Julie came over to Warwick's from the darkness that is a chain bookstore in 2010 & has proven to be one of our finest booksellers. So much so, that she is now our Director of Events & Community Relations!
Destined to be an American classic! I haven't read anything this powerful, moving, and jaw-dropping in many, many years. C. E. Morgan tackles destiny, race, love and family with such thought provoking, stunning prose that even at its most disturbing, it's beautiful to read.
I know it's only February, and there is a lot of reading left to do, but this will be one of my absolute favorites for the year! The perfect novel... tragic, beautiful, heartbreaking... superb writing! Cannot wait to recommend this to everyone.
The Girls. THE GIRLS! (that's me shouting from the rooftops) As a bookseller we are always waiting for a book like this to come around. Beautifully subtle, brilliant writing. Brilliant brilliant brilliant!
How Emma Cline is able to capture that razor's edge before and after the events of 1969 is a work of genius. Some of the best writing I've read. Cannot wait to share this with EVERYONE. Destined to be THE book of 2016!
I could not put this book down…literally…I read it in one sitting! Not only was the story devastatingly captivating, Jung Yun’s writing is masterful. This story of an adult Korean-American son, and his relationship with his parents, specifically his mother, is not what you’d expect. Perception, and what is customary behavior for the only son, swerves into an unforeseen direction and what is revealed about his parents’ lives will leave you wondering – do any of us really know our parents? At times difficult to read, in Yun’s creative hand, this tragic story is brought to life with brutal honesty.
I loved this book! It's one of those quiet books that you think is going to be this quick little read, but turns into one of those books that stays with you long after you've finished it - sort of the way that Elegance of the Hedgehog did. You think this is going to be quirky & fantastical, but the underlying themes throughout make it much more than it first appears. The way that Janina weaves magical realism & fantasy into ordinary peoples' lives is done brilliantly. Complex personal issues - like coveting privacy, fear of losing something dear, and taking things for granted are exposed and dealt with in such a unique way that you don't really realize how deeply thoughtful this book is until you close it and think 'oh wow - that was something special'!
This book is not for the faint of heart. Not my usual type of book to recommend, it's very creepy, but really well done.
If you only read one book this year, read A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra – this will be the book everyone will be talking about. Set in war-torn Chechnya, Marra weaves a story with so many layers – the eight-year old girl, who escapes to the woods the night her father is taken to the pit by the Russians; the neighbor, who paints portraits of the taken and hangs them on the trees so no one will forget them; the one remaining doctor, who throughout the story is searching for her missing sister; the village informer and his father who hasn’t spoken to him in years. All of these characters lives are interwoven into this amazing tale that takes place over a five day period through flashback and memory. What humanity must endure to survive war, and the fear that could cripple them, is told in such heartbreaking and brutal detail, but at the same time, so beautifully written and full of hope that this book is not to be missed.
Ok...I know I have a tendancy to say this about all of the books that I like, but, this book is amazing! I loved Carolina de Robertis' first book, Invisible Mountain, so I was already a fan. But Perla is so beautiful, disturbing and thought provoking all at the same time. I love her style of writing, very lyrical with a touch of magical realism. I had never read about 'the disappeared' of Argentina, so I don't have anything to compare it to, but Carolina has brought it to life in a strong, poingnant way. This book is not for the faint of heart, but so worth it!
Every once in a while, a seemingly simple book comes along that stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page. The Snow Child is one of those books. Set in the wilderness of Alaska, a middle aged couple struggles to survive so many things…the elements, each other. They arrived young and full of hope, but the rough lifestyle of 1920’s Alaska has taken its toll. Still childless and searching for the meaning of who they are, they rekindle a part of their younger selves during the first snow of the season, and build a snow child…but in the morning, the scarf and hat are gone, only footprints going one way remain. Here begins Eowyn Ivey true art as a storyteller. She has you vacillating between reality and fantasy. Is this a figment of imagination or does this ‘snow child’ really exist? Ivey takes us on a complicated, yet simple journey. I think about the first scene of the book and am awed by the fact that this is her first novel!
A truly magnificent debut novel. Set in the 18th-century Swiss Alps, this hauntingly beautiful story of a young boy, brutally separated from his mother, rasied and betrayed by the monks who swore to protect him, and his ultimate rise as a musico. As compelling as the story is, Harnell's descriptions have you feeling every sound. If you loved Suskind's Perfume, you won't want to miss this. A story that will stay with you long after the last note is sung. -Julie
At the age of 92 Emmitt Conn is diagnosed with a brain tumor. This triggers memories he thought he had lost forever; memories of his role as a gendarme during the evacuation of the Armenians from Turkey. In this poignant tale of brutality and suffering comes a story of the human's spirit's will to survive. At times difficult to read, at other times uplifting in its honest telling of aging and redemption. -Julie
