I love T.C. Boyle and this book didn’t disappoint – in fact I’d have to say this is one of my favorites. The story is a reflection on environmentalism, conservation, and the strength and beauty of nature. The two main characters, Alma Boyd Takesue and Dave LaJoy are mortal enemies, pitted against each other in…
Category: Contemporary Fiction
Review of Trespass by Rose Tremain
Trespass is a book you probably haven’t heard of, by an author you probably haven’t heard of. Rose Tremain has written 15 books, many of them award winners or nominees (Whitbread Awards, Booker Prize, and Orange Prize). Her best known work is Restoration, a historical novel about a 17th century physician that was made into…
Review: One Day by David Nicholls
One Day is the story of a friendship that begins in college and grows over twenty years. It’s the story of Dexter and Emma, who meet at the University of Edinburgh in the late 1990s and sort-of hook up the night of graduation. Dexter barely knows Emma, but Emma’s had a crush on Dexter for…
Review: Mary Ann in Autumn by Armistead Maupin
I think if this book hadn’t received a good review I wouldn’t have bought it. Maupin’s recent books haven’t done much for me, and Mouse, Brian, Anna, and even Mary Ann are like old friends. Better to reread the old books again and again than change them with a not-so-good update. Happily, I think Maupin…
Review: This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
This is Where I Leave You is my third book by Jonathan Tropper this year. This book is his latest, and I’ll sum it up in this way: it’s more polished than the others, but I enjoyed it less. The book is about Judd Foxman, a 30-ish guy who just discovered Jen, his wife of…
Franzen’s Freedom: Great American Novel or Overhyped?
I wouldn’t normally post about a book I haven’t read, but Jonathan Franzen’s new book Freedom has gotten so much press, and generated so many interesting discussions, I couldn’t resist. A quick recap of some of the events surrounding this book: President Obama is seen purchasing the book on his vacation several days before it’s…
Review: Under the Dome by Stephen King
What can I say about Under the Dome? It’s a Stephen King novel. It’s fast-paced, disturbing, and full of every-day stuff that scares the pants off of you because yes, it can happen to you. This is what King is good at. He takes something impossible, like a dome cutting off a town from the…
Review: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
I loved this book. Each chapter is sort of its own story, told from a different character’s point of view, with characters intersecting throughout the book in various ways. One review I read described it as a book of short stories, and for that reason I almost didn’t buy it. But these aren’t short stories…
The Book Stop 