Category Archives: Fiction

August 22, 2016 · 8:33 pm

The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko: A Novel

The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko: A Novel

bFC9781250081865y Scott Stambach (St. Martin’s Press) August 9, 2016
“Seventeen-year-old Ivan Isaenko has spent his entire life in a cloistered world, but he possesses a keen intellect and an understanding of humanity that far exceeds the confines of the Mazyr Hospital for Gravely Ill Children in Belarus. Severely physically handicapped due to radiation poisoning, Ivan has never had a friend beyond his caregivers at the hospital — until Polina is admitted. The two teens form a fast and indelible bond that will leave readers in awe of the tenacity of their commitment. Heartbreaking and awe-inspiring.”
—Pamela Klinger-Horn (E), Excelsior Bay Books, Excelsior, MN

About the Author

SCOTT STAMBACH lives in San Diego where he teaches physics and astronomy at Grossmont and Mesa colleges. He also collaborates with Science for Monks, a group of educators and monastics working to establish science programs in Tibetan Monasteries throughout India. He has written about his experiences working with monks of Sera Jey monastery and has published short fiction in several literary journals including Ecclectica, Stirring, and Convergence. He is the author of “The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko.”

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April 18, 2014 · 11:04 am

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

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The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry
by Gabrielle Zevin (Algonquin)
“Fikry is a bookseller with a small shop in a sleepy island resort town off the coast of Massachusetts. He’s a bit cantankerous, but with good reason: his wife, the ‘people person’ of the relationship, has recently died and his prized possession, a rare copy of Tamerlane, has gone missing. Despite those losses, there’s one strange addition, a baby girl left on his doorstep with an explicit request for Fikry to take her in. Zevin’s novel offers the reality of both death and rebirth, held together by the spirit of the bookstore. It’s a romantic comedy, a spiritual journey, and if you include the chapter openings, a collection of short story criticisms as well. In short, it’s a celebration of books and the people who read them, write them, and sell them.”
— Daniel Goldin, Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, WI

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January 6, 2014 · 9:31 am

A Long Way from Chicago

a long way from chicagoPuffin (April 12, 2004)

Review by Josh Poppie (Jan. 2014)

I am reviewing A Long Way From Chicago, by Richard Peck. I consider it a historical fiction or humorous book with several themes.

This book is a compilation of several stories about two kids, Joey and Mary Alice Dowdel, going to see their grandma for a week during every summer for seven years. Each visit is different in its own special way.  Some of the stories include: the catching-in-the-act and revenge on four prankster kids; an illegal fishing trip; and, a wrestling match between two of the oldest men alive.  Joey, the narrator, says Grandma Dowdel becomes a different woman every year.

The book takes place in Illinois’ Piatt County. I like the writing style especially because it involves a lot of funny similes and interesting vocabulary. Although it takes place in the Midwest, it has a very Southern feel to it.

I’d recommend A Long Way From Chicago, by Richard Peck, to anyone who likes humor or old-time stories from the Great Depression era.

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October 15, 2013 · 2:19 pm

Joe by Steve Rubin

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Joe by Steve Rubin

Sept. 6, 2012, Kindle Edition

“Joe” is a thrilling and fast-paced story that weaves together the threads of imagination, technology and eclectic relationships into an artisan’s novel that is impossible to put down.  Steve Rubin’s writing style is uniquely his own – giving  an insight into his characters that keeps the reader deeply involved to the last page.  This novel is a great read – so much so that the Kindle App will remain on our “other” reader devices – just in case Mr. Rubin writes a sequel…

Review by: St. Bride’s Literary Group  (October, 2013)

Author’s Description:

Joe Elliot is an aspiring novelist who’s latest effort is a fictional tale of technological marvel: a system of computers, satellites and machines that scans the entire planet. It’s called ‘W.E.B.’ The‘Worldwide Electron Band’ and it tells the operator everything about anything or anyone. The ultimate ‘Big Brother’ machine.A wealthy, eccentric artist reads an early draft of ‘W.E.B.’ and decides that she wants to build one; a smaller, personal version to create ‘the ultimate piece of modern art’ a system that scans visitors and can tell them anything, even the most minute details, about their lives. Others begin to spy on the system as it is being built. Their equipment creates conflict, inadvertently spawning a whole new type of artificial intelligence which brings others into the mix, men who are not interested in the art and only seek control over the technology.  A laugh-out-loud funny, unique, character-driven story. Agent and publishing inquiries welcome.

