PositiveBrooklyn RailFlattery’s title is explicit in its modesty—which is a strength and a weakness. Mae’s struggles and vulnerabilities are sharply observed—funny and cringy, tender and admirably economic, unfolding over the course of just 220 pages or so. But this also means that little of a very rich and colorful setting—late 1960s New York—is recorded here.
RaveThe Brooklyn RailEgan’s great accomplishment in The Candy House—as in Goon Squad—is her steadfast commitment to flesh and blood characters, who bruise and bleed, even amidst all of the social commentary and satire ... Egan is admirably nimble delivering all of this. The Candy House easily could have wandered into 1,000-page territory, yet weighs in at just over 300, and never feels dense or turgid ... Egan’s ambitions, though, are tempered by an admirable humility, an understanding that ours is not the first generation to confront these complicated questions ... Egan masterfully balances these narrative impulses, while never forgetting that her characters can swim joyously, as well as drown. And that readers can get swept up in powerful, emotional currents, and conflicts, and quandaries.
Sam Graham-Felsen
PositiveBookPageFor better or worse, the narrative at times ventures into YA turf, yet Green’s examination of race, class, education and (most interesting of all) religion is weighty and substantial without being stuffy. 'I’m just sick of being nothing,' David says at one point. Yet as poor, befuddled David goes on (and on and on) trying to put together an identity for himself, he—like the reader—is inevitably floored when he takes the time to so much as glance at the adversity people like Marlon must endure every day.
John Banville
PositiveThe InquirerThis breezy volume is both personal and historical. And though it can easily be read over a weekend, it spans the centuries and provides valuable insights not only into this ancient, shape-shifting city, but also into Banville's life and work ... For better or worse, this being John Banville, we come across words like execrated and epicene. And though Banville offers up some straightforward history, it would have been interesting to hear more about how this most Irish of places is actually entirely different from the rest of Ireland. Nevertheless, when you are done with Time Pieces, you will know Dublin - and John Banville - a whole lot better, and will want to learn even more.
Wiley Cash
PositiveBookPageWiley Cash’s third novel is a sweeping, old-fashioned saga with an inspiring but ill-fated heroine at its center ... Cash — whose previous two novels, A Land More Kind Than Home and This Dark Road to Mercy, were Southern-set bestsellers — eventually splits the narrative, and we see the looming labor violence through the eyes of a diverse cast of characters ...Ella May is such a rich, sympathetic character ...is powerful and moving, exploring complex historical issues that are still with us today.
Brendan Mathews
PositiveBookPageNew York City on the cusp of World War II is brought to glorious, messy life in Brendan Mathews’ sprawling debut saga ... Mathews deftly handles a large cast of characters in The World of Tomorrow. On a collision course with the Dempseys is an IRA killer, an ambitious photographer fleeing Nazi-dominated Europe and a troubled heiress, among others. Perhaps the most vibrant character of all, however, is New York itself. In hard-boiled prose that ranges from gossipy to poetic, Mathews takes us from humble Bronx homes to rowdy Manhattan jazz clubs, from grimy back alleys to palatial Fifth Avenue estates ... The World of Tomorrow is a sweeping, impressive accomplishment. Perhaps it could have been 50 or so pages shorter, and the ghostly appearance of an Irish literary icon may push past the cusp of believability. Still, Mathews has written an insightful immigrant epic, not to mention a first-class literary thriller.
