A Word About Awards

BLACK BUTTERFLIES by Priscilla Morris   Nominations: Carnegie Longlist 2025, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2025, Womens Prize Finalist 2023   Date Read: November 23, 2025   From Kirkus Reviews (starred): “ The human costs of the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s are recounted in a compelling debut. Zora, a 55-year-old painter and art instructor, lives a busy life  in Sarajevo with her older husband, Franjo. When, during the early days of the partisan conflict, the family’s equanimity is upset by squatters trying to take possession of Zora’s mother’s apartment, Zora and Franjo decide that he will accompany her mother on an earlier-than-planned visit to their daughter and son-in-law (and beloved granddaughter) in England. Unable to believe or comprehend that the military action beginning to envelope the city will last for very long, Zora stays behind to watch the family’s properties and continue her work. Over the course of the following year, Zora struggles to surv...

CLOUD CUCKOO LAND by Anthony Doerr   Nominations: Carnegie Longlist 2022, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2022, Dublin Finalist 2023, Goodreads Finalist 2021, National Book Finalist 2021   Date Read: February 20, 2025   From Kirkus Reviews: “ An ancient Greek manuscript connects humanity's past, present, and future. “ Stranger, whoever you are, open this to learn what will amaze you ” wrote Antonius Diogenes at the end of the first century C.E.—and millennia later, Pulitzer Prize winner Doerr is his fitting heir. Around Diogenes' manuscript, "Cloud Cuckoo Land"—the author did exist, but the text is invented—Doerr builds a community of readers and nature lovers that transcends the boundaries of time and space. The protagonist of the original story is Aethon, a shepherd whose dream of escaping to a paradise in the sky leads to a wild series of adventures in the bodies of beast, fish, and fowl. Aethon's story is first found by Anna in 15th-century Constantinople; thou...

LOST CITY RADIO by Daniel Alarcon   Nominations: Center For Fiction Finalist 2007, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2008, Dublin Longlist 2009   Date Read: December 1, 2024   From Kirkus Reviews: “The host of a radio show finds herself increasingly tangled in the legacy of her country’s wearying history of war.   Like the dystopian settings of  Brave New World  and  1984 , the nation that Alarcón describes in his jarring and deeply imagined first novel feels at once anonymous and very familiar. Norma lives in the capital city of a South American nation that has spent ten years recovering from a long civil war that pitted the army against a failed cadre of rebels called the Illegitimate Legion. The reasons for the fighting are obscure, but Norma has become a national folk hero by helping to pick up the pieces; as the host of “Lost City Radio,” she reunites listeners with family members who were among the “disappeared” during the war. She’s not wholly disp...

THE BEEKEEPER OF ALEPPO by Christy Lefteri   Award: Aspen Words Winner 2020   Nominations: BookTube Finalist 2020, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2020   Date Read: November 12, 2023   Nuri and his wife Afra have lost everything in their flight from war-torn Syria – their son Sami, their home and even their connection to each other. Navigating a treacherous journey that is about as harrowing as the place they are fleeing from, the Ibrahims relentlessly pursue the reconnection with their dearest friend in England.   Only during this arduous journey does it become clear that Nuri is suffering from PTSD. He has invented a child to save, Mohammed, as a psychological replacement for the loss of his son. Nuri is depressed, constantly vigilant and wading through darkness, hoping to find the light.   The Beekeeper of Aleppo shows just how difficult the immigrant journey is. All these refugees want is honest work, a sense of home and connection to family. As Sami ima...

BARKSKINS by E. Annie Proulx   Nominations: Dayton Literary Peace Prize Finalist 2017, Dublin Longlist 2018, Kirkus Finalist 2016, Women’s Prize Longlist 2017   Date Read: October 14, 2023   Barkskins is Proulx’s homage to the intersection between the precious balance of ecosystems with naked greed. Too early in the drive for timber, which was equated with expansion and growth, there was no concept that forests could be decimated. Everyone believed forests were self-replenishing. That is, until all the forests of eastern U.S. were logged and didn’t regenerate as they had thought.   Coming as indentured servants, Rene Sel and Charles Duquet were tasked with enriching their benefactor Claude Trepagny, a disgusting brute of a man focused only on his own interests. While Rene held on to the terms of his contract, probably longer than he should have, Charles ran off, never completing his contract. These two lives take dramatically different, but interconnecting turns. ...

