RaveWashington Independent Review of BooksLola is the narrator at the center of the story. She’s a newly engaged New Yorker in her late 30s who is delightfully (and maddeningly) sassy and smart. Her sharp, hilarious perspective is the key strength of this 21st-century look at love ... It’s here that Crosley’s book, initially presented as a smart, acerbic take on contemporary dating and mating, morphs into something far more nuanced. The author makes Lola’s experience wholly real and relatable but also unique. Throughout, the reader watches a woman evolve from somebody who believes she has a firm grasp on who she is into one who questions her own sanity ... Crosley perfectly illustrates the confusion and panic that come with making that momentous choice, while also commenting on the dubious value of today’s pervasive wellness culture ... I see Cult Classic as being in conversation with other works that blend humor and romance with light science fiction, such as the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Readers who gravitate toward witty, unconventional love stories will enjoy it very much. I certainly did.
Julia Fine
RaveThe Washington Independent Review of Books... Fine’s haunting second novel takes on early motherhood and reads like a modern-day The Yellow Wallpaper or The Turn of the Screw, exposing the vast gaps in our collective understanding about postpartum depression and psychosis ... Fine successfully brings to the surface much of the fraught anxieties and trauma of new motherhood that many moms who’ve survived it sometimes wish to forget ... fully immersive. As I read, I appreciated that I couldn’t predict where this well-crafted ghost story was going. Part of that uncertainty was a result of how poorly understood postpartum psychosis truly is, but it mostly came from the wonderful suspense pulsing throughout ... I held my breath page after page, eager to know what would happen. Would Megan keep her baby safe? Could she save herself? I won’t tell, and I won’t be able to let this story go anytime soon.
Jane Smiley
RaveThe Washington Independent Review of Books... might just be the perfect antidote for 2020. Readers looking for an escape from reality may find solace in this sweet fable for adults about an inquisitive Thoroughbred and all the creatures she encounters in her Parisian adventures. ... Smiley ascribes to every animal a self-awareness that isn’t meant to be cute or precious or even humanizing but is instead insightful and introspective and feels true to each species ... sneaks up on you. As much as I enjoyed following the introspective musings of the animals, I soon became caught up in the fates of the humans. As the novel progressed, I grew more invested in Etienne and his great grandmama. When Paras, Frida, and the boy find and begin to take care of each other, we realize how on the edge Etienne and Madame de Mornay are living ... This is an unusual novel that rewards readers willing to cast aside their cynicism and let themselves be transported to Paris, to see the Trocadéro and Champs de Mars through the eyes of these intrepid creatures. Plenty of children’s books feature animals at their center, but fables for adults are rare. In Perestroika in Paris, Jane Smiley has created a world where kindness is king, and that’s exactly where I want to be.
Jennifer Risher
PositiveWashington Independent Review of BooksRisher’s aim is to start an honest conversation about a taboo topic — to \'demystify wealth.\' She’s cognizant that hers is just one of many perspectives, and she hopes others will add their viewpoints to the larger conversation ... I read Risher’s memoir in about a day, fascinated by the jaw-dropping dilemmas and questions she faces that most of us won’t ever have to consider. \'Spoiling\' her kids, for example, takes on new meaning when she and David decide not to take private jets to Hawaii and \'only\' fly first class instead. And, of course, there’s plenty that money can’t buy. As prosperous as she and her family are, they aren’t spared great pain, which she writes about in moving detail ... while I’m glad she’s using her experience to uncover some of the mysteries surrounding wealth and privilege, Risher’s story left me wanting to learn from perspectives other than white, middle-class, and cisgender. I appreciated her invitation for more people to join this ongoing conversation.
Frank Huyler
RaveWashington Independent Review of BooksFrom the start, he grips readers ... Throughout, Huyler makes it impossible not to become emotionally wrapped up in these people’s stories of disease, injury, mental illness, and addiction ... These recollections provide glimpses of Huyler as a physician, obviously, but also as a father, husband, friend, and child ... The essays in White Hot Light can be read separately—in fact, many have appeared on their own elsewhere—but together, they speak powerfully, like the music on an album ... Frank Huyler provides an inside view of these heroes’ lives at a time when we need it most.
J. Courtney Sullivan
RaveThe Washington Independent Review of BooksSullivan successfully peels away the layers of domestic bonds, motherhood, friendship, class, and privilege. Although it’s disguised as a \'small book,\' lacking a big concept, I was riveted by the intimacy Sullivan presents in the lives of the two main characters, Elisabeth and Sam, and found the novel utterly absorbing ... At its heart, Friends and Strangers is an engrossing story about power dynamics within our closest relationships, especially female friendship ... Sullivan surrounds Elisabeth and Sam with a delightful, entertaining, and often moving cast of characters who bring humor, depth, and needed perspective to each woman’s story ... a breezy literary choice to enjoy while sitting by the pool, but it has enough heft for book clubs to sink their teeth into, too.
