The author of Lola Bensky talks about her new book, about rock journalism and the 1960s, about her character Lola, about the black humour in the book, the relationship between ‘real life, her fictional detectives Harry and Schlomo, and lots…
Category: Book Reviews
Book Reviews
A review of You, Fascinating You by Germaine Shames
Shames humanizes the unspeakable horrors faced by innocent people throughout World War II without romanticizing any of these events. Margit Wolf is sent to a concentration camp, a fortunate survivor among thousands who are not so lucky. While the novel is about a love story between a rising ballerina and established maestro, it is really Margit Wolf’s story that is told.
A review of Lola Bensky by Lily Brett
the interviews she conducted as a young journalist during the sixties. Reading the book you get the definite sensation that you’re experiencing a unique insight into rock stars like Hendrix, Cher, Mama Cass, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Pete Townsend and Mick Jagger.
Interview with Joanne Harris
The author of Peaches for Father Francis talks about her new book, about revisiting Lansquenet, about the nature of serials, about food writing, about magical realism and how it works in her books, about her character Vianne Rocher, about what…
A review of Asleep Without Dreaming by Barbara Forte Abate
Dramatic tension and reader interest are stirred by revelations about Stella. In flashbacks and in the present action of the novel, she emerges as a self-centred, bitter, thieving whore who hates her own daughter. She parallels another horrible parent in the story. Jesse urges Willa not to waste emotional energy trying to understand her, as some things in life just can’t be understood.
A review of The Book Club Cook Book by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp
For dinner rolls, “Black-Eyed Pea Cakes with Jalapeno Avocado Salsa,” a Caribbean theme selection based on character Janie Crawford’s black-eyed peas in the story “Their Eyes were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston. Picked by the Denver Read and Feed members Frank Blaha and his wife Barb Warden because the book fascinated their group and provided an introduction to the Harlem Renaissance.
A review of Peaches for Father Francis by Joanne Harris
Peaches for Father Frances is a delicately written, and absolutely engaging story that centres around Vianne’s return to Lansquenet, and her special ability to transcend people’s appearances and cultural trappings, and see into the heart of who they are. This is a beautifully written novel, full of mystery, character growth and excitement with a broad range of appeal.
A review of Face of the Enemy by Joanne Dobson and Beverle Graves Myers
A minor character speaks of seeing Duke Ellington at the Cotton Club, but we readers never get to go there and see him perform. Perhaps I’m spoiled, with too high expectations, because so many creative artists, from Thomas Wolfe to Woody Allen, have already brilliantly evoked New York.
A review of Blue Friday by Mike French
Mike French’s Blue Friday is a science fiction that draws on George Orwell’s 1984 to show a society gone mad. Though written in a light-hearted farcical way, the novel takes a hard look at state sanctioned control and the way in which it perverts even the most humanistic of subjects (such as work-life balance and “family values”).
Interview with Margaret Wertheim
The author of Physics on the Fringe talks about how her years of collecting the work of ‘outsider physics’ turned into a book, about the notion of some aspects of modern physics being more akin to art than science, about…