Book Reviews

August 28, 2013 The short stories in Cary Holladay’s The Deer in the Mirror may be set mostly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but there is nothing staid or dated about them. Holladay will discuss the collection at Burke’s Book Store in Memphis on September 5, 2013, at 5:30 p.m., and at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13. Both events are free and open to the public.

August 27, 2013 Roger Hobbs graduated from Reed College in 2011 after studying film noir, literary theory, and ancient languages—all of which he manages to put to good use in his debut novel, Ghostman, a thriller that legendary Knopf editor Gary Fisketjon characterizes as “addictive, electrifying, and quicksilver-paced.”

August 23, 2013 In her debut novel, The Golem and the Jinni, Helene Wecker weaves an intricate tapestry made of both Middle Eastern myth and the gritty reality of life on New York’s Lower East Side at the turn of the twentieth century. In this colorful world, two magical creatures craft their own version of humanity from elemental earth and fire. Wecker will appear at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13, 2013. All festival events are free and open to the public.

August 22, 2013 In her debut novel, The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls, Anton DiSclafani offers an elegantly written, reflective journey of a protagonist who begins to confront her own fearlessness and desire, both of which put her at odds with the cultural expectations for women of her time. DiSclafani will discuss The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13. All festival events are free and open to the public.

August 20, 2013 Born in Haiti and raised there by her extended family until she joined her parents in the U.S. when she was twelve, Edwidge Danticat is a writer who can interpret both cultures, and she has a keen eye for the tensions between them. In Claire of the Sea Light, she offers a story of modern Haiti and its enduring spirit. Danticat will appear at the Nashville Public Library on August 28 at 6:30 p.m.