Mention the hippies of the 1960s and 1970s and those of that generation will instantly remember their peace signs, tie-dyed clothing, LSD trips and anti-government protests. Reading "Arcadia," a novel set in a hippie commune in upstate New York, those memories came back, only I experienced what felt like a more intimate view of this countercultural group. A moving fictional story written by the talented Lauren Groff.
Category: Book Review
Notes from a secret Paris
Here's an atmospheric, seductive journey into what the author says is "a secret city" of Paris. Written during the mid-20th century, these short essays are far from travelogue and more visual nostalgia. The book runs less than 200 pages, even less reading pages because it's a bilingual edition, with French on one page and the English translation on the other. My trip to Paris many years ago took me off the beaten tourist path. But it was nothing like this.
How a life blooms: the signposts of destiny
Molly Peacock's "The Paper Garden: An Artist Begins Her Life's Work at 72" is more than a great biography about an 18th century woman. It's a meditation on late-bloomers and the significance of choices made throughout one's life. Molly Peacock is an award-winning poet, and her "leaps of the poet's mind" transport us into wonderful places, real and profound.
The nature of extremity
In Jennifer Miller's debut novel, a biology teacher instructs his students how to think for themselves, using information about extreme-loving microbes called extremophiles. These microorganisms become a sort of metaphor for what happens in this literary mystery that takes place in a fictional preparatory school in NW Massachusetts. "The Year of the Gadfly" keeps you wondering and page-turning to the very end.
Grief wants to know
Here's a debut novel published by one of my fav publishing houses, Biblioasis. They send me unusually good books, and this time's no exception. "Malarky" by Anakana Schofield offers a unique perspective on an Irish woman's reaction to her husband's affair and her son's homosexuality. It's powerfully addictive.
The Longest Chapter 