The House of Fog and Sand, Andre Dubus III
This book was skillfully written, juxtaposing a Persian who has fled Iran to America and an American woman who is struggling to find her place and her peace in her father's old home. It takes places in Oakland, San Francisco, San Mateo, and on the coastline between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay; Dubus' skill in portraying places i have lived and love is exquisite. His characters are drawn clearly and played off of one another for full impact. At the risk of giving spoilers, Dubus also has the guts to not have a 'happily ever after' ending that is almost gruesome in its accuracy of the everyday macabre of a human downward spiral.
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The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Melissa Bank
I'm not sure what i was expecting here, but it wasn't what i found... which was a charming set of stories chronicling a young woman from adolescence into old age. Enjoyable.
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Finder: Sin Eater, Carla Speed McNeil
First trade paperback of this series; highly recommended by miss izzy. Really good; i enjoyed the art and the storylines both.
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The Bridegroom, Ha Jin
I loved Waiting ,and somehow didn't catch that this was a book of shorts when we bought it. I was game when i picked it up, and wasn't disappointed. Jin's writing still has the clarity and piercing insight i loved in Waiting, but these stories were much, much darker. The first several i were dark like a Jimsoney story, only told from a Chinese perspective. Recommended.
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A Widow for One Year, John Irving
This was a book of healing for me. Not because of the content of the book itself, but because it was long, engaging, and a great read at a time when i needed to chew through five or six hundred pages in 24 hours. I still think Irving is a good writer, and i especially found the last few lines of the book pleasing as a circle-through. I wonder if James has read this... it made me think of Grey Wings.
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Mixed Magics, Diana Wynne Jones
Charming children's tales recommended by Neil Gaiman and Carrie.
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Gumshoe Gorilla, Keith Hartman
I think i might have found this sequal more clever if i had read it in closer conjunction to The Gumshoe, The Witch, and the Virtual Corpse. It didn't seem as groundbreaking as the last, but amusing and fun nonetheless.
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