Book reviews and more!

THE GREATCOAT, by Helen Dunmore

December 9, 2012

WISTFUL, COMPELLING GHOST story in the grand English tradition of Daphne du Maurier and Susan Hill.

Grade: SOLID B

THE GREATCOAT: A GHOST STORY
Atlantic Monthly Press
2012

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THE GARDEN OF EVENING MISTS, by Tan Twan Eng

December 8, 2012

EXTRAORDINARY, SWEEPING STORY set in 1950s Malaysia covers questions of love, art, war, cruelty, and beauty.

Grade: A MINUS

THE GARDEN OF EVENING MISTS
Weinstein Publishing
2012

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BUTTER, by Anne Panning

December 7, 2012

DELICATE, KEENLY OBSERVED novel follows a young girl through the fracture of her family in 1970s Minnesota.

Grade: B PLUS

BUTTER
Northern Illinois University Press/Switchgrass Books
2012

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UTOPIAN MAN, by Lisa Lang

December 6, 2012

19TH CENTURY AUSTRALIA comes alive with vivid detail in this picaresque novel of a self-willed, self-made man.

Grade: B PLUS

UTOPIAN MAN
Allen and Unwin
2012

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IN THE HOUSE OF THE INTERPRETER, by Ngugi wa Thiong’o

December 5, 2012

THE INCOMPARABLE KENYAN WRITER Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s second volume of memoir juxtaposes political and personal.

Grade: A MINUS

IN THE HOUSE OF THE INTERPRETER: A MEMOIR
Knopf Doubleday
2012

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SYNDROME E, by Franck Thilliez

December 4, 2012

SHARP FRENCH THRILLER has an admirably complex plot, lots of action, intriguing neuroscience-fiction premise.

Grade: SOLID B

SYNDROME E
Viking
2012

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HIDE AND SNOOP, by Sue Ann Jaffarian

December 3, 2012

PLUCKY PLUS-SIZED PARALEGAL and sleuth Odelia Grey is on another complex murder case. Well-done cozy fun!

Grade: SOLID B

HIDE AND SNOOP
Midnight Ink
2012

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YEAR ZERO, by Rob Reid

CHARMING SCIENCE-FICTION SATIRE pits an entertainment lawyer against the rest of the universe. Snarky fun!

Grade: SOLID B

YEAR ZERO
Del Rey
2012

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ALL GONE by Alex Witchel

December 2, 2012

BITTERSWEET, NUANCED MEMOIR of the writer’s brilliant mother and her too-early decline into dementia. B PLUS

ALL GONE
Riverhead Hardcover
2012

Grade: B PLUS

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ALL GONE, by Alex Witchel

December 1, 2012

BITTERSWEET, NUANCED MEMOIR of the writer’s brilliant mother and her too-early decline into dementia.

Grade: B PLUS

ALL GONE: A MEMOIR OF MY MOTHER'S DEMENTIA. WITH REFRESHMENTS
Riverhead
2012

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