Romantic Parvenu

Book Review: The Makioka Sisters by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki

January 3, 2015

Serialized between 1943 and 1948, Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s The Makioka Sisters (Sasemeyuki in Japan) details life for a middle-class Japanese family between the years 1936 and 1941. The book is focused mostly on seemingly mundane, daily actions and ...

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Book Review: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

January 1, 2015

This is not a book that’s swallowed easily. It hurts, and it’s meant to. It makes the reader consider things from new angles, to sympathize with those we might never take notice of. A Monster Calls is not happy; it’s not pretty. This book ...

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Book Review: The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

January 1, 2015

I very much enjoyed this book. It was a nice way to spend an afternoon and not too mentally taxing. There’s not much about it that makes me outright adore it, but neither do I have anything by way of complaint. Essentially, this was a fluffy ...

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Book Review: Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

January 1, 2015

I don’t know. Dangerous Girls obviously has fans, and readers have been completely shocked by Abigail Haas’ twist. I wasn’t, though. Good as this book may be, a truly successful mystery probably shouldn’t be that easy to pin down. Dangerous ...

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Book Review: A Mad Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller

December 30, 2014

Sharon Biggs Waller’s debut novel about art and suffrage in Victorian England is one not to be missed by any reader who enjoyed historical fiction. This is an excellent story that is well-written and rich in cultural detail, featuring a strong ...

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Book Review: The Secret History by Stephanie Thornton

December 30, 2014

I sincerely hope that Stephanie Thornton’s debut novel marks the beginning of long career in the historical fiction genre. The world needs to learn more about marginalized or forgotten figures from history, and The Secret History does just that. ...

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