The characters of Lauren Groff’s multiple award winner, FATES AND FURIES, are conceived on the scale of the Greek tragedies the title suggests. Consumed by great love and great fury and driven by their sense of their fates. If you were captured by the gentle subtlety of Toni Fuhrman’s character treatments in One Who Loves, […]
For all who find magical power in nature or who grew up with fairy tales, Eowyn Ivey’s Snow Child is a must read. The book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and a winner of the UK National Book Award and with good reason. Ivey mixes the harsh reality of the 1920 Alaska wilderness […]
Authors frequently fall into a sour grapes attitude toward those who are more successful than they are, so I’ll try hard not to commit that sin. I do read best sellers to discover the key to success, as I’m sure other authors do, but end by discovering the same essential question. Does the story […]
I’m delighted to introduce author, Toni Fuhrman and her first novel, One Who Loves, just published in e-book by New Libri Press. I’ve loved Toni’s work for years; her grasp of the subtleties of human nature is as impressive as her prose. She has a gentle touch and a fluidity that will carry you through […]
Sue Monk Kidd’s novel of two women in the pre-Civil War South will stay with you, I promise. I’ll say no more. “There was a time in Africa the people could fly. Mauma told me this one night when I was ten years old. Mauma told me this one night when I was […]
Before I took off for Writers Conferences a couple of weeks ago, I reviewed Lori Roy’s Bent Road and asked readers to respond, giving me the titles and comments on good books they’ve read this year. Author Terry Persun did respond recommending Frederick Barthelme’s There Must Be Some Mistake. Here are his review and […]
I haven’t reviewed a book on my blog recently, and it troubles me. It isn’t because I haven’t been reading, but because I haven’t fallen in love with the book in my hands. So I’m asking your help. Send me the title and author of the best book (or books) you’ve read this year, plus […]
J. A. Chernov’s first novel is a thriller must read. I don’t read very many thrillers, because most of them pay little attention to characterization. Terrorizing is the chief aim. J. A. Cherov’s debut novel, Cascadia’s Curse, proved an exception. She is a technical and non-fiction writer by profession and this skill shows in the […]
My last blog on Renee Simpson’s I Can’t Swim, talked about the mastery of creating characters who are flawed, lovable and deeply authentic. Wallace Stegner, renowned author of the West explores the mysteries of love and endurance in this, the last novel of his award winning career. “Floating upward through a confusion of […]
I apologize for my absence from this blog for the last month, but hope you all have been too busy with holidays to notice. My excuse? I’ve been hard at work revising my fourth novel, HAWKINS LANE, and revising takes the kind of concentration that leaves other things untended. I sent it off to […]
Wishing you a peaceful holiday and a New Year with lots of reading time!
I’ve been asking myself why I’m drawn to novels whose characters are caught up in the crises of our times. By “our” times, you understand, I mean in my lifetime, which may be “historic” to many of you. In any case, the book I’m reviewing today, Carey Harrison’s Justice, shed light on that question. […]
Judith Kirscht lives and works in the beautiful Puget Sound area. She is the author of four published works of fiction with more to come soon!
