Nina Sankovitch in Nina Sankovitch

Apr 16, 2010

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The Hell That Was Haiti: Island Beneath the Sea, by Isabel Allende

Island Beneath the Sea, Isabel Allende’s new novel, is a searing exploration of the viciousness of slavery in the eighteenth century and the gross contradiction between its brutalizing forces and the lofty ideals of…

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Nina Sankovitch in Nina Sankovitch

Apr 16, 2010

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The Depths of Grimes and Her Jury

The Black Cat is Martha Grimes’ most recent Richard Jury mystery, the twenty-second in a marvelous run of cases involving the handsome and intelligent Richard Jury. Present, as always, are his hypochondriac (but increasingly less so — people in Grimes’ world do evolve)…

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Nina Sankovitch in Nina Sankovitch

Apr 9, 2010

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Russian Lit Fever

The Possessed by Elif Batuman is her story of how she fell in love with Russian literature — became one of “the possessed” — and where that love led her. It led her to places I could never imagine myself going, like Samarkand for the summer, and to places I’d love to go, like the International…

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Nina Sankovitch in Nina Sankovitch

Apr 5, 2010

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Cromwell Among the Wolves

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel is simply wonderful. The novel is very long and patiently paced (it may seem slow to those used to a more rapid keening of events). It is enthralling, a falling into a world so completely that when I looked up from the book I felt disoriented and strange…

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Nina Sankovitch in Nina Sankovitch

Apr 18, 2010

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Marvelous Montalbano

I just finished the latest Andrea Camilleri mystery novel starring the moody Inspector Salvo Montalbano and I loved it. In The Wings of the Sphinx, Camilleri once again delivers a novel of clever criminal investigation, self-torturing philosophizing, fine dining, and subtle humor. The humor…

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Nina Sankovitch in Nina Sankovitch

Apr 7, 2010

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Take a Leap: How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly by Connie May Fowler

The story in How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly by Connie May Fowler is as overwrought as its heroine is earthbound. It’s a testament to Fowler’s flair with characters and setting that the plot can be forgiven…

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Nina Sankovitch in Nina Sankovitch

Apr 21, 2010

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Discovering Truth and Keeping Humor

It has been a long time since I’ve reviewed a book for young readers but Trial by Journal by Kate Klise is such a great find, I have to write about it. My youngest son introduced it to me. He is in third grade and although he has read the Harry Potter books, he is…

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Nina Sankovitch in Nina Sankovitch

Apr 22, 2010

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Sushi for Life: John Vorhaus’s The California Roll

The California Roll by John Vorhaus is a hilarious send-up of con men and the women who chase them, cons and cops alike. Vorhaus’ narrator, Radar Hoverland (he swears it’s his real name — but is it?) has been on the game since childhood when…

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Nina Sankovitch in Nina Sankovitch

Apr 13, 2010

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Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel: Survival and Remembrance

Yann Martel’s Beatrice and Virgil is a slim but potent exploration of the nature of survival in the face of evil. Martel’s narrator is a novelist named Henry who had great success with his first novel and has worked five…

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Nina Sankovitch in Nina Sankovitch

Apr 26, 2010

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The Hell that Was Haiti: Island Beneath the Sea, by Isabel Allende

Island Beneath the Sea, Isabel Allende’s new novel, is a searing exploration of the viciousness of slavery in the eighteenth century and the gross contradiction between its brutalizing forces and the lofty ideals of…

Read more…

These were the top 10 stories published by Nina Sankovitch in April of 2010. You can also dive into daily archives for April of 2010 by using the calendar at the top of this page.