Reviews by Viqui G. (State College, PA)

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The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl
The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl
by Bart Yates
The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl (6/9/2024)
This novel was delightful to read. The premise of reviewing Isaac Dahl's life based on 12 specific days spaced 8 years apart was a surprisingly effective way to understand the individual. The 12 days chosen to describe Isaac were a mixture of mundane events and significant …more
The Witches at the End of the World
The Witches at the End of the World
by Chelsea Iversen
The Witches at the End of the World (8/9/2023)
The young witches (Minna and Kaija) who live at the end of the world (Norway in 1677) have been very isolated from civilization for more than 10 years. They left their village after their mother was burned at the stake for being a witch. The girls, now young women, have …more
The Immortal King Rao
The Immortal King Rao: A Novel
by Vauhini Vara
The Immortal King Rao (4/15/2022)
The premise of this novel was compelling and the main characters were well fleshed out and nuanced. However, the many numbers of different characters were difficult to keep straight and I often had to go back in the book to remind myself of character names and relationships …more
The Family Chao
The Family Chao: A Novel
by Lan Samantha Chang
The Family Chao (12/6/2021)
I had mixed feelings about this novel. I totally enjoyed the realistic descriptions of an immigrant family struggling in an adopted culture. Also all of the main characters were fully fleshed. So the first half of the novel was intriguing and enjoyable. In the second half …more
New York, My Village
New York, My Village: A Novel
by Uwem Akpan
Coming to America (9/5/2021)
I enjoyed the first third of this novel very much. I was interested but appalled by the difficulties that Ekong and other Nigerians must endure just to get a visa to enter the U.S. The backbiting at work and racism that Ekong had to deal with were also eye opening, but …more
The Lost Notebook of Edouard Manet
The Lost Notebook of Edouard Manet: A Novel
by Maureen Gibbon
Notebook of Edouard Manet (7/8/2021)
I have no background in art or art history so I had a difficult time following this novel until I did some research on Wikipedia and other internet sources. Once I learned about Manet's background, the names of his friends and his importance in the art world I loved the " …more
The Northern Reach
The Northern Reach
by W.S. Winslow
The Northern Reach (11/16/2020)
This was a delightful novel of extended families and their interactions living in a small town in northern Maine. The author gives us snapshots of these families in the novel's chapters. Some characters we meet several times such as Edith Baines who is introduced as a …more
Migrations
Migrations: A Novel
by Charlotte McConaghy
Migrations (4/19/2020)
It has been awhile since I read a book that thoroughly captured me, but with "Migrations" I found that delight in reading again. The protagonist, Franny Stone, is intense, honest with herself and others and yet flawed in some ways. She is a very believable heroine. Her …more
More News Tomorrow
More News Tomorrow: A Novel
by Susan Richards Shreve
More News--? (4/9/2019)
The protagonist of the novel, Georgianna, found a letter from her dead father promising "More News Tomorrow". This was in reference to her mother's murder in 1941. As readers, we learn about the circumstances before the murder 66 years ago however, we are primarily in July 2 …more
The Affairs of the Falcóns
The Affairs of the Falcóns
by Melissa Rivero
Affairs of the Undocumented Mestizo (12/27/2018)
I liked the realistic portrayal of Ana as a poor undocumented worker. The author shows that she is undesirable in both Peru's society because she is a "chola" or mestizo as well as in the United States because she is an undocumented Hispanic. Rivero describes multiple …more
My Lovely Wife
My Lovely Wife
by Samantha Downing
My Lovely Wife (10/29/2018)
Splendid novel! This thriller kept be enthralled to the end.. It truly was hard to put down. The characters were well drawn and the plot line had many twists and turns. The only reason I didn't give it a "5" rating was because the premise was quite disturbing. It didn't …more
Paris Echo
Paris Echo
by Sebastian Faulks
Paris Echo (8/19/2018)
I found this novel interesting on many levels, but also overall unsatisfying. The author follows the lives of two disparate characters that become connected by chance. Hannah is a 30ish historical researcher and Tariq is a 17 year old Morroccan run-a-way who moves to Paris. …more
The Girl Who Smiled Beads
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
by Elizabeth Weil, Clemantine Wamariya
The Girl Who Smiled Beads (3/19/2018)
Wow! Reading Wamariya's memoir of her refugee experience as a child then her early years in the US was both illuminating and excruciating.. I was amazed at the resilience and tenacity of both Claire and of course of Clementine during their years in Africa. But perhaps the …more
The Milk Lady of Bangalore
The Milk Lady of Bangalore: An Unexpected Adventure
by Shoba Narayan
Cows and Milk of India (12/26/2017)
In this intriguing book, Shoba Narayan introduces to the reader her love of her homeland of India and especially the cows of India. The relationship at the core of the book is between the author and Sarala, the "Milk Lady of Bangalore". Sarala sells her milk on a street …more
As Bright as Heaven
As Bright as Heaven
by Susan Meissner
As Bright as Heaven (10/25/2017)
Over the course of this novel, readers are taken from 1918 to 1926 with the Bright family. We learn about the love and devotion that binds this family together and then we read about the Spanish flu and how it devastated the Bright family as well as many other families in …more
The Heart's Invisible Furies
The Heart's Invisible Furies: A Novel
by John Boyne
The Heart's Invisible Furies (7/12/2017)
John Boyne has written a very readable novel with a remarkable protagonist, Cyril Avery. Cyril lives with shame/hidden conflicts related to his sexuality for his first 28 years of life and the first half of the novel. The second half of the story follows Cyril as he learns …more
Lola
Lola
by Melissa Scrivner Love
Lola (3/7/2017)
I have read a lot of books and come across many protagonists, but I have never read a book quite as compelling as "Lola" or met a protagonist as exciting, believable and yet scary as Lola. The story arc was a little confusing at times, but the author quickly cleared up any …more
The Typewriter's Tale
The Typewriter's Tale
by Michiel Heyns
An Independent Typewriter (1/15/2017)
I enjoyed this charming novel, set in the early 1900s, once I got "into" the writing style that author Heyns adopts from Henry James. Frieda Wroth, the Typewriter, is a bright and talented young woman from limited means who is eager to experience a world beyond the confines …more
Mercies in Disguise
Mercies in Disguise: A Story of Hope, a Family's Genetic Destiny, and the Science That Rescued Them
by Gina Kolata
Mercies in Disguise (12/14/2016)
Genetic diseases are very chilling since there is no medication or antibiotic to "cure" them. This book was a fascinating true story of a family unknowingly affected by a genetic neurological disorder that we learn later in the book is GSS (Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker) …more
Caught in the Revolution
Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 - A World on the Edge
by Helen Rappaport
Caught in the Revolution (11/16/2016)
I'm glad I had the opportunity to read this book because I learned a lot of information about the Russian revolution/s. I also liked the fact that the reader is following the upheaval in Petrograd in successive order. It adds a realistic sense of drama and foreboding which …more
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