The Four Graces is a pleasant, relaxing beach read for the discerning reader. Early 20th century England, life at the vicarage in a quaint parish, local gossip, eligible young bachelorettes — it’s fairly staple Georgian fare. It’s not quite up the same alley as Benson, but there is a sufficient amount of plot to keep it interesting. The war clouds hovering over the story add some depth to the somewhat two-dimensional story line. The title…
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I often approach contemporary writers with some trepidation, much like Margaret Lea, the narrator of The Thirteenth Tale. I need not have worried, because this gothic tale hooks and reels you in as you open its first pages. It was November – Diane Setterfield The book’s opening sentence is simple and yet it contains the promise of a dark, grim ghost story. For in the end, this is what The Thirteenth Tale is; a ghost…
The latest novel by Ann Patchett is an intimate character study of a brother and sister, abandoned by their parents and their fate often tested by life. One day the Conroy siblings find themselves motherless, as Elena Conroy leaves them for a higher calling without ever bothering to say goodbye. This abandonment by their mother, and her picking the needs of strangers over her own kids, leaves a permanent bruise. And it all started with…
I wouldn’t usually put the words gorgeous and zombie in a sentence together, but that is what Kingdom is. A gorgeous zombie horror drama that also doubles up as a political-period thriller. So much in just one show. What It’s About? Kingdom is set in the Joseon era, a few years after the Japanese invasions of Korea at the end of the 16th century. The countryside is struggling with poverty and famine. The king has…
Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad is not just a historical novel; it is a profound exploration of the American soul. By literalizing the railroad, Whitehead creates a visceral, locomotive journey through the various “states” of American racism. It is a harrowing, brilliant, and ultimately essential read that rightfully earned its place among the author’s top recommendations.
Rebecca is Daphne Du Maurier’s most remembered and revered legacy. Melancholy yet haunting, forever immortalized in Hitchcock’s famous adaptation. The House on the Strand is not even close to her other famous works and is one of her later novels. If you ever want to read anything by Maurier, then Rebecca it must be. However, a great second novel to dive into by De Maurier would The House on the Stand especially if you are…
