Mygale – Thierry Jonquet (Translated from the French by Donald Nicholson-Smith)

Posted on October 30, 2017 by J D Jung

Ah, revenge can be so sweet. Now mix it with obsession and a touch of madness, and it turns utterly twisted and bizarre.  Such is the case with the intense and fascinating novel, Mygale, written by the late French crime novelist Thierry Jonquet. Richard Lafargue, a successful, well-respected plastic surgeon carries a dark secret.  He…

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How Dare We! Write: A Multicultural Creative Writing Discourse – Sherry Quan Lee

Posted on October 27, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) How Dare We! Write is a non-fiction book which caught me by surprise. The work is a collection of writing exercises written by teachers, community leaders, career writers that are bilingual, and multicultural. The editor expresses the notion of which, the writing world does not accept authors that are of color,…

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That Crazy Perfect Someday – Michael Mazza

Posted on October 25, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) Record- breaking surfer, Mufuri Long, has the goal of winning the Olympics in the future year of 2024. The trials and training that goes into this sport is splattered with her father’s depressive attitude on life as she tries to balance her goals with helping her father. The detailed writing gives…

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Surviving Schizophrenia: My Story of Paranoid Schizophrenia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Depression, Anosognosia, Suicide, and Treatment and Recovery from Severe Mental Illness – Richard Carlson

Posted on October 22, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) Surviving Schizophrenia is a memoir written by Richard Carlson, who was twenty one when he was diagnosed with this mental illness. The book revolves around his illness and recovery. It took ten years for the professionals to identify that Richard had a problem and that he needed to recover from it.…

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Affections: A Novel – Rodrigo Hasbún , Translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes

Posted on October 20, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Affections is an intriguing work of historical fiction based on true events following the once- close Ertl family. Hans, the patriarch, was a Nazi propaganda cinematographer, and the family fled Munich and arrived in La Paz, Bolivia in 1955 to start a new life. Hans, who was also a mountaineer in…

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Only Human (Act One): The Pooka’s Tales: Speak of the Devil – Leigh Hollan

Posted on October 18, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) Only Human is a fantasy novel written in a magical realism. The story is about an Irish fairy. He has magical abilities and uses it to fool humans. He has a very funny take on everything. The story is about witches, humans, Pookas, and demons, a combination that truly provokes fantasy…

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Illegal: a true story of love, revolution and crossing borders – John Dennehy

Posted on October 15, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “For the first time in my life I know exactly where I want to be. I have found my home in the shadow of an Andean volcano in Ecuador. I’m about to move in with the woman that I love, and I’m directly involved with a revolution that’s not just changing…

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Dennis and Greer: A Love Story – Molly Gould

Posted on October 13, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) Dennis and Greer is a nonfiction love story. It contains a collection of love letters and journals saved between two college students during the Vietnam Era. The story is very heartfelt and beautiful, making it feel like it is a fictional story. The horrors of war and how these two lovers…

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The Last Girl – Danny Lopez

Posted on October 10, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Now I was a fucked-up has-been unemployed reporter for a small-town paper. All that hard work, the anger, the resolution, the desire, the accomplishments---it had all been for nothing. I was as good as my dying father on that lone stretch of asphalt outside San Antonio, Texas.”   So when Dexter…

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Russia: History of Russia: Kievan Rus to Vladimir Putin, Tsars and Revolutions – All Shaping Russian Culture and Russian History- Ian Maslow

Posted on October 6, 2017 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) I have been requested to review some short non-fiction books, and as promised, I am posting reviews of those that I recommend. History of Russia is such a book. Russia: History of Russia: Kievan Rus to Vladimir Putin, Tsars and Revolutions - All Shaping Russian Culture and Russian History is presented…

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