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Reviews by Margot P. (Mandeville, LA)

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Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel
by Anthony Doerr
Journey to home (11/13/2021)
I think one would be hard pressed to find a librarian (as I am) who would not love this book. While it’s packed with characters, sci fi/futuristic elements, and a complex plot—at heart, it’s about the power of books and the strength of the human spirit. Totally appropriatemore
The Lincoln Highway: A Novel
by Amor Towles
Experiment that fails (11/2/2021)
Three stars for clever dialog and some heartwarming characters. However the novel rambles on, contains lots of repetition and far too many preposterous situations. Even if I was not subconsciously comparing this to his other two great novels, it would still be a novel thatmore
This Is Happiness
by Niall Williams
Just misses the mark (10/6/2021)
Don’t know why I can’t give a beautifully written, heartfelt, VERY IRISH, novel more than three stars. The story has so many profound moments and great characters, but in between those moments and people, there are so many words and descriptions that my mind kept wandering.more
Honor
by Thrity Umrigar
Tragic Tale of Religious Persecution (with a romance) (9/8/2021)
Umrigar's latest novel of India tackles a lot of big topics in a fairly short book: religious persecution, childhood trauma, poverty, government corruption, misogyny, violence and murder. The main character Smita, a journalist, returns to Mumbai, for the first time sincemore
Once There Were Wolves
by Charlotte McConaghy
Rich tale of our basic humanity (8/19/2021)
Incredible story! The parallels between the wolves and humans in this short, lush novel set in the Scottish highlands are presented so poetically it almost takes your breath away. Our powers to love, hurt, destroy are laid out brilliantly through the various charactersmore
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot
by Marianne Cronin
A gem (8/11/2021)
The combined 100 years of living by Lennie (age 17) and Margot (age 83) is something to celebrate! Have not enjoyed a read this much in ages. The timeless themes of love and friendship are fresh and heartwarming. And get this-a priest who is a positive and beloved character!more
All the Water I've Seen Is Running: A Novel
by Elias Rodriques
Message lost in the journey. (6/14/2021)
Maybe I spent too many years working in a southern high school to appreciate the immature conversations and actions of young people but Rodrigues' characters never seem to develop or mature. As an older adult, I found the conversations ulta tedious and boring. I think hemore
Whereabouts
by Jhumpa Lahiri
Slices of life (6/10/2021)
While Whereabouts is a novel in the technical sense, it’s really just slices of life in a year of a floundering 40ish Italian woman in an unnamed city. The writing is gorgeous, especially considering it was translated from Italian to English by Lahiri. The intimatemore
Morningside Heights: A Novel
by Joshua Henkin
Common tale feels new (4/3/2021)
The story about the effects of Alzheimer's on marriage, family, and career has been fictionalized countless times, but somehow Henkin makes it feel fresh and original. Everyday, flawed characters revolve around Spence, a Columbia professor stricken with early onsetmore
Palace of the Drowned
by Christine Mangan
Mysterious Venice Captivates (3/8/2021)
I was excited to read this book primarily since most of it takes place in 1960s Venice and Mangane did such a great job making Tangier come alive in Tangerine. Fortunately, unlike Tangerine, this novel has an intriguing plot and some fairly interesting characters. I enjoyedmore
Of Women and Salt
by Gabriela Garcia
We Are Force (12/22/2020)
These words, written in the margin of a page in a Spanish first edition of Les Miserables, define the nine characters of this short, rich novel. Each chapter is more like a self contained short story with just enough links to add power and meaning to the next. So much ismore
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
by Olga Tokarczuk
Original and Engrossing (11/4/2020)
I went back and forth between 4 or 5 stars but decided on 5 as I have never quite read anything like this. It is comedic, tragic, mysterious, weird but very engrossing and beautifully written. I totally did not see the ending coming as I was so caught up in the magical andmore
The Blind Light: A Novel
by Stuart Evers
Too Many Distractions (10/26/2020)
What could have been a great family saga, Blind Light is crowded with so many writing techniques, (repetition, steam of consciousness) that the plot becomes hijacked. I really enjoyed learning about the fear the post war generation experienced in regards to nuclearmore
Fifty Words for Rain
by Asha Lemmie
Class structure in post war Japan (10/13/2020)
Only thing that kept it from 5 stars was the amount of unresolved plot lines especially in regards to Nori’s mother, and I am not a reader who requires everything tied up at a book’s end. I suspect a sequel might be in the works. The rich historical and cultural aspects ofmore
My Dark Vanessa: A Novel
by Kate Russell
Emotional ride (4/3/2020)
This is a book that I had to read in spurts as it is as dark as dark can be. I much preferred the second half of the book which in a non-linear fashion fully illustrates the psychological damage sexual abuse causes. Vanessa is not a particularly likable character. Hermore
Daughter of the Reich: A Novel
by Louise Fein
Great for tweens, for serious readers, not so much.... (3/21/2020)
If I was in senior high right now, this would undoubtedly be the best book I have ever read-a 5 star for sure. It has romance, tons of action, hateful characters (including parents), and lots of historical events that appear to be well researched. As a mature reader whomore
Miss Austen
by Gill Hornby
Austen redux (2/16/2020)
3.5 While Hornby's Miss Austen is an enjoyable read, unless one has a desire to learn more about the real Jane and Cassandra Austen, I would pass. Cassandra is a very interesting and sympathetic character but Jane remains elusive. There is a crowded cast of characters (manymore
American Dirt: A Novel
by Jeanine Cummins
Every character matters (11/24/2019)
This book is going to be huge when it's released in January. There will be some who will say it's too political but how can it not be? The migrant tragedy is real, political, and complex and needs to be evaluated with compassion and realism. The story of a mother and sonmore
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