The Calligrapher's Daughter

Living in Korea during the early twentieth century, Najin Han is the daughter of a famed calligrapher, from a long line of prestigious artists. Her life spans the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Second World War, and the end of the last Korean dynasty. This debut novel by Eugenia Kim, follows the lives of the Han family as Japan infiltrates the country, their traditons and their lives. Najin, with the support of her mother, seeks independence in a traditional family. She is educated, refined, and equipped to survive war and occupation. Male & female roles, food, living arrangments, marriage, work and the arts are all intertwiend as Father Han stubbornly refuses to let go of tradition and Najiin carefully moves forward to the new world order.

This reveiw by Denise R

This book can be found in our catalog www.newberglibrary.org

Brooklyn: A Novel

Brooklyn: A Novel by Colm Toibin

Eilis Lacey has come to age in a small town of Ireland in the years following World War II. She lives in the shadow of her older sister Rose who works and seems to have her life in order. Life is not exciting and there is little opportunity for work or love. Eilis is offered a chance to go to America to "better her situation" by Father Flood and agrees to the opportunity. The story line follows her life in Brooklyn as she adjusts to being Irish in America, a job and living in a boarding house with 5 other Irish girls. . She attends dances, helps at the church and studies for her bookkeeping courses and along the way meets a handsome Italian man, Tony. When a family crisis calls her back to Ireland she must decide whether to return to America or stay and continue to live out her mother's and community's expectations.

For those readers who enjoy a book written about the thoughts and feelings of the main character, this book is for them. The book does not move fast and has little plot or tension. It does give a nice rendition of the New York area following the war.

To find this title in our library go to our website at: http://www.newberglibrary.org/

This review was written by Denise

The Little Stranger

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

I love unreliable narrators! At least, I think he was unreliable. This is a gothic novel set in a decaying English country house just before World War II. The narrator, Dr. Farraday, whose mother was once a maid at the house, gets called to the house to care for a sick maid and gradually becomes emeshed with the impoverished family who is barely able to keep the house running. There's a sort of mystery at the core as major and minor tragedies overtake the house and the family. This is a long book, but the kind of book that rolls along in the best gothic brooding tradition.

To find this book in the Library to our website at www. newberglibrary.org

Reviewed by Jean S.