Saturday, July 19, 2008

Friday, July 18, 2008

Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer


This slender novel's beauty took me by surprised. It traces the 1953 love story of childhood sweethearts, Pearlie and Holland Cook, whose marriage is interrupted when Buzz Drummond emerges from Holland's past. Behind every consideration of the secrets of marriage, shines the light of the racial and political tensions of the 1950s.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Beginner's Greek by James Collins

I had reserved Beginner's Greek from the library earlier in the year and decided to leave it for summer reading. Good choice. It made for a quick and frivolous beach read. The best description I can give is to quote the blurb on the back of the novel written by I Love You, Beth Cooper author, Larry Doyle. He called the book an "incisive romantic comedy" and said, "James Collins is the new Jane Austen, only taller."

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

Lahiri's The Namesake was brilliant, and I just watched the equally beautiful film adaptation last week. The connected stories in her new collection, Unaccustomed Earth, do not disappoint. An Indian character struggling in some way with American identity is central to each story. I especially loved the final three stories and was taken by surprise at the end of the trilogy.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Netherland by Joseph O'Neill


After reading several reviews linking Netherland with The Great Gatsby, I had to see for myself. The narrator is Dutchman Hans van den Broek, who travels to New York City for work and is befriended by mysterious and entrepreneurial, Chuck Ramkissoon, who envisions a Brooklyn cricket stadium as a post 9/11 cure for the city.