Wild—From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail: Cheryl Strayed

Published by Thorndike Press and Penguin Random House This is an amazing book about a woman’s journey to heal herself. Cheryl Strayed’s world collapses when she loses her beloved mother to cancer. Her marriage to a man she loves breaks up. And without her mother to hold them together, her family drifts apart. When her …

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The Casual Vacancy: J.K. Rowlings

This is about as far as you can get from the magical world of Harry Potter. There are no Dumbledores or Hagrids here, much less any wizardry. The book takes you to a small unmagical town (Pagford), with small self-absorbed people who lack empathy or wisdom. Depite this, it is a testimony to J.K. Rowling’s …

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The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

Review by Kamakshi Balasubramaniam Terse and lyrical, Galloway’s novel about the siege of Sarajevo shows with deep poignancy how war shortens lives but  expands to the point of unbearable pain each moment lived in anticipation of tragedy. A man’s life consists of fetching drinking water daily for his family and a neighbor. He must avoid …

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