As readers, we crave a story whose content and execution work together seamlessly to draw us in. Yet we don't always get all we want, and the question arises: when all is said and done, what tips the balance and makes us glad we have read a book?
READ MORE

The interesting point about most of the stories in Karen Joy Fowler's superb new collection is what doesn't matter in them. Most feature some element of the fantastic, which typically would be their point. But here, the fantastic element or idea is always less interesting than Fowler's character or milieu.
READ MORE

Elise Blazek is the core of Irena's life. Yes, Irena has a husband, Stepan, but when not at work, he's busy tinkering on a model of Karlstein Castle, a remnant of his memories of Plzen, Czechoslovakia, his childhood home.
READ MORE

The South American historical fiction that I have read tends to focus on the battles between the European powers for control of the continent. The large populations of indigenous Americans and imported slaves have been conspicuous by their absence, although themes …
READ MORE

Garden in the Wind, a collection of four short stories by Gabrielle Roy, is what I like to call "a quiet book." I use this term to describe books where all the action is under the surface …
READ MORE