I liked this novel, but I didn’t love it. Rachel is a manager at a large luxury hotel in Fort Lauderdale, when she loses her job after she’s sexually assaulted by a wealthy patron. When she can’t find a decent job in Florida, she moves to Kelley Island in Ohio for a job working for…
Great news for Olive Kitteridge fans — author Elizabeth Strout has published a sequel and it is fantastic. Olive, Again is written in Strout’s signature style of introducing new characters in each chapter so that the book feels like connected short stories rather than a novel. The sequel begins with Olive mourning the death of…
This is the third book I’ve read by Strout, and I found it even more moving than the other two (both excellent). Strout’s latest is set in the same place and time as her previous book, My Name is Lucy Barton. And in fact, Barton is a peripheral character in the book, which shows how…
I don’t want to say very much about this book (which is hard for me) but I will say it wasn’t what I expected. Here’s what you already know: The Casual Vacancy is about the sudden death of Barry Fairbrother in a small English town named Pagford. Barry’s death leaves a lot of holes in…
The Qualities of Wood is only the second review request I’ve accepted. I’ve been getting a lot of requests lately but turn most of them down. But I liked Mary’s email and I liked the way she described her book. It turned out to be a truly enjoyable and thought-provoking read. So much so, that…
The Book Stop 