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.