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Adirondack Mendel’s Aufruf: Welcome to Chelm’s Pond by Sandor Schuman is a fictional book, taking place in upstate New York which reprises some of the old Jewish tales of the fools of Chelm.
About: Seduction by M.J. Rose is another novel in the Reincarnationist series. This is the fifth book in the series and deals with past lives as do the other books. 384 pages Publisher: Atria Books Language: English ISBN-10: 1451621507 My Rating for Seduction – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format* More books by M. J. Rose Thoughts: Seduction by M.J. Rose (website) is a detailed and somewhat haunting novel. This Gothic tales touches on reincarnation (as do the other books in the series), love and loss, pain and family secrets. Half the book takes place in present time, the other half in the past in which author Victor Hugo is a major part of. While I do enjoy Ms. Rose’s work and writing style, the fact that Hugo was in the book was a major draw for me. While there is some romance in the book, as well as a few paranormal elements (not the normal genre I read) they are sub-stories to the main narrative. As the other books in the series, this one also deals with finding about past lives and how they affect individuals to this day. While the book can be read as a…
Maya’s Notebook by Isabel Allende is a fictional novel and a coming of age story. Ms. Allende is an award winning, internationally famous, Chilean writer.
About: And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini is the long awaited novel by this bestselling author. Mr. Hoseini’s previous novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, sold more than 38 million books. 416 pages Publisher: Riverhead Sold by: Penguin Publishing Language: English My rating for And the Mountains Echoed — 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format* More Books by Khaled Hosseini Thoughts: I was glad to receive a copy of And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (website | Facebook) from the publisher as I enjoyed both his previous books. When I started reading the book two things became immediately clear – this was not going to be another heart wrenching novel and that this is going to be an ambitious story. This is a character driven novel, the story takes place all over the world over decades, but it’s the characters that make you want to come back for the next story. One the reader gets through about half the book, the reader can put together the individual pieces which make the work a whole. What I enjoyed in the narrative were the subtleties which Mr. Hosseini weaves into his work. Reading the stories…
Zorro by Isabelle Allende is a novel that retells the story of the hero. Ms. Allende is one of the most prominent authors in the world and this book is very different from the ones she is known for
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker is a novel taking place in New York, 1899. The story weaves two mythical creature from two different cultures to create a different kind of story altogether.
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Article first published as Book Review: My Mother’s Secret by J.L. Witterick on Blogcritics. About: My Mother’s Secret : Based on a True Holocaust Story by J.L. Witterick is a fictionalized account of an actual woman who hid 15 Jews (and a German soldier) in her small house, located in a small Polish town, during the Nazi invasion of World War II. While the lines in the book between fact and fiction are blurred, it is still a fascinating read. 208 pages Publisher: iUniverse (March 25, 2013) Language: English ISBN-10: 1475962576 My rating for My Mother’s Secret – 5 Buy this book from Amazon.com More Recommended World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: My Mother’s Secret by J.L. Witterick (website | Facebook)tells the story of Franciszka Halamajowa and her daughter Helena, two women with enough guts and street smarts to last several lifetimes. While the subject might sound depressing, this book (which targets towards the lower end of the YA crowd) is an uplifting testament to the acts of one woman and her family. The book is told in a very sparring manner (and hence a very quick read), the author writes in a matter-of-fact manner using short sentences, paragraphs…
About: My Ántonia by Willa Cather was written in 1918 and is considered the last in the “Prairie Trilogy” following O Pioneers! (review) And The Song of the Lark. This book is considered one of the greatest novels written by an American. 176 pages Publisher: Dover Publications Language: English ISBN-10: 0486282406 My rating for My Ántonia — 4 Buy this book in paper or FREE in electronic format More Books by Willa Cather Thoughts: My Ántonia by Willa Cather is a story within a story. The narrator is a friend of Jim who is stuck in a loveless marriage. Jim is consumed by a fantasy girl, Ántonia, who he remembers from childhood. The characters in the book well written, realistic but form a strange group, Ms. Cather does an amazing job writing a book from the perspective of a young man. To be honest, if I knew that this would be the case I probably won’t have read the book to begin with. I’m always weary of stories written from a perspective which the author can never perceive. Even though a man tells the story, this is not how a man would tell a story. The narrative might be in the voice of a man, but it is a woman writing as…
Tolstoy lays off the aristocracy in this part and concentrates more on the “war” part of the novel. In the novel, is in real life, the lines between good and bad are very murky and usually depends on which line you’re standing on.
Article first published as Book Review: The Missing File by D.A. Mishani on Blogcritics. About: The Missing File by D.A. Mishani is mystery novel taking place in Holon, Israel. The book has been translated from Hebrew and is one of the few police mysteries / procedural written in Israel. 304 pages Publisher: Harper Language: English ISBN-10: 0062195379 My rating for The Missing File — 5 Buy this book in paper or electronic format Thoughts: The Missing File by D.A. Mishani (Facebook | Goodreads) caught me unprepared, I was expecting a good book but what I found was exceptional. The structure is fascinating and I could not find any glaring plot holes in the narrative. The book is not only a mystery, but a fascinating glimpse into day-to-day Israeli life and culture without the preaching or propaganda. Mr. Mishani does not underestimate his readers and wrote an intelligent, well built novel. The protagonist of the book, police Detective Avraham Avraham, is not your typical hero. He is a grey man living in a grey world. Avraham is a good, solid police officer who smokes too much , drinks occasionally, visits his parents but keeps them at a distance, a bit disorganized…
