Tag: Fiction
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“Two Nights in Lisbon” by Chris Pavone
Ariel Pryce is an attractive woman in her mid-forties, recently married to a much younger man, John, who suggested she accompany him on his business trip to Lisbon. After their first passionate night in a Lisbon hotel, Ariel wakes up and discovers her husband is gone. Stranded in a foreign country, she proves quick-thinking and…
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A Killing in Costumes by Zac Bissonnette
Imagine a cute, Old Hollywood memorabilia store in Palm Springs: here, a customer can browse vintage film magazines while sitting at the authentic horror movie table, stained with fake blood, and admire legendary costumes, perhaps even try on a green beret worn by John Wayne in “The Green Berets.” This is a dream come true…
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“Lessons” by Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan’s latest novel, “Lessons,” might be his best book yet. It starts when the eleven years old Roland Baines is sent to a state boarding school in England. The Cuban Missile Crisis looms over the world, but “James Hern, the stern but privately kind housemaster, did not mention in his evening announcements that the…
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The Rising Tide: A Vera Stanhope Novel, by Ann Cleeves
Every five years, for almost fifty years, a group of friends comes to Holy Island, a quiet place off Northumberland’s coast, frequently cut off from the mainland because of the tides, for a weekend full of memories, good food, and drinking. They agree with the phrase “60 is the new 40” and subconsciously still see…
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“The Books of Jacob” by Olga Tokarczuk
Olga Tokarczuk’s “The Books of Jacob” is not just a novel. With almost 1000 pages, for a reader, it’s a commitment. My plan was to read one chapter daily – the story consists of thirty-one, combined into five books. In the end, it turned out that I finished it much quicker than anticipated, binging on…
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Less is Lost, by Andrew Sean Greer
Oh, the curse of the sequel! I’m one of those people who read “Less is Lost” by Andrew Sean Greer without (gasp!) reading “Less” first. Yes, it can be done; no, it doesn’t lessen the experience of discovering Arthur Less. Arthur Less is a writer in his fifties, white and gay, who embarks on a…
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The Hundred Waters, by Lauren Acampora
Louisa Rader, a protagonist of “The Hundred Waters” by Lauren Acampora, cuts a striking figure. A former model, photographer, tall, in her Louboutins and her Dior little black dress, she looks slightly out of place at the effluent Connecticut town’s party. Now, a bit bored, she runs a gallery in her hometown Nearwater. “Comfort is…
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The Maker of Swans, by Paraic O’Donnell
A young mute girl, Clara, spends her days writing, reading books from the extensive library, and strolling in the areas surrounding the beautiful English estate of Mr. Crowe, her benefactor. Clara possesses a magical gift, the strength of which she does not realize yet. Mr. Crowe himself has a gift, we learn, the one that…
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Bliss Montage, by Ling Ma
The oranges on the cover of “Bliss Montage” by Ling Ma are hidden behind plastic wrap, in full view but behind something that needs to be ripped off. I think this image summarizes the book perfectly. This is a collection of eight stories, and it’s probably best to read them one story a day: they…
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The Woman in the Library, by Surali Gentill
I love good mysteries – as a genre and as a palate cleanser – so I’m always looking forward to reading more thrillers in the summertime when “the livin’ is easy.” After discovering that “The Woman in the Library” by Surali Gentill was recommended in the New York Times (May 27, 2022, “Murder, Blackmail and…
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