This review is going to be short, because the book I want to talk about is short. Unlike my review, which will be a fine and serviceable discussion about the merits and flaws of the book, Lina Rather’s Sisters of the Vast Black is a lovely and dazzling piece of writing. On an organic spaceship sailingContinue reading “‘Sisters’ a Novella with ‘Vast’ Thrills”
Author Archives: Elisabeth Ring
‘How High’ Soars with Sorrow, Joy
There’s a lot to be said for a good story cycle. I was entranced by Julia Phillips’ Disappearing Earth, about the disappearance of two girls on a remote Russian peninsula and how that crime both rocks a community and hardly affects its petty problems at all. Sequoia Nagamatsu’s How High We Go in the DarkContinue reading “‘How High’ Soars with Sorrow, Joy”
‘Say Nothing’ Speaks Volumes of Irish Troubles
This week has brought an unwanted opportunity to think about the conflicts that have stretched through my not-very-long life. Most of the headlines and footage have been about violence and destruction in the Middle East. Which is not unearned, but it’s also easy to assume that all of the violence has been centered in thatContinue reading “‘Say Nothing’ Speaks Volumes of Irish Troubles”
‘Wild’ a Lovely ‘Psalm’ for the Discontent
Not to judge a book by its cover or anything, but frankly I expected more robots in Becky Chambers’ Psalm for the Wild Built. I mean, there’s one on the cover, but you don’t even hear about a single robot until halfway through. That said, once I moved past my precious expectations, I found this PsalmContinue reading “‘Wild’ a Lovely ‘Psalm’ for the Discontent”
‘Seek You’ Brings Connection to Loneliness
In case anyone’s noticed, we’re in a pandemic right now. The last two years have been, in many places and for many people, a study in loneliness. Throughout 2020, bloggers and news outlets weighed in on how to combat “skin hunger,” the phenomenon of longing for human touch. We keep searching for a “new normal”Continue reading “‘Seek You’ Brings Connection to Loneliness”
‘The Searcher’ Finds Satisfying End
Tana French has made a name for herself with dark, brooding Irish mysteries, particularly those revolving around one shifting group of detectives (The Dublin Murder Squad). I’ve always loved her language and dedication to place, but her subtle touch in her newest mystery, The Searcher, has me enchanted in a whole new way. All CalContinue reading “‘The Searcher’ Finds Satisfying End”
‘Sisters’ Takes Sibling Closeness Too Far
Sibling relationships are such a tossup; they can be close and warm, they can be more or less indifferent, and they can be sharp and cruel. Some siblings manage to be all three at the same time. Sisters seem to magnify the intricacies of such relationships—and the heights and the depths possible within them. SoContinue reading “‘Sisters’ Takes Sibling Closeness Too Far”
‘Chouette’ is Strange, but Lingers
Claire Oshetsky’s new book, Chouette, has one of the strangest and most gripping beginnings I have ever read: “I dream I’m making tender love with an owl. The next morning, I see talon marks across my chest that trace the path of my owl lover’s embrace. Two weeks later, I learn that I’m pregnant. YouContinue reading “‘Chouette’ is Strange, but Lingers”
‘Rising’ Tension Drives ‘Malibu’
All happy families are alike, as Tolstoy says, but that’s not the case in Malibu Rising, which follows a quartet of super-close siblings who would probably describe themselves as a happy family—even if poverty, fame, and necessity have made their version of happiness looks a little more complicated than most. Nina Riva, a 25-year-old modelContinue reading “‘Rising’ Tension Drives ‘Malibu’”
Meeting ‘People’ at the Heart of ‘Vacation’
There was a moment while I was reading People We Meet on Vacation when a friend brought up an extremely mundane topic. My thumbs began typing, “This guy I know has weirdly strong opinions about that,” but I didn’t hit send because I realized just in time that not only do I not know thatContinue reading “Meeting ‘People’ at the Heart of ‘Vacation’”
Ring Reads 