Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Nevermore: Cinderella's Dress, At Night All

 Reported by Garry

Cinderella’s Dress by Shonna Slayton is a re-imagining/continuation of the classic Cinderella story. Kate is a young woman working in the shops in New York in the 1940s. War tears Europe apart and Kate’s displaced Polish Aunt and Uncle arrive on her doorstep with a mysterious steamer trunk in tow – a trunk that contains the wardrobe of the real Cinderella. Protecting the trunk and its coveted contents is a task the women of Kate’s family have done for generations, and now it is Kate’s turn – whether she wants it or not. “Delightful, imaginative, and fun” were the words our reader used to describe this first in the Fairy-Tale Inheritance series of six books, all featuring twists on the classic Grimm’s fairy tales.  SH



At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop is the Booker Prize winning debut novel that follows the journey of Alfa Ndiaye, a Senegalese man who fights with the French in the trenches of World War I. Alfa’s best friend is shot and mortally wounded, and begs Alfa to kill him, sparing him a painful and prolonged death. Alfa can’t bring himself to do so, and the conflict between killing his friend and letting him die slowly begins to tear Alfa apart, even as he tries to make amends that are at once horrific and understandable. Our reader was amazed by the “hypnotic writing” in this multi-award winning, harrowing novel of a descent into madness, and very highly recommends it.  SC



Tennessee Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff by Kristin Luna.  Did you know that the town of Erwin once hanged an elephant? That Camden is the location of the only fresh-water pearl farm in North America? These and myriad other weird, quirky and intriguing entries make this one very fun book that has struck a fire under our reader to go visit as many of the sites as possible.  KM

Also mentioned:

Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey

Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks

Spirits and Smoke by Mary Miley

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian

Walking to Wijiji: A Journey Overcoming Loneliness by Bunny Medeiros

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

Chivalry (Graphic Novel) by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran

The Lost World of James Smithson: Science, Revolution, and the Birth of the Smithsonian by Heather Ewing

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