Tag Archives: Reading Well

Reading Well: A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

You will know if you will enjoy A Brief History of Seven Killings (2014) by the end of the second chapter. The first is told by a ghost, observing those involved in his own demise; the second is in a deep … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Daughters of the North by Sarah Hall

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Daughters of the North (2007, originally published as The Carhullan Army) by Sarah Hall sits in the very thin area of overlap between literary and post-apocalyptic fiction. As such, it is a significantly higher level of craft than most of the latter … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Some Sing, Some Cry by Ntozake Shange & Ifa Bayeza

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Some Sing, Some Cry (2010) is a novel by Ntozake Shange and her sister (and playwright) Ifa Bayeza that belongs to a long tradition of explorations of the African-American experience through the eyes of a single family (in this case, the Mayfields). They are a … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Blackout and All Clear (both published in 2010) by Connie Willis are really one story, but each book is sizable (400 pages plus), so I can see how publishing them as a duology made sense. The core premise of the novel is a future … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: All Our Names by Dinaw Mengestu

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

All Our Names (2014) by Dinaw Mengestu is a book about loneliness, isolation, and dislocation. It tries to be a love story, but the strength of the book lies in the other stuff. The novel unfolds in two parallel parts: one is set … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Mercy, and Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Ann Leckie‘s Ancillary Trilogy is among the most imaginative science fiction debuts you will find. They are very much of the genre, so if spaceships and alien cultures aren’t your thing, you should probably pass on this one. But, if they are, it’s … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Last Call by Tim Powers

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Last Call by Tim Powers mixes many of my favorite things: neo-Egyptian mythology, tarot cards with the power to fundamentally disrupt reality, and, of course, poker. Or, in this case, a pseudo-poker game called Assumption, played with a full deck of tarot … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Girl in the Road by Monica Byrne

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Daniel (@MKNN)

The Girl in the Road, Monica Byrne‘s debut novel, carries with it one strikingly unforgettable image: a boardwalk across the ocean from India to East Africa. The path moves up and down on the waves, and the energy from that motion … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Lock In by John Scalzi

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Daniel (@MKNN)

In some ways, Lock In by John Scalzi is two different things lurking inside one book. On the one hand, it is a sketch of a fascinating possible future where an epidemic has left millions of people fully conscious in fully paralyzed bodies, … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Waiting by Ha Jin

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Waiting is a novel by Ha Jin, set in near-contemporary China and focused (although it never quotes nor acknowledges Langston Hughes) on exploring the question of deferred dreams. The protagonist is a comfortably successful doctor, stationed at an urban military base. He has a wife, … Continue reading →

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