Finally Fiction

The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia by Mary Helen Stefaniak: Stefaniak started out with great characters and a quirky story, but then she seemed to lose her way. The book felt very aimless toward the middle, and it was hard to push through the lull.

Georgia Bottoms by Mark Childress: I honestly don't even know why I finished this book. The main character is just horrible. I was expecting a Southern belle and got a prostitute. Yuck--waste of time.

So Much for That by Lionel Shriver: Despite it's depressing subject matter and some heavy handed criticism of our health care system, I liked it. Go figure.

Minding Ben by Victoria Brown: Another one I almost didn't finish. I thought the subject (an 18 year old leaves Trinidad to become a nanny in New York) sounded like it could be interesting, but I felt like it wasn't fleshed out enough to be believable.

Still Missing by Beth Gutcheon: Originally published in 1981, this is now available as a Persephone Books reprint. I thought there must be something really special about it to warrant its place on the Persephone list, but I just thought it was a very dated book about a missing child. I'm not ready for Eighties nostalgia, I guess.

Love In Complete Sentences by Mary E. Mitchell: Finally something I liked unequivocally! It isn't a fluffy piece of chick lit like the cover might lead you to believe.

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith: Ah, my No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency fix. Recently, I've been surprised to hear how many people are NOT fans of Alexander McCall Smith. True, there isn't a lot of action in them, but I think they are wonderfully contemplative and seem effortless.

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom: A good book, but very similar to many I have read before. If you aren't already saturated by books about slavery and the South, you may well enjoy it more than I did!