Month: December 2013

When Even the Smallest Moments in Time Make All the Difference

Book Review for "Perfect: A Novel" by Rachel Joyce. Byron Hemmings is a clever boy with an equally clever best friend James Lowe. When they hear about adding an extra two seconds, the idea astounds them both. But then Byron notices his watch moving backwards at the exact time the accident happened, and nothing will … Continue reading When Even the Smallest Moments in Time Make All the Difference →

A Girl who is Part Mystery, Part Fantasy

Book Review of "The Girl on the Landing" by Paul Torday. Reading Paul Torday's novel "The Girl on the Landing" makes one want to paraphrase Joseph Heller's quote from "Catch 22" to read: "Just because you're [being treated for] paranoid [schizophrenia], doesn't mean they aren't really after you”.  The story here is about Michael and … Continue reading A Girl who is Part Mystery, Part Fantasy →

The Making of a French Empress

Book Review for "Becoming Josephine" by Heather Webb. It took 30 years for Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie to go from being a young Creole girl from Martinique, to being Rose de Beauharnais and finally becoming Josephine Bonaparte and the first Empress of the French Empire, before she was divorced from Napoleon. Her … Continue reading The Making of a French Empress →

Teaching Men Manners is No Laughing Matter?

Book Review of "Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys" by Eric Garcia. Cassandra French is a character that any woman would envy. She's beautiful, has a lovely home and what seems to be a great job - she's a lawyer for a Hollywood studio. Mind you, she doesn't get the really big cases, being in … Continue reading Teaching Men Manners is No Laughing Matter? →

One Family, One Holiday, Many Generations of Women

Book Review of "Thanksgiving" by Ellen Cooney. Patience was a newlywed, pregnant with her first child on that cold November morning of 1662. When she went outside in search of her husband, she saw a turkey fly into the oak tree in her yard. The fateful killing of that bird ended up being something to … Continue reading One Family, One Holiday, Many Generations of Women →

Not Seeing the Trees for the Forest

Book Review for "All Russians Love Birch Trees" by Olga Grjasnowa. Maria (aka Masha), was born to turmoil as a Jew in Baku, Azerbaijan, who fled with her family to Germany in the 1990s. From birth she was always been an outsider. And no amount of her learning so many languages - including Russian, Arabic, … Continue reading Not Seeing the Trees for the Forest →

Death Among the Dreidel Set

Book Review of "Chanukah Guilt" by Ilene Schneider. According to the book cover synopsis, "Rabbi Aviva Cohen is a 50-something, twice-divorced rabbi living a rather uneventful life in South Jersey. True, she has a family that is rather unconventional. And her first ex-husband is moving to her town. But her life takes a truly interesting … Continue reading Death Among the Dreidel Set →

Ten Warmly Flowing Stories of Louisiana

Book Review for the short story collection "Down at the End of the River" by Angus Woodward. I have never been to Louisiana. In fact, the first things I think of when I hear the name of that state is humidity, hurricanes and heat. Other words like Creole and Cajuns also spring to mind, as … Continue reading Ten Warmly Flowing Stories of Louisiana →