Read the reviews of Ruth Ozeki’s third novel, “A Tale for the Time Being,” and you’ll see a stream of enthusiastic reactions: “Intellectually provocative,” “full of breakthroughs,” “a dreamy, spiritual investigation,” to name a few. Yes, the novel is all…
Reader’s Choice
‘Nora Webster’ Written by Colm Toibin
by Betty Hafner • • Comments Off
Nora Webster is not your typical heroine. The protagonist of Colm Toibin’s eighth novel is a newly widowed 44-year-old in southeastern Ireland who finds herself stripped bare of the satisfying life she’s been living when her husband dies after a…
‘All the Light We Cannot See’ Written by Anthony Doerr
by Betty Hafner • • Comments Off
As a newly announced finalist for the National Book Award, “All the Light We Cannot See” delivers the best you could ask for in historical fiction. The atmospherics are sharply described, allowing readers to feel in the moment, and the…
‘Orphan Train’ Written by Christina Baker Kline
by Betty Hafner • • Comments Off
A friend of mine who had read Christina Baker Kline’s bestselling novel “Orphan Train” asked me, “That didn’t really happen, did it?” She was appalled to hear that, yes, a social service program that sent orphans from the streets of…
‘The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry’ Written by Gabrielle Zevin
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Author Gabrielle Zevin thinks you can tell a lot about a person from what they read, and her newest novel, “The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry,” features that notion. It buzzes with book talk, and the charming characters within…
‘Sisterland’ Written by Curtis Sittenfeld
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Curtis Sittenfeld came into the spotlight with her 2005 novel “Prep” and 2008 bestseller “American Wife,” the latter loosely based on first lady Laura Bush. (Although “American Wife” is a positive portrayal of the main character, Mrs. Bush insists she’s…
‘A Constellation of Vital Phenomena’ Written by Anthony Marra
by Betty Hafner • • Comments Off
If you saw the “selfie” that author Anthony Marra took of the two of us at the Gaithersburg Book Festival, you might think the playful young man who sidled up to me was possibly a waiter who had delivered my…
“Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake” Written by Anna Quindlen
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Prolific journalist and writer Anna Quindlen talks of a wake-up call she got the day she read a news story aloud to her adult children. It involved “an elderly woman” who was later identified as being 60-something. “How is that…
“The Invention of Wings” Written by Sue Monk Kidd
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Sue Monk Kidd took readers back to South Carolina in the middle of the twentieth century in her hugely successful book, “The Secret Life of Bees.”In her newest novel, “The Invention of Wings” (2014), she once again returns to her…
“A Permanent Member of the Family” Written by Russell Banks
by Betty Hafner • • Comments Off
You might know Russell Banks from his books that were made into movies—“Affliction” (1989) and “The Sweet Hereafter” (1991)—or you might be familiar with his award-winning novel “Continental Drift” (1985). I’d like to introduce you to the new Banks I’ve…