The General Fiction Shelf

Terra Nova
Henriette Lazaridis
Pegasus Books
www.pegasusbooks.com
9781639362424, $25.95, HC, 304pp

https://www.amazon.com/Terra-Nova-Novel-Henriette-Lazaridis/dp/1639362428

Synopsis: "Terra Nova" by novelist Henriette Lazaridis is set in the year 1= 910, and tells the story of two Antarctic explorers, Watts and Heywoud who = are racing to the South Pole, while back in London, Viola, a photo-journali= st, harbors love for them both.

Though anxious for both men, Viola has little time to pine. She is photogra= phing hunger strikers in the suffrage movement, capturing the female nude i=
n challenging and politically powerful ways. As she comes into her own as a=
n artist, she's eager for recognition and to fulfill her ambitions. And the=
n the men return, eager to share news of their triumph.

But in her darkroom, Viola discovers a lie. Watts and Heywoud have doctored=
their photos of the Pole to fake their success. Viola must now decide whet= her to betray her husband and her lover, or keep their secret and use their=
fame to help her pursue her artistic ambitions.

Critique: "Terra Nova" clearly reveals how Henriette Lazaridis seamlessly u= shers the reader back and forth between the austere, forbidding, yet intoxi= cating polar landscape of Antarctica to the bustle of early twentieth centu=
ry London. Deftly scripted with memorable characters and unexpected plot tw= ists, "Terra Nova" is one of those novels that challenges its readers to co= nsider how 'love and lies, adventure and art' can intersect. While also ava= ilable for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.99)=
, "Terra Nova" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community lib= rary Literary Fiction collections and will prove to have an exceptional app= eal to readers with an interest in 20th Century women's adventure stories.

Editorial Note: Henriette Lazaridis (www.henriettelazaridis.com) is the aut= hor of The Clover House. Her short work has appeared in ELLE, The New York = Times, New England Review, The Millions, Pangyrus, and more. She has earned=
a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artists Grant. She is a graduate of Middl= ebury College, Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and the U= niversity of Pennsylvania. Having taught English at Harvard, she now teache=
s at GrubStreet in Boston. She founded The Drum Literary Magazine and curre= ntly runs the Krouna Writing Workshop in northern Greece. She also writes t=
he Substack newsletter The Entropy Hotel (www.henriettelazaridis.substack.c= om).

The Sweet Spot
Amy Poeppel
Emily Bestler Books
c/o Atria Books
1230 Avenue of the Americas. New York, NY 10020
www.simonandschuster.com
9781982176464, $27.99, HC, 400pp

https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Spot-Novel-Amy-Poeppel/dp/1982176466

Synopsis: In the heart of Greenwich Village, three women form an accidental=
sorority when a baby (belonging to exactly none of them) lands on their co= llective doorstep.

Lauren and her family have been granted the use of a spectacular brownstone=
, teeming with history and dizzyingly unattractive 70s wallpaper. Adding to=
the home's bohemian, grungy splendor is the bar occupying the basement, a = (mostly) beloved dive called The Sweet Spot. Within days of moving in, Laur=
en discovers that she has already made an enemy in the neighborhood by inad= vertently sparking the divorce of a couple she has never actually met.

Melinda's husband of thirty years has dumped her for a young celebrity entr= epreneur named Felicity, and, to Melinda's horror, the lovebirds are soon t=
o become parents. In her incandescent rage, Melinda wreaks havoc wherever s=
he can, including in Felicity's Soho boutique, where she has a fit of epic = proportions, which happens to be caught on film.

Olivia (an industrious twenty-something behind the counter, who has big dre= ams and bigger debts) gets caught in the crossfire. In an effort to diffuse=
Melinda's temper, Olivia has a tantrum of her own and gets unceremoniously=
canned, thanks to TikTok.

When Melinda's ex follows his lover across the country, leaving their squal= ling baby behind, the three women rise to the occasion in order to forgive,=
to forget, to Ferberize, and to track down the wayward parents. But can th= eir little village find a way toward the happily ever afters they all desir=
e? Welcome to The Sweet Spot!

