Reviews

Jim Harrison considers himself a poet first and a fiction writer second. Maybe that’s part of the reason his novels and novellas read so well: He has a poet’s gift for elevated language coupled with the heart of a storyteller.

Before heading straight to the self-help books when you come to the library looking for psychological insight, be aware that reading fiction can also have strong therapeutic benefits. One example to check out is Laura Moriarty’s The Rest of Her Life. Moriarty received a degree in social work from KU, which is excellent training for the themes she explores in her novel: social status and crime, parent/child relationships, and cyclical family dynamics.

Translated from Spanish, this tale was written for readers who enjoy “living” in a novel by getting into the skins of the characters and following their relationships through joy and travail. The story begins in 1945 Barcelona following the Spanish Civil War – and the atmosphere of the city almost becomes a character in itself.

Book Review
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

Haley, age 17, has been missing for three months and the family is losing hope. Wendy Tynes, TV News Reporter, has set up a sting to catch Dan Mercer in a pedophilia assignation. Wendy is positive that Dan is a pedophile who has been terrorizing her New Jersey town. Coben once again weaves a tangled web of intrigue and suspense in this page turner.

Alice Hayward was strangled by her husband on the evening following her baptism. Her husband’s dead body is found in the same room and it is assumed that he shot himself. However, complications are discovered in the form of Alice’s diary.

La – short for Lavender – must deal with a broken heart and World War II in a quiet Suffolk village. She quickly realizes she needs more to do than gardening and helping to care for a neighbor’s chickens. Believing that music is soothing to the soul, La forms an orchestra, made up of local residents and military personnel from a nearby base.

Three recent titles illuminate issues affecting Midwestern culture and small town life:

This Canadian television series is a wonderful saga of a young family during the Great Depression. There are characters of all ages so your entire family will enjoy it. I just happened across it in the library one day. After watching the first show I was hooked and watched all five seasons.

I heard Piper Kerman talking about her new book on NPR’s Fresh Air one afternoon. I was very interested and wanted to learn more about her experience serving time in a U.S. federal women’s prison. She highlights the federal prison system's failure to offer rehabilitation opportunities for female prisoners and the judicial system's attitude toward drug offenders.