The House of Broken Angels

The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea is a novel loosely based on his family. The whole family gathers for their Mother's funeral and within a week, Big Angel the eldest son dies of cancer; but first they gather one more time to celebrate his birthday as only Mexicans can. An entertaining story full of family memories and little moments of grace, however not my favorite book by Urrea.

Urrea is the author of The Devils Highway, the true story of a deadly border crossing from Mexico through the Southern Arizona desert. This is the book I would recommend reading by this author.

The World to Come

The World to Come by Dara Horn begins when a million dollar Chagall is stolen from a museum. The story moves from the past to present day, from Russia to Vietnam to New Jersey, following an unlikely thief who believes the drawing once hung in his living room.

This beautifully written novel is nothing short of magical; wonderfully imagined and filled with Jewish mysticism, it blurs the barriers that separate this world from the next. A great read.

The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek

The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson is historical fiction telling about the last of the blue-skinned people of Kentucky, particularly Cussy Mary Carter, a pack horse librarian under Roosevelt's Mobile Library Project. Scraping out a living was hard in Appalachia in the 1930's and although many people barely had enough to eat and in fact many more died of starvation and watched their children die, they still longed for the books and magazines the women of the Pack Horse Library Project would deliver weekly. Reading materials, including how-to manuals, recipes, etc. became a lifeline for many of these isolated hill folks.

Richardson beautifully portrays life in Kentucky at this time and what it was like to be blue, a rare genetic condition, and the awful prejudice people had against them. Cussy Mary is a real heroine, I wish I could have known her. A highly recommended read.

One More Year

One More Year is a collection of short stories by Sana Krasikov. The stories focus on the lives of immigrants from the former Soviet Union. I loved these stories because they gave me a window into cultures I know very little about.

They illuminate the truth all immigrants grapple with, being caught between two worlds and not quite belonging anywhere, yet desperately searching for a home, for happiness, for prosperity, for the American dream.

Honest, messy, sad, full of heart and beautifully written, a great debut collection.

Brown Girl Dreaming

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jaqueline Woodson is a beautiful memoir written entirely in poetry; memory comes alive on the page. Woodson shares her childhood in Ohio, South Carolina and New York City, each place a part of her, each side of her family shaping her into the person she would become.The writing is simple, elegant and packed with emotion and imagery of what it was like to grow up an African American girl in the 60's and 70's, dreaming of becoming a writer.

One of the best memoirs I've ever read, I loved this book. Highly recommended.

Balcony on the Moon

Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine by Ibtisam Barakat is a memoir picking up where Tasting the Sky left off, although this is a stand alone book. It follows her through her adolescence in Palestine from 1972-1981 as she dreams of being a writer and helps her mother pursue her dream of graduating from high school.

This is a wonderful look into a culture not often represented in literature. Barakat is determined to follow her dreams despite all the adversity facing her and her family and all displaced Palestinians. A great read.

Elsewhere, Home

Elsewhere, Home is a collection of short stories by one of my favorite African authors, Leila Aboulela,  Aboulela writes with experience about Muslim immigrants from Sudan and Egypt living abroad in Scotland and London and the challenges that they face, the longing for home which never really goes away.

Beautifully realized, these are stories that will help bridge the gap between very different cultures. A great read that couldn't be more timely.