Archive for the ‘New York Times Notable Book Of The Year’ Category

Lorrie Moore – A Gate At The Stairs

29May10

A Gate At The Stairs is one of “those” books – beautiful writing, intelligent conversation flowing through the book, a sensitive plot, and a book with great potential. Tassie is a college student in the Mid-western town of Troy, who finds a job as a baby sitter for Sarah, an affluent restaurant-owner who adopts Emmie, […]


Filed under: Amazon's Best Books Of The Year, Books 2010, General Fiction, Lorrie Moore, New York Times Notable Book Of The Year, Orange Prize Shortlist, Review   |  9 Comments
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Toni Morrison – A Mercy

03Jan10

I finished this book over two weeks ago, and have been struggling to write the review ever since. I honestly hoped I wouldn’t have to drag it into the new year, but there you have it… This is the first Toni Morrison I’ve read, and I started the book with great trepidation. I’ve heard phenomenal […]


Filed under: Books 2009, Historical Fiction, New York Times Notable Book Of The Year, Nobel Prize Winners, Orange Prize Longlist, Review, Toni Morrison   |  16 Comments
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Junot Diaz – The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao

02Jan10

The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao won the Pultizer Prize for Fiction in 2008. The protagonist, Oscar, is an overweight American boy (with Dominican roots), who aspires to be the next Tolkien. His interests include writing passionately, role-playing games, comic books, sci-fi and fantasy, and of course, women. However, one bad experience with his […]


Filed under: Books 2009, Coming of Age, General Fiction, Junot Diaz, National Book Critics Circle Award, New York Times Notable Book Of The Year, Pulitzer Prize Winners, Review   |  18 Comments
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Anne Enright – The Gathering

24May09

I’m trying to read all the Booker winners, in the next couple of years. This painstakingly dull book, filled with unengaging characters and a pointless plot adds a serious blemish to my plan at the very outset. I struggled through the first thirty pages, and struggled some more ’til I hit page 89, in a […]


Filed under: Anne Enright, Booker Prize Winners, Books 2009, General Fiction, Guardian 1000, New York Times Notable Book Of The Year, Orange Prize Longlist, Review   |  8 Comments
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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Half Of A Yellow Sun

16May09

War destroys all that is left of innocence. It pulls people together, and it drives them apart. People are left asking questions, as they pine for their loved ones, as they try and contemplate the horrors of war, and as they struggle to survive – just so that they can see a better day. And […]


Filed under: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, Booker Prize Longlist, Books 2009, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Commonwealth Writers Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award finalist, New York Times Notable Book Of The Year, Orange Prize Winners, Review, War Stories   |  4 Comments
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