I think that there must be a moment during everyone’s childhood when you realize that adults are not infallible, not even your own parents. Over twenty years later, I can still remember my own personal moment, and those feelings are captured perfectly in Louis Undercover, written by playwright Fanny Britt and beautifully illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault. Louis is a young boy whose parents have separated. He and his little brother, Truffle, are shuttled between their mother’s apartment in the city and their father’s house in the […]
“Who else is left to tell the tale?”
I find something so cozy about reading a chunky historical fiction during the colder months. You can just wrap up in a blanket, have a hot drink nearby, and just lose yourself in it. Even if it turns out to be not so nice. Gillespie and I is one of those books that I find difficult to talk about because too much information would spoil it. So I’ll just start with this: Harriet Baxter is an elderly spinster living in London in the 1930’s. She […]
I am so disappointed!
Oh dear. I initially thought this novel was a fabulous historical fiction set in the Antipodes, à la Oscar and Lucinda or The Luminaries. But then the story began to lose momentum two-thirds of the way through before falling apart completely in the final act. Ooh, but the beginning is so, so good! It is New Year’s Eve, 1902, in the quiet town of Marumaru, New Zealand. Colton Kemp designs window displays for one of the two department stores in town. Although he dedicates himself […]
Maybe J. K. Rowling should, I don’t know, write a new story?
First, I want to say J. K. Rowling seems like a lovely person. Despite creating one of the most popular – and lucrative – fantasy series in the world, she has never glossed over her experiences with poverty and depression. She founded a neurology clinic in honor of her mother and is a champion of disadvantaged children and single parents. She dropped off the Forbes billionaire list partly because she donated so much to charity, and until lately, her Twitter game has been killer. Unfortunately, […]
“Everything Here Is Beautiful” is beautiful
If you want to cleanse your… brain? palate? brain-palate? of the hellstorm that was 2017, this book is an excellent way to kick off the new year. Everything Here Is Beautiful is the story of two sisters, Miranda and Lucia. Since childhood, Miranda has been the careful and responsible big sister, Jie, while Lucia has been the cheerful and impulsive little sister, Mei. But Lucia occasionally has episodes where she has violent mood swings, hears voices, and becomes increasingly paranoid. Miranda, frightened at what could happen to her […]
Nice Guys and Bad Boys in Victorian England
I’ve only read three of his books now, but I kind of love Thomas Hardy. Because he gets it. He gets how shitty social and moral conventions are to women. Does Hardy have an avid following like Austen or Dickens? Because he totally should! I demand more Hardy adaptations! Bathsheba Everdene – what an awesome name – is a beautiful, intelligent, confident, and fiercely independent young woman. Upon inheriting her uncle’s farm, she moves to Weatherbury, where she attracts the attention of three very different men: loyal shepherd Gabriel Oak, reserved farmer William Boldwood, […]
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