literary fiction – The Book Diva's Reads

Book Spotlight: FOUR TREASURES OF THE SKY by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang
ISBN: 9781250811783 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781250811790 (ebook)
ISBN: 9781250837530 (digital audiobook)
ASIN: B092NFT8K8 (Audible audiobook)
ASIN: B08PSDCR4L (Kindle edition)
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: April 5, 2022
Genre: Fiction | Historical Fiction | Literary Fiction | Asian Literature | Westerns

A propulsive and dazzling debut novel set against the backdrop of the Chinese Exclusion Act, about a Chinese girl fighting to claim her place in the 1880s American West

Daiyu never wanted to be like the tragic heroine for whom she was named, revered for her beauty and cursed with heartbreak. But when she is kidnapped and smuggled across an ocean from China to America, Daiyu must relinquish the home and future she imagined for herself. Over the years that follow, she is forced to keep reinventing herself to survive. From a calligraphy school, to a San Francisco brothel, to a shop tucked into the Idaho mountains, we follow Daiyu on a desperate quest to outrun the tragedy that chases her. As anti-Chinese sentiment sweeps across the country in a wave of unimaginable violence, Daiyu must draw on each of the selves she has been—including the ones she most wants to leave behind—in order to finally claim her own name and story.

At once a literary tour de force and a groundbreaking work of historical fiction, Four Treasures of the Sky announces Jenny Tinghui Zhang as an indelible new voice. Steeped in untold history and Chinese folklore, this novel is a spellbinding feat.

Praise for Four Treasures of the Sky

“Engrossing…Epic…Zhang’s descriptive prose is an arresting combination of earthy and lyric…The resonance and immediacy of these barbarous 19th-century events are testament to Zhang’s storytelling powers, and should stand as a warning to all of us.” —Jennifer Egan, The New York Times Book Review

“Zhang’s transporting story of perseverance in the face of shocking injustice resonates across cultures, and also feels sadly relevant to today’s world.” —Washington Post

“The prides and prejudices of the Old West blaze to life in Zhang’s propulsive, fable-like novel…Zhang skillfully embellishes her novel with Chinese characters, suggesting that language is our most potent weapon against oppression.” —Oprah Daily

“Compelling, tragic, and poetic, this debut is an absolute must-read for literary fiction lovers.” —BuzzFeed

“Radiant…A treasure of a debut…[Zhang’s] first novel reveals storytelling skills both vast and specific, bringing shadowy history to light while also displaying a remarkable talent for sensory detail.” —BookPage (cover story)

“Zhang’s debut novel imaginatively illuminates an often overlooked aspect of American history that resonates powerfully today, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and concurrent anti-Asian violence… Zhang’s blend of history and magical realism will appeal to fans of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ The Water Dancer as well as Amy Tan’s The Valley of Amazement.” —Booklist (starred review)

“Fierce and moving…Zhang delves into the history of violence and prejudice against Chinese people in the U.S. with her debut, a lyrical and sweeping Bildungsroman…The author skillfully delineates the many characters and offers fascinating details on Chinese calligraphy and literature, along with an unsparing view of white supremacy.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Extraordinary…Those who want to learn about a little-known incident in Chinese-American history will be enlightened by this moving debut.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“Jenny Tinghui Zhang uses her considerable talents to illuminate the shocking injustices the Chinese in this country suffered in the 1800s, and in doing so, makes us stop and consider how much of that cruelty and injustice survive to this day. Four Treasures of the Sky is an engulfing, bighearted, and heartbreaking novel.” —Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch House

Meet The Author

Jenny Tinghui Zhang is a Texas-based Chinese-American writer and the author of Four Treasures of the Sky (released from Flatiron Books on April 5, 2022). She is a Kundiman fellow and graduate of the VONA/Voices and Tin House workshops. Her work has appeared in Apogee, Ninth Letter, Passages North, The Rumpus, HuffPost, The Cut, Catapult, and more.

