Fiction | Your Book Group

Goods & Effects

CatherineOctober 9, 2021October 13, 2021Leave a comment

Al Schnupp 2021 Hannah Mercer, bereft after the death of her husband and sons, hits the road in an old truck that she’s converted into a mobile dry goods store in this novella. The story definitely has its charm; by the last page readers will be invested in the welfare … Continue ReadingGoods & Effects

Fiction

Inseparable

CatherineSeptember 25, 2021September 25, 2021Leave a comment

Read a review of Inseparable, Simone de Beauvior’s fictionalized account of childhood friendship. Translated from the French. … Read More >Inseparable

Fiction

Apples Never Fall

CatherineSeptember 22, 2021October 23, 2021Leave a comment

Liane Moriarty, 2021, Macmillan Audio – Narrated by Caroline Lee Troy, Brooke, Logan, and Amy Delaney lived and breathed tennis for their entire childhoods – and prior to selling their Sidney tennis school, so did their parents, tennis coaches Stan and Joy. In Moriarty’s latest novel, readers get an up-close … Continue ReadingApples Never Fall

Fiction

The Young Unicorns

CatherineAugust 30, 2021October 23, 2021Leave a comment

The Austins are in New York City – and so is danger. … Read More >The Young Unicorns

Fiction

The Stone Angel

CatherineAugust 29, 2021October 23, 2021Leave a comment

Margaret Laurence 1964, McClelland & Steward – First publication of the Manawaka Sequence I was intrigued to discover a new-to-me Canadian author. In reading the book, I was introduced to Hagar Currie Shipley, ninety and full of spark. I met her father and brothers, her husband Bram, her nemesis Lottie, … Continue ReadingThe Stone Angel

Fiction

Lillian on Sunday: Stories of the Human Heart

CatherineAugust 19, 2021August 28, 2021Leave a comment

This collection of vignettes and short stories has some standout pieces. … Read More >Lillian on Sunday: Stories of the Human Heart

Fiction

The Bell Jar

CatherineAugust 18, 2021October 23, 2021Leave a comment

Five stars for Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar,” as experienced in e-book and audiobook format. … Read More >The Bell Jar

Fiction

The Stone Diaries

CatherineAugust 17, 2021September 4, 2021Leave a comment

Carol Shields, 1993 Meet Daisy Goodwill, the daughter of a woman who (arguably) died without knowing she was a mother. Daisy may as well have been carved from stone. She is, after all, the daughter of a stonecutter, and eventually she is the wife of two men (not at the … Continue ReadingThe Stone Diaries

Fiction

Ilsa

CatherineJuly 21, 2021September 5, 2021Leave a comment

(Madeleine L’Engle, 1946) Ilsa is a wild thing; many love her but she is largely unattainable. The author has chosen to portray Ilsa as reflected through the eyes of Henry Porcher, who first meets her as a child, and then years later as an adult. Henry worships Ilsa, and in … Continue ReadingIlsa

Fiction

Gone Before Spring / No Doubt in My Mind

CatherineJuly 17, 2021October 13, 2021Leave a comment

I first reviewed these books on my “Michi-centric” blog, Bookish In the Mitten. It’s a bit more personal in nature than most of the reviews on this blog. The text of that review is below. Book cover images are used with the author’s permission. In recent years, through the magic … Continue ReadingGone Before Spring / No Doubt in My Mind

Fiction

And Both Were Young

CatherineApril 14, 2021September 5, 2021

Madeleine L’Engle 1949, 1983 I’m working my way through L’Engle’s entire fiction body of work over the coming months by purchasing used copies of each title. I’ll provide a synopsis of each title as I finish, and I will share my impressions – but, I have a strong personal bias … Continue ReadingAnd Both Were Young

Fiction

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

CatherineMarch 15, 2021September 5, 2021

What an original, disturbing, complex novel. This author might be a genius. … Read More >We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

Fiction

Oslo, Maine

CatherineFebruary 26, 2021August 24, 2021

Marcia Butler, 2021 This review starts with a caveat: the moose’s presence in this novel is not a quirky, funny plot device like the moose that strolls into town in the TV series “Northern Exposure.” Instead, the book opens with a depiction of animal suffering that was so well-written that … Continue ReadingOslo, Maine

Fiction

Practical Magic

CatherineFebruary 14, 2021September 5, 2021

If you need a little escape, pour a cup of witches brew – or chamomile tea, I suppose – and settle in with this entertaining story of magic and love. … Read More >Practical Magic

Fiction

Evensong

CatherineJanuary 8, 2021August 24, 2021

Read this book when you can’t sleep. It’s pleasantly engaging without raising your heart rate and it won’t give you nightmares. … Read More >Evensong

Fiction

To Kill A Mockingbird

CatherineDecember 8, 2020September 5, 2021

A sad book with some sweetness. It’s hard to read about Atticus Finch and not picture him as Gregory Peck. … Read More >To Kill A Mockingbird

Fiction

Jude the Obscure

CatherineNovember 1, 2020September 5, 2021

If you would like to experience this (the Kindle version is 99 cents), then read the book by all means – but make plans to anchor yourself in the present afterwards. Hug your spouse, your child – or your pig. Play happy music. Take a walk. Count your blessings. … Read More >Jude the Obscure

Fiction

Heft

CatherineNovember 1, 2020September 5, 2021Leave a comment

Listen to this book to restore your faith in humankind. … Read More >Heft

Fiction

The Green Road

CatherineAugust 23, 2020September 5, 2021

This book stirs up strong emotion without being maudlin. (Maudlin or not – you’ll still need tissues.) … Read More >The Green Road

Fiction

Once Upon a River

CatherineAugust 12, 2020August 24, 2021Leave a comment

If you enjoy flights of fancy, 19th century fiction, or stories that take place in the UK, add this book to your list. Best listened to when life is hectic and you need a little magic. … Read More >Once Upon a River