Deerfield Review - Page 2 of 6

You might recognize Herman Koch’s name from his bestselling 2012 novel The Dinner. A Dutch writer, Koch is a master at creating unnerving literary thrillers. Dear Mr. M is Koch’s third novel to be translated into English, and like The Dinner, and his last novel, Summer House with Swimming Pool, it is another deliciously creepy… Read More

As the head of household at the famous Sewell mansion in the 1920s,  12-year-old Martha’s Ma quickly hires her as the new kitchen maid; a necessity after Martha smart talks her teacher one too many times and gets kicked out of her local parish school. Mr. Sewell is the wealthy owner of a large newspaper… Read More

In his memoir, “Guantánamo Diary”, Mohamedou Ould Slahi admits that he fought for an al-Qaida unit in Afghanistan in the early 1990s. But that was when the United States was active in funding al-Qaida because it was fighting against the Soviet Union. Slahi then went back to Germany to finish school and spent some time… Read More

“You may have been perfectly designed, but there is always ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.” This terrifying utterance by the ‘Father of the Euro Zone’ in Louise O’Neill’s excellent young adult novel Only Ever Yours will be with me forever. Only Ever Yours paints the picture of a post-apocalyptic world in which women are not born --… Read More

Only around three percent of the books published in the U.S. each year are works in translation. This means many American readers miss out on some great reads—even from our closest Spanish-speaking neighbor. Here are just three Mexican novelists whose work has recently been translated into English. I chose to highlight these authors because their… Read More

When you think about a summer read, maybe you expect something with thrills, romance, or gut-busting laughs? Maybe you wouldn’t usually consider a story about a man and his dachshund that very well might serve up a big helping of emotions. I wouldn’t blame you, as I know what’s usually in my beach bag. It’s… Read More

Earlier in June I had the great fortune of attending Book Expo America (BEA) in Chicago. BEA is a librarian’s dream. We were able to meet authors, hear about upcoming book releases, and even snag advance copies of some of the titles. I picked up many titles that I’m excited to share with readers, but… Read More

When “An Ember in the Ashes” by Sabaa Tahir was released last spring, the library world was abuzz about this exciting new YA fantasy title. While at a conference, I had the privilege of hearing the author speak about the book, and I was definitely intrigued. However, despite being touted as a “stand-alone” when it… Read More

It has been a rough year so far for music, as we’ve lost a number of stars. Merle Haggard was a legend in country music, Prince will never be forgotten, and we were all shocked at the sudden passing of David Bowie. “Blackstar” was released on David Bowie’s 69th birthday in January, and two days… Read More

I’m a single woman in my twenties, so if there’s one thing I can count on, it’s hearing about love and marriage. Whether it’s being asked to be a bridesmaid in a friend’s wedding or answering question after question about whether or not I’m seeing someone, sometimes it feels like everything in my life revolves… Read More