THE OVERSTORY by Richard Powers   Awards: Pulitzer Winner 2019   Nominations: Booker Finalist 2018, Carnegie Longlist 2019, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2019, Dublin Longlist 2020, PEN/Faulkner Finalist 2019, PEN/Jean Stein Finalist 2019   Date Read: June 30, 2023   The Overstory is almost a series of short stories that interweave, all outlining the relationship these characters have with nature, specifically trees. At first glance, a reader might think: what kind of profound relationship with trees could occupy over 500 pages of text? The answer is simple. Richard Powers. His “powers,” if you will, should never be underestimated.   Nicholas Hoel is an artist descended from a long line of Iowan farmers. Their property includes one remaining chestnut that has been photographed every month for about 20 years. Nicholas has inherited these photographs and his art is inspired by them. When he connects with Olivia, he has been living in near hibernation after losing...

THE LOST CHILDREN ARCHIVE by Valeria Luiselli   Awards: Carnegie Winner 2020, Dublin Winner 2021, Rathbones Folio Winner 2020   Nominations: Aspen Words Finalist 2020, Booker Longlist 2019, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2020, Kirkus Finalist 2019, National Book Critics Circle Finalist 2019, NY Times Finalist 2019, Women's Prize Longlist 2019   Date Read: July 11, 2022   The Lost Children Archive is truly one of the most beautiful books I have read in a while. Luiselli has confronted a tragic and ongoing tragedy with beauty, humanity and awareness, while also liking in the struggles of blended families and the obligations of documentarians to archive current and past experiences and voices. I am truly in awe.   The husband brought to the relationship a son and the mother, a daughter, blending the two households with the best of intentions. Everything does mesh together well until differing career paths and interests bring the couple apart and, consequently, thei...

EXIT WEST by Mohsin Hamid   Awards: Aspen Words Winner 2018, LA Times Winner 2017   Nominations: Booker Finalist 2017, Carnegie Longlist 2018, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2018, Dublin Finalist 2019, Kirkus Finalist 2017, National Book Critics Circle Finalist 2017, NY Times Finalist 2017, Rathbones Folio Finalist 2018   Date Read: November 19, 2021   Exit West is an interesting take on immigration and a relationship expedited by the pressures of war. In Hamid’s version of earth, literal doors allow people to migrate to different countries, bypassing paperwork, visas and passports, to simply arrive unannounced in a new country.   This is what happens for Saeed and Nadia, a couple in Syria who had just started dating and were finding the delights in each other’s company. The collapse of their city and Nadia’s vulnerability as a single woman living alone causes Saeed to invite her to come live with his father and him. Saeed’s mother had just recently been killed....

THE CAT’S TABLE by Michael Ondaatje   Nominations: Carnegie Longlist 2012, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2012, Dublin Longlist 2013, LA Times Finalist 2011   Date Read: August 31, 2021   The cat’s table is a table on a ship that is the furthest from the captain’s table. This is where Michael, a child of twelve is assigned on a ship crossing from Ceylon to England to meet his mother who he hasn’t seen in four or five years.    Fortunately for him, Michael quickly falls in with two other boys around his same age, Cassius and Ramadhin. They have free reign of the ship and get into all sorts of places they know they shouldn’t be. They encounter adults who they otherwise would never have met and are often lured into their schemes. The relationships that form among the three boys will follow them for the rest of their lives, even if some of their lives are far too brief.    They marvel at a prisoner who is let out of his cell for fresh air most evenings, wo...

