Monica Carter, Book Reviewer

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Book Review

Wolves at the Door

by Monica Carter

Gunnar Staalesen’s "Wolves at the Door" is a chilling thriller made engrossing thanks to the sarcastic sallying and social conscience of its lead detective. Falsely accused of having child pornography on his computer, private... Read More

Book Review

Continental Divide

by Monica Carter

Alex Myers’s compelling and poignant coming-of-gender novel "Continental Divide" is set in Wyoming and delves into the difficult decisions that a trans person has to face—and how challenging the process of transitioning can be, both... Read More

Book Review

Under Nushagak Bluff

by Monica Carter

In Mia Heavener’s emotional novel "Under Nushagak Bluff", three generations of Indigenous Alaskan women are the focus. Set during the 1930s and 1940s, the book is gripping and understated. It takes place in Nushagak, a remote fishing... Read More

Book Review

Clio Rising

by Monica Carter

Paula Martinac’s latest novel, "Clio Rising", is both a story of lesbian friendship and a literary mystery. Livvie Bliss—a young, out lesbian fresh from the North Carolina countryside—and Clio Hartt—a closeted lesbian known for... Read More

Book Review

All the Fierce Tethers

by Monica Carter

“Metaphors get compromised. Get eroded and need updating. Rerouting. Reconstituting,” writes Lia Purpura. This is just one of the luminous themes mined in her glittering new essay collection "All the Fierce Tethers". In prose that is... Read More

Book Review

77

by Monica Carter

“How can you narrate terror?” This question is a central focus of Guillermo Saccomanno’s "77", set during the 1977 reign of terror in Argentina, the Dirty War. The military coup d’état of 1976 led to the killing of over thirty... Read More

Book Review

Tucumcari

by Monica Carter

The narrator of Patrick Parks’s surrealistic novel "Tucumcari" is a man who floats through memories and time, addressing ash-covered cities, the atom bomb, and his wife. Lean, direct prose anchors his feverish meanderings. Fantastical... Read More

Book Review

Theory of Bastards

by Monica Carter

Audrey Schulman’s engrossing novel is a combination of dystopian fiction, science fiction, and a love story, uniting bonobos and survival in the not-so-distant future. Dr. Francine Burk, a recent MacArthur winner, has decided to share... Read More

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