The Round House is a powerful exploration of the impact of rape on a family, focusing closely on how a teenage boy deals with the trauma and the helplessness of not being able to bring the rapist to justice. It’s set on an Indian reservation and casts some needed light on cultural and legal complexities of convicting non-Indians of crimes committed on reservations. Continue reading →

Dear Committee Members is a clever epistolary novel mainly composed of letters of recommendation written by Jay Fitger, a cynical creative writing professor at Payne University, located somewhere in Minnesota. The letters are mostly hilarious and reveal a lot about Fitger, academia, and the practically of an English degree. Continue reading →

Olive Kitteridge is a Pulitzer Prize winner that tells the story of an aging retired school teacher through a series of short stories, many of which just mention Olive in passing. It’s an unusual approach to character development that kind of worked for me and kind of didn’t. Continue reading →

In Five Years is a novel about friendship, love, and grief. Lots of grief. Continue reading →

Mary Beth Keane’s debut novel, Ask Again, Yes, explores the effects that a violent incident has on two neighboring families, as well as the toll mental illness takes on spouses, children and the patient. The novel was okay but it was missing an engaging story line past the first 1/3 of the book. Continue reading →