nomadreader

Two years ago, The Dogs of Littlefield  was longlisted for the Baileys Prize . At the time, there was no U.S. publication in sight, despite the fact that Berne is an American author. I'm thrilled to report it's finally coming out in the U.S. Tuesday, so I'm reposting review in support of its American publication, with updated links to buy it. The backstory:  The Dogs of Littlefield  was longlisted for the 2014  Baileys Prize . Suzanne Berne won the  Orange Prize  in 1999 for her first novel,  A Crime in the Neighborhood   ( my review .) The basics:  Set in the idyllic (fictional) town of Littlefield, Massachusetts, famous for its place on the Ten Best Places to Live in America list, as well as its disproportionately high number of psychotherapists,  The Dogs of Littlefield  explores the characters of this town through their own eyes and through the eyes of Dr. Clarice Watkins, a cultural anthropologist spending a year in Litt...

Update: The Dogs of Littlefield  was published January 12, 2016 in the U.S.  I've reposted my review here . The backstory: The Dogs of Littlefield  is on the longlist for this year's Baileys Prize . Suzanne Berne won the Orange Prize in 1999 for her first novel, A Crime in the Neighborhood ( my review .) The basics: Set in the idyllic (fictional) town of Littlefield, Massachusetts, famous for its place on the Ten Best Places to Live in America list, as well as its disproportionately high number of psychotherapists, The Dogs of Littlefield  explores the characters of this town through their own eyes and through the eyes of Dr. Clarice Watkins, a cultural anthropologist spending a year in Littlefield as a visiting scholar. Soon after she arrives, dogs start getting poisoned, and the paranoia and repercussions of these events ripple throughout Littlefield. My thoughts: When the Baileys Prize longlist was first announced, the title I was most surprised to ...

The backstory: After loving Jonathan Dee's last novel, Pulitzer Prize finalist  The Privileges  ( my review ) so much it made my Best of 2011 list , I was ecstatic to hear he has a new novel out. The basics: A Thousand Pardons  is the story of Helen and Ben Armstead. The Armsteads live in Rensselaer Valley, an upstate suburb of New York City, with their adopted daughter Sara. When Ben's actions bring scandal to the family, their marriage ends, and Helen must find a job. My thoughts: A Thousand Pardons  is a slim novel composed of seven lengthy chapters. The novel's first chapter pulled me into this family and the narrative and left me stunned. It's a fascinating and bold set-up for the novel, but it also lulled me into thinking this was a different sort of novel than it turned out to be. The second chapter slowed the narrative's pace, and while I settled into the rest of the novel, I wondered if Dee would return to the pace of the novel's first chapter. Wha...