Katie Olmstead deals with family issues throughout “Call Me When You Land,” and they threaten to grind her up. Our portrait of this almost-forty Massachusetts single mom is so close, I checked after finishing the book to see whether I was remembering it wrong – but no, it’s written in the third person, but the point of view is so Katie-centric that it has the feel of a first-person narrative. The first event we encounter in this narrative is the far-off death of Katie’s son’s father, an event that...
August 23, 2011
"Bones Beneath Our Feet" by Michael Schein
historical fiction/ Michael Schein/ Pacific NorthwestAs a teacher of history and expert in the past of the Seattle area, Michael Schein is eminently qualified to write about the “pacification” and settling of Washington Territory. “Bones Beneath Our Feet” proves this. As in any ambitious historical novel, “Bones Beneath Our Feet” is set just as epochal changes occur, in this case, in the Puget Sound area of Washington state. We get sketchy biographical data on the principal players (who are also historical figures), like the rapacious and indomitable...
August 18, 2011
"Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese
Abraham Verghese/ epic family fiction/ Ethiopia/ medicineWhen you look at Abraham Verghese’s work load and background, you wonder how he could find the time to write a novel. And when the novel turns out to be “Cutting for Stone,” a gripping, larger-than-life family epic, all you can do is sit back in wonder. I do that a lot when I read, particularly when I encounter accomplishments as impressive as this. What makes “Cutting for Stone” impressive? Dr. Verghese establishes an unspoken, doomed love between a highly skilled surgeon, Dr. Thomas Stone, and...
August 14, 2011
PSA: "Housekeeping" Essay Revised
This time I endeavored to have an actual conslusion. I apologize to all who worked their way through it only to find that it lacked one. This, among other activities, have slowed the pace of regular book revie...
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