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August 3, 2013 · 4:54 pm

The Conditions of Love by Dale Kushner

The Conditions of Love by Dale Kushner, 2013

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A brilliant summer read ~
Kushner has a divine understanding of the ties that bind people in relationships.The Conditions of Love is rife with truths about man’s equally selfish and selfless need to experience love in its many forms. Eunice might be the central player, but the hero of this tale is Love. Eunice experiences many kinds of loss. Before and after each misadventure she seeks solace in the stable relationships of her past and present: Mr. Tabachnik, a kind neighbor; her adopted guardian, Rose; Sam, a misguided role model. Although she may often be lonely, Eunice does not experience the destitution of abandonment.

Kushner’s writing consists of equal parts reverence for the human condition and sympathy for the pain that is a necessary part of that condition. This novel is an engrossing read and difficult to put down.
—Kitty Drexel, EDGE (full review » )
With her debut novel, The Conditions of Love, poet Dale M. Kushner has created a layered examination of love in all its forms and how it impacts and shapes one girl in the late 1950s and early 1960s from childhood to maturity.. . .This is a book that begs to be read slowly. Kushner’s history with poetry serves her well. Her prose causes the reader to slow down and relish the words. She utilizes the five senses throughout the book, which gives the reader a sense of real intimacy with Eunice. She beautifully recounts the physical act of Eunice’s neighbor, Mr. Tabachnik, putting on an opera record, and then she tops it by describing the powerful music washing over a young Eunice.The Conditions of Love is an engaging story written in a lyrical style. It’s a stunningly self-assured novel for a debut, and it leaves the reader hoping that Kushner will write a second.

—Josh Mallory, Bookreporter (full review » )
The Conditions of Love is the debut novel of Dale M. Kushner, a poet and writer in Wisconsin. It moves slowly and gingerly during its opening section when Eunice is a preteen, and it might easily be viewed at the start as a coming-of-age book for a younger set of readers. But by the end of that section, when facts-of-life shocks begin to strike, it turns into a moving, at times jolting, saga.Kushner’s scenes, like her characters, are expertly sketched, vivid and memorable. . . .  Engrossing to the end, this is a fine first novel.

—Kendall Weaver, The Associated Press (full review » )
Eunice grows up fighting for love from the people who should love her unconditionally but is bolstered by love from unexpected sources…Eunice is a lonely, artistic girl who grows into a temperamental young woman whose strength and capacity for love belie her tough upbringing. This is poet Kushner’s first novel, and her roots show; passages describing even the bleakest Midwestern landscapes are artfully drawn. A coming-of-age story that wonderfully combines literary style with heartbreaking plot twists and still manages to be uplifting—

—Booklist
A teenage girl endures fire, flood and the loss of her parents in this bracing, oddly uplifting debut.Kushner seems to have taken more than a few lessons from Joyce Carol Oates about both crafting a novel with a broad scope and putting female characters through the wringer. But there’s also a lightness to Eunice’s narration that keeps the Job-ian incidents from feeling oppressive—she’s observant, witty and genuinely matures across the nine years in which the novel is set… Kushner is remarkably poised for a first-time novelist, offering an interesting adolescent who’s possessed of more than a little of Huck Finn’s pioneer spirit.A fine exploration of growing up, weathering heartbreak and picking oneself up over and over.

—Kirkus Reviews
“Can this wise, funny, quirky, poignant novel really be Dale Kushner’s debut? She got everything just right–characters who you will never forget and a palpable yearning for love that you will feel in your gut. Bravo!”

—Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle and The Red Thread
“In The Conditions of Love Dale Kushner portrays with wonderful empathy a young girl’s journey towards adulthood. Kushner has an amazing sense of character and not only her heroine, the fearless Eunice, but everyone that Eunice encounters comes vividly to life as she struggles first to accommodate herself to her mother’s tumultuous feelings and then to make her own way in the world. An immaculately written, enthralling and passionate debut.”

—Margot Livesey, author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy and The House on Fortune Street
“Dale Kushner’s novel The Conditions of Love traces the journey of a girl from childhood to young adulthood as she reckons with her parents’ abandonment, her need to break from society’s limitations, and her overwhelming desire for spiritual and erotic love. At an early age Eunice encounters the difficult truths of loss and disappointment, and through an innate sense of her own worth, she perseveres. At once a fable and a realistic portrait of a sensitive and determined young girl, The Conditions of Love is funny, heartbreaking, and gorgeously rendered. In Kushner’s storytelling readers will find the wisdom of an author who has considered both the formidable depths and the transcendent potential of the human spirit.”

