-
-
About
UnderratedReads is devoted to discovering underrated books and under-represented authors. We highlight hidden gems from around the world–honest reviews only, never pay-to-play.
Category Archives: Fiction
Glenfiddich Inn – Alan Geik
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Byron claims he has proof the Cubs and the Red Sox fixed the World Series…But he could never publish it because the censors would say it hurt morale—that it would be injurious to the war effort.” –September … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Fiction
Comments Off on Glenfiddich Inn – Alan Geik
The Oxford Murder – by Guillermo Martinez (Author), Sonia Soto (Translator)
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Mathematicians collide with murder and mayhem in Guillermo Martínez’s thriller, The Oxford Murders. An un-named young Argentinean graduate student goes to Oxford University to study mathematics. One evening, he returns to the house where he’s renting … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Latin American Literature, World Literature
Tagged Pythagoreanism, world literature
Comments Off on The Oxford Murder – by Guillermo Martinez (Author), Sonia Soto (Translator)
Nobody Is Ever Missing – Catherine Lacey
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “I was beginning to realize that what I wanted was the noise of people living near me, but not near enough to cause any inaudible noises to show up because I knew that those sorts of … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction
Tagged fiction, New Zealand
Comments Off on Nobody Is Ever Missing – Catherine Lacey
The Vices – Lawrence Douglas
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “It would be years before I would be prepared to accept his self-assessment [as a sick person], and even then, not fully. …he was handsome, wealthy, the youngest tenured professor at one of the nation’s … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction
Tagged family, lies, mystery, Religion
Comments Off on The Vices – Lawrence Douglas
Sex, Rain, and Cold Fusion – A. R. Taylor
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…each time he closed his eyes, he pictures working at Juan de Fuca…Down there, in that torrid, turbid world of extremes, how could he discern the workings of a fifth force so slight that it showed … Continue reading
Posted in Humor & Satire
Tagged humor, satire
Comments Off on Sex, Rain, and Cold Fusion – A. R. Taylor
Fighting Chance – Jane Haddam
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Tibor was always surprised at how casual and unassuming most real evil really was. …so much evil was done as everyday business…And it was nothing. It was just transactions. It had the same emotional force on … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers
Comments Off on Fighting Chance – Jane Haddam
The Confessions of Frances Godwin – Robert Hellenga
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “My life doesn’t add up to anything, Father. More like the story of Troy—all in a day’s work—than Rome, going in circles instead of moving forward. I’ve worn out all the roles I used to play—daughter, … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction
Comments Off on The Confessions of Frances Godwin – Robert Hellenga
Rockaway – Tara Ison
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…the relationship of note to note, that’s what music is, we should have been listening to music in all those art classes, trying to grasp color, refraction, translucence, perspective, the illusion of depth…” It also occurred to … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction
Comments Off on Rockaway – Tara Ison
Nochita – Dia Felix
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “I am feeling the burning comet feeling again and I want to run out of the house and keep running for hours. Or stomp the glass coffee table and shatter it and shoot beams of blood … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction
Comments Off on Nochita – Dia Felix
Madam: A Novel of New Orleans – Cari Lynn and Kellie Martin
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Everything I have, everything I am, I owe to them–to her. …Her family tree was but a stump. And yet, the riches she bestowed upon me: my education, my inheritance…This house, in all its faded elegance, … Continue reading