Category Archives: Modern Literary Fiction

The Fall of a Sparrow – Robert Hellenga

Posted on November 1, 2013 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) After reading one of my favorite books, The Italian Lover, I just wanted to grab anything related to it and its characters. Author Robert Hellenga wrote a book about the protagonist’s lover, classics professor Alan “Woody” … Continue reading →

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Philosophy Made Simple – Robert Hellenga

Posted on September 17, 2013 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Rudy Harrington, a sixty-year-old widower, is trying to find the meaning of life…his life. Is there any purpose left? To try and answer this question, he takes up the study of philosophy. Since his wife, Helen, … Continue reading →

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Return of the Heroine—Kaye Michelle

Posted on August 28, 2013 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Melanie Hamilton) In Kaye Michelle’s provocative and inspiring novel, Return of the Heroine, West Point Cadet Jane Archer has a problem: Should she do what’s right or save her career? The daughter of senior counsel to Providence Rhode … Continue reading →

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Together Tea – Marjan Kamali

Posted on August 15, 2013 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Darya loved to calculate the statistic of available Persian bachelors, factoring in their attributes, family histories, education, the probability for divorce. She had her very own system of assigning numbers to certain qualities… Darya was so … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Modern Literary Fiction, Travel | 2 Comments

Defection Games – Haggai Carmon

Posted on August 4, 2013 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned The CIA and Mossad (Israel’s intelligence agency) engage in a constant battle to thwart Iran’s nuclear capabilities. This is how we meet up again with former Mossad agent, Dan Gordon, as he continues his dangerous … Continue reading →

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Jacob’s Folly

Posted on July 2, 2013 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Something amazing had happened to my sight: it was as if the top of my head had been removed and replaced with an enormous eye. I could see jagged purple clouds drifting above me, the streets … Continue reading →

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Rose of Málaga – Bobbi Verdugo

Posted on May 16, 2013 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) “… the greatest thing about Malagueños is that they will never ask you about your past or ask you to divulge.” That’s why Rose felt so comfortable here. People came to Málaga to go unnoticed. That … Continue reading →

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Tides Ebb as Islands Dream – Brian J. English, Ph.D

Posted on April 21, 2013 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) #CommissionsEarned Rule #1: Don’t try to understand anything. This was Sean’s primary rule as he began his assignment at the village of Gilutongan in the Olango Islands in the Philippines. Like so many Peace Corps volunteers, … Continue reading →

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A Child Out of Alcatraz -Tara Ison

Posted on March 26, 2013 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) When I visit San Francisco, I often gaze over the bay to that small island that radiates so much history. This island housed some of America’s most infamous criminals: Al Capone, Robert Franklin Stroud (the Birdman … Continue reading →

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Admission – Jean Hanff Korelitz

Posted on March 17, 2013 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) I don’t know anything about the upcoming release of the film, Admission, starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd, but I fondly remember reviewing the book right before is was released in 2009. It was college decision time, and students constantly … Continue reading →

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