Kingsolver creates a heartbreaking and often amusing work of fiction that feels so real you think you are reading a biography. Through Demon’s voice the reader falls into his world. The poignant story explores life’s choices and the harsh consequences of a single mistake or a series of tiny blunders. In Demon the reader finds a friend worth rooting for surrounded by a compelling cast of supporting characters.
Demon's story begins with his traumatic birth to a single mother in a single-wide trailer, looking 'like a little blue prizefighter.' For the life ahead of him he would need all of that fighting spirit, along with buckets of charm, a quick wit, and some unexpected talents, legal and otherwise.
In the southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, poverty isn't an idea, it's as natural as the grass grows. For a generation growing up in this world, at the heart of the modern opioid crisis, addiction isn't an abstraction, it's neighbours, parents, and friends. 'Family' could mean love, or reluctant foster…
After reading A Gentleman in Moscow I wanted to read another book by Towles. I didn't stop with one, instead, I read every one he has published. Not a single one disappointed. As with all of his books, The Lincoln Highway is populated with vivid, memorable characters that will stay with the reader long after you put the book down set in 1954. Eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson and his 8 year-old brother Billy set out on a road trip from Nebraska to California, following the postmarks on a collection of postcards, in search of their estranged mother. Things go awry when they are joined by a pair of Emmett's buddies from reform school. Told through varying points of view, the story twists and turns and winds down the highway.
I am not usually a big fan of nonfiction, but with Erik Larson I make an exception. I have read six of his nonfiction works and the one fiction audiobook. The Devil in the White City was the first one I read and my favorite by far. Some of his books are a bit heavy with facts: weather minutiae in Isaac's Storm and air sorties in The Splendid and the Vile. Somehow he manages to make architectural plans and flower planting almost as interesting as the serial killer on the loose in Chicago during the 1893 World's Fair.
This one will likely turn any fiction reader into a fan of narrative nonfiction.
The Chicago World Fair was the greatest fair in American history. This is the story of the men and women whose lives it irrevocably changed and of two men in particular- an architect and a serial killer. The architect is Daniel Burnham, a man of great integrity and depth. It was his vision of the fair that attracted the best minds and talents of the day. The killer is Henry H. Holmes. Intelligent as well as handsome and charming, Holmes opened a boarding house which he advertised as 'The World's Fair Hotel' Here in the neighbourhood where he was once…
A coming-of-age story about abuse, loss, and the power of forgiveness, A Sparrow Falls takes the reader to the small community of Tolerance, Arkansas as the innocence of the 1950s moves toward the turbulent 1960s. Sarah is unaware that her life amid poverty and violence is not the norm. When she finds herself at the center of a series of life-changing events that get in the way of her happiness, she struggles to reclaim her self-esteem. Can she find peace within herself and learn how to forgive those who hurt her?
Disturbing. Powerful. In every way a gripping story.
