Novels
-
-
The Portent
…[We] began to find that we doubted a great deal of what seemed to have happened to us. It was as if the gates of the unseen world were closing against us, because…
-
Their Eyes Were Watching God
I was familiar with the title of Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), but that’s about all. Though it took me two tries, I found it to be a…
-
The Kite Runner
Everyone else has read The Kite Runner already. I haven’t, perhaps because I suspected that it would break my heart. I was right. But it was worth it. It’s about boys growing to…
-
Wide Sargasso Sea
I was making supper one night last week when I heard a review of this novel on NPR. I’m not sure how I could have missed Wide Sargasso Sea till now. Written by…
-
-
The Senator’s Wife
I picked up The Senator’s Wife because of Ruth’s review. She said, “All the characters are vividly drawn, and all are deeply flawed. Even though I knew something dreadful was ahead, I couldn’t…
-
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed a book this much. This novel is an unusual animal: a Victorian novel published in 2004. It has the scope, cast of characters, and wit of Dickens,…
-
The Children of Hurin
A deadly peril has come upon us, which only great hardihood shall turn aside. But in this matter numbers will avail little; we must use cunning, and hope for good fortune… For I…
-
I Lock My Door Upon Myself
This novella is my first Joyce Carol Oates tale. Only 98 pages long, it was completable in an afternoon, and it leaves an afterglow in my mind. It’s lyrical, melancholy, compulsively readable, and…
