6 days ago“Night Wherever We Go” by Tracey Rose PeytonThere is currently widespread despair over labor shortages throughout 21st Century economies. However, the problem is nothing new. Tracey Rose Peyton tackles the issues in a stunning and horrifying way in her amazing debut “Night Wherever We Go”. Here the setting is pre-Civil War rural Texas. The problem: too few…2 min read
Jul 26“Lungfish” by Meghan GillisResiliency and courage in the face of abandonment and betrayal form the heart of Meghan Gillis’ powerful debut novel, “Lungfish”. A new mom faces a dire reality when she realizes that, though she is not alone, she would probably be better off if she were. The precarious situation takes her…1 min read
Jul 20“The Rabbit Hutch” by Tess GuntyIt’s a special treat when the right book comes at just the right time. Tess Gunty’s debut novel “The Rabbit Hutch” is just that for me. Gunty is most comfortable operating in the thin zone that separates The American Dream from The American Nightmare. …2 min read
Jun 29“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. …2 min read
