Category Archives: fiction

“Let me hasten to add that I am not at all like Jane Eyre, who must have given hope to so many plain women . . .nor have I ever thought of myself as being like her.”

Posted on March 28, 2020 by Kate Stover

When I read about “the unexpected joy of repeat experiences” during difficult times, I immediately thought of the pleasure I have in rereading novels by Barbara Pym.  Surely one of the ways we can cope with the stress of an … Continue reading →

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“There lay a man, flat on this back, his left leg turned grotesquely forward from the knee. His eyes and mouth wide open.”

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Kate Stover

On page 22 of Where the Crawdads Sing, we discover that Chase Andrews is dead.  Was it an accident or a murder? While that’s the question that drives the plot, my main question was: why was this book “the” sensation … Continue reading →

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“Silence surrounded her as she waited.”

Posted on January 18, 2020 by Kate Stover

In Olive, Again there is a lot of waiting and a lot of people dying. And yet, there is an underlying sense of urgency as the main characters struggle to figure things out, which is difficult work because it’s clear … Continue reading →

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Best Books of 2019: Five Favorites

Posted on December 31, 2019 by Kate Stover

Here are the five books I’ve recommended most frequently in 2019: Novel: It appears that Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House is on every “Best of 2019” list. What makes it so appealing? In addition to having likable, open-hearted characters in … Continue reading →

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“There are a few times in life when you leap up and the past that you’d been standing on falls away behind you . . .”

Posted on December 5, 2019 by Kate Stover

Ann Patchett continues “…and the future you mean to land on is not yet in place, and for a moment you’re suspended, knowing nothing and no one, not even yourself.” This is the protagonist’s description of how his life as … Continue reading →

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“She parked her old Honda Accord in the minister’s spot and saw before getting out of her car that the Fellowship Hall’s lights were on already.”

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Kate Stover

I hesitate to read novels that are set in places and situations I know because I’ve been disappointed so often by inaccuracies. So, as a person who lives in the great midwest, has owned a Honda Accord, sometimes parks in … Continue reading →

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“It was culture as class performance, literature fetishized for its ability to take educated people on false emotional journeys . . .”

Posted on October 24, 2019 by Kate Stover

“…so that they might afterwards feel superior to the uneducated people whose emotional journeys they like to read about.” This is how Sally Rooney describes a character’s reaction to a famous author who gives a reading from one of his … Continue reading →

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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…”

Posted on September 5, 2019 by Kate Stover

Charles Dickens’ famous opening sentence ends with the astonishing idea that the turbulent period leading up to the French Revolution was “like the present period.” The present period! Was he warning leaders against making the mistake of ignoring the horrible … Continue reading →

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“He wasn’t sure what version of her Dr. Fletcher was seeing – the charming, beautiful, confident woman . . . or the sleep-deprived, hormonally flimsy, unoccupied housewife who had the audacity to say things like ‘It’s the most fun I’ve ever had.’”

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Kate Stover

Don’t let the title of this novel fool you. It’s not a simple beach-book about people having fun.  Instead, as Jane Smiley observed, it’s an “ambitious and brilliantly written” first novel that is sometimes amusing and sometimes shocking. It’s written … Continue reading →

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“It was the rough edge of the world, where the trees came smack down to the stones.”

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Kate Stover

Reading about the majestic trees in the northwest corner of the country in The Overstory made me want to learn more about the history of the relationship between the ancient trees and the new settlers who lived and died by … Continue reading →

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“A good answer must be reinvented many times, from scratch.”

Posted on June 23, 2019 by Kate Stover

At the heart of this year’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Overstory, is the question “How important are trees?” What I love about this book is the way it gives eight answers to that question by telling the stories of eight … Continue reading →

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“But what is the truth of our social existence?”

Posted on May 13, 2019 by Kate Stover

Why would anyone invest a large percentage of their reading time in Knausgaard’s 3600-page novel? Is it worth it? I started reading it because I was curious about this Norwegian writer’s experiment with a new form of writing, which emphasizes … Continue reading →

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“The room seemed suddenly very hot and I saw Mrs. Gray’s face rather too close to mine, her eyes wide open and penetrating, her teeth very small and pointed, her skin a smooth apricot colour.”

Posted on March 31, 2019 by Kate Stover

Why do some novels draw me back year after year, while others – perhaps even more worthy – do not? Maybe, as the NPR commentator noted, returning to books read multiple times is like having a drink with an old … Continue reading →

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Best Books of 2018: Five Favorites

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Kate Stover

The books I have recommended most often to my friends this year are: Pioneers! Strong families! Resourcefulness! I’ve always been drawn to the stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I’ve often recommended her books to those who are learning to … Continue reading →

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“He wanted revenge. He longed for it. He daydreamed about it.”

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Kate Stover

Is there a person on earth who hasn’t daydreamed about revenge? It’s easy to relate to a person who wants to get even, which is the basic story line in Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood. It’s based on The Tempest by … Continue reading →

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