racism

James

JAMES rating: five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. My favorite book of 2024 so far is JAMES by Percival Everett (Doubleday/Penguin Random House, March 19, 2024), a retelling of Mark Twain‘s classic THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN from the point of view of Jim, Huckleberry Finn’s companion on that legendary raft trip down the Mississippi River. I can’t […]

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Text says: "The Madstone a Novel Elizabeth Cook Author of The Which Way Tree." Cover image shows a woman on horseback with two children on horseback, a boy and a girl. They are on a dirt road that stretches into the foreground with trees on other side. In the background is a huge sky with a sunset. The cover blurb says, "'The Madstone is a treasure: a brilliant, beautiful page-turner . . . Both a poignant love story and a riveting road novel–I devoured it.'–Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of The Double Bind."

The Madstone

THE MADSTONE rating: 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. I’ve fallen for another western: THE MADSTONE by Elizabeth Crook (Little, Brown and Company/Hachette, November 7, 2023). The madstone of the novel’s title is not just a talisman with reputed healing power: it is a symbol of found family, a mother’s determination to protect her children at all costs,

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Catching Up with Cosby

S.A. Cosby, I mean. ALL THE SINNERS BLEED rating: 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. While I think RAZORBLADE TEARS is a superior novel, I enjoyed ALL THE SINNERS BLEED (Macmillan, June 2023) more. I could easily see it becoming adapted into an Oscar-contender film or popular TV miniseries. Phenomenal pacing is Cosby’s forte, and he settles into

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