Suzanne Perez

Sometimes it’s the smallest books that pack the most powerful punches. Think George Orwell’s Animal Farm, John Steinbeck’s The Pearl, Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. None are much longer than an average short story, but they tackle heavy themes such as communism, greed, and the struggle between good and evil.

Address Unknown is just such a work.

Novelist Patricia Engel was born to Colombian parents. Her newest novel, Infinite Country, is a wonder of storytelling no doubt inspired by, if not her own upbringing, then the stories of countless immigrant families who seek a better life in the United States.

My friend Carrie keeps chickens in her backyard in Wichita, and whenever she goes out of town, I volunteer to feed and check on them. Chicken sitting, I call it. It’s not a bad gig and comes with rewards, like the occasional fresh egg with a yolk so orange and creamy, it doesn’t even resemble the ones you get in the grocery store.

So I know a little bit about chickens and the people who love them. That’s why I picked up Jackie Polzin’s debut novel, Brood—a slender little story about one woman’s attempt to keep four chickens alive amid the frigid cold, searing heat and countless predators around her Minnesota home.

There are times when you don’t finish a book in time for a book club discussion but you go anyway. I mean, it’s all about the wine and conversation, right?

But then there are times when you’re halfway through a book that’s full of twists, turns and gasp-inducing surprises, and you just have to send your regrets: “See you next month,” I told the KMUW Literary Feast regulars recently. Because SPOILERS.

You might be asking yourself, “How many novels about World War II does a person really need to read?” And the answer is: at least one more.