BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Reviews by Linda J. (Urbana, OH)

Harlem Rhapsody
by Victoria Christopher Murray

Harlem Rhapsody (10/12/2024)

I was eager to read this book by Victoria Christopher Murray since I truly loved "The Personal Librarian" which she co-wrote. Although interesting and educational, this book did not live up to my expectations.o I was not aware of Jessie Rodman Fauset and her influence on writers of the Harlem Renaissance whom I do know about (Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and even Zora Neale Huston). Even though the chapters were relatively short, I wasn't glued to the book. I could and did put it down for longer periods of time than are usual for me. I WILL still look forward to Ms. Murray's next book and I will look for Jessie Rodman Fauset's books and poetry to familiarize myself with her work.

Pony Confidential
by Christina Lynch

But wait! There's more! (6/20/2024)

3.5
The opening was imaginative and caught my mind, but…
There kept being one more thing, one more wrinkle, one more trip, one more bending of chronology and imagination. I got tired by the end.
I learned some things, like a pony is not just a young horse and some philosophy. It was following the story of a 3rd-grade teacher in California arrested by a deputy she knew (and thought was pulling a prank) and subsequently extradited to New York for a murder she supposedly committed 25 years before when she was 12.
The story alternates voices, Penny (the woman) and the pony she had as a child. Magical conversations between different species of animals as the pony tries to find Penny. The amount of time the pony's travels had to have taken were only one of the realities I had to forego.

Not sorry that I read it. It was a page turner until about the last 100 pages when I had to suspend many beliefs.

The Stolen Child: A Novel
by Ann Hood

The Stolen Child Stole My Mind and Heart (4/25/2024)

A story to keep the reader guessing until very close to the end. Multiple characters whose stories start separately end up intertwining when curmudgeon Nick, a dying WW I veteran, places an ad for someone to help him solve a problem that has bothered him for close to 60 years.

Jennifer is a young college dropout working at an IHOP answers the ad. Soon, despite Nick's concerns, the two are off to France to see if they can find out what happened to a woman and a baby that Nick met at the end of the war.
Beautiful writing unveil a beautiful story strong on emotional tugs and ties. A few periphery characters move in and out of the story, but all story lines merge at the end for an edifying finish.

Since there is a scattering of French and Italian phrases, depending on where the detective work takes Nick and Jennifer, I was thrilled that even after more than 50 years, my three years of high school French are still functional.

The Frozen River: A Novel
by Ariel Lawhon

Lawhon’s Best! (1/22/2024)

This book is definitely going on my favorite of all time's list. I could not spend enough time with this engrossing story of a midwife, Martha Ballard, in 1789 who, as a vital person in her Maine community, finds herself involved in what she perceives as a murder while a younger, male, Harvard grad, physician disagrees with her determination.

As if this story line isn't enough, Lawhon includes Ballard's family is among the well-developed characters. Her relationship with her husband is full of mutual respect and consideration.

I had just a little trouble keeping track of other citizens, but usually was able to be reminded within a few paragraphs (thanks to Lawhon's mastery) exactly who had just re-entered the story.

North Woods: A Novel
by Daniel Mason

What. A. Gift! (11/2/2023)

I've read each of Mason's novels, but this is THE best. It reads as if it is a series of short stories when, in actuality, it's a sequence of vignettes that happen on the same wooded property in New England. I often thought well that character's gone. Not so.
The writing is exquisite. Mason's descriptions demonstrates his admiration of nature. (I did wonder how a native Californian seemed to know so much about "North Woods" but, I found he attended Harvard. Ah ha!)
The book would fit into so many genres, even some I would have chosen to avoid. No quibbles. I loved them all.
This book was like an endless Christmas presents. So many gifts, not knowing what was in each package.

The Critic's Daughter: A Memoir
by Priscilla Gilman

My Heart Belongs to Daddy (3/8/2023)

Richard Gilman was an author and critic who had 3 adoring children through 2 broken marriages. His elder daughter (from marriage #2) realizes at a very young age what a doting father she has. Her reflections demonstrate a preternatural recognition of her father's love and affection - even through her mother's constant denigration of her former husband. With verbal precision which her father would appreciate (he who recognized originality and creativity). Brought tears to my eyes throughout my perusal of her story.

Libertie
by Kaitlyn Greenidge

Free to be... (8/31/2022)

Probably closer to 3.5 stars.
To me this was intense from the beginning and only got more so. A single, light-skinned Negro mother hopes her young daughter will follow mom's career of medicine. Libertie is named for Liberia, the country her father always hoped to get to since he felt that was the one country that Negroes could live in freedom.
The entire book is about so many liberties that we are proffered from so many different angles as we read of Libertie's maturing and making life decisions that are not always a benefit to her.

Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History
by Lea Ypi

Free or not so free (12/15/2021)

This was my first "trip" to Albania. It was my first "trip" to Albania that involved the fall of the Iron Curtain and the 1997 revolution in that country. In fact, other than realizing that Albania is second alphabetically in a list of all the world countries.
I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the age of the author (at the times she was writing about) since the schooling system is different from ours. The author intermixed her own heritage with explanations for what was happening in the government.
There is much to learn and so much presented here. Her parents' disagreements about the type of government, whether to stay in Albania or emigrate to Italy, whether to invest in the newest forms of making money (this part had me on the edge of my seat from the first mention).
This one had so much information that it deserves a second read to pick up on so much that I know I missed. Not a quick read, I but I love learning new.

Blind Man's Bluff: A Memoir
by James Tate Hill

Seeing is believing? (8/19/2021)

To me, a disappointment. The inside flap describes it as "candid yet humorous." Candid it is. Humorous, not so much.
I picked this book to review since I have vision "issues" and thought I'd see some parallels.
Hill becomes legally blind at 16, but doesn't want anyone to know. His explanation for much of his life is "vision issues" which doesn't begin to cover his issues. Most of those issues have to do with his inability to develop meaningful relationships, especially with the opposite sex. He explains this as "not being able to see the physical cues" others would be displaying.
The man managed to earn 3 Master's degrees, yet seems to zone in what he can't do because he won't share that he can't see.

All the Water I've Seen Is Running: A Novel
by Elias Rodriques

Treading Water (6/21/2021)

This is a complicated story of a young man who finds out his best friend from high school has been killed in a car accident. He had a "different" relationship with her so during a trip back home to Florida continually examines their relationship and his relationship with the other friends he calls upon to resolve issues that have bothered him/them for years. There are a lot of heavy issues in this book that caused me to examine my own life.
The author does not use quotation marks which became a problem at times and, for me, slowed down my reading of the text. The timeline flipped from now in NYC, high school days in Florida, and his mother's childhood. Some of the transitions were less than seamless.
Overall it was an enjoyable read.

The Personal Librarian
by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray

Well, I Never... (3/6/2021)

...heard of Belle Marion Greener. The daughter of Richard Greener who was the first African-American graduate of Harvard (class of 1870) and spent his life fighting for civil rights along side W.E.B. DuBois and Frederick Douglass
I also never heard of Belle da Costa Greene who worked as J. P. Morgan's Personal Librarian and helped him manage his library and art collection into a pre-eminent for manuscripts and classics. Her mother was Genevieve Greener who decided to drop the final "R" in her last name and allow her light-skinned children to pass so they would get the opportunities they deserved and would not be able to get.
I was on the edge of my seat so often during my reading of this book - waiting for the boom to drop.

Bella lived a charmed life being able to take advantage of so much that working for Morgan allowed her.

I only have one question after reading this delicious book. When was Bella's secret revealed?

The Northern Reach
by W.S. Winslow

Everybody's Family is a little bit... (11/14/2020)

This is the story of family interactions in a small town in Maine. Some are Catholic. Some are not. Some were born on the "right" side of the tracks. Some were not. Some are faithful to their spouse. Some are not. Some are liked by others in the town. Others...

At first, I had a little trouble, despite family trees posted at the beginning of each chapter, following where I was reading on the tree. Eventually, I stopped worrying about it and just went along for the ride. It was a pleasant journey.

This cradle Catholic, long time church organist has NEVER heard the song "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" in a Catholic Church. Too popular/secular?

Afterlife
by Julia Alvarez

Real Life (3/15/2020)

I was immediately involved with the main character of this book. Antonia is my age, a retired teacher (like me), and has 3 sisters (I have 2.) She is recently widowed, living in Vermont next door to a man who has work for illegal immigrants.
The writing is lyrical prose. I laughed at myself at the end of the book because I skipped over some of that writing to find out what trauma was happening.
As in real life, there are situations that can be anticipated and worked with, yet, there are others that hit us in the solar plexus.
The ending was a bit fast and unsettling to me, but that won't stop me from looking up Ms. Alvarez's earlier books.

Small Days and Nights: A Novel
by Tishani Doshi

Long Days and Sleeping Nights (12/18/2019)

I love reading about books from cultures I'm not familiar with, but I did not love this book. I can equate it to the female version of Rain Man except I never developed empathy for the main character, the sister who did not know of the sister with Down Syndrome. I should have been able to read the 261 pages in about 3 days. Instead, it took 11 days. I struggled to finish it.

Correspondents
by Tim Murphy

Why hasn't this book gotten more notice? (9/23/2019)

I read this book on the recommendation of another author, a friend of the author of this book. I was completely immersed in the Iraqi War and how it affected so many. Although the war is central to the book, I would not consider it a book of/on war. It's a book of humanity - how the war affects so many (something we, in America, may forget.) It's not a perfect book, sometimes it dragged, I found a typo and I took issue with a phrase used inappropriately, but the overall feeling was one of better following the many threads of what seems to be a singular situation.

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
by Kathleen Rooney

Kathleen Rooney took me for a walk (1/19/2017)

Within the first few pages, I needed to highlight a sentence Ms. Rooney coined. Her writing was breathtaking and her choice of character was impeccable. I have been recommending this book to everyone. Even non-bibliophiles. I know this is a book that I will read over and over and over. Thank you for allowing me to travel with Ms. Boxfish.