Critique: A fun, original and impressively well crafted novel by a writer w= ith an exceptional flair for creating memorable characters and inherently f= ascinating plots, "The Sweet Spot" by novelist Amy Poeppel is an extraordin= ary and unreservedly recommended addition to community library Contemporary=
General Fiction collections. With a special appeal to readers with an inte= rest in novels about women's friendships, domestic life, and odd-ball famil= ies, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Sweet Spot" is=
also available in a paperback edition (9781982176457, $17.99) and in a dig= ital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Amy Poeppel (www.AmyPoeppel.com) is the author of the novel=
s Musical Chairs, Limelight, and Small Admissions. Her writing has appeared=
in The New York Times, The Rumpus, Literary Hub, and Working Mother. She c=
an be followed on Twitter or Instagram: @AmyPoeppel

Diminishing Veil
Lonz Cook
Elevation Book Publishing, LLC
http://www.elevationbookpublishing.com
9781943904174, $15.95

https://www.amazon.com/Diminishing-Veil-Lonz-Cook-ebook/dp/B0BM8HJN8R

Abuse, recovery, and love stalk Renee Chadwick's life in Diminishing Veil, = but even before she met handsome playboy and successful career man Marvin Y= arbrough, she struggled with many elements of success that continue to brin=
g her full circle into bad decisions and dubious situations.

If Renee had made the right choice, life could have been different. Can she=
make the right choices towards true love, this time; or will they always l=
ie in the dubious, gray world of indecision and bad judgment? The veil that=
surrounds Renee consists of her past choices. As she tries to break throug=
h it to a different life, she considers both her mother's teachings ("Love =
is a fool's journey, and it hurts, but when it is good it's amazing.") and = new possibilities.

As chapters fluctuate between past trauma and the PTSD Renee struggles with=
, as well as patterns of engagement that shroud the difference between a ba=
d choice and a good one, readers receive a powerful saga that moves through=
different lives and approaches to recovery. Lonz Cook excels at portraying=
not just a victim, but the stumbling points of true recovery. His story qu= estions how romance is fostered, recognized, and differentiated from effort=
s to control or victimize others as it builds a new life for Renee from the=
ashes of extreme abuse.

The psychological components of her interactions with family, friends, and = potential beaus are particularly well done because they offer no pat answer=
s, but consider the complexity of living life more fully and differently th=
an with the familiar patterns and reactions of the past.

Diminishing Veil outlines the beliefs, experiences, and scenarios that resu=
lt in limited options or repeated negative options -- then illustrates a wa=
y out. Its ability to capture the differing viewpoints of all involved, cra= fting a more effective romantic connection than Renee previously fostered, = makes for a story that will especially intrigue audiences interested in que= stions of how recovery is achieved.

Reader and community library collections strong in not just romance but PTS=
D and abuse recovery will find Diminishing Veil thought-provoking, engrossi=
ng reading.

Fan Mail
Joseph Lewis
Black Rose Writing
www.blackrosewriting.com
9781685131685, $23.99 Paper/$6.99 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/Fan-Mail-Joseph-Lewis/dp/1685131689

Any popular music group receives fan mail. They also receive hate mail. Whe=
n such communications assume physical threat, however, the mail turns into = more of a trial than a support system. When Randy and Bobby, brothers who e= njoy musical success, note that their fan mail has turned threatening, they=
are inclined to ignore it. After all, every success holds its naysayers an=
d haters. But when it evolves into a violence that threatens their family, = they come to question not only the price of their success, but their loyalt= ies.

Adopted brother Brian is drawn into the fray when Bobby and Randy's respons=
e threatens to further divide the family. He once nearly died saving his br= others, and bears the physical and emotional scars for life. Can he again i= nject himself into this new scenario as a hero and savior? What will be the=
price of that effort?

The thriller components of Fan Mail dovetail nicely with the social and psy= chological inspections that are wound into the tale. Discussions of integri= ty, breaking rules, and deadly letters that rock the foundations of everyth= ing the boys have built makes for an intriguing story that contains many su= bplots covering moral and ethical dilemmas.

Book club discussion groups, especially those for young adults, will find n= umerous topics for discussion here, from artistry and creative projects tha=
t define and refine young adult perspectives to evolving circumstances that=
lead them to question their pasts, present, and possible futures.

Because guns, violence, and some profanity peppers the story, mature teens = will be its best audience, especially with discussion groups adding value t=
o the inspections by injecting reflections on love, kindness, and choice: "= ....we are given moments. Each day. Every day." Fan Mail is hard to easily p= eg.

At once a coming-of-age story that will appeal to mature teens, a thriller = that can reach into adult audiences, and a psychological suspense novel tha=
t holds elements of deeper life inspections about sacrifice, redemption, an=
d discovery, its gripping saga will reach a wide audience of readers and ag=
e groups.

Libraries looking for a vivid, fast-paced story that moves from LGBTQ+ issu=
es to family ties and beyond will find Fan Mail a fine acquisition.