—Janet Steen
“Dale Kushner is a remarkable mix of passion and perception. As a storyteller, she has the ability to let the mysterious force of life show itself through the smallest piece of dirt or doubt. Her depth and experience surface through her writing as a wise companion to help us on our way.”

—Mark Nepo, author of The Book of Awakening and As Far As the Heart Can See
“I’ve already praised Dale Kushner’s novel to so many friends that they keep asking why they can’t find it in the bookstores yet. I would tell you that it’s the next Housekeeping, but that might imply The Conditions of Love is derivative in some way, which it most certainly is not. Kushner’s novel offers what most readers crave—characters about whom we care very, very deeply, emotions conveyed without irony or shame, beautifully lyric prose, a strong sense of place… and wisdom, that very rare thing in a novel – or real life – wisdom. Even in the toughest market, this book is sure to find many loyal and loving readers.”

—Eileen Pollack, Zell Professor and Director of the MFA Program at the University of Michigan, author of Paradise, New York and Breaking and Entering

The Conditions of Love traces the journey of a girl from childhood to adulthood as she reckons with her need to break from society’s limitations and learns to reconcile with her fate and transcend the past.

“Can this wise, funny, quirky, poignant novel really be Dale Kushner’s debut? She got everything just right—characters who you will never forget and a palpable yearning for love that you will feel in your gut. Bravo!“

-Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle and The Red Thread

“An immaculately written, enthralling and passionate debut.“

-Margot Livesey, author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy and Eva Moves The Furniture

Kushner has a divine understanding of the ties that bind people in relationships.The Conditions of Love is rife with truths about man’s equally selfish and selfless need to experience love in its many forms. Eunice might be the central player, but the hero of this tale is Love. Eunice experiences many kinds of loss. Before and after each misadventure she seeks solace in the stable relationships of her past and present: Mr. Tabachnik, a kind neighbor; her adopted guardian, Rose; Sam, a misguided role model. Although she may often be lonely, Eunice does not experience the destitution of abandonment.

Kushner’s writing consists of equal parts reverence for the human condition and sympathy for the pain that is a necessary part of that condition. This novel is an engrossing read and difficult to put down.
—Kitty Drexel, EDGE (full review » )
With her debut novel, The Conditions of Love, poet Dale M. Kushner has created a layered examination of love in all its forms and how it impacts and shapes one girl in the late 1950s and early 1960s from childhood to maturity.. . .This is a book that begs to be read slowly. Kushner’s history with poetry serves her well. Her prose causes the reader to slow down and relish the words. She utilizes the five senses throughout the book, which gives the reader a sense of real intimacy with Eunice. She beautifully recounts the physical act of Eunice’s neighbor, Mr. Tabachnik, putting on an opera record, and then she tops it by describing the powerful music washing over a young Eunice.The Conditions of Love is an engaging story written in a lyrical style. It’s a stunningly self-assured novel for a debut, and it leaves the reader hoping that Kushner will write a second.

—Josh Mallory, Bookreporter (full review » )
The Conditions of Love is the debut novel of Dale M. Kushner, a poet and writer in Wisconsin. It moves slowly and gingerly during its opening section when Eunice is a preteen, and it might easily be viewed at the start as a coming-of-age book for a younger set of readers. But by the end of that section, when facts-of-life shocks begin to strike, it turns into a moving, at times jolting, saga.Kushner’s scenes, like her characters, are expertly sketched, vivid and memorable. . . .  Engrossing to the end, this is a fine first novel.

—Kendall Weaver, The Associated Press (full review » )
Eunice grows up fighting for love from the people who should love her unconditionally but is bolstered by love from unexpected sources…Eunice is a lonely, artistic girl who grows into a temperamental young woman whose strength and capacity for love belie her tough upbringing. This is poet Kushner’s first novel, and her roots show; passages describing even the bleakest Midwestern landscapes are artfully drawn. A coming-of-age story that wonderfully combines literary style with heartbreaking plot twists and still manages to be uplifting—

—Booklist
A teenage girl endures fire, flood and the loss of her parents in this bracing, oddly uplifting debut.Kushner seems to have taken more than a few lessons from Joyce Carol Oates about both crafting a novel with a broad scope and putting female characters through the wringer. But there’s also a lightness to Eunice’s narration that keeps the Job-ian incidents from feeling oppressive—she’s observant, witty and genuinely matures across the nine years in which the novel is set… Kushner is remarkably poised for a first-time novelist, offering an interesting adolescent who’s possessed of more than a little of Huck Finn’s pioneer spirit.A fine exploration of growing up, weathering heartbreak and picking oneself up over and over.

