Let me begin by saying that the cover of this novel is perfect. Juliet, with her eyes closed: she could be anywhere, but in assembling an understanding of the world around her, images from her time in Nicaragua serve as a foundation. And the vivid imagery: the combination of photographs
In the past two-and-a-half years, I have written four of these, spelling out the reasons that I fell for four books: When did you last fall in love with a book? Z.Z. Packer's Drinking Coffee Elsewhere (2003) Michael Crummey's Galore (2009) Hiromi Goto's Half World (2009) and Sarah Waters
It's been a long time since a book inspired me to create a Spelling It Out.* Generally speaking, it coincides with an author's shifting onto my MRE lists (Must Read Everything). Consider it official: Z.Z. Packer's Drinking Coffee Elsewhere makes her a MRE author for me, and now I'll
Michael Crummey's Galore Doubleday- Random House, 2009 Yes, it's true: I have fallen under another bookspell. Unlike the two instances of this earlier in my reading year, with Sarah Waters and Hiromi Goto, this is with an author I haven't read before: Michael Crummey. And perhaps it is because I am
Hiromi Goto's Half World Penguin Books, 2009 I hope you're not disappointed to see another instance of Spelling It Out here, so soon after that on Sarah Waters, but I have fallen under yet another BookSpell. I admit, I do tend to respond positively to an author's work when I
