Book Review
Paradises Lost
The first tome in an epic series set to cover the span of human history, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s riveting novel "Paradises Lost" introduces an immortal who’s grown weary of human foibles, but who still recognizes the wondrous...
Book Review
Becoming Baba Yaga
First a force within Eastern European oral traditions before flowing into popular culture as a frightening witch, Baba Yaga is a character whose many incarnations suggest fascinating depth. Stories about her are teased out and mined for...
Book Review
A Lie for a Lie
A high achiever risks all that she’s ever cherished in the hope of realizing a dissipating dream in the exciting thriller "A Lie for a Lie". In Jane Buckingham’s psychological thriller "A Lie for a Lie", a star student forges a...
Book Review
Gather the Olives
Awing over Jerusalem as “the place of all places,” Bret Lott’s memoir "Gather the Olives" relishes in time spent among Israelis and Palestinians. Lott, who loves Hebrew Bible “stories for their action, their mystery, their terror...
Book Review
Smothermoss
Alisa Alering’s alluring novel "Smothermoss" enters the bloodstream of Appalachian storytelling like a fevered dream, unraveling the intergenerational tales of women living on the edge. Half-sisters born five years apart, Sheila and...
Book Review
Jellyfish Have No Ears
Adèle Rosenfeld’s "Jellyfish Have No Ears" is a poignant novel in which lost hearing reshapes a woman’s understanding of the world. Louise has always been somewhat “uprooted from language” because of her imperfect hearing. Now...
Book Review
A Photographic History of Snakebite Treatments
An esoteric but informative text, "A Photographic History of Snakebite Treatments" covers centuries of human responses to the dangers (and potential uses) of snake venom. Bob Ashley, Charles F. Smith, and Gordon W. Schuett’s "A...
Book Review
Soldier in Germany
In the moving novel "Soldier in Germany", a young man is pulled from the comfort of military routines by an exciting woman. In James Snyder’s involving historical novel "Soldier in Germany", a scarred Vietnam veteran heals while posted...