It is easy to see that Lawrence Durrell started life as a poet, for his prose is magnificent. But his strongest suit is his brilliant evocation of time and place, in recreating […]
As a professional writer myself, I thoroughly enjoyed the way that Jodi Picoult began this tale. What better way to introduce a character and her situation by having her lose her memory? […]
Author Jodi Picoult writes with such empathy and this novel was well supported by Cassandra Campbell’s superb narration. Here is the tale of a young woman who marries up into a family […]
Jodi Picoult’s debut novel is not a particularly easy read. It doesn’t help that we have FIVE point-of-view characters, and that one of those characters – teenager Rebecca Jones – is telling […]
I don’t normally read non-fiction, but my husband raved about this book and so I picked it up. It was absolutely fascinating. Mr. Woodard’s thesis is that far from being a confederation […]
As many have noted, HAMLET’S MILL is not an easy read. It is written by scholars who are fluent in many languages (French, German, Latin and Greek) and because this was published […]
Did the familiar children’s fairytales of today exist in the ancient world? Were there ancient Cinderellas, Twelve Dancing Princesses, Sleeping Beauties and Pusses in Boots? The answer: Maybe. In FAIRYTALE IN THE […]
I found this book both fascinating and inspiring. As someone who is NOT an expert on Mesopotamia, but looking for background material for a possible forthcoming novel, I found this volume to […]
I really didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book. I hated the title, but loved the cover (designed by the author herself.) One thing I was curious about […]
This is the story of the last stand (or shield ring) that the Vikings made (with their Saxon friends) against the Normans who’d conquered England in 1066, and now wanted to make […]
William J. Broad’s THE ORACLE is a fascinating look at the science behind the Delphic Oracle. Blending ancient history, recent modern history and the scientific disciplines of anthropology, geology and archeology, the […]
It is 700 BCE. We are in what is now Hallstadt in what will become Austria. We are in a wealthy village of weapon-makers, traders who acquire luxury goods from what is […]
It took me a while to understand that UNDER HEAVEN was set in an alternate version of Tang dynasty China, so realistically was it told. Guy Gavriel Kay is not afraid of […]
I love Guy Gavriel Kay’s writing. I loved the way TIGANA started with such a moving & provocative prologue, which segued into a day in the life of a talented 19-year-old singer, […]
The sequel to WILDWOOD DANCING, this novel is in a very different key. The supernatural elements present in WILDWOOD DANCING are contained in CYBELE’S SECRET. WILDWOOD retells fairy tales, CYBELE’S SECRET is […]
This is such a charming story, for both young folk and adult alike. Taking the well-known fairy tales of THE FROG PRINCE and THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES, author Juliet Marilier puts her […]
HEARTS BLOOD by Juliet Marillier is her retelling of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, but she makes this story so much her own, I actually didn’t recognize the original tale, only learning that […]
This fictionalized biography of the Empress Wu (17 February 624 to 16 December 705 CE) aka Wu Zetian, Wu Zhao, Wu Hou (Empress Wu) or Tian Hou (Empress Tian) shows the unbelievable […]
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