6 days ago“Brotherless Night” by V.V. GaneshananthanOne increasingly hears loose talk in the United States that it will soon be time for a (second) Civil War. “Brotherless Night” by V.V. Ganeshananthan ought to be required reading before any misguided souls are allowed to take their next step. The Sri Lankan Civil War began in earnest in…2 min read
Jun 5“What We Fed to the Manticore” by Talia Lakshmi KolluriWhat on earth is a manticore? It’s something that can’t be found in any dictionary but the reader does know that this being in one of the nine short stories in “What We Fed to the Manticore” is not benign. All of these stories are told from the perspective of…2 min read
May 27“Moonrise over New Jessup” by Jamila MinnicksThe end of the American Civil War and the passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlawing slavery ought to have been a time of celebration and joy throughout the country. Of course we all know better. Instead it ushered in a period of legislated segregation (Jim Crow…3 min read
May 8“Seven Steeples” by Sara BaumeAt the beginning of this tale, Bell and Sigh are just settling in to their new abode near the sea. We know nothing of their backgrounds, ages, temperaments or what brought them to this remote place…and we never find out throughout the book. We do know that Bell is a…2 min read
Mar 14“A Tiny Upward Shove” by Melissa ChadburnMost every species has a hierarchy where some possess that certain something that makes them dominant, and they then lord over the have nots. In most of the animal world, this is managed by a Darwinian survival of the fittest. Humans have attempted to develop systems that are designed to…2 min read
Mar 6“This Place That Place” by Nandita DineshWhat do you do when you are all ready for your wedding, dress on and all, and you are delayed by the announcement of yet another curfew of indeterminate length? Such is the plight of an unnamed couple in an unnamed place in Nandita Dinesh’s stunning debut novel, “This Place…2 min read
Feb 27“The Ghetto Within” by Santiago AmiogorenaI will always remember when I read Santiago Amigorena’s moving debut, “The Ghetto Within”: the day Putin decided to fully invade Ukraine. The parallels are many, especially the human tragedy. Much has changed since the horrors of the Holocaust, but the world is still threatened by autocrats bent on terrifying…2 min read
Jan 26“Calling For a Blanket Dance” by Oscar HokeahThe history of indigenous people in the Americas is rife with abject violence. Horrors reached their height when Native Americans encountered white Europeans beginning in the 16th Century. The Native Americans most often came in peace, but were soon tricked, fooled, displaced, and slaughtered, their way of life forever destroyed…2 min read
Jan 22“Mecca” by Susan StraightSusan Straight’s “Mecca” immerses us in an often-overlooked population eking out an existence in the harsh desert of Southern California where the Santa Ana winds begin and rule the surrounding landscape. Fire follows the winds and only the people whose families have lived there for generations know how to really…2 min read
Jan 22“Our Wives Under the Sea” by Julia ArmfieldHow would you react if the love of your life were to return from an assignment changed to their very core? Would you be able to commit your entire being to making the adjustments necessary to forever care for and adapt? Julia Armfield raises these types of foundational questions in…1 min read
