Category Archives: Historical Fiction

The Devils of Cardona by Matthew Carr

Posted on March 3, 2017 by bseat

History repeats itself.  Which is why, I think I am drawn to historical fiction. It illuminates past human experience in a way that even those who are not historians can understand and appreciate our historical antecedents.  Of course you cannot … Continue reading →

Posted in Detective novel, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Posted on February 10, 2017 by bseat

Sometimes you have complicated feelings about a book. I certainly do about this Pulitzer Prize winning novel about the Vietnam War narrated by a Vietnamese communist sleeper agent. Wonderfully written, dark, evocative, satirical and suspenseful; there is much to savor … Continue reading →

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Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift

Posted on January 13, 2017 by bseat

On March 30, 1924, on what was known then as Mothering Sunday, Jane’s life changed dramatically. It was a gorgeous day, more like June than March and the Nivens were having the cook pack a large picnic hamper in anticipation … Continue reading →

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Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

Posted on November 25, 2016 by bseat

Books about war are often peopled with characters who are unbelievably courageous or ignominious cowards right from the very beginning, cheating the reader of knowing why they became that way. In Everyone Brave is Forgiven, however, Cleave sets up a much … Continue reading →

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Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

Posted on November 18, 2016 by bseat

You cannot help but be intrigued when the first sentence in a book is: “Of all my many murders, committed for love and for better reasons, the first was the most important.” But when a book really delivers on the … Continue reading →

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Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati

Posted on October 7, 2016 by bseat

In December of 1792, Elizabeth Middleton and her brother arrive in the American colonies to join their father in the small village of Paradise, New York. After their mother’s untimely death, Elizabeth and Julian, as young children, had been sent … Continue reading →

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Eileen, A Novel by Ottessa Moshfegh

Posted on September 30, 2016 by bseat

“My name was Eileen Dunlop…I was twenty-four years old and had a job that paid fifty-seven dollars a week as a kind of secretary at a private juvenile correctional facility for teen age boys…In a week I would run away … Continue reading →

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The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith

Posted on August 26, 2016 by bseat

In 1631 Sara de Vos became the first woman member of the artist Guild of St Luke in Amsterdam.  Known for her lovely still lifes and other indoor scenes, Sara quickly made a name for herself.  But one evening Sara … Continue reading →

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When Gods Die by C. S. Harris

Posted on July 15, 2016 by bseat

Sometimes you just need to escape. Whether it is from the relentless news cycle on CNN or just laundry and dirty dishes, sometimes you just need to escape into a book and into another world.  A trusted author, compelling characters … Continue reading →

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The Incarnations by Susan Barker

Posted on July 8, 2016 by bseat

Wang is a taxi driver in Beijing. His life is not successful in the normal sense, but he has a decent job and his wife and daughter, Echo add to his sense of well being. Then one day as he … Continue reading →

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