hislibraianshiprecommends's reviews
33 reviews

Very nice read for anyone who thinks “Call Me by Your Name” is too American/white/privileged and/or too gay OR for those who want an actual Italian story of poor kids trying to figure out love and obsession and life. (Btw, I liked “Call Me by Your Name.”)

Experiencing the Trojan War and aftermath from the womens’ perspectives truly adds a new dimension. Haynes’ storytelling is flawless, and the characters are really brought to life. We feel their pain and anxiety and loss. It makes me want to reread the Greek playwrights AND tackle Dr. Mary Wilson’s translation of “The Odyssey.” Varied voices of storytellers (and especially translators) breathe new life into our old myths and tales.

Lyrically-written prose beautifully paints the complicated nature of identity and colonialism through twenty years in the life of an Italy-living, Madagascar-vacationing, African American academic. The characters created by Andrea Lee leave me begging for more stories of their daily, but important, lives.

Fun but kind of ridiculous. Nice to read fluffy sexual/thriller that’s gay-themed though.

A beautifully-written first novel, Robert Jones, Jr.'s "The Prophets" lyrically tells the complicated, intertwining stories of lives on a Mississippi plantation centered around two enslaved men and their attempt to find peace and freedom in each other.

Fun, even if super predictable and maybe too on-the-nose, tale of acceptance and making your own family. I really liked that the characters were memorable and fully-developed who just happen to be LGBTQ. It wasn’t a major plot point—just part of their characters.

P. Djèlí Clark provides a thrilling adventure in 1920s Georgia where the KKK is made up of literal monsters feeding on hate who must be stopped by magic rooted in African traditions brought over by enslaved peoples and passed down through the generations.

Silas House’s “Southernmost” is a compelling story of redemption and moving past a bigoted upbringing. Nice portrayals of rural Tennessee and Key West.

A beautifully-written and devastating story by Ghanaian-American (and Alabama-raised) author Yaa Gyasi. The toughest book I've read in a long time--maybe ever.