Chechnya in the mid 1990’s is a brutal war torn place. Sonja Rabina has returned there from studying in the US and now works in a small shell of what once was a large and busy hospital in her hometown. … Continue reading
On a farm in northern Wisconsin, Edgar Sawtelle lives with his parents, Gar and Trudy. Born mute he communicates in sign language, helping his parents with the work on the farm and with the breeding and training of the famous … Continue reading
According to anthropologists cooking literally changed our lives! Before we learned to cook people spent hours hunting and gathering food and ate it raw, and then, because raw food was not easily digested, we quickly got hungry and had to … Continue reading
Set in Amsterdam, The Dinner starts out simply-two brothers and their wives are meeting for dinner. But this dinner is no casual date night; they are meeting to discuss the horrific thing that their two sons have done and what … Continue reading
In rural Tennessee, Dellarobia Turnbow, struggles up the path of the mountain behind her home trying to run away from the responsibilities of her life-two small kids, a perfunctory marriage, and an emptiness that she can barely articulate. But at … Continue reading
The Tiger’s Wife is a first novel by Tea Obreht (b.1985!) that has been recognized and named as one of the best books of 2012 by publications ranging from Vogue and Oprah Magazine to the Wall Street Journal and The … Continue reading
With such a provocative title-Snow White Must Die-I was immediately drawn to this book and it did not disappoint! Set in a small German town outside of Frankfurt this book tells the story of a love affair gone wrong, a … Continue reading
I was on vacation last week and had to stock up on a variety of books for my trip. One of the gems I found was Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. It is one of those feel … Continue reading
What do we really know about our mothers? I suspect that most of us know our mothers through the lens of being a child, but probably very few of us have gotten to know our mothers more fully as individuals. … Continue reading
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Intrigue, mysterious portends, and revolution are all a part of the background to The Stockholm Octavo, set in 1791 Sweden. Emil Larsson our protagonist is a young bureaucrat in Office of Customs and Excise who spends his evenings drinking and gambling in various … Continue reading
Brenda's Bookshelf 