Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke is a nicely woven mystery set in rural East Texas. Two murders occur in just a matter of days in a tiny town called Lark. Are the two crimes related? That’s just one of the questions being explored by principal character Darren Matthews, an African-American who dropped out of law …
Continue reading Two more novels where small towns are defining
Kamala Harris pledges, "We won't go back." Tonight, however, we all will. At 2 a.m. tomorrow morning we set the clocks back an hour. Sure, it means an extra hour of sleep, but, for many of us, this is a real downer. Except for sunshine states like Arizona and Hawaii, it will be black as …
The Hunter by Tana French is a murder mystery set in the hardworking village of Ardnakelty in Ireland during an abnormally dry, searingly hot summer, oppressive to humans and animals alike. Nerves are on edge. The only relief for the farmers and shopkeepers is gathering for a pint or more at the local pub, to …
Continue reading Fiction to escape doom-scrolling election coverage
Hiding out from election coverage isn't working all that well for me. Half my recent blogs have been non-political book reviews, but that hasn't diluted the tension leading up to November 5th. Now I feel compelled to express my outrage and disappointment at how once-leading American newspapers have been too fearful of Donald Trump to …
Continue reading Bezos’ business interests trump WaPo journalism
A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy by journalist Nathan Thrall won the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction this year. The core of the narrative is simple: in 2012 a rickety school bus carrying kindergardeners on a field trip is upended by a tractor trailer in the outskirts of Jerusalem …
Continue reading Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction lays bare a world of pain
The Forever War: America’s Unending Conflict with Itself by senior BBC correspondent Nick Bryant is a frigid splash of icy water on the notion of American exceptionalism. It may help us to understand Donald Trump's enduring, if frightening appeal to a large swathe of Americans voters. Australian journalist Bryant spent more than a decade living …
Continue reading Two books of non-fiction for different audiences
Donald Trump may claim he's immune to prosecution for multiple crimes to overturn the 2020 election results, but you can read the Government's just-released response to federal District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan showing why he acted as a private citizen and must be held accountable. Trump's trial should have started last spring but was upended …
Continue reading New damning evidence against private citizen Trump
Most Vice-Presidential debates are a two-day story, quickly forgotten. I hope that this one follows suit. Viewers who appreciated the largely civil tone of the debaters appear to rate it largely a draw, with a slight edge to J.D. Vance. The Vance who showed up to the debate, burdened by dramatically underwater favorability ratings, sought …
Continue reading VP Debate: slick Yalie lawyer edges out Minnesota-nice coach
Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin, translated from a 2018 French publication, is a delicately developing mysterious story about people who are a little offbeat but emerge as complex and interesting characters. The principal character, Violette Toussaint, is introduced to us as “the cemetery lady.” She works as the keeper of a cemetery in …
Continue reading Two special novels for Indian summer reading
Jack Rennie, Chairman and CEO of Pacer Systems, Inc, was a genial and successful businessman in Massachusetts who found his purpose in life not infinitely expanding his corporate interests but in educating the workforce necessary to grow the state’s economy. During the 1980’s, he became increasingly distressed that young people were leaving school inadequately prepared …
Continue reading VOTERS SHOULD FLUNK THE NOVEMBER MCAS REFERENDUM
Marjorie Arons-Barron 