—Kirkus Reviews
“Can this wise, funny, quirky, poignant novel really be Dale Kushner’s debut? She got everything just right–characters who you will never forget and a palpable yearning for love that you will feel in your gut. Bravo!”

—Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle and The Red Thread
“In The Conditions of Love Dale Kushner portrays with wonderful empathy a young girl’s journey towards adulthood. Kushner has an amazing sense of character and not only her heroine, the fearless Eunice, but everyone that Eunice encounters comes vividly to life as she struggles first to accommodate herself to her mother’s tumultuous feelings and then to make her own way in the world. An immaculately written, enthralling and passionate debut.”

—Margot Livesey, author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy and The House on Fortune Street
“Dale Kushner’s novel The Conditions of Love traces the journey of a girl from childhood to young adulthood as she reckons with her parents’ abandonment, her need to break from society’s limitations, and her overwhelming desire for spiritual and erotic love. At an early age Eunice encounters the difficult truths of loss and disappointment, and through an innate sense of her own worth, she perseveres. At once a fable and a realistic portrait of a sensitive and determined young girl, The Conditions of Love is funny, heartbreaking, and gorgeously rendered. In Kushner’s storytelling readers will find the wisdom of an author who has considered both the formidable depths and the transcendent potential of the human spirit.”

—Janet Steen
“Dale Kushner is a remarkable mix of passion and perception. As a storyteller, she has the ability to let the mysterious force of life show itself through the smallest piece of dirt or doubt. Her depth and experience surface through her writing as a wise companion to help us on our way.”

—Mark Nepo, author of The Book of Awakening and As Far As the Heart Can See
“I’ve already praised Dale Kushner’s novel to so many friends that they keep asking why they can’t find it in the bookstores yet. I would tell you that it’s the next Housekeeping, but that might imply The Conditions of Love is derivative in some way, which it most certainly is not. Kushner’s novel offers what most readers crave—characters about whom we care very, very deeply, emotions conveyed without irony or shame, beautifully lyric prose, a strong sense of place… and wisdom, that very rare thing in a novel – or real life – wisdom. Even in the toughest market, this book is sure to find many loyal and loving readers.”

—Eileen Pollack, Zell Professor and Director of the MFA Program at the University of Michigan, author of Paradise, New York and Breaking and Entering

Review shared via: http://dalemkushner.com

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December 2, 2012 · 9:07 pm

Hannelore Takes Note by Margit Amundsen

Hannelore Takes Note
by Margit Amundsen
Hannelore Riker is your average graduate student in whose life nothing good or exceptional ever seems to happen, thus making her existence quite normal, even plain. She’s tired of dealing with eccentric professors, unappreciative undergraduates and, even worse, a failing love life. So what can she do in such a situation? Well, humor and a lot of optimism might just help Hannelore learn how beautiful life actually is and that it’s really worth making the best of it. Margit Amundsen’s novel is a refreshing story about self-discovery, which makes it appeal to anyone, from teenagers to adults. If you like stories with an academic setting and very witty dialogue, then “Hannelore Takes Notes” is the best choice you can make. While struggling with her dissertation and the everyday drama, she learns so many things about the world and the people around her, eventually figuring out who she can really trust. But that’s not all: Hannelore also learns about herself and at the end of the novel the reader can really say she is a very round, well-developed character. Actually, I loved the fact that I often recognized myself in Hannelore and this makes the story even more realistic.Margit Amundsen’s outstanding writing style pulls you into the story and truly makes you relate to her characters. “Hannelore Takes Notes” is a relaxing, entertaining read that will certainly make you feel better and remind you anything can be solved with a bit of humor and a lot of optimism. So, if you feel like enjoying a light, refreshing novel, you can purchase this book at Amazon.com or Smashwords.com.
Jo‘s review

Dec 02, 12
5 of 5 stars false
Shared Via Jo Ammons

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October 20, 2012 · 7:16 pm

The Book of Mischief: New & Selected Stories by Steve Stern

Graywolf Press, 2012

The Book of Mischief triumphantly showcases twenty-five years of outstanding work by one of our true masters of the short story. Steve Stern’s stories take us from the unlikely old Jewish quarter of the Pinch in Memphis to a turn-of-the-century immigrant community in New York; from the market towns of Eastern Europe to a down-at-the-heels Catskills resort. Along the way we meet a motley assortment of characters: Mendy Dreyfus, whose bungee jump goes uncannily awry; Elijah the prophet turned voyeur; and the misfit Zelik Rifkin, who discovers the tree of dreams. Perhaps it’s no surprise that Kafka’s cockroach also makes an appearance in these pages, animated as they are by instances of bewildering transformation. The earthbound take flight, the meek turn incendiary, the powerless find unwonted fame. Weaving his particular brand of mischief from the wondrous and the macabre, Steve Stern transforms us all through the power of his brilliant imagination.