THE NIGHT WATCHMAN by Louise Erdrich   Awards: Aspen Words Winner 2021, Pulitzer Winner 2021   Nominations: Carnegie Longlist 2021, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2021   Date Read: August 12, 2021   This richly textured, highly detailed and slow novel from Erdrich chronicles the attempt by the U.S. government to terminate the tribal lands of the Chippewa tribe. Largely based on her grandfather’s life, Patrick Gourneau, was a resident of the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota in the 1950s when the termination was first proposed.   Knowing that this actually happened in reality is infuriating, realizing that the attacks on Native people and their land is simply ghastly. Had this legislation passed, it would have violated long-standing treaties between Native tribes and the U.S. government. Gourneau was head of the Turtle Mountain Reservation at the time and lead the resistance to the termination.   Erdrich follows numerous peoples that form a web of ...

10 MINUTES 38 SECONDS IN THIS STRANGE WORLD by Elif Shafak   Nominations: Booker Finalist 2019, BookTube Finalist 2020, Dayton Literary Peace Prize Finalist 2020, Dublin Longlist 2021   Date Read: December 18, 2020   Leila is dead. She was murdered and her corpse thrown into a dumpster, like human garbage. Her consciousness, however, is far from over, extending beyond the lack of a heartbeat for 10 Minutes 38 seconds as she relives the best and worst parts of her life. We experience what she thinks as well as what happens as a result of her death. It’s interesting to begin at the end and work your way backwards. As I got to know Leila, the loss of her became increasingly sad.   Leila lived on the margins of society, having been rejected by her family and sold to a brothel. The circumstances of her life are tragic – her own mother wasn’t allowed to raise her; she was raped by her Uncle; her family did not believe her when she finally told what was happening; her leavi...

BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK by Ben Fountain Awards: Center For Fiction Winner 2012, LA Times Winner 2012, National Book Critics Circle 2012 Nominations: Carnegie Longlist 2013, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2013, Dublin Longlist 2014, National Book Finalist 2012 Date Read: May 8, 2020 Fountain did an incredible job of packing almost a lifetime into a single day. A novel that combines the military and football was not something I was looking forward to, but Fountain's writing and character development kept me engaged. Now that I'm writing this, I am unsure what branch of the military Billy's in, but I assume it's the Army. Billy is home from the war in Iraq on a victory tour, being paraded around the U.S. to generate goodwill for a very unpopular war. At only 19, Billy finds himself in multiple situations that are above his pay-grade, honored for the worst day of his life. What's worse is he continually relives it throughout his victory tour bec...

PACHINKO by Min Jin Lee Nominations: Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2018, Dublin Longlist 2019, National Book Finalist 2017, NY Times Finalist 2017 Date Read: November 3, 2019 Spanning four generations, Pachinko chronicles the lives of Koreans who have immigrated to Japan and their struggles in acceptance by and assimilating to Japanese culture. While their treatment wasn't surprising considering Japan's homogenous culture, I was surprised by how much some went to hide their origins so they could "pass" without prejudice. The characters in Pachinko are all strong willed and determined, particularly the women. As in most cultures, the women are taught to rely on the decision-making and money-making of the men, however, when life turns dire, Sunja and Kyunghee take the fate of their families into their own hands and figure out how to put food on the table and even save some yen for emergencies. Even as Yoseb lays dying from his wounds, he expects, nay demands...

THE ROUND HOUSE by Louise Erdrich Award: National Book Winner 2012 Nominations: Carnegie Finalist 2013, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2013, Dublin Longlist 2014 Dates Read: December 23, 2012 & September 16, 2019 I don't know where to begin with this novel but to say that Erdrich takes my breath away. So much ground is covered here - loss of innocence, injustice, the depths of friendship, the roots of tradition - all come mixing together to form a beautiful symphony. Erdrich is truly a master and I am thrilled I have so much of her work ahead of me. The prejudice experienced by Native Americans in this book is staggered yet these characters let it wash over them sometimes with a shrug, often with a joke and yet forever with the understanding that the laws foisted upon them over the centuries are altogether unjust. The violence visited upon Joe's mom, Geraldine, is horrific and only slowly do we learn how violent and inhuman her experience was. With this assau...

