Despite a few moments of icky sentimentality, newcomer Boehm's fascinating subject matter, engaging cast, unerring prose,...
A witty, well-crafted fictional debut from an accomplished journalist, translator, and memoirist (A Zen Romance: One Woman's Adventures in a Monastery, 1996): eight stories, all set in contemporary Japan, that chronicle supernatural occurrences in the often-lonely lives of educated urbanites.
Postmodern retellings of the traditional Japanese ghost stories popularized in the West by fin de siècle journalist Lafcadio Hearn, these longish, plot-driven pieces are actually—aside from the paranormal episodes at the heart of them—tales of romance rather than the grisly stuff of Poe or Lovecraft. "Hungry Ghosts in Love," the centerpiece of the collection, concerns Josephine Stelle, a "third-generation travel writer [and] third-generation woman of passion" who spends every waking moment trying to live up to the standards set by her intrepid grandmother Leda, reputedly one of Pancho Villa's lovers, by jetting around the globe, writing insipid articles ("Cannibal Fashion," "Best Hotel Brunches of Waikiki") for Japanese English-language travel magazines, and engaging in brief, torrid affairs with unsuitable men. Attempting to avoid one particularly offensive paramour, she impulsively treks up to a mountainous region of Japan known as the Valley of Hell, where she falls in love with Gaki, a gorgeous priest who lives alone in an ancient little shrine. When she returns to her Kyoto home, Josephine discovers that gaki means "hungry ghost." In "The Samurai Goodbye," the funniest and most nightmarish story here, a young Ph.D. program dropout—and grandson of a legendary chronicler of Japanese lore, clearly modeled on Lafcadio Hearn—finds himself haunted by faceless demons.
Despite a few moments of icky sentimentality, newcomer Boehm's fascinating subject matter, engaging cast, unerring prose, and superb sense of voice make for a compelling read.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 4-7700-2531-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Kodansha
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There are unforgettable beauties in this very sexy story.
Passion, friendship, heartbreak, and forgiveness ring true in Lovering's debut, the tale of a young woman's obsession with a man who's "good at being charming."
Long Island native Lucy Albright, starts her freshman year at Baird College in Southern California, intending to study English and journalism and become a travel writer. Stephen DeMarco, an upperclassman, is a political science major who plans to become a lawyer. Soon after they meet, Lucy tells Stephen an intensely personal story about the Unforgivable Thing, a betrayal that turned Lucy against her mother. Stephen pretends to listen to Lucy's painful disclosure, but all his thoughts are about her exposed black bra strap and her nipples pressing against her thin cotton T-shirt. It doesn't take Lucy long to realize Stephen's a "manipulative jerk" and she is "beyond pathetic" in her desire for him, but their lives are now intertwined. Their story takes seven years to unfold, but it's a fast-paced ride through hookups, breakups, and infidelities fueled by alcohol and cocaine and with oodles of sizzling sexual tension. "Lucy was an itch, a song stuck in your head or a movie you need to rewatch or a food you suddenly crave," Stephen says in one of his point-of-view chapters, which alternate with Lucy's. The ending is perfect, as Lucy figures out the dark secret Stephen has kept hidden and learns the difference between lustful addiction and mature love.
There are unforgettable beauties in this very sexy story.Pub Date: June 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-6964-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Above-average formula fiction, making full display of the author’s strong suits: sense of place, compassion for characters...
Female rivalry is again the main preoccupation of Hannah’s latest Pacific Northwest sob saga (Firefly Lane, 2008, etc.).
At Water’s Edge, the family seat overlooking Hood Canal, Vivi Ann, youngest and prettiest of the Grey sisters and a champion horsewoman, has persuaded embittered patriarch Henry to turn the tumbledown ranch into a Western-style equestrian arena. Eldest sister Winona, a respected lawyer in the nearby village of Oyster Shores, hires taciturn ranch hand Dallas Raintree, a half-Native American. Middle sister Aurora, stay-at-home mother of twins, languishes in a dull marriage. Winona, overweight since adolescence, envies Vivi, whose looks get her everything she wants, especially men. Indeed, Winona’s childhood crush Luke recently proposed to Vivi. Despite Aurora’s urging (her principal role is as sisterly referee), Winona won’t tell Vivi she loves Luke. Yearning for Dallas, Vivi stands up Luke to fall into bed with the enigmatic, tattooed cowboy. Winona snitches to Luke: engagement off. Vivi marries Dallas over Henry’s objections. The love-match triumphs, and Dallas, though scarred by child abuse, is an exemplary father to son Noah. One Christmas Eve, the town floozy is raped and murdered. An eyewitness and forensic evidence incriminate Dallas. Winona refuses to represent him, consigning him to the inept services of a public defender. After a guilty verdict, he’s sentenced to life without parole. A decade later, Winona has reached an uneasy truce with Vivi, who’s still pining for Dallas. Noah is a sullen teen, Aurora a brittle but resigned divorcée. Noah learns about the Seattle Innocence Project. Could modern DNA testing methods exonerate Dallas? Will Aunt Winona redeem herself by reopening the case? The outcome, while predictable, is achieved with more suspense and less sentimental histrionics than usual for Hannah.
Above-average formula fiction, making full display of the author’s strong suits: sense of place, compassion for characters and understanding of family dynamics.Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-312-36410-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2008
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