relax with a book that doesn’t break your heart. Try this one.

The Milk Lady of Bangalore: An Unexpected Adventure
by Shoba Narayan

I'm not quite sure how I feel about the book (1/1/2018)

Part of me really enjoyed the book. It opens to a world that I have no knowledge of and it also is through an adept guide's eyes. The problem is that the story just did not completely capture me. It feels like the author is unsure of so much, concepts of home, complicity in …more

The Heart's Invisible Furies: A Novel
by John Boyne

Not very good - fantastic (7/13/2017)

Wow. Have you ever read a book that hooks you and doesn't let go? This is it! The characters are Interwoven in ways that delight and keep you reading. The narrator, Cyril, is so delightfully human that you cringe, cheer and understand (even when you don't agree). It …more

Extraordinary Adventures
by Daniel Wallace

Sometimes funny, sometimes tedious (3/10/2017)

The good, I laughed out loud and actually read a passage to a friend because it was funny. The author has a way of making ordinary observations, funny and touching. If this would have been consistent, my review would be stronger.

Also, in the category of the good is Bronfman' …more

Every Anxious Wave
by Mo Daviau

It wasn't for me (10/23/2015)

A noble first novel, but it did not keep my attention. I love the premise, but the characters did not engage me. I couldn't get into the time travel/love story. I did like the idea of worm holes, time travel and what ifs, but the execution of those ideas in this story did …more

Make Your Home Among Strangers
by Jennine Capó Crucet

Torn Between Two Worlds (5/6/2015)

This book makes me uncomfortable. Lizet (Liz) is a college student at an elite school. But unlike many of the other students, she finds her self ill-prepared for the academics, the class differences, and how it changes her. When she returns home, she finds that her family …more

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