S ALVAGE THE BONES by Jesmyn Ward Award: National Book Winner 2011 Nominations: Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2012, Dublin Longlist 2013 Dates Read: September 9, 2012 & April 4, 2019 Ward is an exquisite storyteller, able to convey longing, suffering and desire in such a quiet way that it's almost deafening. It's no mistake we don't learn Esch's name, the narrator of the novel, until the third chapter. She is almost invisible, even to herself, never asking for what she really wants, never daring to hope for more. She lets life wash over her, never putting up obstacles. She is the water and life and everyone else's desires the wave. Only at the end of the novel does she scream out for acknowledgment and her heart's desire. Ward is fearless in bringing to light taboo topics that have been vilified by society - dog fighting, teen pregnancy, adultery, abortion. She provides a glimpse into a world that is all too familiar to some and foreign to others...

HOMEGOING by Yaa Gyasi Awards: National Book Critics Circle Winner 2016, PEN/Hemingway Winner 2017 Nominations: Carnegie Longlist 2017, Center For Fiction Finalist 2016, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2017, Dublin Longlist 2018 Date Read: March 29, 2017 Homegoing highlights the vast differences in human experience that seem determined by a whim. Two sisters, Effia and Esi, are born villages apart, yet experience polar opposite lives that can be traced down through generations. Considered historical fiction, Homegoing was the debut novel for Gyasi, who shockingly received a $1M advance. Quite a gamble by a publisher for an unproven author. The standout for me here was reading Marcus, a descendent of Esi's line, experiencing Ghana with Marjorie. As they tour the Cape Coast Castle, Marcus has an anxiety attack as he sees the Door Of No Return, a perfectly reasonable reaction to such a historic and devastating symbol from slavery. As he and Marjorie swim in the nearby ocean ...

A CONSTELLATION OF VITAL PHENOMENA by Anthony Marra Award: National Book Critics Circle Winner 2013 Nominations: Carnegie Longlist 2014, Center For Fiction Finalist 2013, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2014, Dublin Longlist 2015, National Book Longlist 2013 Date Read: June 27, 2016 This debut novel by Marra tells the story of Havaa, a small girl who witnesses her father being abducted by Russian forces during the conflict in Chechnya. She flees the town with their neighbor, Akhmed, who takes her to one of the only nearby functioning hospitals who is being run by one doctor, Sonja. These two flawed humans look after Havaa through impossible circumstances.  Once again, I am floored at how cruel humans can be to one another and how that cruelty knows no bounds, even towards innocent children. I was haunted by this novel long after I had read it and consider Marra a masterful storyteller. I would definitely read this again.

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr Awards: Carnegie Winner 2015, Goodreads Winner 2014, Pulitzer Winner 2015 Nominations: Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2015, Dublin Longlist 2016, National Book Finalist 2014, New York Times Finalist 2014 Date Read: February 16, 2015 This is only the second novel I have ever picked up by my own steam that happened to receive any awards, The Goldfinch being the first. This gem of a novel occurs during WWII in occupied France. The protagonist, a blind French girl named Marie-Laure, lives with her widowed father, who dotes on her and takes every opportunity to enrich her world through Braille books, puzzle boxes and a precise miniature model of their neighborhood.  Parallel to this narrative is an orphaned German boy, Werner, who repairs a broken radio, creating a lifeline to the outside world, with a science program broadcast from France being his favorite. As the war progresses, Marie-Laure and her father flee to the coastal t...

CUTTING FOR STONE by Abraham Verghese   Nominations: Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2010, Dublin Longlist 2011, PEN/Hemingway Finalist 2010   Date Read: May 15, 2010   “Many readers will tell you that Cutting for Stone is the epic story of two conjoined twins fathered by a brilliant British Surgeon and an Indian Nun. And it technically is. Narrated by Marion the first born twin we are told of every influence on his and his brother’s existence. More than the story being told however, the novel is an accurate portrayal of life in all its cruelty and wonder.   The twin’s mother dies in childbirth and their father abandons them minutes later. They are raised in a missionary medical hospital in Ethiopia. As they grow up they are forced to face their past and futures re-defining the meanings of destiny, love and family.   While reading you will notice the fine points are painstakingly researched as the story is and packed full of medical jargon and situations along wi...