Mari Carlson, Book Reviewer

When not reading fiction and writing reviews, Mari is probably practicing violin or teaching lessons or playing a gig. She enjoys the local literary and music scenes in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Book Review

Letters to Annie

by Mari Carlson

In the reassuring epistolary novel "Letters to Annie", a grandmother writes fairy tale–evocative letters to her granddaughter, drawing parallels between the child’s woes and the stories of Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Ariel. In Monika... Read More

Book Review

The Overexamined Life of Jacob Hart

by Mari Carlson

Harmony and clarity are found as four men pursue happiness in tandem in the endearing novel "The Overexamined Life of Jacob Hart". In Jerry Wald’s soulful novel "The Overexamined Life of Jacob Hart", the longtime friendships between... Read More

Book Review

The Death of Tony

by Mari Carlson

Lithuanian-Canadian Antanas Sileika’s memoir "The Death of Tony" is about moving between two worlds. Sileika’s parents fled Lithuania following the Soviet takeover in 1944. Sileika grew up outside of Toronto, where he had jaunty... Read More

Book Review

The Alchemy of The Beast

by Mari Carlson

The allegorical novel "The Alchemy of The Beast" follows as a once-busy woman redefines her sense of what’s ordinary. An unexpected trip to Central America is healing for a young entrepreneur in Alyssa Noelle Coelho’s allegorical... Read More

Book Review

Crossing Lake Pontchartrain

by Mari Carlson

The unknown and serendipity get the last word in the tragicomic novel "Crossing Lake Pontchartrain", about a writer’s midlife crisis. In Arthur Byrd’s heartfelt novel "Crossing Lake Pontchartrain", a man pursues artistic liberation... Read More

Book Review

The Limits of My World

by Mari Carlson

A common goal is sought between two contentious groups in the philosophical science fiction novel "The Limits of My World". In Gregory Coles’s future-set science fiction novel "The Limits of My World", a war between aliens and humans... Read More

Book Review

Farm Family

by Mari Carlson

Jane Lee Rankin’s celebratory memoir is about forging an unlikely new family among farm animals. An alpaca farm and a new community in which to raise her son are the crucial components of new joy in Jane Lee Rankin’s memoir "Farm... Read More

Book Review

Memory That Claws

by Mari Carlson

"Memory That Claws" is an affirming memoir about overcoming a haunting childhood through family love. Peter Simon Karp’s compact memoir "Memory That Claws" is about his aspirations to be a baseball player, which changed when he found... Read More

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