Connect with the Author: Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter | Website

Book Spotlight: STILL THE NIGHT CALL by Joshua Senter

Still the Night Call by Joshua Senter
ISBN: 9781737585602 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781737585619 (eBook)
ASIN: B09L5765JL (Audible audiobook)
ASIN: B09B2WDT5Y (Kindle edition)
Publisher: Roubidoux Press
Release Date: January 14, 2022
Genre: Fiction | Literary Fiction

Kirkus Reviews “BEST INDIE BOOK OF 2021”

Still the Night Call is about Calem Honeycutt, a 32-year-old Missouri dairy farmer of few words. But just because he’s quiet doesn’t mean he’s simple. In fact, Calem’s internal voice eloquently leads us through his wondrous yet tortured past, his fears for the future of his beleaguered rural world, and his carefully laid plans to remedy the vicious Night Call that haunts his present. All he has to do is get through one last day on the farm, then he can free himself of being a straight, white, middle-aged man with nothing in his possession but a gun and a prayer.

Through the eyes of Calem, Still the Night Call delves into the quickly diminishing world of Midwestern farmers whose livelihoods have become fodder for politicians and trade wars while their traditional values have become the subject of scorn and culture wars. The result is a struggling working class whose worth has been reduced to mirthless caricatures and economic dust, and who are desperately looking for hope anywhere they might find it.

Advance Praise

“Senter’s impressive novel is a truthful, honestly told story…A candid tale that triumphantly understands the Midwestern psyche, delivering moments of beauty and tragedy.” — Kirkus Reviews

“In this chilling novel, readers follow a young dairy farmer staring down his last day on his family’s southern Missouri farm. This book’s power lies in its relevance and its authenticity…” — The US Review of Books

“Senter’s story resonates on levels that wouldn’t have been possible even several years ago…In many ways, STILL THE NIGHT CALL is a call to action. The first step is reading this book. The second lies in recommending it for discussions about free will, choice, civil war, and social change.” — Midwest Book Review

Meet The Author

Author Joshua Senter

Joshua Senter was raised in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri where he was homeschooled along with his four sisters on a five hundred acre cattle farm. Josh moved to Los Angeles in 1997 and three years later, received a bachelor’s degree in filmmaking from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, along with Ninth Term Honors.

In 2002 he began writing for the hit Showtime series The L Word. A year after that, he joined the international phenomenon, Desperate Housewives, where he was nominated for a Writer’s Guild of America award for his episode, “Don’t Look at Me.” In 2013 Joshua began writing and co-producing a new show for ABC Family, Chasing Life. During that time his debut novel, Daisies, was published by Diversion Books. In 2014 Joshua moved over to MTV where he began working as a writer/producer for the hit series Finding Carter.

In 2015 Joshua was placed on the Tracking Board’s Young and Hungry List as one of the top 100 writer’s working in Hollywood. In 2016, 2017, and 2018 Josh wrote pilots for ABC, FOX, and NBC respectively. A Valentine’s Day movie he co-wrote for Freeform, called The Thing About Harry, aired in February of 2020 and was nominated for a 2021 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Movie. Still the Night Call is his sophomore novel.

Connect with the Author: Goodreads | Instagram | Website

This spotlight brought to you by Books Forward

Book Spotlight: THE NORTHERN REACH by W.S. Winslow

The Northern Reach by W. S. Winslow
ISBN: 9781250776488 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781250776495 (ebook)
ISBN: 9781250791511 (digital audiobook)
ASIN: B088MDT3TY (Audible audiobook)
ASIN: B088DQZMYV (Kindle edition)
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: March 2, 2021

A heart-wrenching first novel about the power of place and family ties, the weight of the stories we choose to tell, and the burden of those we hide.

Frozen in grief after the loss of her son at sea, Edith Baines stares across the water at a schooner, under full sail yet motionless in the winter wind and surging tide of the Northern Reach. Edith seems to be hallucinating. Or is she? Edith’s boat-watch opens The Northern Reach, set in the coastal town of Wellbridge, Maine, where townspeople squeeze a living from the perilous bay or scrape by on the largesse of the summer folk and whatever they can cobble together, salvage, or grab.

At the center of town life is the Baines family, land-rich, cash-poor descendants of town founders, along with the ne’er-do-well Moody clan, the Martins of Skunk Pond, and the dirt farming, bootlegging Edgecombs. Over the course of the twentieth century, the families intersect, interact, and intermarry, grappling with secrets and prejudices that span generations, opening new wounds and reckoning with old ghosts.

W. S. Winslow’s The Northern Reach is a breathtaking debut about the complexity of family, the cultural legacy of place, and the people and experiences that shape us.

Read an excerpt here.

