Briar Patch Books

Category: Contemporary literary fiction

  • Why we read fiction…

    Yes, Bob Moyer reads a lot of mysteries, detective stories and thrillers. But he also savors a good literary novel from time to time. Here’s one of his recent finds. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE DUTCH HOUSE. By Ann Patchett. HarperCollins. 337 pages. $27.99. Every now and then, a book comes along that reminds us why…

  • A story to savor

    Bob Moyer reviews a book he says takes a familiar story and makes it new, a story that’s a pleasure to read. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THIS TENDER LAND. By William Kent Krueger. Atria. 460 pages. $27.  You’ve met this bunch of kids before–a ragtag group suffering abuse, in this case the only three…

  • She’s back…

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson OLIVE, AGAIN. by Elizabeth Strout. Random House Audio. Read by Kimberly Farr. 12 1/2 hours; 10 CDs. $45. Also available in print from Random House. Anyone who met Olive Kitteridge in Elizabeth’s Strout’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2008 book of interrelated stories by that name, will remember that blunt, sometimes abrasive retired…

  • Our boys, our nation

    Here’s the latest from our roaming correspondent, Bob Moyer, ever an eclectic and thoughtful reader. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer NICKEL BOYS. By Colson Whitehead. Doubleday. 213 pages. $24.95 Colson Whitehead is an important writer. He’s a good, sometimes great writer, yes, but above all — he’s an important writer. He homes in on material…

  • Young men, and love and war

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson CHANCES ARE… By Richard Russo. 11 ½ hours. 9 CDs. Read by Fred Sanders. $40. Also available in print from Knopf. 301 pages, $26.95. Some books are considered “women’s fiction,” a label that does not in itself indicate inferior quality. Many, in fact, are very good. Lee Smith’s “The Last…

  • Sons and mothers and Jackie O.

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE EDITOR. By Steven Rowley. Penguin Audio. Read by Michael Lee. 10 ½ hours. 9 CDs. $40. Also available in print from G. P. Putnam’s Sons. What an original and wonderful idea for a book: James Smale is a struggling would-be writer in New York City in the early 1990s,…

  • The courage to love

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson WE MUST BE BRAVE. By Frances Liardet. Penguin Audio. Read by Jayne Entwistle and Juliet Mills. 16 hours; 13 CDs. $66. Also available in print from G. P. Putnam’s Sons. This beautiful, moving novel is the first to be published in America by Frances Liardet, a British writer and translator,…

  • A book for those who love books, bookshops and mysteries

    I somehow misplaced this review when Bob Moyer submitted it last fall. He politely nudged me to find and post it.  And now I won’t rest until I have the book. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE BOOKSHOP OF YESTERDAYS. By Amy Meyerson. Park Row Books. 364 pages. $32.99. Some books are scary. Not Halloween…

  • A North Carolina marvel

    Bob Moyer has visited my territory, reviewing a new novel set in coastal North Carolina. I’m glad he did. I’m eager to read this one myself. Now if we could just get Bob to come visit these marshes in person… Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING. By Delia Owens. G. P. Putnam’s…

  • Richard Russo, times two

    I don’t know when Bob Moyer finds time to read and  review books when he’s always traveling, playing pétanque and writing haiku, but I’m glad he does. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer THE DESTINY THIEF:  Essays on Writing, Writers and Life. By Richard Russo. Knopf. 194 pages. Two for one. That’s what you get in…