Reviewed by Matthew Simmons One of the joys of going into a used bookstore is the possibility of finding some rare, forgotten treasure. If you’re a bibliophile, like I am, you know the feeling I’m talking about: the excitement of taking something possibly magical home, the deep, satisfying joy of finishing that book, knowing that […]
January Read of the Month: “A Land More Kind Than Home,” by Wiley Cash
January 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Philip K. Jason Set in rural Madison County, North Carolina in the mid-1980s, this quietly gorgeous novel is most remarkable for its exquisitely rendered sense of place. Mr. Cash not only gives us every kind of sensory news about the community in which he locates his story, but he also paints the […]
“Hardscrabble Road,” by George Weinstein
January 2, 2013 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith Hardscrabble Road, by George Weinstein, is a hard novel to read—not because it is poorly written, but because the MacLeod family at the heart of the story is so dysfunctional that at times it makes you want to cry. The tale is set in South Georgia during the Depression. Yet it […]
December Read of the Month: “Wings of Glass,” by Gina Holmes
December 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Mollie Waters Penny Taylor has had it rough. Growing up on a small farm under her daddy’s watchful eyes has never given her much opportunity to interact with people her own age, especially boys. In the summer of 1999, all of that changes when a bumper crop requires her father to hire additional […]
Wild Girls, by Mary Stewart Atwell
December 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Patricia O’Sullivan. Swan River, nestled in the Appalachian valley, is known for its poverty, its exclusive all-girl academy, and its wild girls who occasionally go on murderous rampages. Having grown up in Swan River, Kate Riordan has seen firsthand what the defunct mill town does to people. She calls the inhabitants deadnecks. “It’s […]
“Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women’s Literary Society,” by Amy Hill Hearth
November 14, 2012 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Phil Jason This review also appears in Florida Weekly. One can feel the immense joy of Amy Hill Hearth’s engagement in her first novel. It radiates through every scene and through every page. Sometimes, an exceptional writer finds an exceptional premise, and the result is a truly exceptional book. Such is the case with […]