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Recent Reviews
CJ Hauser
Rave Oprah Daily 17 brilliant pieces ... This tumbling, in and out of love, structures the collection ... Calling Hauser \'honest\' and \'vulnerable\' feels inadequate. She embraces and even celebrates her flaws, and she revels in being a provocateur ... It is an irony that Hauser, a strong, smart, capable woman, relates to the crane wife’s contortions. She felt helpless in her own romantic relationship. I don’t have one female friend who has not felt some version of this, but putting it into words is risky ... this collection is not about neat, happy endings. It’s a constant search for self-discovery ... Much has been written on the themes Hauser excavates here, yet her perspective is singular, startlingly so. Many narratives still position finding the perfect match as a measure of whether we’ve led successful lives. The Crane Wife dispenses with that. For that reason, Hauser’s worldview feels fresh and even radical.
Anne Lamott
Mixed The Boston Globe [Dusk, Night, Dawn] is digestible and uplifting, conceived and packaged for the chaotic times we are facing. Although touching on a few broadly exterior topics (climate change), it mainly focuses on the human interior, Lamott’s speciality, with a particular emphasis on forgiveness of ourselves and others, acceptance, and unconditional love ... Lamott’s observations are particularly well-suited for readers living in an age of distraction, hooked on screens and turning to meditation and self-care to regain awareness ... It is precisely now that readers crave something unique, nourishing, and illuminating — which we know Lamott can provide. I’m sad to say that Dusk, Night, Dawn isn’t quite it.
Jesmyn Ward
Rave The Boston Globe Because the story jumps back and forth in time, at points, characters already dead reappear; we see their futures before they do and anxiously await their tragedy ... Ward writes as both a careful observer and primary character. Her portraits are sharp and loving. While she pinpoints the destruction caused by infidelity, drugs, and poverty in her own family, Ward honors her parents’ ambitions, dedication, and dreams, naming obstacles that stood in their way ... One of Ward’s greatest accomplishments here is the way she dissects the complicated roles of black men and women, as they relate to her own family and friends. The history of oppression, Ward writes, leads black men to seek \'a sense of freedom or a sense of power that being a Black man in the South denied them\' and contributes to \'the tradition of men leaving their families.\'
Heidi Julavits
Rave The Chicago Tribune ... a playful, intimate, and deeply insightful collection ... defies categorization ... Julavits\' insatiable drive for adventure energizes these stories. Her prose, which is clear, thoughtful and smart, illustrates the life of a woman who is both silly and serious ... The style of the book allows Julavits to explore and retreat rather than fully excavate, perhaps in a way that a memoir would not ... These stories display the work of a vivid, active, ever-questioning imagination.
Celeste Ng
Rave The Chicago Tribune What happens when your carefully laid plans ignite and all that is left is a heap of ashes? Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng's riveting new novel, explores that question, unearthing the ways that race, class, motherhood and belonging intersect to shape each individual ... The novel exhibits a preoccupation with how race and identity are viewed and shaped in mostly-white suburban communities — communities that espouse lofty progressive ideals yet are blind or, worse, unsympathetic to inequality ... Perhaps Ng's most impressive feat is inviting the reader's forgiveness for Mrs. Richardson –– a woman whose own mission for perfection, and strict adherence to rules ultimately become the catalyst for the maelstrom that ensues.