Category Archives: Contemporary

There but for the

Posted on May 21, 2013 by

In our blogiversary post, we invited readers to suggest a book for us to read and review together. You all came up with such great suggestions that we had a hard time choosing, but we eventually settled on There but … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction | 7 Comments

Imperfect Birds

Posted on April 15, 2013 by

In general, I am a much bigger fan of Anne Lamott’s nonfiction than of her fiction. While her nonfiction has spoken to me at many different times of my life and has given me a great deal of help (Operating … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction | 7 Comments

The Family Man

Posted on April 3, 2013 by

I read about Elinor Lipman when Other Jenny recommended not just The Family Man but Lipman’s entire backlist as “intelligent comfort reading.” She was so enthusiastic and so articulate about what was wonderful about Lipman that I was convinced to … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction | 17 Comments

What Happened to Sophie Wilder

Posted on February 10, 2013 by

Christpher Beha’s novel What Happened to Sophie Wilder is the story of two writers, one who is trying to find his voice and another who’s trying to decide how to use her voice when her whole worldview has changed. Two … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction | 6 Comments

Daytripper

Posted on January 4, 2013 by

Daytripper is a graphic novel by the Brazilian twins Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá. When the book opens, with a chapter entitled “32,” Brás de Oliva Domingo is the son of a famous novelist. He would like to be a writer, … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction, Graphic Novels / Comics | 4 Comments

Gone Girl

Posted on January 3, 2013 by

Every year on their anniversary, Amy Dunne planned an elaborate treasure hunt for her husband, Nick. Leaving clues that incorporated inside jokes and stories that they shared (and that Nick didn’t always remember or understand), Amy led Nick from one … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction, Mysteries | 32 Comments

What Happened to Sophie Wilder

Posted on November 12, 2012 by

Christopher Beha’s debut novel is complex, thoughtful, interesting and… something I might describe as tender, though it is not romantic. It is intellectual without posing, and moving without being even the tiniest bit sentimental. Well over a week after I … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction | 12 Comments

We’re Flying

Posted on October 12, 2012 by

It would be an understatement to say that the stories in this collection by Swiss author Peter Stamm are not happy stories. In one story after another, we meet people who are alienated from society, often by choice, sometimes by … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction, Short Stories/Essays | Tagged | 11 Comments

Blasted

Posted on August 18, 2012 by

I read about Kate Story’s debut novel, Blasted, over on Indextrious Reader way back when I was a brand-new blogger. I’m kind of a sucker for stories about Faerie, so I put it on my list, and our current science … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 1 Comment

Everything Is Illuminated

Posted on May 17, 2012 by

Jonathan Safran Foer’s debut novel (published when he was only 25) is woven out of three narrative strands. The first is the story of Jonathan’s trip to the Ukraine to find the woman who saved his grandfather’s life during the … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction | 19 Comments