Advance Praise

“Is there anything better than getting to walk through a small and unfamiliar town and peer through the windows into the lives lived in the houses there? The Northern Reach gives you that rich and satisfying treat. Here is a Maine as various and stark as the pull of tides in every human heart.”

– Sarah Blake, author of The Guest Book

“There should be a term for that rare, specific pleasure when a writer takes you to place you’ve never been and by the time the book is finished you feel like you know the landscape and its people as well as you do your own…Winslow’s debut novel is such a book, her clear-eyed vision of a small town in Maine is both steely and humane, and as transporting as a ticket home.”

– Helen Schulman, author of Come With Me

“If Johnny Cash had sung of New England, he might have envisioned these sweeping, haunted, hilarious and sad tales of W. S. Winslow’s…This is a devastating book by a major storyteller.”

– John Freeman, author of How to Read a Novelist

Meet The Author

W.S. Winslow was born and raised in Maine but spent most of her working life in San Francisco and New York in corporate communications and marketing. A ninth-generation Mainer, she now spends most of the year in a small town Downeast. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in French from the University of Maine, and an MFA from NYU. Her fiction has been published in Yemassee Journal and Bird’s Thumb. The Northern Reach is her first novel.

Author Links: Facebook | Twitter | Website | Goodreads

This spotlight is brought to you courtesy of Flatiron Books

2019 Book 233: A PURE HEART by Rajia Hassib

A Pure Heart by Rajia Hassib
ISBN: 9780525560050 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9780525560067 (ebook)
ISBN: 9781984889621 (audiobook)
ASIN: B07KDYDDY3 (Kindle edition)
Publication date: August 6, 2019
Publisher: Viking Books

A powerful novel about two Egyptian sisters–their divergent fates and the secrets of one family

Sisters Rose and Gameela Gubran could not have been more different. Rose, an Egyptologist, married an American journalist and immigrated to New York City, where she works in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Gameela, a devout Muslim since her teenage years, stayed in Cairo. During the aftermath of Egypt’s revolution, Gameela is killed in a suicide bombing. When Rose returns to Egypt after the bombing, she sifts through the artifacts Gameela left behind, desperate to understand how her sister came to die, and who she truly was. Soon, Rose realizes that Gameela has left many questions unanswered. Why had she quit her job just a few months before her death and not told her family? Who was she romantically involved with? And how did the religious Gameela manage to keep so many secrets?

Rich in depth and feeling, A Pure Heart is a brilliant portrait of two Muslim women in the twenty-first century, and the decisions they make in work and love that determine their destinies. As Rose is struggling to reconcile her identities as an Egyptian and as a new American, she investigates Gameela’s devotion to her religion and her country. The more Rose uncovers about her sister’s life, the more she must reconcile their two fates, their inextricable bond as sisters, and who should and should not be held responsible for Gameela’s death. Rajia Hassib’s A Pure Heart is a stirring and deeply textured novel that asks what it means to forgive, and considers how faith, family, and love can unite and divide us.

Fayrouz “Rose” Gubran has had what many may perceive as an idyllic life. She and her sister, Gameela, were raised by loving parents, Nora and Ahmad. Both daughters have received advanced educational studies, Rose in Egyptology/Archeology and Gameela in Engineering. And then when Rose was in her mid-twenties, she met an American reporter, Mark Hatfield. Mark was different from the other men she had met, they fell in love, he converted to Islam so they could get married (Muslim women aren’t allowed to marry non-Muslim men in Egypt), and eventually she was accepted in a doctoral program in the US. She and Mark moved to the States where Rose studied, became a naturalized citizen, changed her name from Fayrouz Gubran to Rose Gubran Hatfield, and eventually became a postdoctoral fellow at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. Mark became a reporter with assigned articles at the New York Times but longed for the days when he was reporting on social issues from the Middle East. Gameela, several years younger than Rose, lives through Arab Spring, is no longer as idealistic as she once was, and is possibly in a relationship with a man almost 30 years her senior. After a brief return to Egypt to do a series of freelance articles, Mark returns to the States and weeks later the young man he interviewed (Saaber) is jailed for the simple act of being interviewed by a foreign journalist and attacking one of the arresting officers. Several months later, Gameela is killed in a suicide bomber attack and Mark is feeling guilty that he may have inadvertently had a part to play in her death, Rose is angry at Mark because he may have inadvertently had a part to play in her death (Gameela introduced Mark to the man that introduced him to the young interview subject), and their lives are turned upside down. The only thing Rose can think of doing is trying to uncover the secrets, if any, to her sister’s life in Egypt. Will the answers she finds to bring her peace or simply cause more pain?

