As The Great Believers shows, the familiar nature of tragedy doesn’t make it any less painful to experience. But as it also shows, the struggle to find joy and move forward even within such tragedy is a thing of beauty, too.
Tag Archives: Would talk about at a party
‘Glory’ Asks Good Questions of Young Readers
Some Desperate Glory is an ambitious story in a lot of ways, and doesn’t have time to explore each issue fully. For the most part, Tesh knows this, and shows that her characters are only just starting to grapple with the long process of un- and re-learning.
‘Doors’ A Lovely, if Tangled, Tale
What initially seems like naivety or secondhand confessional turns out to be something far lovelier, and more than worth the time it takes to get there.
‘Fever’ a Little Known but Familiar History
In detailing this little-known series of events, Fever provides a reminder that our fraught political landscape is nothing new, nor is a swift wave that threatens to sweep society back a few decades.
‘Promises’ a Truly Golden Collection
Whether or not I was Olivarez’s target audience, I found myself profoundly moved by many poems in this collection.
‘Extinction’ a Multi-Layer Puzzle
The Extinction of Irena Rey is a layer cake of fascinating and thought-provoking elements, all of them strong enough to hold a story on their own but working together deliciously.
‘Liberty’s Daughter’ Balances Play with a Dark Underbelly
Liberty’s Daughter is a story about finding your way in the world—an easy message to relate to, even for those of us living on dry land.
‘Monsters’ Heavy on ‘Dilemma,’ Light on Answers
Much could and is said about the nature of “cancel culture,” but Claire Dederer’s Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma is more concerned with how we look at the art these accused, and sometimes convicted, have made.
‘Beauty’ a Balance Between Ordinary and Sublime
This is a book of stillness, and a book of contemplation. It’s a book about appreciation, and of change. Life, broadly, is all of those things, and All the Beauty in the World shows the value in recognizing that a little more.
‘Lone Women’ a Parable of Secrets and Prejudice in the Wild West
Although the town at the heart of Lone Women is made up of misfits, it quickly becomes clear that some fit in better than others. Secrets don’t stay secret forever, even if they’re locked up tight. The literal escape of Adelaide’s secret exacerbates tensions that were already fraying beneath the surface.
Ring Reads 