Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




BEA 2012 Recommended Fiction (page 3)


Cover art for WE SINNERS
FICTION
Released: Aug. 1, 2012

"It's always a good thing when one wants more instead of less. A promising debut, and a glimpse at a hidden American subculture that few readers will suspect even exists."
Lovely, lyrical debut novel of a family in slowly unfolding crisis. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE GIFT OF FIRE / ON THE HEAD OF A PIN
FICTION
Released: May 8, 2012

"Ingenious and mystical, although readers familiar with fantasy and science fiction will find little new or provocative here. Fans of Mosley's gumshoe noir books (or Blue Light, 1998, his earlier foray into the domain) will certainly wish to investigate."
Moving far from the milieu of Easy Rawlins and Socrates Fortlow (Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, 1997, etc.), Mosley offers two novellas in one volume, part of a series entitled Crosstown to Oblivion, the common theme being, "a black man destroys the world." Read full book review >
Cover art for IN SUNLIGHT AND IN SHADOW
FICTION
Released: Oct. 2, 2012

"A fine adult love story--not in the prurient sense, but in the sense of lovers elevated from smittenness to all the grown-up problems that a relationship can bring."
Elegant, elegiac novel of life in postwar America, at once realistic and aspirational, by the ever-accomplished Helprin (A Soldier of the Great War, 1991, etc.). Read full book review >
Cover art for OFFICE GIRL
FICTION
Released: July 17, 2012

"A sweetheart of a novel, complete with a hazy ending. "
Sometimes things just don't work out, no matter how hard we wish they would. But there's irony, so we have that going for us. Right? Read full book review >
Cover art for THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
FICTION
Released: July 2, 2012

"A good time for fans of the likes of Charlie Huston and Charles Stross."
Award-winning film composer Larson (The Dewey Decimal System, 2011) returns with another episode in the life of a man dubbed "Dewey Decimal." Read full book review >
Cover art for THE BOOK OF MISCHIEF
FICTION
Released: Sept. 4, 2012

"Stern weaves an intricate and clever web of stories steeped in both sacred and mundane Jewish culture."
"Mischief" is indeed the operative term here, for Stern's characters are subtle, slyly humorous and at times poignant. Read full book review >