Book Reviews | Chapter 16

An Intimate Conversation

Jenn Shapland’s memoir explores the relationship between a writer and her subject

By Jane Marcellus | January 27, 2020

After discovering Carson McCullers’ correspondence with love interest Annemarie Clarac-Schwarzenbach, writer Jenn Shapland set off on a journey to learn more about McCullers, and in doing so, about herself. She tells the story of the journey in My Autobiography of Carson McCullers: A Memoir. Shapland will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on February 5 and at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on February 7.

Wielding Power Softly

Amy Greenberg’s new biography calls Sarah Polk the ‘First Lady who was a lady first’

By Peggy Burch | January 23, 2020

Amy S. Greenberg, professor of history and women’s studies at Penn State University, will talk about Lady First, her biography of Sarah Childress Polk, at the East Tennessee History Center in Knoxville on January 29.

Learning How To Be

In Shining Man, Todd Dills’ picaresque hero goes on a raucous journey of self-discovery

By Sean Kinch | January 22, 2020

Todd Dills’ novel Shining Man follows the adventures of a detached young man from Charlotte, North Carolina, who journeys to Chicago to find his missing father.

A Taste of Tennessee’s History

Taproots of Tennessee is equal parts history, cookbook, and travel guide

By Sarah Carter | January 21, 2020

Songwriter Lynne Drysdale Patterson visited 17 historical sites across the state to gather the material for Taproots of Tennessee, a book that reaches across genres to deliver historical narrative, travel information, and recipes from each place.

Housed in a Temple of Difference

Leaf Seligman’s vivid character studies reveal the quiet desperation of carnival performers

By Tina Chambers | January 16, 2020

Through 13 linked stories, Leaf Seligman’s From the Midway creates a world apart: the tragic, broken-down world of a second-rate traveling carnival in early 20th-century America. It is a beautifully written and deeply affecting meditation on the barriers that separate us from one another and from our own deepest longings.

A City of Women

A hotel in Paris connects the stories of three formidable women

By Tina Chambers | January 15, 2020

In All the Ways We Said Goodbye, Team W — the partnership nickname of bestselling authors Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White — embarks on a third novel. This time, the connecting strand running through the engrossing stories of three formidable women living in three different time periods is a place: the Ritz hotel in Paris. The authors will appear at Novel in Memphis on January 23.

Tias and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us

By Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, illustrated by Josie Del Castillo
Seal Press
304 pages
$30

“Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas — laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”

~ Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker