Tag: racism
+ 1960s, alcoholism, fiction, France, friends, friendship, gay, ghosts, haunting, journalist, literature, London, love, music, obsession, racism, review, supernatural
The Music of the Cosmos by Carole Bulewski
“We must discover the Music of the Cosmos.” With these words, visionary, depraved and intensely artistic Gaius piques the curiosity of Sam and his friends, young lads from Kent who have come to Swinging Sixties London in search of musical success. To further their quest for the otherworldly Music of the Cosmos, the boys leave London for Paris, and experiment with the help of … Read More The Music of the Cosmos by Carole Bulewski
Boy With Wings by Mark Mustian readalong
Boy With Wings follows the extraordinary journey of Johnny Cruel, a boy born with mysterious appendages on his back. What does it mean to be different? When Johnny Cruel is born with strange appendages on his back in the 1930s South, the locals think he’s a devil. Determined to protect him, his mother fakes his death, and they flee. Thus begins Johnny’s years-long struggle to … Read More Boy With Wings by Mark Mustian readalong
The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson by Ellen Baker
In 1924, four-year-old Cecily Larson’s mother reluctantly drops her off at an orphanage in Chicago, promising to be back once she’s made enough money to support both Cecily and herself. But she never returns, and shortly after high-spirited Cecily turns seven, she is sold to a traveling circus to perform as the “little sister” to glamorous bareback rider Isabelle DuMonde. With Isabelle and the … Read More The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson by Ellen Baker
The Grapevine – Kate Kemp
A gripping and atmospheric debut novel about a mysterious murder that exposes the secrets behind closed doors in 1970’s suburban Australia. It’s the height of summer in Australia, 1979, and on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac a housewife is scrubbing the yellow and white checkered tiles of the bathroom floor. But all is not as it seems. For one thing, it’s 3am. For another, she … Read More The Grapevine – Kate Kemp
Paradise Undone by Annie Dawid
Marceline Baldwin is a shy and mild-mannered pastor’s daughter. Then she meets the charismatic Jim Jones. She falls madly in love. They have a mutual desire to change the world and quickly become inseparable. In the midst of 1950s segregated America, Jim and Marceline Baldwin Jones made headlines for being the first white family in Indiana to adopt a black child. They adopt five … Read More Paradise Undone by Annie Dawid
Fanning Fireflies by LS Delorme
There is something rotting in Harrisville. It’s 1944 and Veronica works so she can afford to eat. Maybe one day she will save enough to own the home her family is living in, but for now, she doesn’t have time for fanciful thoughts, or much else. She doesn’t have time for the fire whispering to her, the ghosts trying to talk to her and … Read More Fanning Fireflies by LS Delorme
+ Australia, business, crime fiction, family, fiction, love, murder, nineties, racism, review, secrets, World War One
Cover the Bones by Chris Hammer – Ivan Lucic & Nell Buchanan #3
NO ONE IS EVER INNOCENT IN PARADISE.A small town.A closely guarded secret, stretching back decades.And blood in the water. A body has washed up in an irrigation canal, the artery running through Yuwonderie, a man-made paradise on the border of the Outback. Stabbed through the heart, electrocuted and dumped under cover of night, there is no doubt that detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan … Read More Cover the Bones by Chris Hammer – Ivan Lucic & Nell Buchanan #3
+ adventure, child abuse, childhood, coming-of-age, fiction, friendship, healing, Historical fiction, kidnapping, literature, loss, love, Native American, review, slavery, superstition
The East Indian by Brinda Charry
Inspired by a historical figure, an exhilarating debut novel about the first native of the Indian subcontinent to arrive in Colonial America—for readers of Esi Edugyan and Yaa Gyasi. Meet Tony: insatiably curious, deeply compassionate, with a unique perspective on every scene he encounters. Kidnapped and transported to the New World after traveling from the British East India Company’s outpost on the Coromandel Coast … Read More The East Indian by Brinda Charry
+ Ceylon, family, fiction, friendship, grief, Historical fiction, history, literature, loss, love, memory, racism, relationships, review, Sri Lanka
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran
Welcome to Cinnamon Gardens, a home for those who are lost and the stories they treasure. Cinnamon Gardens Nursing Home is nestled in the quiet suburb of Westgrove, Sydney – populated with residents with colourful histories, each with their own secrets, triumphs and failings. This is their safe place, an oasis of familiar delights – a beautiful garden, a busy kitchen and a bountiful … Read More Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran
+ family drama, fiction, germany, Historical fiction, holocaust, jewish history, jews, literature, nazi germany, racism, rape, review, Russia, Scottish Highlands, World War Two, WW2
The Turn Of The Tide (The Sturmtaucher Trilogy #3) by Alan Jones
The Turn of the Tide is the third book in the Sturmtaucher Trilogy: a powerful and compelling story of two families torn apart by evil. As Hitler’s greed turns eastwards to the fertile and oil rich Soviet heartlands, life for the Kästner and the Nussbaum families disintegrates and fragments as the Nazis tighten the noose on German and Polish Jews. Implementing Endlösung der Judenfrage, … Read More The Turn Of The Tide (The Sturmtaucher Trilogy #3) by Alan Jones
+ childhood, family, fashion, female friendship, feminism, fiction, friends, friendship, jealousy, love, marriage, motherhood, murder mystery, Nigeria, obsession, relationships, revenge, review, secrets, sisterhood
Wahala by Nikki May
Ronke, Simi, Boo are three mixed-race friends living in London. They have the gift of two cultures, Nigerian and English, though not all of them choose to see it that way. Everyday racism has never held them back, but now in their thirties, they question their future. Ronke wants a husband (he must be Nigerian); Boo enjoys (correction: endures) stay-at-home motherhood; while Simi, full … Read More Wahala by Nikki May
+ brothers, fiction, friendship, germany, Historical fiction, holocaust, jewish history, jews, Magical realism, nazi germany, racism, revenge, review, World War Two, WW2
Man of Clay by Alan Derosby
Retribution comes with a price 1930s GermanyKarl Auerbach escapes Buchenwald concentration camp. Ashamed of the truth of how he fled, Karl vows never to speak of the memories of his imprisonment. Present Day: Rhode IslandWhen Karl’s grandson Zachariah is faced with prejudice of his own and a close friend is subjected to a horrific assault, Karl knows he must finally confront the demons of … Read More Man of Clay by Alan Derosby