“No More Giants,” first published in 1966, fell into obscurity but is now back in print. Set in the American West in the 1940s, the novel’s narrator searches for the key to her brother’s death when they were growing up on the family’s cattle ranch. All I wanted to do was read this book.
Category: Neglected Books
Reading Bette Howland’s Chicago stories and Robbie Arnott’s gem
Several new books by big name authors (Ann Patchett, Colson Whitehead, Richard Russo) are heading into bookstores these upcoming weeks, but I’m all into “Blue in Chicago” and “Limberlost,” two books that likely don’t pop up during your online book browsing, or that you’ll find on an indie bookstore shelf. Here’s what that’s all about.
“Two Thousand Million Man-Power” by Gertrude Trevelyan
Gertrude Trevelyan is a British author whose novels were among the best published in the 1930s; however, they disappeared after her death in 1941. Today her work is being rediscovered, including this memorable novel that was first published to critical acclaim in 1937. It was one of my top favorites for 2022. Once forgotten, it now deserves lots of attention, even if I'm repeating myself. Here's a review.
Six favorite books from my year of reading
This 2022 end-of-year list includes an equal number of fiction and nonfiction. The books earned their place for the unusual qualities that set them apart: storytellers that amazed me, atmospheres that erased time, facts that broadened my thinking. Four of the books have been mentioned here before; two are new.
Lost man at sea, lost novel recovered
"Gentleman Overboard" by Herbert Clyde Lewis published in 1937 slipped into forgotten books land as so many good books do (and shouldn't) until it was rescued. It's the story of Henry Preston Standish, who finds himself floating in the Pacific Ocean, sure the ship he fell off of will turn around and pick him up. It's ingenious tragicomedy with an objective. You've got to read it.
The Longest Chapter 