Literature & Fiction

Greg Barlin

5 days ago8 min read

The Best Books of 2024 So Far: Live!

A running list of my "Best Books of the Year", updated as I finish each book.

Greg Barlin

6 days ago3 min read

When the World Tips Over

★★★★☆ A story of love, growth, and second chances, the novel follows a set of siblings as they discover their family's complex history.

Greg Barlin

Oct 184 min read

James

★★★★★ More than a retelling of "Huck Finn" from the point of view of Jim, this is a brilliant treatise on race and slavery in 1860s America.

Greg Barlin

Oct 168 min read

The Top 50 Books of the Last 5 Years

Inspired by an underwhelming list from Goodreads, this counts down a far superior list of the Top 50 books of the last 5 years (2020-2024).

Greg Barlin

Sep 242 min read

North Woods

★★★☆☆ A series of loosely-related vignettes spanning 400 years show off Mason's literary prowess but fail to coalesce into something special

Stephanie Barlin

Aug 113 min read

Here One Moment

★★★☆☆ Another attempt to imagine "what would you do if you knew you when you would die", but like other similar novels this also falls flat.

Greg Barlin

Jul 84 min read

Margo's Got Money Troubles

★★★★☆ When a 19-year-old finds herself desperate for cash after having a child with her professor, she turns to OnlyFans to make ends meet.

Greg Barlin

Jul 13 min read

I Cheerfully Refuse

★★★★☆ Richly rendered characters living in a deteriorating society, Enger's novel merges bits of beauty into an overwhelmingly sad world.

Stephanie Barlin

Jun 203 min read

The Women

★★★★★ A historical opus that examines the horrors of the Vietnam War and its turbulent aftermath through the eyes of a young female nurse.

Greg Barlin

Apr 194 min read

The Ministry of Time

★★★☆☆ An alternative take on Stranger in a Strange Land; social commentary abounds as an 1847 explorer tries to acclimate to modern society.

Greg Barlin

Mar 303 min read

The Guncle

★★★★☆ Equal parts funny, heartwarming, and sad, the story of a gay uncle pressed into temporary custody of his niece and nephew for a summer

Greg Barlin

Mar 82 min read

City in Ruins

★★★☆☆ The Danny Ryan trilogy coasts to a conclusion, wrapping up open plot points but mostly just checking the box in this mailed-in effort.

Greg Barlin

Mar 22 min read

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell

★★★★☆ A book club darling of a novel about a boy born with ocular albinism (red eyes), whose life I found less extraordinary than expected.

Greg Barlin

Feb 164 min read

Fifty Beasts To Break Your Heart: And Other Stories

★☆☆☆☆ By the author of the excellent Thistlefoot, a collection of short stories written six years ago that should have remained unpublished.

Greg Barlin

Feb 144 min read

Bright Young Women

★★★★☆ A reimagining of the events leading up to and surrounding the crimes of Ted Bundy, with a focus on the victims rather than the killer.

Greg Barlin

Feb 125 min read

All the Colors of the Dark

★★★★★ Whitaker delivers another masterpiece of character development while tackling several tough topics -- a challenging but uplifting read

Greg Barlin

Jan 155 min read

The Mayor of Maxwell Street

★★★★★ Skillful dialogue and prose adorn this debut that combines a love story with the search for a mysterious gangster in 1920s Chicago.

Greg Barlin

Dec 23, 202314 min read

The Best Books of 2023

A running tally of my "Best Books of 2023", updated each time I finish a book throughout the year.

Greg Barlin

Dec 21, 20234 min read

The Covenant of Water (#2 of 2023)

★★★★★ It's long, but it's also a brilliant tour de force, presenting a multi-generational character study spanning nearly 80 years in India.

Greg Barlin

Dec 19, 20233 min read

Small Mercies (#4 of 2023)

★★★★★ A masterful book, Lehane's best since Mystic River, set against the racial tensions of Boston school busing during the summer of '74.

2 3