I had the pleasure of reading In the Language of Miracles by Rajia Hassib a few years ago and was blown away by the storyline and characters. I knew that I had to get my hands on a copy of her latest book, A Pure Heart after hearing about it and I’m incredibly grateful to the publisher for supplying me with a print review copy. A Pure Heart is an amazing story for so many reasons, not just because it is well written (although it is). This story asks and answers what makes a good Muslimah (Muslim female) as well as a good daughter/sister/wife/friend. Is it possible to be good at any of these roles and have secrets or change our opinions on what it means to be righteous or pious without being sanctimonious? Is it possible to love someone and still be angry with them for a prolonged period of time? Can we ever be assured that we know someone when we don’t know their deepest, darkest secrets? Do we even need to know those secrets in order to be a good friend/spouse/sibling? There are a lot of issues presented in A Pure Heart and there’s no way too many for me to touch on all of them without revealing too much about this wonderful story. This reader enjoyed getting to know all of the characters, especially Rose, Gameela, Mark, Ingrid, Nora, Ahmad, and Fouad, as well as Saaber. I loved reading about the neighborhoods in Egypt and learning about the poverty-stricken neighborhoods that tourists never see or hear about. I’m hard-pressed to find anything that I didn’t like about this story. As an American Muslimah, it is refreshing to read stories written by Muslims about Muslims and although Islam isn’t front and center in this story, it does play a pivotal role in the lives of the main characters. I encourage you all to grab a copy of A Pure Heart to read, and I’m not just saying that as a Muslim or because the author is a fellow West Virginia resident. I’m recommending this book because it is an outstanding read and one that I think every reader will be able to appreciate. Happy Reading y’all!

Disclaimer: I received a free print review copy from the publisher, Viking Books. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book 29: THREE WEEKS IN DECEMBER Review

Three Weeks in December by Audrey Schulman

ISBN: 978-1-60945-064-9

Publication date: January 31, 2012

Publisher: Europa Editions

In 1899 Jeremy, a young engineer, leaves a small town in Maine to oversee the construction of a railroad across British East Africa. In charge of hundreds of Indian laborers, he becomes the reluctant hunter of two lions that are killing his men in nightly attacks on their camp. Plagued by fear, wracked with malaria, and alienated by a secret he can tell no one, he takes increasing solace in the company of an African man who scouts for him.
In 2000 Max, an American ethnobotonist, travels to Rwanda in search of an obscure vine that could become a lifesaving pharmaceutical. Stationed in the mountains, she shadows a family of gorillas—the last of their group to survive the merciless assault of local poachers. Max bears a striking gift for communicating with the apes. But soon the precarious freedom of both is threatened as a violent rebel group from the nearby Congo draws close.

Three Weeks in December is a story of strangers, primarily from an American perspective, in a strange land, south-eastern Africa. The story is told in the alternating perspectives of Jeremy in the late 19th century and Max in the late 20th century in present day Rwanda. Both Jeremy and Max are outsiders in the true sense of the word and both are launched on a course of self-discovery.

Jeremy is apparently the only American working for the British in the construction of a railroad and he knows little of the customs, languages or habits of the indigenous population or the hired workers. Jeremy was also considered an outsider in his family back in Maine because of his sexual orientation (to be a single, relatively healthy man with no apparent inclination toward women was highly suspect). As a result Jeremy felt it best to leave his family and home. He intends to become a white settler in British East African after he completes his engineering tasks. However, this task is imperiled by two rogue lions that have boldly attacked men in the work camp. As the boss in the camp, Jeremy must hunt these lions and protect his workers. Over the course of several weeks, Jeremy launches his nightly vigils in an effort to kill the lions. His only companion is his African guide, Otombe. As Jeremy and Otombe sit and await the lions, Jeremy finds himself drawn to Otombe, an attraction he knows he can never act upon.