Magpie
Bronwen Carson
https://bronwencarson.com
Unleash Press
https://www.unleashcreatives.net/shop
9781737519485, $19.99

https://www.unleashcreatives.net/product-page/2022-unleash-press-award-winn=
er

Childhood evolves best friends who too often grow apart in adult years, mov= ing on and away into very different lives. Thus has been the case for Maggi=
e and her childhood friend Dana. Paths divided by circumstance and life can=
sometimes cross again, but those linked by memory have since become someon=
e else as time passes -- especially when a death and a disappearance introd= uced an estrangement that has lasted for decades.

In Magpie, these two now-disparate former friends are thrown back together =
in an unexpected, unusual manner that introduces past memories and conundru=
ms into present-day experiences. The circumstances involving a mother's dea= th, a Tsalagi woman who also vanished from Maggie's childhood, and a myster=
y that threatens to raise long-repressed memories about what really happene=
d make for a vivid read that embraces childhood and adult angst.

These memories may be the key to why Maggie has grown into a relatively ind= ifferent adult. She admits that "People don't talk about it. Maybe they don=
't want to admit it that feeling nothing is peaceful. It's invisible. No at= tachments, no reasons to linger or prove or uphold. That's the beauty of no= thingness. The purity of it." Maggie has built her adult life around choosi=
ng the obvious, avoiding surprises, and settling for "the second verse, sam=
e as the first." Dana brings with her the demand for a different response, = the realization of many truths Maggie successfully buried at great cost, an=
d the possibility of changes Maggie never wanted to consider.

For some readers, this novel will stir unpleasant memories of choices towar=
ds peace over adventure; predictability over excitement. As Maggie moves in=
to many revelations, so readers will find their hearts tugged and challenge=
d by her self-discoveries and the truth that lies at the center of her adul=
t choices.

Readers and libraries looking for novels about friendship, mystery, growth,=
and "Being part of the wild things that surround me...Not separate. Part o=
f something bigger." will find Maggie a powerful story. It ideally will rea=
ch a wide audience with its landscapes of seasonal and relationship transfo= rmations.

So Hard to Do
Sally Basmajian
https://www.sallybasmajian.com
Creative James Media
https://creativejamesmedia.com
9781956183825, $12.99 Paper/$4.99 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/So-Hard-Do-Sally-Basmajian/dp/1956183825

So Hard to Do explores a different kind of love triangle that revolves arou=
nd three adults who are interconnected and challenged in different ways -- = not just by love, but life.

Mother Suze Foster has always been devoted to her child Jannie. Now that Ja= nnie is 29 and on the road to career success, Suze can finally relax. Or, c=
an she? As soon as she draws back from her life-long support of her daughte=
r, Jannie flounders in a big way. When she accidentally floods her apartmen=
t and older neighbor Aram comes to her rescue, its love at first sight. On = her part. Aram, too, experiences love at first sight. For her mother Suze, = who is also instantly and unexpectedly attracted to Aram. Therein lays the = quandary, the puzzles of relationships and secrets, and the process of disc= overy whereby Suze and Jannie dance around the same man, each other, and th= eir feelings about life.

During the course of this process, Suze and Jannie's entanglements assume d= isparate twists as Jannie moves in a different direction in love, career, a=
nd her relationship with her doting mother. It's truly a complex salsa to f= orm a novel around a mother and daughter's changing adult worlds and percep= tions of one another, much less add romance into the mix.

Sally Basmajian evolves these moves with a steady attention to realistic em= otional responses, character growth, and emotional and sexual revelations. = Suze may investigate a "boot camp" to rev up her sexuality; but what she re= ally needs is instruction in independence and goals. When advised, in the a= rena of sexuality, that "you both need to play a part in the experience," t=
he caution gains broader meaning as Suze comes to acknowledge the part she = plays in not just her daughter's direction and growth, but her own choices = and their consequences.

The process of demystifying life's circumstances will engage readers on bot=
h a thought provoking and entertainment level as they follow Suze and Janni=
e through navigating adult responses and options. Libraries seeking romance=
stories steeped in the challenges of loving too much (and too much alike) = will find So Hard to Do not just a different kind of love triangle, but a d= ifferent growth experience that will lead patrons to laugh, cry, and ponder=
..

Women's book groups who choose it for discussion will find many titillating=
topics within.

Operation Mom
Reenita M. Hora
https://reenita.com
GenZ Publishing
https://www.genzpublishing.org
9781958503096, $38.99, HC, 220pp

https://www.amazon.com/Operation-Mom-Plan-Get-Life/dp/1958503096

Synopsis: Ila, a Mumbai-based teenager, is going nuts with Veena, her contr= olling, single mother who prevents her from stalking her pop idol, Ali Zafa=
r. Veena wants her daughter to date real guys in the lead-up to finding a h= usband. But Ila decides that the only way to get her mom off her back is by=
finding her a boyfriend instead. With the help of her best friend Deepali,=
her crush Dev and her mother's best friend Maleeka, they will come up with=
a plan to make it happen by setting up a profile in dating apps.

