Small Hotel

From Catherine Given Author:  Robert Olen  Butler Small Hotel It’s amazing what the element of suspense adds to most any plot. I picked up A Small Hotel by Robert Olen Butler expecting to read the sad tale of a couple’s separation after 20 years. Instead, because the book juxtaposes flashbacks of the couple’s first meeting with [...]

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The descendants: a novel

From Catherine Given Author:  Kaui Hart  Hemmings The descendants: a novel By now you’ve probably seen either The Descendants’ promos or the movie featuring George Clooney and Beau Bridges. In the novel it’s based on, Hemmings provides a sensitive account of the dealings of a comfortably numb man. Matthew, the mostly emotionally absent father of [...]

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Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: my year of magical reading

From Catherine Given Author:  Nina Sankovitch Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: my year of magical reading I just finished Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading by Nina Sankovitch, about a woman who self-prescribes a book a day for a year as a way to re-group after her beloved sister’s death.  It’s [...]

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Sister : a novel

From Catherine Given author: Lupton, Rosamund Sister : a novel Authors of mysteries often employ flashbacks, but Rosamund Lupton doesn’t stop there in her debut novel. Two young Londoners,  sisters  Beatrice and Tess, remained close despite pursuing careers an ocean apart.  Upon learning that Tess is missing, Beatrice, the story’s narrator, rushes in from New [...]

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Tiger Hills

From Catherine Given author: Mandanna, Sarita Tiger Hills Though one might guess otherwise, the book Tiger Hills has nothing to do with a championship golf course.  Rather, it’s a classic saga, so richly spiced that reading it is like enjoying an authentic curry.  Here’s Sarita Mandanna’s winning recipe:  sift together the triumph over adversity of [...]

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A Box of Darkness: The Story of a Marriage

From Catherine Given author: Brady, Sally Ryder A Box of Darkness: The Story of a Marriage When I heard that this book was in the same vein as Joan Didion’s “The Year of Magical Thinking”, I had to try it.  The two memoirs share many themes and are equally un-putdown-able.  In recounting the story of [...]

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An Object of Beauty

From Catherine Given author: Martin, Steve An Object of Beauty  Steve Martin – who continues to surprise us with the breadth and depth of his creativity – has just written another book:an illuminating novel providing a rare depiction of the contemporary art scene’s inner workings.  An Object of Beauty brings us along with main character [...]

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Stieg Larsson: Our Days in Stockholm: a Memoir of a Friendship

From Catherine Given author: Baksi, Kurdo Stieg Larsson: Our Days in Stockholm: a Memoir of a Friendship If you are among the zillions of fans who devoured Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, and The Girl Who Played with Fire,) you may also enjoy [...]

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Priceless : how I went undercover to rescue the world’s stolen treasures

From Catherine Givens author: Wittman, Robert K. Priceless : how I went undercover to rescue the world’s stolen treasures The new book, “Priceless”, by Robert K. Wittman is a fascinating memoir set in the dark world of art thievery and the black market.  Wittman, a 20-year veteran of the FBI, founded the Bureau’s chronically understaffed [...]

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Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight

From Catherine Given author: Fuller, Alexandra Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight Fuller weaves a colorful, disturbing, and finally inspiring story of her childhood in Africa. This story makes Isak Dinesen’s “Out of Africa” (“which I also loved”) “seem like Pollyanna.” Gritty, suspenseful and at times gory, this story is like a defibrillator for [...]

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