A past world is revealed to us in Bianca Lakoseljac’s lyrical Summer of the Dancing Bear, a world in which gypsy lore and culture play prominent roles. The author makes the discovery of this world deeply rewarding by using a risky gambit in portraying her heroine’s consciousness. A girl struggles to come of age in this haunting story set in Tito’s Yugoslavia in the 1960s, and the struggles arise because of the girl’s unusual abilities. She perceives her idyllic country surroundings unusually deeply...
July 15, 2012
"Back in the Game" by Charles Holdefer
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July 01, 2012
"Dire Salvation" by Charles B. Neff
In Dire Salvation Charles B. Neff uses straightforward, punchy language to unroll a suspenseful yarn of drugs, mental illness, and revenge in central Washington state. In it, he succeeds in gaining our sympathies for his characters, and helps us see, and root for, every shape that salvation may take for them. It’s a genuine pleasure to read this direct, businesslike book, not only because of the economy of language, but also because of a balancing richness of theme and image. In small-town...
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