Several years ago, I read a book titled Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler. I described the reading experience as floating down a lazy river, for the story ebbed and flowed in a way that was, for lack of a better term, peaceful. When I learned that Fowler had a new book coming out, I was eager to pick it up and was expecting a similar writing style. I was … [Read more...]
‘The Leavers’: Immigration, Identity, and Family
In the fifth grade, Deming’s mother disappeared. An undocumented Chinese immigrant, she went to work one day and never came home. It’s easy for us, the readers, to speculate about what happened, but for Deming, the disappearance was as shocking as it was nonsensical. Soon, he was adopted by a white family in another city and taken away from the only home he knew. These events … [Read more...]
Family Secrets and the Search for ‘Sylvie Lee’
Sylvie Lee was 9 when she returned home from the Netherlands to her parents and sister in New York City. She, like many children of Chinese immigrants, spent the first third of her life abroad while her parents got their footing in a new country. The dichotomy between her two lives - the before and after - turned Sylvie into somewhat of a loner. Smart, beautiful, and popular, … [Read more...]
‘The Immortalists’: Balancing Life, Death, and the In-Between
What would you do if you knew the date of your death? Would you live life recklessly, knowing your actions would not have consequences because your future was set? Or would you live more cautiously, trying to create order out of chaos because you felt a lack of control? Or, does knowing result in a self-fulfilling prophecy, rather than the fulfillment of a destiny? These are … [Read more...]
‘The Last Romantics’ a Compelling Family-Driven Drama
I'm a sucker for family dramas. There's something about flawed characters with complex relationships that pulls me in every single time. The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin was no different and I raced through the book in three days. I found myself reaching for it when I couldn't sleep at 3 a.m., and again when I woke up in the morning.The Last Romantics is about the four … [Read more...]