Reviews by Julie Z. (Oak Park, IL)

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This Strange Eventful History
This Strange Eventful History: A Novel
by Claire Messud
This Strange Eventful History (4/17/2024)
How I loved being immersed in the world to which Claire Messud introduces us in This Strange Eventful History! This novel is a generational family saga, set across many countries, and told through the lens of Lucienne and Gaston Cassar and their children. The couple is …more
Help Wanted
Help Wanted: A Novel
by Adelle Waldman
Help Wanted (1/10/2024)
Having spent almost twenty years working in a "big box" bookstore, much of this book rang true. While Help Wanted was character driven, making it both interesting and fun to read, the underlying message about what this type of store does to their workers is very realistic. …more
This Is Salvaged
This Is Salvaged: Stories
by Vauhini Vara
This Is Salvaged (8/25/2023)
As I have aged, I find myself more drawn to short stories, with Alice Munro and Jhumpa Lahiri being the standard-bearers. In this collection, Vauhini Vara proves herself to be a welcome addition to the genre. The ability to look at the darkness found in so many lives and be …more
Do Tell
Do Tell: A Novel
by Lindsay Lynch
Do Tell (6/26/2023)
1930s Hollywood: Edie O'Day is an actress whose contract is about to run out at FWM studios. She has not achieved great success in acting, but as an insider, has flourished in helping out the local gossip columnist with her work. When Edie decides to write her own column, …more
The Gifts
The Gifts: A Novel
by Liz Hyder
The Gifts (3/10/2023)
Set in Victorian England, this is a fable about females and the abuse they suffer at the hands of men - be it intentional or not. The plot is set in motion when a fisherman rescues an angel who has fallen into the Thames. We are then introduced to four female characters …more
The Critic's Daughter
The Critic's Daughter: A Memoir
by Priscilla Gilman
The Critic's Daughter (1/17/2023)
Priscilla Gilman is the eldest daughter of Richard Gilman, renowned theater critic, and Lynn Nesbit, an accomplished literary agent. She and her sister seem to have everything- a large apartment in NYC and summer home in Connecticut, education at the best schools, and a …more
Ghost Season
Ghost Season: A Novel
by Fatin Abbas
Ghost Season (11/16/2022)
Abbas has written an excellent first novel. Following five characters that live at an NGO compound in South Sudan in 2001, the diverse group of people include those born in Sudan, an American map maker, and a Sudanese American filmmaker. As a civil war is coming closer to …more
Natural History
Natural History: Stories
by Andrea Barrett
Natural History (8/9/2022)
A beautifully written collection of short stories, all interconnecting with the characters appearing more than once. The setting is central New York, and the time spans the Civil War era to the present day. The subjects vary, but women in the fields of science/nature are …more
One's Company
One's Company: A Novel
by Ashley Hutson
One's Company (5/22/2022)
Bonnie Lincoln has not had an easy life-both her mother and father died at an early age, leaving her without resources. She is "taken in" by her friend Krystal's family, but soon the mother, father, and brother are murdered in the grocery store which they own. Luckily, …more
Activities of Daily Living
Activities of Daily Living: A Novel
by Lisa Hsiao Chen
Activities of Daily Living by Lisa Hsiao Chen (1/17/2022)
Alice is a Taiwanese immigrant living in NYC. In her free time, she is researching and writing about Tehsching Hsieh, an obscure performance artist, whom she refers to as "the Artist" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehching_Hsieh). While Hsieh's art often is centered on the …more
The Family Chao
The Family Chao: A Novel
by Lan Samantha Chang
The Family Chao (11/30/2021)
Years ago, an immigrant family from China moved to small town Haven, WI. There they have operated Fine Chao, a Chinese restaurant, for over thirty years. The father, Leo, is a tyrant to both his wife and his three sons. With nods to The Brothers Karamazov, we watch him rule …more
New York, My Village
New York, My Village: A Novel
by Uwem Akpan
New York, My Village (8/30/2021)
Ekong Udousoro is a Nigerian editor. When he wins the Toni Morrison publishing fellowship, he moves to NYC to edit an anthology of stories of the Biafran war. He is given a job at a large publishing house. From the start of his time in New York, he has countless issues …more
The Lost Notebook of Edouard Manet
The Lost Notebook of Edouard Manet: A Novel
by Maureen Gibbon
The Lost Notebook of Édouard Manet by Maureen Gibbon (6/23/2021)
Told in the form of a notebook, this diary of the later years of Edouard Manet is both lovely and sad. Sad in that his later years are plagued with syphilis and the accompanying decline, but lovely in the memories reflected. Manet is determined to finish a final work- A Bar …more
A Theater for Dreamers
A Theater for Dreamers
by Polly Samson
A Theater for Dreamers (3/18/2021)
A sensual haze of a novel, set on the Greek island of Hydra in the 1960's. Young Erica has come to find herself after the loss of her mother. She reaches out to her mother's friend, Charmian Clift, a bohemian writer. She and her husband, George Johnston are surrounded by a …more
The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman
The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman: A Novel
by Julietta Henderson
The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman (2/16/2021)
Norman Foreman is a 12 year old son of a single mom, who loves stand-up comedy, and has a terrible case of psoriasis. Norman and his best (and only) friend, Jax, make a 5 year plan, which includes taking their stand-up duo to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. When Jax dies …more
Big Girl, Small Town
Big Girl, Small Town
by Michelle Gallen
Big Girl, Small Town (10/26/2020)
Set in Northern Ireland during "The Troubles", 27 year old Majella O'Neill (Jelly), is perfectly happy with her daily routine of working at the local fish and chip shop, and then coming home to watch Dallas. She lives with her alcoholic mother; her father is long gone, and …more
The Paris Hours
The Paris Hours: A Novel
by Alex George
The Paris Hours (3/30/2020)
Day 10 of Coronavirus quarantine, and The Paris Hours was just what I needed. Paris in the twenties comes alive with fictionalized and true to life characters interwoven with individual plots that come together in the end. I most enjoyed the sections with Proust and his …more
Miss Austen
Miss Austen
by Gill Hornby
MIss Austen (2/18/2020)
One would assume that a book titled Miss Austen would be about Jane Austen, but Cassandra Austen, Jane's sister is the protagonist of this well written historical novel. Jane is deceased, and Cassandra is going through old letters of hers, deciding which are important to …more
The Yellow Bird Sings
The Yellow Bird Sings: A Novel
by Jennifer Rosner
The Yellow Bird Sings (12/13/2019)
A moving Holocaust story centering on a mother and child in hiding in Poland. The mother makes the decision to let the child go into hiding in an orphanage, while the mother must struggle for survival on her own until the end of the war. I found the ending a bit abrupt, but …more
We That Are Left
We That Are Left
by Clare Clark
We That Are Left by Clare Clark (6/29/2015)
Bringing the effects of the Great War to life, Clark does a wonderful job of combining historical facts with this fictional story. Two sisters, Jessica and Priscilla grow up amidst great wealth. When the unthinkable happens to their brother, their mother becomes emotionally …more
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