Critique: Of special appeal to readers with an interest in coming-of-age no= vels and romantic comedies, "Operation Mom: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life...=
and a Man" by Reenita M. Hora is a fun read from first page to last. Writt=
en with wit and insight, originality and the kind of narrative driven story= telling that keeps the reader's focused attention from start to finish, "Op= eration Mom: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life... and a Man" is highly recommend=
ed for community library collections. It should be noted for personal readi=
ng lists that "Operation Mom: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life... and a Man" is=
also available in a paperback edition (9781958503089, $18.99) and in a dig= ital book format (Kindle, $4.99).

The Girl in the Water
Joseph Howse
Nummist Media
https://nummist.com
9780995287853, $16.99, PB, 316pp

https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Water-Joseph-Howse/dp/0995287856

Synopsis: Novelist Joseph House's "The Girl in the Water" is the deftly cra= fted story of a multiethnic group of young friends who are coming of age in=
Estonia and Ukraine in the last days of the Soviet Union. Their lives are = shaped by an Afghan war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the collapse and legac=
y of a suffocating society.

Critique: Of special appeal to fans of coming-of-age and family life novels=
, laced with humor, memorable characters, and an inherently interesting, na= rrative driven, storyline, "The Girl in the Water" is unreservedly recommen= ded as an addition to personal reading lists and community library Contempo= rary General Fiction collections. It should be noted that "The Girl in the = Water" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99).

Editorial Note: Joseph Howse (https://www.facebook.com/josephhowse.author) =
is an author of technical books on computer programming and image analysis.=
He lives in a Nova Scotian fishing village, where he chats with his cats a=
nd nurtures an orchard of hardy fruit trees. "The Girl in the Water" is his=
debut novel.

Road to Elysium
Kay A. Oliver
www.kayaoliver.com
Independently Published
9798358348974, $16.99, HC, 429pp

https://www.amazon.com/Road-Elysium-Self-forgiveness-Generosity-Neighborhoo= d/dp/B0BKCQ32ZB

Synopsis: A man who had all he ever wanted, unexpectedly finds himself shat= tered and broken due to a single tragedy. Ken has come to know his sorrow a=
s he clings closely to his painful memories. Giving his life over to his he= artache, Ken sees the world as a cold, hard place to live. He settles on th=
e fact that he may never again find the same happiness he once knew.

Some neighborhood kids decide to rob his house. This fateful event sets off=
a chain of repercussions that Ken could not have predicted. It leads to me= eting a young man named Mykel in a very unconventional way. This chance mee= ting causes Ken to make an instant, profound choice. As their friendship gr= ows, Ken sees something in Mykel.

Redirecting his personal focus to centering his time on the young man and n=
ot his own self-pity. Not realizing it, that momentary decision will affect=
countless lives in many unforeseen ways.

Critique: Although a deftly crafted work of fiction, "Road to Elysium" by K=
ay A. Oliver is based upon a true story. A compelling page turner of a read=
from cover to cover, "Road to Elysium" is a fully entertaining read and on=
e that is unreservedly recommended for community library Contemporary Urban=
Life Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists th=
at "Road to Elysium" is also available in a paperback edition (979835501967=
9, $10.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $1.99).

Editorial Note: Kay A. Oliver (www.kayaoliver.com) has been a prolific writ=
er in the entertainment industry for many years and she has been writing si= nce her youth, winning many different awards in the course of her career. N=
ow she is following her passion of writing fictional books. Her writing sty=
le and Hollywood experience never delivers a dull moment. Her imagination i=
s quickly making her a legendary storyteller of our time. She is a current = member of the TV academy.

Running From Tomorrow
Leo Cohen
Joshua Books, LLC
www.joshua-books.com
9798985549225, $14.95, PB, 172pp

https://www.amazon.com/Running-Tomorrow-Leo-Cohen/dp/B09RTQH5P4

Synopsis: Kevin Mallaghan, aka Mally, has returned from Vietnam to job frus= tration manning a shovel at a Boston construction site. Introduced to Noles=
Dermody, head of a Boston gang, Mally's penchant for planning and discipli=
ne allow him to thrive. But an unintentional murder sets him running from t=
he vengeance of a Mafia Don, who has put a price on Mally's head for his ca= pture. Without a plan, Mally ends up at a religious commune in rural Colora= do.

