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Back on the mean streets
Bob Moyer has been reading Walter Mosley’s new series again – with pleasure. By Robert Moyer WHEN THE THRILL IS GONE. By Walter Mosley. Riverhead Books. 368 pages. $26.95 Leonid McGill makes only his third appearance in Walter Mosley’s new series, but we’ve seen his kind before — the hard-boiled kind. Short, stocky and deadly,…
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A little magic to spice things up
Sarah Addison Allen, whose novels of magical realism are deservedly popular, makes good use of her North Carolina heritage in her writing. She’s a proud Asheville native: She was born there, spent almost all her childhood there, graduated from UNC Asheville and lives there still in a house she inherited from a great-aunt. Her four…
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Coffee and friendship in Kabul
This book was a delight to listen to on CD, except for one thing – the primary setting is a coffeehouse in Kabul, Afghanistan, and I kept craving a really good cup of coffee whenever driving and “reading.” So far, I listen to audio books only when driving by myself. I know some people listen…
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Mrs. Hemingway (No. 1) has her say
This novel has already hit The New York Times best-seller list, and no wonder. By Linda Brinson THE PARIS WIFE. By Paula McLain. Ballantine Books. 320 pages. $25. You might wonder why Paula McLain would write a novel about a subject that has been so thoroughly covered by other writers, but I am delighted that…
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Death by incompetence
Fellow displaced journalist Paul O’Connor (OK, OK, I fired him, but THEY made me do it) reviews a novel about the death of a newspaper. Just reading the review made me sad, but I think I’ll give the book a try anyway. By Paul T. O’Connor THE IMPERFECTIONISTS: A NOVEL. By Tom Rachman. Dial Press.…
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Mad sanity, or sane madness
Steve Wishnevsky of Winston-Salem has unearthed a gem from a few years back. By Stephen Wishnevsky LAMB: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal. By Christopher Moore. Harper, 2002. Available in various hardback and paperback editions. One of those books. Quite mad, and rather sane, a parable of parables, or a satire of satires,…
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Michael Malone’s latest (I think), and editors or their lack
Michael Malone, a North Carolina writer, is one of my favorite contemporary authors. He’s also one of the most frustrating. At times, he goes long stretches without publishing a novel. Somehow, when he does come out with a new novel, it takes me by surprise. Even though I’ve been a book-review editor for 25 years,…
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Private Life
Our latest review is by that gentleman and scholar, Robert Moyer of Winston-Salem. Here’s how Bob describes himself (I think it’s mostly true): Bob Moyer is a member of the National Book Critics’ Circle. His haiku poetry has been published extensively, and may be seen frequently at Haiku News (wayfarergallery.net). He is a member of…