books

Book Review: Life After Life

Beth Golay — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:00:00 +0000

As we live our lives, we're presented with seemingly minute decisions to make every day. Each decision takes us on a specific path. Some prove to be wise. Others have us wishing for a mulligan.

Book Review: Life Among Giants

Todd Robins — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:00:00 +0000

In terms of setting and mood, Bill Roorbach’s novel Life Among Giants contains no shortage of creative derring-do. It largely takes place in the 1970s, when the Miami Dolphins ruled the National Football League. In fact, the narrator of the novel, David “Lizard” Hochmeyer, spends time in a Dolphins uniform as a backup quarterback to Bob Griese.

Book Review: May We Be Forgiven

Beth Golay — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:00:00 +0000

I chose this book for its cover. Gelatinous cranberry sauce, still holding its can-shaped form on a white plate. It screamed Thanksgiving.

Book Review: The Art Forger

Beth Golay — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 11:00:00 +0000

On March 18, 1990, a pair of thieves disguised as police officers stole 13 works of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Mass. Among the stolen were works by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Degas and Manet. Unsolved to this day, the heist provides the perfect backdrop for The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro.

Book Review: The News From Spain

Beth Golay — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:00:00 +0000

While you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, the illustration on the cover of the The News from Spain by Joan Wickersham is somewhat telling of what's inside. A single red ribbon on a black background ties each of the stories together through theme and repeated phrases. The ribbon flows with no bows or knots, bleeding off the page. Similar in design, these stories are not wrapped in tidy packages. Sometimes they begin with no introduction and end abruptly, leaving the reader to speculate about what will happen next.

Book Review: Telegraph Avenue

Beth Golay — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Book Review: Léon and Louise

Beth Golay — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Book Review: Gold

Beth Golay — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Book Review: Beautiful Ruins

Todd Robins — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Book Review: An Uncommon Education

Beth Golay — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:17:21 +0000

I’m a sucker for a good prep school story. I’m not sure if it’s the promise of knowledge there for the taking, secret societies, or general student angst that usually leads me to those books, but there was something unique about Elizabeth Percer’s debut novel, An Uncommon Education. The education of Percer’s brilliant protagonist, Naomi Feinstein, was not provided by private boarding schools. Her “preparatory” education came from her father, who recognized early that his daughter could remember everything she ever read.