Shared via Graywolf Press, 2012

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June 6, 2012 · 12:03 pm

Taste of Fire

Desert Coyote Productions is pleased to announce this giveaway of five (5) signed copies of Jeannie Faulkner Barber’s latest novel, Taste of Fire.

Back cover copy:

Incessantly teased by childhood peers over an uncharacteristic scar from a fiery car crash, spirited Terri Neal finds comfort in her father’s explanation: “The flames licked your arm, but when it tasted you, it knew you were special, and the fire was afraid.” Her father’s shadowy death in a mysterious building fire prompts Terri to develop into a dedicated, top-notch firefighter.

In a deadly house fire, she sees her father’s image through the flickering inferno. He instructs the iron-willed young woman to seek out her biological parents. However, this task will be far from mundane as it propels Terri down a path of intrigue, romance, and peril. In the innocent shadows of daylight, a lethal stalker and kidnapper lurks.

Death approaches …

Shared via: Goodreads.com

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March 12, 2012 · 1:29 pm

Tracks by Eric D. Goodman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRACKS

By Eric D. Goodman

Atticus Books, 2012

 

This novel-in-stories follows a diverse group of passengers on a train from Baltimore to Chicago, revealing the secrets of their past, their hopes for the future and just how intertwined their lives really are.

Journey by train from Baltimore to Chicago via the perspectives of a diverse array of passengers. They are the strangers we meet every day: a soldier slowly losing his faith in the war, a businessman learning to balance his job and the family he loves, a computer geek-turned-criminal, a Holocaust survivor finding hope in facing her fears, couples in love, a woman dealing with the death of her parents, a poet hunting for inspiration, and a hit man with a job to finish before the train arrives at its destination. Watch as these and other characters’ lives and stories seamlessly link and intersect, quietly shaping and changing one another.

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December 23, 2011 · 10:38 am

American Boy by Larry Watson

American Boy

by Larry Watson

(2011, Milkweed Editions)

 We were exposed to these phenomena in order that we might learn something, but of course the lessons we learn are not always what was intended.
So begins Matthew Garth’s story of the fall of 1962, when the shooting of a young woman on Thanksgiving Day sets off a chain of unsettling events in Willow Falls, Minnesota. Matthew first sees Louisa Lindahl in Dr. Dunbar’s home office, and at the time her bullet wound makes nearly as strong an impression as her unclothed body. Fueled over the following weeks by his feverish desire for this mysterious woman and a deep longing for the comfort and affluence that appears to surround the Dunbars, Matthew finds himself drawn into a vortex of greed, manipulation, and ultimately betrayal.

Immersive, heartbreaking, and richly evocative of time and place, this long-awaited new novel marks the return of a great American storyteller.

 Larry Watson

Author’s Bio:

LARRY WATSON is the author of seven widely acclaimed novels, including the best-selling Montana 1948, which was awarded the Milkweed National Fiction Prize and a Best Book citation by the American Library Association, short-listed for the IMPAC Dublin International Award, and published in ten foreign editions. Over the course of his career, Watson has been praised for the “unflinching honesty and complete respect” he shows to his characters (Booklist), and his novels have been called “captivating and haunting” (Washington Post), “remarkable” (Baltimore Sun), “utterly mesmerizing” (The Nation), and lauded as small masterpieces which “pull you immediately into [their] depths and settle inside your bones for a long and haunting stay” (San Francisco Chronicle). Larry Watson lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with his family. For more, see larry-watson.com.

Quotes:

Praise for American Boy

“A gripping, poignant coming-of-age story that opens with a gunshot that will ultimately bury its bullet in your heart. American Boy is an American
classic.” —Benjamin Percy, author of The Wilding and Refresh, Refresh

“Youthful passions, heartbreaks, loyalties and moral uncertainties are all rendered in vivid color.” —David Rhodes, author of Driftless

Praise for Larry Watson

“There’s something eminently universal in Watson’s ponderings on the human condition, and it’s refracted through a nearly perfect eye for character, place, and the rhythms of language.” —The Nation

“Watson’s tales are unforgettable tales of experience, set in a place as unchanging as any in America; a rare place where we still look for roots and a vanished frontier, and where we still uncover horrors that bring down reminders of what it is to be human no matter where we are.” —Oregonian

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