The Scapegoat by Mary Lee Settle My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is probably the best of the Beulah Quintet in terms of unity and approach, telling the story of one of the heirs to Beulah who grew rich … Continue reading →
Remembering Babylon by David MaloufMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This novel approaches its subject, the return of a white man raised by indigenous Australians to his community of origin, with a succinctness that almost renders the story slight. But … Continue reading →
Know Nothing by Mary Lee SettleMy rating: 3 of 5 stars I took up this book after having attempted to read it once and failing. I have much respect for Mary Lee Settle but, at times, I have very little … Continue reading →
No Longer at Ease by Chinua AchebeMy rating: 3 of 5 stars The title of this novel is curious, encapsulating the pervasive discomfort of the most modern period of Africa in Achebe’s trilogy. Obi Okonkwo, descendant of the protagonist of … Continue reading →
Arrow of God by Chinua AchebeMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This novel follows Things Fall Apart in time sequence and offers a look at a later period of the history of the Ten Towns, after the British have become … Continue reading →
Things Fall Apart by Chinua AchebeMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a book I have read at least a half dozen times, most recently a couple of weeks ago when I decided to read Achebe’s entire African Trilogy. … Continue reading →
A Sport of Nature by Nadine GordimerMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Gordimer is well established and has no need of another fan, which is a good thing, because I am not quite one. This is the third of her … Continue reading →
The House by the Churchyard by J. Sheridan Le FanuMy rating: 4 of 5 stars When you read the work of a good writer, you feel its distinctiveness, and if the book is a surprise to you, it feels as … Continue reading →
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters My rating: 2 of 5 stars I entered this book with high hopes and exited with a sigh that it had taken it so long to do so little. The story telegraphs its next … Continue reading →
Chronicle in Stone by Ismail KadareMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This is one of those books that makes its own ground; told through a child’s consciousness, the novel explores the life of a city prior to and during World … Continue reading →