Posts Tagged ‘women’s fiction’
Novels in the mountains
I always love reading, but there’s something special about books I take with me to read when I’m out in the mountains. I spend a lot of time out in the mountains, both in the spring and summer for hiking and in the winter for skiing. On a recent skiing escape in Abruzzo, I read…
Read MoreBook review: The Stars are Fire
Author Anita Shreve is a master at penning realistic characters and delving deep into their psyches, and The Stars are Fire is a brilliant illustration of her significant talent in bringing her characters to life. Grace Holland is a young mother of two toddlers in post World War II Maine. Her husband, Gene, has retruned from…
Read MoreBook review: The Burning Girl
This is the third Claire Messud novel I’ve read. I enjoyed her bestselling novel The Emperor’s Children, and her debut novel When the World Was Steady. The Burning Girl is her latest work. This novel set in small-town Massachusetts follows the lives and friendship of Julia Robinson and Cassie Burns. Julia and Cassie have grown…
Read MoreWhy women’s stories are so engaging
“I deem as heroic those who have the harder task, face it unflinchingly and live. In this world women do that.” —James Salter How can I not love this quote by American novelist and short story writer James Salter (1925-2015)? I’ve always been a great reader, and grew up reading all the (mostly male-authored) classics.…
Read MoreShivers on the slopes: Book reviews
I spent last week skiing with my sons. I always enjoy skiing, but one of the activities I enjoy most after an exhausting day of physical activity is curling up in a warm space with a steaming cup of tea and reading a good novel. When we ski, my kids and I ski from the…
Read MoreAlice Munro on small town stories
“The writers of the American South were the first writers who really moved me because they showed me that you could write about small towns, rural people, and that kind of life I knew very well.” Alice Munro I like this quote from short story writer Alice Munro. And if anyone knows how to tell…
Read MoreMy thoughts will be in Matera for the Women’s Fiction Festival!
I’ve spent many a happy weekend at the Matera Women’s Fiction Festival in the spectacular, southern Italian “cave” town of Matera. After a one year hiatus, the Festival will take place once again at the end of this month, but sadly without me. My inability to attend this year doesn’t mean I won’t be thinking…
Read MoreBook review: Wake
Oddly, I’d had this book on my shelf for some time. I remembered it only after picking it up in French in a French bookstore and being drawn in by the story and the excellent blurbs – before realizing I shouldn’t buy it because I had the original version back home. : ) This novel…
Read MoreBook Review: The Expatriates
I enjoyed this novel following the lives of three expatriate women living in Hong Kong. The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee explores the lives of three women – all adrift in their own way – living in Hong Kong’s expat community. Mercy is a Korean-American Ivy League grad who has been drifting ever since graduating…
Read MoreBook review: Hidden
This is the third novel I’ve read – and enjoyed – by Canadian author, Catherine McKenzie. Hidden is the story of a love triangle that unravels slowly following the death of Jeff, beloved father of Seth and husband of Claire and possible lover of Tish, a colleague who works at the same corporation, in another…
Read More