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Reviews by Cathryn Conroy

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Lone Women: A Novel
by Victor LaValle
Adventure, Historical Literary Fiction, and Horror Mixed Up in a Blender and Spit Out in 282 Pages (7/28/2023)
This is quite the genre-defying novel written by Victor LaValle, mixing traditional historical literary fiction with a demon/monster that transforms it into a farfetched horror story.

It's 1915. Adelaide Henry, a 31-year-old Black woman is living with her parents on theirmore
Trust
by Hernan Diaz
A Brilliant, Highly Imaginative Literary Puzzle About the Power of Money, Ambition, and Greed (7/26/2023)
When it comes to reading novels, who do you trust? I'm not sure I ever before thought about this question in such direct terms, but that's the underlying premise of this remarkable novel by Hernan Diaz, which won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Literature (shared with "Demonmore
Now Is Not the Time to Panic: A Novel
by Kevin Wilson
A Fun, Albeit Odd Book. The Story Drags in the Middle and Sputters to a Disappointing Ending (7/25/2023)
This short, coming-of-age book by Kevin Wilson begins with an imaginative and snappy plot…but then just starts to draaaaaaag out until it finally sputters to a disappointing ending.

It's the summer of 1996. Frankie and Zeke are two 16-year-olds living in Coalfield, a rural,more
Good Night, Irene: A Novel
by Luis Alberto Urrea
Imaginative, Authentic, and Haunting: A Masterfully Told World War II Story Unlike Any Other (7/10/2023)
This is one of those novels that sneaks up on you, dear reader. The first half is good—actually, quite good—but not what I would call riveting. Or compelling. It's more interesting than engrossing. But hang on to your hats because the second half is unputdownable. The storymore
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer
by James L. Swanson
A Nonfiction Book with a Tale So Riveting and Enthralling It Reads Like a Thriller Novel (7/3/2023)
Even though you probably know at least the basic facts about the beginning, the middle, and the end of this story about the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated President Abraham Lincoln in cold blood during a play at Ford's Theater on April 14, 1865, you maymore
Poverty, by America
by Matthew Desmond
A Stunning Book That Will Shock, Anger, and Quite Possibly Change You (6/20/2023)
No matter where you are on the political spectrum, this book will make you think. It might make you cry. It might make you angry. But I can almost guarantee that you will have some visceral reaction to it.

Approach it with an open mind, and it could very well change how youmore
The Silent Patient
by Alex Michaelides
Read This Psychological Thriller Just for the Explosive Ending. It's THAT Good! (6/19/2023)
This novel is like an onion. Author Alex Michaelides very deliberately and very slowly peels away the layers, creating a psychological thriller that teases and tantalizes the reader right up to the explosive ending.

This is the story of Alicia Berenson, a talented artistmore
Our Country Friends: A Novel
by Gary Shteyngart
This Is an Intellectual, Erudite Literary Novel: Compelling in Parts and a Real Slog in Others (6/6/2023)
This is an intellectual, erudite literary novel that is compelling in parts and a real slog in others.

Written by Gary Shteyngart, this is the story of Sasha Senderovsky and Masha Levin-Senderovsky, who invite five of their closest friends to come live with them andmore
When We Were Sisters: A Novel
by Fatimah Asghar
A Brilliant, but Devastating, Novel Written in Fierce Prose That Sings Like Lyrical Poetry (5/31/2023)
This is a brilliant novel written in fierce prose that sings like lyrical poetry. It is heartbreaking, shattering, and overwhelming.

Written by Fatimah Ashgar, this is the story of three Pakistani-American sisters, who are orphaned at a young age after their father ismore
I Have Some Questions for You: A Novel
by Rebecca Makkai
A Complex Literary Mystery: A True-Crime Whodunit with a Brain That's Also a Page-Turner (5/26/2023)
This is a literary mystery—a true-crime whodunit with a brain—that is a gripping, masterful novel written by the award-winning author Rebecca Makkai.

