Category Archives: Fiction
Stories that move, inspire and stay with you.
Never Let Me Go Review: Ishiguro’s Quietest, Cruelest Novel
A calm, devastating novel about three friends raised for a purpose they barely question; essential [...]
Yellowface Review: A Vicious, Funny Satire of Publishing
A sharp, bingeable satire about a white author who steals her dead friend's manuscript; brilliant [...]
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow Review: Friendship at Play
A big, warm novel about two friends who make video games together for three decades; [...]
The Book Thief Review: Nazi Germany, Narrated by Death
Zusak's World War II novel, narrated by Death, is moving and memorable, though its stylistic [...]
Where the Crawdads Sing Review: Gorgeous Marsh, Shaky Mystery
A lush coming-of-age story wrapped around a so-so murder mystery; worth reading for Kya and [...]
The Midnight Library Review: A Comforting Fable, Thinly Built
A warm, easy fable about regret and second chances that has comforted many readers; the [...]
Lessons in Chemistry Review: Sharp, Funny and a Bit Too Tidy
A funny, crowd-pleasing debut about a 1960s chemist turned TV cook; great company for a [...]
Norwegian Wood Review: Murakami’s Most Realistic Heartbreak
Murakami's melancholy love story set in late-1960s Tokyo is his most accessible book, beautifully sad [...]
The Handmaid’s Tale Review: Still the Dystopia That Sets the Bar
Atwood's chilling story of a woman forced to bear children for the ruling class remains [...]
Demon Copperhead Review: Dickens Comes to Opioid Country
Kingsolver's Pulitzer-winning retelling of David Copperfield in opioid-era Appalachia is funny, furious and long; one [...]
Before the Coffee Gets Cold Review: Gentle Time Travel, Many Rules
A gentle, bittersweet set of time-travel stories in a Tokyo café; comforting and heartfelt, but [...]
A Little Life Review: Brilliant, Punishing and Hard to Forget
A huge, immersive novel about friendship and trauma that readers call either a masterpiece or [...]