Louise's Reviews

This collection by poet Nikki Giovanni is absolutely wonderful. The diversity between short prose and poetry in this collection lends it a great readability, and there is a lovely rhythm to the book. Of note is the poem dedicated to Maya Angelou that embraces tears and sadness as necessary and healing. The personal is political, and as always Giovanni reminds us why. - Louise

My most-loved short story collections are those that offer hoards of enjoyment in small, fully contained pieces. Five-Carat Soul possesses this trait, as McBride shows excellent range across the collection. The voices he produces in each story are unique and satisfying. I particularly enjoyed the final tale, “Mr. P and the Wind,” told by animals and influenced by their communication with humans. - Louise

Hassan Blasim, author of the haunting book The Corpse Exhibition, has assembled science fiction stories from Iraqi writers, all set 100 years after the U.S. occupation of Iraq. These stories demonstrate how Iraq's past will influence its future by blending history with fantastical technology. The defiance to imagine the future so creatively when at times even the arrival of the next day is uncertain is the spirit of this collection. - Louise

A young boy sees his dead father every night in his home, dressed head to toe in fancydance regalia. Why is he appearing now, and only at night, and only to the boy? There's conflict here-both inward in terms of identity, loss, and cultural ties, and outward with the disturbingly mystical events trailing behind the ghost's appearance. Reading before bedtime is thrilling, but not necessarily endorsed by this reader, due to creepiness. - Louise

Normally I shy away from memoirs written by poets, afraid that their style of writing won’t translate into a cohesive narrative. But Patricia Lockwood’s clever turns of phrase and eccentric personality are right at home in this book, which is primarily the story of her beer-drinking Catholic priest of a father and how growing up in this paradoxical environment shaped her life. It’s real and irreverent and will delight fans of Jenny Lawson and Mary Karr. - Louise

I’m a huge fan of anything under 200 pages, and this story of Dr. Morayo Da Silva, a Nigerian woman living in San Francisco, fits the bill perfectly. Our 75-year-old protagonist is at an age that our culture inaccurately assumes is filled only with death and physical decline. While there are elements of both here, there is also a luminous and lively center upon which her story pivots; the narrative floats effortlessly between the bustling present and Da Silva’s nostalgia-worthy past. It’s a natural next read for fans of Fredrik Backman. - Louise

I am obsessed with Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore. She tells us a unique history of San Francisco during the years when it was still a supremely weird place that the moneyed hadn't (completely) ruined yet. The valuable underground knowledge and lore it unearths and the undeniably queer spark of intelligence and self-reflection make this a vital historical document. - Louise

Plum anticipates the awesome life she imagines will materialize after her weight-loss surgery. Then her happenstance encounters with a strange woman lead her to Calliope House, where the daughter of a deceased diet mogul looking to make amends folds her into a subculture of radical feminists rallying against the diet-industrial complex. This book is truly exceptional. - Louise

As the centennial of Jack London’s death approaches, this fresh compilation of photographs, journals, and essays offers readers a much more personal look at the author. Chapters about London’s life and career are arranged chronologically and include his photographs. Few great authors have left an impression in photography as well as in letters, but Jack London has. You’ll feel as though you’re on the deck of the Snark, looking through binoculars, outward toward adventure. —Louise

Sarai Walker’s mysterious, engaging, and politically charged story about a woman who is sick of waiting for her perfect life to begin is pitched to perfection. It’s obvious from the first page that a major amount of lived experience shaped the story—as I read I was nodding in recognition so often I got a little dizzy. I’m also madly in love with this book because there’s a book within the book! It’s a two for one!   —Louise