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Recent Reviews
Maya Binyam
Positive The Washington Independent Review of Books \"The beginning of Maya Binyam’s debut novel...gives no indication of the unique, strange trip about to unfold ... The human experience that the book perhaps captures best is the phenomenon of displacement and its effect on one’s sense of identity. Many characters struggle with this, including the narrator, who first faced the loss of his family and culture as a young man and is now dealing with it again in his rootless wanderings. These are feelings that anyone marginalized, anyone denied a sense of home, can recognize, and Binyam’s portrait of a man in search of belonging is deeply moving ... The book’s narrative style fits this sense of displacement. The language is simple, although it can also be poetic ... It is a detached, matter-of-fact style, as if the narrator is sharing in a puzzled but offhand way all that he has been through. He reports his conversations but does not quote lines of dialogue. He does not give names or locations, or describe settings or people in depth. These things do not interest him. The style works for this story; the voice grows familiar and feels trustworthy ... The conclusion is in keeping with the absurd elements everywhere in the story and with the dreamlike quality of the narrator’s journey. It’s a clever ending that some may find too clever.\
Monique Roffey
Rave The Washington Independent Review of Books This premise may sound outlandish, but the strange magic in The Mermaid of Black Conch is the best kind — wondrous, amazing to all who encounter it, but utterly real. So real that the novel’s characters have no choice but to accept it and ride the wave of trouble that it brings ... Roffey is absolute in her commitment to the head-to-tail reality of her mermaid, Aycayia, which is key to the success of this wild, engaging story ... After the spellbinding fishing scene, the narrative never returns to the same level of suspense, though it’s well paced and cleverly structured, with multiple narrators, including the mermaid herself. The middle of the book is slow by comparison, but there is plenty of dramatic action to come as the story heads toward its conclusion ... Aycayia is fascinating, although she doesn’t feel as fully developed, as \'real,\' as the other characters. But this is understandable; she is not of this world. She is an ancient being, cursed to roam the sea forever, created by the author out of the myths of the long-lost Taíno people of the Caribbean ... Roffey’s writing is a delight to swim in. It’s lyrical and lovely, and it flows clear and deep as the waters around Black Conch. Her landscape descriptions are rich, whether she is painting pictures of the lush forest shading Miss Rain’s house or of the ocean.
Quan Barry
Rave Washington Independent Review of Books When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East is no ordinary adventure tale. Although the events, and the landscapes, are strange and wondrous, Quan Barry’s new novel is utterly original, a unique immersion in history, philosophy, religion, the nature of time, and the clash of old and new happening all over our world. It can take a few pages to get the hang of this book, with its short chapters — most just a page or two long — which often end in mid-scene and pick up again in the same place, upending traditional ideas of what a chapter or a scene should be. Barry is implying that the ways we divide time are artificial, that time itself is illusory, a theme that is everywhere in her book ... Although Barry’s story is drenched in Buddhist ideas, it is not just for people interested in Buddhism. The questions Chuluun wrestles with are for everyone ... The author’s landscapes are thrilling ... An award-winning poet, Barry shapes transparent, simple language into images that are lyrical and haunting ... When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East is a story of much magic and many miracles — a startling, yet gentle, book.
Yelena Akhtiorskaya
Rave The Washington Independent Review of Books Yelena Akhtiorskaya’s debut novel has immense charm, is enormously funny, and shows readers worlds we had no idea we were so curious about ... Panic in a Suitcase is not a strongly plot-driven book, though it is rich in narrative. The writing is dazzling, with sentences like fireworks rocketing off. But to enjoy the humor and warmth of this study of family and culture requires a rhythmic shift in readers’ usual approach to novel-reading ... The shift in question involves letting Akhtiorskaya’s tale emerge on its own terms, an adjustment that can take a while ... A flurry of marvelous, often very funny descriptions of people and places — sprinkled with dialogue and resulting in forward plot movement — propels us along ... As its vibrant characters accrue, in layers, over the pages, the book’s glimpses into family dynamics are amusing, but also deeply poignant — it’s a warm story, affectionate toward its characters, as well as a satirical romp.
Sofia Segovia, Trans. by Simon Bruni
Rave Washington Independent Review A magical-realism romp from Mexico, Sofía Segovia’s The Murmur of Bees—her first novel translated into English—offers a dizzying swirl of history, family lore, tragedy, redemption, and, of course, magic. It’s the kind of magic that Latin American authors have developed to a high and subtle art, and it infuses every page of this saga ... A complicated picture of Mexico emerges. We see a society that understands magic and miracles as a part of life, but sees also that political upheaval, violence, and endless, wrenching class struggles are part of it, too. The magic is the novel’s great charm ... Readers used to brisk, dialogue-driven novels—typical fare in the U.S.—may find themselves challenged by the leisurely pace of much of this book. It’s worth surrendering to Segovia, though, and sinking into these pages because she’s very good at what she does, and her writing is lovely ... Multiple narrators move in a seamless way through the chapters, an approach that is especially effective as the book builds to its powerful climax, with each shift of narrator adding another piece to our understanding of what is happening, while simultaneously making us wait for the inevitable. In these later pages, the story is irresistible.
Jean Thompson
Rave Washington Independent Review of Books The story’s drama, sweeping across generations, is mesmerizing, but page by page is where Thompson truly showcases her great skill: her ability to capture the nuance of individual moments, thoughts, and reactions. No one writing today is better at this ... utterly convincing and satisfying ... a rich experience that rewards the heart with every turn of the page. Thompson, a previous National Book Award finalist, is, as the expression goes, working at the height of her powers ... And what it says about living is the greatest gift Jean Thompson has given to this extraordinary novel.
Rabih Alameddine
Rave The Washington Independent Review of Books Family and society define Aaliya, the narrator of Rabih Alameddine’s new novel, An Unnecessary Woman, as useless and an 'unnecessary appendage' ... The book spans three days of this unique, strange, invisible life Aaliya has constructed so carefully and desperately, compelling readers to see where it takes her ...is about listening to a voice — Aaliya’s — not cantering through a plot, although powerful events do occur, both in the present and in memory ... Aaliya’s voice, however, is pure — she comes to us untranslated, unfiltered. That doesn’t mean she’s entirely reliable, even though her vulnerability and candor make her fundamentally trustworthy ...is not a game, though; it is a grave, powerful book. It is the hour-by-hour study of a woman who is struggling for dignity with every breath.
Christine Sneed
Rave The Washington Independent Review of Books Christine Sneed is, simply, the queen of endings. The last page of nearly every one of these stories screams out to the reader, 'Read me again, over and over' ... Sneed not only excels at endings, she creates fascinating beginnings and middles, as well. She presents characters who comprise a dazzling range of age, class, gender, and circumstance ... Yet for all these glimpses into dark corners of human life, Sneed’s stories also emit light. She crafts nuanced portraits of all sorts of people who never give up struggling to make sense of what they’re experiencing ... a stunning collection.