Historical figures reevaluate the legacy of an abolitionist in Zoë Wicomb’s novel "Still Life". Plagued by writer’s block, an author allows the contemporaries of Thomas Pringle, a Scottish-born poet and abolitionist, to take the... Read More

This book is a worthy testament to everyone who participated in an admirable WWI endeavor. Jeffrey B. Miller chronicles a massive but little known humanitarian organization in his fascinating historical account, "Yanks Behind the Lines".... Read More

While it is politically inconvenient at times, science is certainly real and deserving of respect. Not to say that science doesn’t deserve scrutiny. Like experts in other fields, scientists too often lack the humility to acknowledge... Read More

Kim Hooper’s "All the Acorns on the Forest Floor" is a novel profligate in its pursuit of an idea: motherhood. As an organizing principle, motherhood is constructed across a series of chapter-long vignettes. Like the Fleetwood Mac song... Read More

Set in Lake Placid, the sharp-minded thriller The Girl Who Wasn’t There plays with expectations about whom to trust. Sydney had dreams of being a doctor, and he had the smarts to make it happen. Instead, he became the bagman for one of... Read More

In her memoir "Two Trees Make a Forest", Jessica J. Lee braids together geology, language, and family history as she explores her Taiwanese roots. Lee, who has a doctorate degree in environmental history and aesthetics, is attuned to... Read More

Anna Carey’s young adult novel This is Not the Jess Show starts in a familiar fashion, with a teenager in the suburbs dealing with drama. But there are unsettling events, too: Jess hears a chorus of chants in the morning, her dog has... Read More

In Zarrar Said’s epic novel "Pureland", a servant turned physicist wrestles with science, faith, and love. Salim is born a Pureland plebeian in 1950, but a levitating ascetic prophesies future greatness for him, influencing his fate.... Read More