The Traitor Baru Cormorant is a debut fantasy novel written by Seth Dickinson. But don’t let the genre fool you, it is a very atypical or ‘hard’ kind of fantasy, perhaps best described as geopolitical fantasy. There is no magic, there is no obvious villain, and the primary character isn’t an orphaned farm boy or descendant from a long lost line of kings. Instead, the antagonist throughout the novel can best be described as colonialism, and the primary character is a female accountant.

The more concrete antagonist here is the empire known as the ‘Masquerade’, and rather than outright conquer and forcefully subdue nations, they prefer to rule through cultural and economic hegemony. Trade and currency make the target nation economically dependent, disease and plague often subdue the local population, and Masquerade schools educate the local youth and teach ‘proper values’. This is where the primary character, Baru, finds herself at the start of the novel. She goes to the Masquerade schools, passes their tests, and quickly attains the prestigious position of imperial accountant. However, as the name of the novel implies, Baru eventually turns traitor and leads a rebellion.

Character and plot driven with lots of intrigue and scheming (and an awesome battle scene towards the end), this book is perfect for fans of fantasy looking for something different and serious.

Find it in library catalog here!

Reviewed by Tyler

Colm Toibin’s novel, BROOKLYN takes place in the 1950’s and starts in Ireland and then moves to Brooklyn, NY. Ellis Lacey is a young Irish girl without a job and a future due to the economic recession that has gripped Ireland. With the help of the local priest, Ellis goes to America and gets a job in a Brooklyn department store. Although she is homesick, Ellis makes a life for herself in Brooklyn until she is called back to Ireland for a family matter.
This novel is so beautifully written and the characters are timeless. I highly recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction and family themes.

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Reviewed by Terri

On a serendipitous trip through the stacks, I came across the story of Barbie doll creator and Mattel founder, Ruth Matzo Handler.  Ruth was a child born to Jewish immigrants whose sheer will and determination rose her to the top of a man’s world at a time when a woman’s role was mainly homemaker and mother.   She was an innately talented businesswoman  who knew no boundaries. If something seemed impossible, she found a way to make it possible; adversity made her stronger. Barbie was her brainchild but, initially, it was a flop.  Barbie’s implications with negative body type in young women was not an issue in the 50’s, but an adult doll (with those breasts!) was not what mother’s wanted for their daughters.   Yet Ruth persevered because she had seen her own daughter play with paper dolls pretending to be an adult, so she knew there was a market, and history proves that she was right!

Ruth was not without flaws.  She had an ego and thought that rules did not apply to her and this is what makes her story so fascinating; her success and pride, failure and humiliation, all leading to her ultimate redemption. This is a great story about a remarkable woman.

Review by K. Chin

(Reviewed by Matt C.)

What makes someone a “genius”? What is it inside their head that’s so different from the average person, if anything?

The End of the Tour is a 2015 movie based on the acclaimed memoir Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself by David Lipsky. It follows Lipsky as he tags along for the end of author David Foster Wallace’s book tour and signing after for his recently published novel Infinite Jest. Time magazine cited Infinite Jest as one of the greatest 100 English language novels of the past century, and Wallace is widely known as one of the most influential and innovative authors of the last 20 years. In September of 2008, at age 46, Wallace committed suicide.

The movie is not really about that though. It presents the viewer with this information as more of a backdrop than a central element. Instead, this is a stunning portrait of two artists, an author and a journalist, both immensely talented and intelligent, having an extended conversation at turning points in their respective lives. I found the movie to be exhilarating from start to finish. It’s certainly an emotional roller coaster but one that I actually didn’t want to get off of. The acting of Jason Segal (as Wallace) and Jessie Eisenberg (Lipsky) is impeccable and for a movie based solely on the their interactions for five days, it’s their chemistry that holds the film together. It’s certainly not a “light” movie, but as cliche as it sounds, it’s the type of movie that can make you laugh, cry, wonder, and imagine.

Reading this novel is like being part of a waking dream. The world of The Night Circus is fantastically imagined, drawing you in to its spellbinding atmospheric tone with its very first sentence: “The circus arrives without warning.” Before the first chapter is concluded, you know you have entered the imagination of a mesmerizing storyteller. Erin Morgenstern weaves a tale with characters that draw you in; the circus becoming the most magically integral character in and of itself. This story could easily appeal to readers who are not drawn to works of magic, as it can be appreciated for its romantic and historic nature, among other things. And if you choose to listen to The Night Circus as an audiobook, your encounter will be that much more magical as you’ll have the pleasure to experience a narrative master. Jim Dale’s voice adds a depth of richness to the already seductive prose.

Summary from Amazon.com:

A fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will.

Reviewed by Bernadette Foley