Max Tombay is a postdoctoral ethnobotanist. She knows that jobs will be difficult to come by, especially with her Asperger’s Syndrome. But a great opportunity is literally handed to her when she is asked by a pharmaceutical company to travel to Rwanda and locate a vine that could become a lifesaving drug. Max knows that her Asperger’s and single-minded focus is as asset in this area so she accepts. Max’s mother isn’t very happy with her daughter traveling to a war-torn region, but she can’t stop her. In short order Max travels to Rwanda with an ample supply of grey clothes, oatmeal and tofu. Just as Jeremy had difficulty assimilating to British East Africa, so does Max, but she is determined to make it work. She learns through trial and error and grudgingly gets along with the other researchers in the mountain-based research station. What Max finds amazing is that she gets along and understands the apes much better than she does her fellow researchers. Unfortunately all is not what it seems in Rwanda and Max and her fellow researchers must deal with the high possibility of an attack by rogue rebels.

All of the action presented in both Max and Jeremy’s stories cover the same three weeks in December, albeit separated by 100 years. It isn’t clear how their stories are linked until the very end. Ms. Schulman has provided two stories that could have stood alone but together seem to mirror one another in the difficulties both Max and Jeremy are facing. The historical information provided is quite detailed enough to provide a realistic starting point for both stories. The graphic details of the African landscape are such that it is almost possible to close your eyes and visualize the scene. The description of the apes is also quite realistic and they become additional characters in Max’s story. I found myself rooting for Max and Jeremy, as well as the apes, in their struggles to survive. Three Weeks in December is an emotional read that provides for a little suspense and adventure. This is a beautifully written story that drew me in from the very beginning and held my attention to the very end.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free for review purposes from the publisher. I was not paid, required or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Book 262: A PARCHMENT OF LEAVES Review

Every now and then I receive a book recommendation that completely surprises me (in a good way). A Parchment of Leaves by Silas House is one such book. I belong to a local book group that meets at the Charleston Town Center Mall on the last Wednesday of each month in the Community Room at Panera Bread Company (if you’re in the Kanawha County area please join us), and this was the book chosen for November.

The story is set in eastern Kentucky during the early 1900s and centers on a young Cherokee woman and her experiences with her non-Cherokee husband and his family. Although there is racism evident against Cherokees, this is not the heart of this story. Vine is a beautiful young woman that becomes enamored with Saul Sullivan. Saul is just as entranced and in love with Vine and the two marry. Vine accompanies her husband to his family’s land and leaves all that she has known behind.

The life that Saul and Vine lead is not considered a hard-scrabble life, but they do have to work hard. They must build their own home, which they do with the assistance of neighbors and family. They grow most of the vegetables and must slaughter chickens and hogs for meat. Vine washes their clothes on rocks at the nearby creek and they obviously don’t have indoor plumbing, running water or even electricity. Vine and Saul don’t miss these things simply because they’ve never had them and it isn’t expected. Saul works hard at the local mill and Vine works equally as hard keeping house. Eventually Vine gets pregnant and gives birth to a little girl they name Birdy.

As World War I begins, Saul wants to help with the war effort and volunteers to work in the next county. This job means that he’ll be gone for long periods of time. Vine gets along well with her mother-in-law and loves her new family. But she is also wary of her brother-in-law Aaron. He has never openly done anything, but he simply always seems to be underfoot and watching her, even when she’s out in the woods or walking with friends. She is extremely cautious about Aaron but Saul thinks he’s harmless. Aaron isn’t exactly irresponsible, but he’s never held down a job and seems to want to experience a hundred different jobs all at once. After some time Aaron leaves the family and is gone for months before returning with a wife – a young and pregnant wife. Aaron’s marriage gives Vine hope that he’s no longer attracted to her, until it is pointed out that his wife, Aidia, bears a strong resemblance to her.

I could give you more details about the story, but I’ll stop here. It is sufficient for me to note that this is an excellent portrayal of rural Appalachian life during the early 1900s. Mr. House has crafted a story that is captivating and utterly believable. This isn’t a glossed-over, rose-colored view of rural life, all of the hassles, trials and tribulations are deftly revealed. I become so engrossed in the story that I had to finish it in one sitting, even staying up late to do so. Saul is initially the typical strong but silent man that openly loves his family. He becomes more outgoing as the story evolves but remains openly loving of his family. Vine isn’t a traditional housewife and mother although she deals with all of the household chores with ease. Their marriage has its share of ups and downs, usually as a result of outside forces. The story is different and the voice of Vine is unique, such that A Parchment of Leaves had me in a hurry to collect more literary fiction by Mr. House.