A remarkable debut. I became so invested in these characters lives and their profound connections to their place in the world. Beautiful prose from a A remarkable debut. I became so invested in these characters lives and their profound connections to their place in the world. Beautiful prose from a major new talent. ...more
The Animators is a debut novel by Kayla Rae Whitaker that is very timely in that it's about two women artists. It's a hugely American novel but on a mThe Animators is a debut novel by Kayla Rae Whitaker that is very timely in that it's about two women artists. It's a hugely American novel but on a more intimate level, it's also the best Appalachian novel of the year by a long-shot. In fact, I think it's one of the best examinations of what it means to be from the region ever, even though it's not technically an Appalachian novel. But there is definitely the element of how people are shaped by the rural, and Appalachian, experience. Whitaker gets that absolutely right, and just about everything else. This is another one that should have had more awards attention. The movie rights were recently sold so I'm hoping it will get an even bigger readership in the near future. It's gritty, hilarious, touching...and you will never forget the two lead characters as you live with them in Brooklyn and Louisville, travel with them to Florida and Eastern Kentucky, and leave the whole thing feeling as if they're old friends you miss after you close the book....more
Irish-born and Scottish-resident Bernard MacLaverty is one of my all-time favorite novelists, having written favorites of mine like Grace Notes, Cal, Irish-born and Scottish-resident Bernard MacLaverty is one of my all-time favorite novelists, having written favorites of mine like Grace Notes, Cal, and Lamb. So I was chomping at the bit to read this one and pretty much devoured it in a couple days. As always, it's the smallest observations that MacLaverty manages to capture that makes the worlds he creates so vivid and beautiful. In this novel about an elderly couple who are still together more out of habit than love, MacLaverty explores aging, the need for purpose, and the way we depend on each other. He also evokes Amsterdam so vividly that I feel as if I've been there. I was mesmerized by this novel....more
I could not put down this massive tome. It's the history of Ireland from the 1940s until now through the eyes of one man, an orphan who finds love oveI could not put down this massive tome. It's the history of Ireland from the 1940s until now through the eyes of one man, an orphan who finds love over and over again, only to have it snatched away each time. Beautifully written and realized, with a plot that twists and turns every whichaway, Boyne expects his readers to suspend their disbelief and believe in the inevitability of coincidence, but he is so masterful at it that you do believe in all of it, every single word. This is a terrific, hilarious, sad, and wonderful novel. Grand storytelling at its finest....more
This book nearly killed me it's so beautiful. The unconventional love story of two soldiers who are fighting in the "Indian Wars" and the Civil War isThis book nearly killed me it's so beautiful. The unconventional love story of two soldiers who are fighting in the "Indian Wars" and the Civil War is deeply moving and its prose is as lyrical as it is challenging. This book should have been on the shortlist of every major award this year. Not a novel for everyone, but for me, it was truly great. I've loved other books by Barry but this one is by far his masterpiece....more
A sensation in England when it was first published, The Essex Serpent hasn't hit American shores with the same fervor but it is just about as perfect A sensation in England when it was first published, The Essex Serpent hasn't hit American shores with the same fervor but it is just about as perfect as a novel gets. Every sentence is lovely. The descriptive writing, especially of London's gritty, poverty-stricken streets, or the damp, grey eastern coast of England, is phenomenal. And then there are the characters who all become real flesh-and-blood people to the reader. While wholly original, there are also notes of Mary Shelley, Thomas Hardy, and John Fowles in this novel about the way a group of people are impacted by rumors of a terrorizing sea creature in 1800s England. I loved every word of it....more
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