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Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah
Calling for a Blanket Dance employs one of my (recent) favorite literary ‘techniques’, which consists in using the short-story format to tell an overarching story. A few weeks before reading this I read Morgan Talty’s Night of the Living Rez, which also used the short-story format to tell a young man’s coming-of-age. Unlike that title,…
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 20th century, 3.5 STARS, addiction, Adult, America, belonging, Calling for a Blanket Dance, Cherokee Kiowa Mexican author, CHILDHOOD, collection of short stories, Contemporary, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), disabilities, family, fatherhood, gritty realism, growing up, indigenous, indigenous author, interconnected stories, intergenerational, LITERARY FICTION, male authors, MEMORY, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, Oklahoma, Oscar Hokeah, parenting, polyphonic, Poverty, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2022, reservations, short stories, siblings, snapshots, social issues, trauma -
Here Again Now by Okechukwu Nzelu
The first few pages of Here Again Now brought to mind the opening scene from my much beloved A Little Life so, naturally, I cranked up my expectations. As I kept on reading however my initial excitement over the story incrementally decreased to the point that I no longer looked forward to picking it up.…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, actors, addiction, Adult, ANGST, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, england, fatherhood, fathers & sons, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, friendships, gay, GRIEF, Here Again Now, introspective, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, LONDON, lyrical prose, male authors, male friendships, My reviews, Nigeria, nigerian british author, Okechukwu Nzelu, published in 2022, purply prose, queer, read in 2021, reading, ROMANCE, style over character, tragedy, weak prose, will they won't they -
A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
“That was the thing about people on the outside. They thought it cheered him up to see their faces, but it just reminded him too much of freedom when everybody knew it was better to adjust to the kind of freedom available on the inside.” Heartbreaking yet luminous A Kind of Freedom is a truly…
1940s, 1980s, 2010s, 20th century, 4 STARS, A Kind of Freedom, addiction, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, cheating, Contemporary, family, FAMILY SAGA, fatherhood, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, LITERARY FICTION, Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, MARRIAGE, motherhood, New Orleans, prison, PUBLISHED IN 2017, RACE, read in 2020, SISTERS, social issues, war, WWII -
The Survivors by Jane Harper
Alas, figuring out the murderer’s identity in the first 15% made this book kind of a drag. Having highly enjoyed Jane Harper’s The Lost Man, The Survivors felt by comparison vaguely uninspired. While the setting is just as atmospheric and vividly rendered as the ones in Harper’s other novels, the characters and mystery were very…
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Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
“You were never out of the Life completely. You were always looking over your shoulder. You always kept a gun within reach.” Blacktop Wasteland is a thrilling, adrenaline-fueled read that gives a fresh new take on the One Last Job™ premise. S.A. Cosby’s pitch-perfect sophomore novel is brutal, twisty, and very gritty. Blacktop Wasteland will…
3rd pov, 4.5 STARS, adrenaline fuelled reads, Adult, American, Black & Black heritage authors, Blacktop Wasteland, cars, Contemporary, CRIME, DEATH, family, fatherhood, fathers & sons, grit lit, heist, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, male authors, Noir, published in 2020, read in 2020, rural setting, S.A. Cosby, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, Southern America, SUSPENSE, terrific prose, THRILLER, violence, virginia -
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune — book review
“He was here to observe and nothing more. He couldn’t influence the orphanage. It wouldn’t be proper. The RULES AND REGULATIONS were specific about such matters.” The House in the Cerulean Sea tells an equal parts heartwarming and silly tale. The world in this novel is fairly reminiscent of our own one however its pages…
3.25 stars, Adult, AMERICAN AUTHOR, cheesy, FANTASY, fatherhood, found family, HUMOR, KIDS WITH POWERS, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, light reads, m/m, MAGIC, male authors, PARANORMAL, parenting, POWERS, published in 2020, queer, read in 2020, ROMANCE, SPECULATIVE FICTION, T.J. Klune, The House in the Cerulean Sea, uplifting reads, URBAN FANTASY -
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett — book review
“I was still at a point in my life when the house was the hero of every story, our lost and beloved country.” Not Quite a Review, More of an Ode to Ann Patchett: Usually I tend to post my reviews a couple of days after I’ve finished reading a book. With The Dutch House…
1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1st pov, 20th century, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANN PATCHETT, ART/CREATIVITY, beautiful prose, bildungsroman, CHILDHOOD, class, coming of age, divorce/separations, evil stepmother, family, fatherhood, fathers & sons, favourite authors, female authors, forgiveness, GRIEF, growing up, HISTORICAL FICTION, House As Character, identity, illness, introspective, LITERARY FICTION, manor/big house, MARRIAGE, mothers & sons, NEW YORK, nostalgic reads, orphans, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, place as character, published in 2019, re-reads, READ IN 2019, read in 2021, restrained prose, siblings, strong sense of place, The Dutch House
luce [is reading] 