Book Review
We're All in This Together
by Olivia Boler
Grouping a novella with short stories offers readers the chance to observe a writer’s range of tone, subject matter, and general skill. In this debut by a winner of the John Gardner Award for Short Fiction, the reader is rewarded with...
Book Review
Daughter of Heaven
by Olivia Boler
In her preface, the author warns her readers not to expect what she calls a “typical cookbook.” In fact, she professes a loathing for the kitchen and a late start in the preparation of the Chinese cuisine that is the book’s...
Book Review
Forged in Fire
by Olivia Boler
For all twenty writers in this new collection of essays, fire is, inevitably, a metaphor. The metaphors change, however, depending on the writers’ experiences; while some experiences are similar, especially the ones that involve...
Book Review
A Taste of the Sweet Apple
by Olivia Boler
One of the highest compliments given to good memoirs is that they read like novels, with premise and plot, rather than like dry book reports listing facts and dates. In this inaugural title in the Woodford Reserve Series in Kentucky...
Book Review
The Painting
by Olivia Boler
The year is 1870. The backdrops are the Franco-Prussian War and the nascent Westernization of Japan. These worlds are linked by a piece of paper used to wrap a handmade Japanese ceramic bowl exported to France; the wrapping is actually...
Book Review
In the Land of Invisible Women
by Olivia Boler
Whether or not a reader is familiar with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Qanta Ahmed’s debut memoir is a mesmerizing read. It’s also the perfect primer for those who want to know what life is really like for women in a rigidly...
Book Review
The Open Door
by Olivia Boler
The heroine of Elizabeth Maguire’s historical novel, Constance Fenimore Woolson, points out to her new friend Henry James that the “dilemma of modern female life” is the “freedom to think, to desire, but not the freedom to...
Book Review
Choices in Breast Cancer Treatment
by Olivia Boler
A diagnosis of breast cancer for a woman or loved one can be a frightening and, at times, emotionally paralyzing experience. There are so many questions: How bad is it? How far has it spread? What are the treatment options? And, perhaps...