Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro Sean Dietrich’s newest novel, The Incredible Winston Browne (Thomas Nelson 2021) reads as if it is a gift from Dietrich to his readers. It is singularly beautiful. Rich with Dietrich’s trademark everyman eloquence and his profound insights into the human condition, Winston Browne tells the story of a dying man […]
“Florida,” by Lauren Groff
December 2, 2021 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Bonnie Armstrong Groff’s only short story collection, Florida, is an example of her exploration of individuals pitted against not only society but also their own conflicted and, often, unarticulated desires. These stories present themes of domesticity versus wildness; nature as uncaring and uncontrollable; claustrophobic security versus unmoored rootlessness; and Florida as both a […]
“Matrix,” by Lauren Groff
December 1, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith Gainesville, Florida, author Lauren Groff is a rising star in the world of fiction writers. She has written six award-winning books, most recently the novel Matrix (Riverhead Books, 2021) and the short story collection Florida (Riverhead Books, 2018). These two works showcase the author’s breadth and depth with […]
“The Girls in the Stilt House,” by Kelly Mustian
November 17, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Adele Annesi Longing, aspiration, and murder converge in rural 1920s Mississippi to link and forever shape the lives of two diverse teenage girls in Kelly Mustian’s haunting debut novel, The Girls in the Stilt House. Young runaway Ada Morgan vows never to return to the cruelty of her father’s house and her hardscrabble […]
“The Shaadi Set-Up,” by Lillie Vale
November 10, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Tamatha Cain This delightful and deceptively deep romance delivers laughs, sighs, and heartfelt cheers as former sweethearts battle the past and the expectations of family to find their way to happily-ever-after. The prose is mouth-watering at times, as are the passages describing swoon-worthy food. When Rita, an Indian-American furniture restorer, signs herself and […]
November Read of the Month: “When Women Danced With Trees—35 Unexpected Stories,” by Marina Brown
November 3, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro Versatile, talented Marina Brown once more has written a stunning gem of a book with her collection of short stories in When Women Danced with Trees—35 Unexpected Stories (Gilberte Press 2021). Here, the extraordinary and the unexpected collide with the ordinary and the everyday. With the occasional appearance of magical […]