Mexico
Sea Monsters by Chloe Aridjis
In spite of its lively premise and its lovely cover art Sea Monsters is one of the most lacklustre books I’ve read this year. Thankfully, Sea Monsters is a slight novel, just around 200 pages. Then again, those 200 pages are a drag. The summary for this novel is somewhat misleading as it promises the […]
MoreEverything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
“No one had ever taught me how to love. And perhaps, in that department, I was uneducable.” Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club is heartbreakingly beautiful collection of short stories. These stories have Benjamin Alire Sáenz written all over them: Mexican-American boys and men struggling with their identity (not feeling Mexican or American […]
MoreAfter Elias by Eddy Boudel Tan — book review
From its heartbreaking first pages, to its lump-in-your-throat epilogue, After Elias is an emotionally charged novel. “People can bring you pain, but nothing will hurt more than the pain you inflict on yourself.” Grief, guilt, regret, and fear dominate Tan’s narrative. Coen Caraway and Elias Santos are meant to have a fairy-tale wedding and live […]
MoreGods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia — book review
In spite of the beautiful attention that Gods of Jade and Shadow pays to the function of myths and deities in our everyday lives…this turned out to be an unexpectedly juvenile read… The swift storytelling found in Gods of Jade and Shadow might not appeal to those readers who prefer slower and more in depth […]
MoreLess by Andrew Sean Greer — book review
I’m sure I won’t be the first or last person to find Less to be a bit less than expected. Although it had its moments, for the most part I found myself annoyed by its employment of satire. Not only does Greer lampoon the literary world but almost every scene ends up being satirical of […]
More