Likely Stories

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies Josephine Edna O'Brien was born December 15, 1930. She is an Irish novelist playwright, poet, and short-story writer. The President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, cited her as "one of the great creative writers of her generation." She has penned more than 25 works of fiction. Her stories are heartfelt, poignant, and breathtaking.

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. A new writer I recently discovered, has led me to an amazing story of love and passion. The story revolves around three couples loosely connected by time and space, with a thinner connection by blood. André Aciman’s latest novel, Find Me, is a powerful story of the connections created by love. Find Me is a sequel to Call Me by Your Name. He has written six other novels. He lives with

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. Louisa Treger has an amazing dual history. She started as a classical violinist, and then to a Ph.D in English. She lives in London, and this is her second novel.

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. One of my most often reviewed authors is Ian McEwan. I always learn a few things and add to my vocabulary while thoroughly enjoying his work. His latest novel is Machines Like Me. I pondered whether he likes machines or the machines like him. Answering that conundrum will require a serious exploration of the human mind.

I’m Jim McKeown, welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. Alice McDermont was born in Brooklyn, New York and has written several novels of life among those originally living in Ireland but who immigrated to the United States, particularly to Brooklyn. She has won numerous awards and been listed as a finalist for several novels. Someone: A Novel was longlisted for the 2013 National Book Award. As the dust jacket reveals, Someone recounts the

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. According to the dust jacket, Elizabeth Ames is a graduate of the University of Michigan MFA program, where she won the Hopwood Award. She has published a number of short stories. Elizabeth was born and raised in Wisconsin, and she currently lives in a Harvard dormitory with her husband, two children, and a few hundred under graduates. This is her first novel, which always draws me to

I'm Jim McKeown, welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and biographies. As has been my custom over the holiday season, I share some of the books on my wish list. I will begin with a book I have dipped into over and over: Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright. The subtitle is T he Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment . Wright is a wonderfully accessible writer, and he shares his ideas in a manner anyone can handle. Speaking of philosophy and

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. A few years ago, I came by three interesting books about libraries. In the third, Matthew Battles wrote Library: An Unquiet History. The depth, breath, and detail of this history appeals to most bibliophiles. Battles wrote, “When I first went to work in Harvard’s Widener Library, I immediately made my first mistake: I tried to read the books. I quickly came to know the compulsive

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. As you can easily imagine I frequently browse used bookstores for hidden treasures. I recently stumbled upon an enormous, clean, and well-organized shop. To my surprise, the proprietor was selling most of his inventory for 4, 6, or 9 dollars. Among that treasure trove was a slim novel, Malinche by Laura Esquivel, which recounts the genocide perpetrated on the indigenous Mexican Indians

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. I came across a nifty little film based on Penelope Fitzgerald’s novel, The Bookshop. This short novel was the first time I read a book about a bookstore. This story is of a woman determined to open the first bookstore in a sleepy little English town. Fitzgerald has had three novels shortlisted for the Booker prize. In 1979, she captured the prize for Offshore. This is my third reading