RaveWashington Independent Review of Books... this engaging and poignant novel should not be pegged for animal lovers only. With its powerful exploration of a dysfunctional birth family and the life that can be made from and despite the traumas of inheritance, Other People’s Pets is, quite simply, a great read ... Resisting both despair and sentimentality, Other People’s Pets deals with the toughest stuff ... In her creation of this complex cast of compelling characters, R.L. Maizes reveals her writerly sensibility to be that of an omni-empath. In these times marked by an empathy deficit, such a quality is not only welcome but also sorely needed. Other People’s Pets is a fun read that also provides non-saccharine nourishment for one’s soul.
Deborah E Lipstadt
PositiveWashington Independent Review of Books\"... the timeliness of Lipstadt’s nuanced and accessible discussion of contemporary antisemitism cannot be overstated ... Lipstadt provides a useful taxonomy of antisemites ... Antisemitism: Here and Now is a sobering but accessible read by an eminent scholar.\
Kitty Zeldes
MixedWashington Independent Review of BooksIn its triangulated focus on a socialite mother, a Jewish teacher, and a disabled student all trying to come to terms with life narratives that deviate from previously taken-for-granted norms, Not Our Kind tackles these questions in an historical novel that resonates in contemporary Trumpian America ... Tensions around sexual desire and sexual violence also connect the women in this story and exemplify the complexities of the contemporary #MeToo movement. When Wynn Bellamy, Patricia’s husband and Margaux’s doting father, assaults Eleanor, Patricia initially stands by her man and is complicit in blaming the alien Jewish victim. The development of Henryka, the servant...is a fascinating subplot and itself worth the read. Less successful is Eleanor’s relationship with her mother, Irina, who seems an odd amalgam of Jewish-mother stereotypes and beguiling hints that she has quite the story of her own. But wanting more from an already very good novel is a sure sign that it has gotten under your skin.
