The story of Sera, a middle class Parsi housewife and Bhima her illiterate, poor housekeeper. The women are friends, of a sort. Both women have troubles that they share with each other and they really do try to help each other as best they can. But the differences in class and power finally put a […]
[Continue reading...]The Dante Chamber by Matthew Pearl
October 4, 2018 by
A series of deaths in London that parallel the deaths in Dante’s Purgatory lead a Christina Rossetti to enlist the help of Robert Browning, Alfred Tennyson and Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes to find the killer in the hopes of saving the life of her brother Gabriel. Matthew Pearl does a great job of fictionalizing the […]
[Continue reading...]Women Talking by Miriam Toews
October 4, 2018 by
Over the course of a five year period the womenand girls of an ultra conservative Mennonite community in Bolivia were drugged and raped on a nightly basis by a group of men from their community. The men are arrested and sent away but are slated to return within two days. A group of eight women […]
[Continue reading...]Court of Lions by Jane Johnson
October 4, 2018 by
Kate has fled to Granada, Spain for reasons we slowly uncover. While there she finds a scrap of paper hidden within the ancient ruins of the city. The novel travels between Kate’s story and the story of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Johnson has a real flair when it comes to weaving historical fiction into […]
[Continue reading...]The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
October 4, 2018 by
A fast paced story of a network of female spies during World War 1. Based on a true story these women in this French Resistance movement are courageous, smart and committed to regaining France’s freedom from the Germans. A great read!
[Continue reading...]The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti
October 4, 2018 by
After spending years on the run, Samuel Hawley settles with his daughter, Loo, in her deceased mother’s hometown. Throughout the novel we learn how Samuel received each of the twelve scars he carries on his body. Loo, too, starts to uncover some uncomfortable truths about her father’s past. This is an epic father/daughter coming of […]
[Continue reading...]Circe by Madeleine MIller
October 4, 2018 by
Circe is a witch banished to an island by her father Helios – Titan god of the sun. Circe is smart, self-reliant, resilient and uses all her wits to survive her banishment. You don’t even need to know much about Greek mythology but I found myself reading about the various gods whose deeds Circe continuously […]
[Continue reading...]Little fires everywhere by Celeste Ng
January 12, 2018 by
The story begins at the end, with the Richardson house ablaze. Mother, Elena, has always followed the rules and her life is upended when Mia Warren, a visual artist and non-conformer, moves to town with her daughter, Pearl. Pearl is befriended by the Richardson children and they become mesmerized by Mia. Their lives become entangled […]
[Continue reading...]I found you by Lisa Jewel
January 12, 2018 by
Single mom, Alice, finds a man sitting on the beach outside her house. She invites him in out of the rain and discovers that he can’t remember who he is. Twenty-three years earlier Gray and Kristy Ross accompany their parents on their annual trip to Ridinghouse Bay. At the same time Lily, a blissfully happy […]
[Continue reading...]Forest Dark by Nicole Krauss
January 12, 2018 by
Jules Epstein has given away his money and earthly possessions (of which there are PLENTY) and disappeared in Tel Aviv. He is on a quest for the meaning of his life, much to the chagrin of his three children. Meanwhile, Nicole is a NY city novelist, mother of two whose marriage is failing. She abruptly […]
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I'm an artist and teacher from the Ottawa Region. When I'm not creating