Jo’s Book Reviews

TRUST by Hernan Diaz

Reviews:

…intricate, cunning and consistently surprising…. — NEW YORK TIMES

Trust is an ingeniously constructed historical novel with a postmodern point. Throughout, Diaz makes a connection between the realms of fiction and finance. — NPR

Jo’s notes: I should have actively disliked this book—I am not a fan of gimmicks or dense narration. But the truth is I loved it—the four POV sections weaving a tale that kept me turning pages.

HEDGE by Jane Delury

Reviews:

Please do not let any other review or well-meaning friend give away this novel’s stunning evolution. A great portion of its magic lies in how it turns a radical corner, gaining speed and burning urgency — then slowly becoming something else: deeper, denser, wiser. Readers will (and should) trust it to take us where we need to go — even if not where we expected. — WASHINGTON POST

A persuasive, quietly satisfying portrait of a woman’s midlife crisis and the essential choices she makes. — KIRKUS

Jo’s notes: I was impatient with this at first because it read like a genre romance novel and frankly, I am finding more female protagonists of a certain age stereotypical. That said, I stayed up all night to finish it!

THE NIX by Nathan Hill

Review of THE NIX:

“Hill is such a gifted and tenderhearted storyteller that “The Nix” doesn’t need these postmodern digressions and gimmicks….. Then again, if his primary aim was to represent, in all its tragicomic contradictions, the devolution of a country that could conceivably elect Donald J. Trump as its next president, perhaps chaotic, surrealist excess was the only choice to make in this supersize and audacious novel of American misadventure.”—NY TIMES REVIEW

Reviews of Hill’s latest novel, WELLNESS:

“Hill blends a family chronicle with cultural critique in his expansive and surprisingly tender latest . . . This stunning novel of ideas never loses sight of its humanity.”—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“Warmhearted . . . A bittersweet novel of love gained, lost, and regained over the course of decades.”—KIRKUS REVIEWS

Jo’s Notes: I read the debut novel when it first came out several years ago. I rarely reread anything (so many books—so little time) but decided to take another look at this when it was selected by my book club. I have not regretted the decision, and look forward to reading his newest work.

Swimming Back To Trout River by Linda Rui Feng

Reviews:

“With lean prose and assured storytelling, this debut novel describes a family fractured by geography, ambition and the ripple effects of China’s tumultuous 20th-century history.”—NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (NEW AND NOTEWORTHY)

“Feng’s striking debut novel chronicles what happens to a young Chinese family in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. Feng captures humor and grief in equal measures…and she elegantly references Chinese concepts of fate and luck while building toward a poignant conclusion. This resonates from page one.”—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Jo’s Notes: Quiet, elegant, moving.

Notes On An Execution by Danya Kukafka: Ansel Packer is scheduled to die in twelve hours. He knows what he’s done, and now awaits execution, the same chilling fate he forced on those girls, years ago. But Ansel doesn’t want to die; he wants to be celebrated, understood. Through a kaleidoscope of women—a mother, a sister, a homicide detective—we learn the story of Ansel’s life. Blending breathtaking suspense with astonishing empathy, Notes on an Execution presents a chilling portrait of womanhood as it simultaneously unravels the familiar narrative of the American serial killer.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE 2023 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL • NEW YORK TIMES BEST CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR

Reviews:

“Defiantly populated with living women . . . beautifully drawn, dense with detail and specificity . . . Notes on an Execution is nuanced, ambitious and compelling.” —Katie Kitamura, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (Editors’ Choice)

Jo’s Notes: A touch read but worth the journey.

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams: [From cover jacket:] …a cunningly crafted novel with myriad twists and a vibrant cast of characters. Drawing on her astute inside knowledge of the [Supreme] Court and the political landscape, Abrams shows herself to be not only a force for good in politics and voter fairness but also a major new talent in suspense fiction.

Jo’s notes: prepare to learn more about the inside workings of the Supreme Court and Washington politics in general than you could ever have imagined in your high school Civics class!

Reviews:

• Read the review in Book Marks

Horse by Geraldine Brooks: Based on the historical account of a champion racehorse of the 1850s, Brooks gives the reader a lot more in this dual time story. The two Black protagonists—one the enslaved groom whose devotion to the horse of the title is both heartbreaking and heartwarming; the other a modern-day doctoral student finding his dissertation topic when he uncovers a painting of a thoroughbred in his neighbor’s trash. Brooks looks hard at the racism of the pre-Civil War south and then turns her focus to the racism of modern America. It is a hard book to put down and the ending is a shocker.

Reviews:

• Read the review in Kirkus Reviews

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby: Two fathers—one Black and one white and both ex-cons—come together to solve and avenge the brutal murder of their gay sons. Fair warning: there is a LOT of violence on these pages, but to my surprise I did not find any of it gratuitous. Rather it helped me understand these two lost men who were trying to understand the life their sons had chosen—and each other. In some strange way, this is a story about families—the ones we have and the ones we choose.

Reviews:

• Read the review in NPR
• Read the Review in Kirkus

TOMORROW and TOMORROW and TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin: I will admit up front that reading this novel, I entered a strange new world—the world of video gaming. The principal characters are both players and creators and the book follows their connection from childhood through their mid-thirties as they create games that make them famous—and a lot of money. For me the heart of the novel was the friendship of Sam and Marx, although many would focus on the love story between Sam and his brilliant, beautiful (aren’t they all?) business partner and game genius, Sadie. The fact is, I didn’t like Sadie and wanted something better for Sam. But that was me. Using games as a vehicle for spinning a story is certainly unique and timely, and I give the author credit for coming up with something fresh without tipping over into the realm of gimmicks.

Reviews:

• Read the review in The Guardian
• Read the Review in NPR

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson: An estranged brother and sister come together as adults to listen to the recording their late mother has left them revealing the secrets of her life. The hearing of the recording is orchestrated by their mother’s lawyer in the house where she lived. In the freezer is one last black cake she tells her children they will share when the time is right—and they will know when that is. This debut novel is rich in adventure and detail with a cast of characters it is hard to forget.

Reviews:

• Read the Review in the Harvard Review Online