It's 2018. Bodie Kane is 40, a film scholar, adjunct film professor at UCLA, and the co-host of a successful podcast onmore
Victory City: A Novel
by Salman Rushdie
A Fantasy of Epic Proportions—A Fable, Fairy Tale, Allegory, and Parable—with a Formidable Warning (5/13/2023)
This book is fantasy—a completely made-up world where the main character possesses extraordinary magical abilities and lives to be 247 years old. And while fantasy is my least favorite genre, I am enamored of Salman Rushdie. After all, any author who has a fatwa placed onmore
The Giver of Stars
by Jojo Moyes
A Story of Redemption and New Beginnings, a Story of Justice and Hope: I Was Captivated! (5/8/2023)
Before I read this book for my book club, I was skeptical. The only other novel I have read by JoJo Moyes is "Me Before You" (also for my book club), and it was a sappy love story. This one is more historical fiction than love story, featuring engaging characters and amore
When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present
by Gail Collins
From Historical Broad Strokes to Personal Anecdotes, This Book Is Brilliant and Entertaining (5/5/2023)
I started first grade in 1960. Even at that young age, I was told that when I grew up, I could only be a teacher, secretary, or a nurse, but most of all I should be a wife and mother. And then, quite suddenly about 10 years later, everything changed. While I wasn't part ofmore
The Hero of This Book: A Novel
by Elizabeth McCracken
A Novel or a Memoir? It's Both—Interesting, Odd, Strange, Curious, and Mildly Fascinating (4/28/2023)
This is a novel. It says so on the cover. But it's not exactly that. It's a memoir. Sort of. The reason it's only "sort of" a memoir is that author Elizabeth McCracken uses a lot of words in this short "novel" decrying how this is not a memoir.

Well, whatever it is, it's anmore
Behave
by Andromeda Romano-Lax
Biographical Fiction That Almost Qualifies as a Horror Story (4/22/2023)
This is a work of biographical fiction that almost qualifies as a horror story. Using fact and poetic license--after all, it is a novel--author Andromeda Romano-Lax profiles the life of Rosalie Raynor Watson, the wife of Dr. John B. Watson, who developed in the 1920s themore
Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family
by Condoleezza Rice
Fascinating Subject, Boring Writing (4/22/2023)
Condoleezza Rice has written a well-deserved love letter to her parents, John and Angelena Rice, who raised the future U.S. Secretary of State under horrific circumstances: 1950s and '60s segregated Birmingham, Alabama. I am in awe of her parents and grandparents who did somore
A Man Called Ove
by Fredrik Backman
A 10-Star Book! Read. It. Now. (4/22/2023)
I want to give this book 10 stars. Five is not enough. What happens when a grumpy old man who is intent on killing himself when he believes his life no longer has meaning meets a group of characters who thwarts his every suicidal move--unintentionally, of course? Whatmore
The Bonesetter's Daughter
by Amy Tan
A Story About the Power of Family, Tradition and Love (4/22/2023)
This story effortlessly and fluidly jumps from the present to the past and back again, as well as from San Francisco to China and back again as accomplished author Amy Tan tells the tale of three generations of Chinese women: Precious Auntie, LuLing and Ruth.

LuLing, who ismore
Olive Kitteridge
by Elizabeth Strout
No Wonder It Won the Pulitzer Prize! (4/22/2023)
No wonder this won the Pulitzer Prize! This is (officially) a short story collection. It's also a novel. So maybe it's a hybrid between the two. The 13 short stories in this book cover a period of about 30 years and take place primarily in and around Crosby, Maine, a smallmore
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls
by Anton DiSclafani
A Captivating Coming-of-Age Story (4/22/2023)
This coming-of-age book, which is told in the first person from the point of view of 15-year-old Thea Atwell during the first years of the Depression, is a captivating read. Born and raised in Florida on a remote, 1,000-acre citrus grove, Thea and her twin brother, Sam,more

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