Jenny Wechsler, a newly minted college graduate with a business degree is a=
frustrated typist and filing clerk in a shipping brokerage. A contract dri= ver, Andy Keffler, suggests she ride with him trucking a large construction=
machine to rural Colorado. But after days on the road, Jenny characterizes=
the trip as whizzing past America, and Keffler leaves her in Colorado to g=
et back home on her own. Good fortune and initiative get her a job as busin= ess manager for a growing Mexican Restaurant, Cantina Abramo.

The restaurant's owner wants to bring young, so-called cousins, into the US=
.. He asks Jenny to figure out how to get them Green Cards so they don't hav=
e to be hidden from the INS. That leads her to Moe Bishop who provides her = with the fake cards, but always with a proposition for sex that Jenny firml=
y rejects. When Mally saves a "cousin" from the INS, it results in his meet= ing and becoming good friends with Jenny.

Picking up a Green Card, Bishop attempts to rape Jenny. She manages to esca=
pe and when she tells Mally about it, he goes after Bishop, wounding him. B=
ut Bishop has gang connections and he fingers Mally at the Cantina for a Pa= triarca bounty hunter. Cornered, can Mally get away?

Critique: Action packed from cover to cover, "Running From Tomorrow" by Leo=
Cohen is a fun read from beginning to end. While also available in a digit=
al book format (Kindle, $6.99), "Running From Tomorrow" will prove to be a = very welcome addition to both personal and community library Contemporary G= eneral Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Leo Cohen (https://joshua-books.com) has been writing with = fifty or more political screeds published in local Colorado newspapers, a f=
ew short stories, some poems and nine novels.

Calliope's Spell
Donald Davenport
Next Chapter
https://www.nextchapter.pub/publish
9784824156938, $28.99, HC, 170pp

https://www.amazon.com/Calliopes-Calliope-Chronicles-Donald-Davenport/dp/48= 24156939

Synopsis: Having been banished to live with her father, Anna, a bright but = troubled 15-year-old, arrives to the quaint village of Santa Maria de la Ca= mpana, a town named for its famous bell, which no one has seen for generati= ons.

Kipling, her father, operates a small field station perched atop a nearby c= ove known as the Bay of Crabs, a spot ironically devoid of crabs ever since=
the bell went missing - a mystery that has perplexed the town for years. A= nna makes a deal with her father: if she can discover why the crabs are mis= sing, he will allow her to return home to California.

Praying for guidance, the answer comes in the form of Christophe, the son o=
f a renowned French explorer whose ship, the Calliope, has arrived for emer= gency repairs. With the help of the local priest, a gonzo flying dentist an=
d the French explorer, Anna stumbles from one clue onto another in her sear=
ch for the truth. But can she solve the mystery of Bahia del Cangrejo and t=
he missing bell?

Critique: Original, entertaining, offering deftly crafted characters embedd=
ed in a memorable storyline of unexpected plot twists and turns, "Calliope'=
s Spell" by Donald Davenport is a fun and engaging read from first page to = last. While available for personal reading lists in a paperback edition (97= 98364209566, $8.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $3.99), "Calliope=
's Spell" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community library = Coming of Age themed fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Donald Davenport is an author, a screenwriter, and a filmma= ker. His first book was Christmas in Canaan (HarperCollins 2002), co-author=
ed with country music legend Kenny Rogers. Davenport has also produced, wri= tten and directed numerous commercials and industrial films and show elemen=
ts for such clients as Hughes Aircraft and the Cousteau Society as well as = multi-camera live-to-tape specials, including The New Noel for the ABC tele= vision network. He also traveled extensively throughout Southeast Asia as a=
documentary filmmaker for an international relief agency, producing films =
in such locations as Hong Kong, the Walled City of Kowloon, Thailand, Borne=
o and Singapore.

Rip
Bruce Wessell
Independently Published
9798366406345, $15.99, PB, 418pp

https://www.amazon.com/Rip-Bruce-Wessell/dp/B0BPGQG4SC

Synopsis: Cody Panther's mother raised him to be a gentleman. She had told = him to 'never hurt anyone who doesn't deserve to be hurt.' He tried to abid=
e by her words while growing up in Texas.

On the outside, Cody's life seemed idyllic. A gifted athlete, he is a star = high school wrestler and football player, and multiple colleges from around=
the country are offering him a scholarship to play football. He loves his = dog, Chase, and his girlfriend Kayla Young. He grows close to her parents, = Abby, and Red Young. Red also happens to be his high school football coach.=
Coach Red is the father Cody wishes he had.

But behind closed doors, Cody and his mother are both victims of abuse by S= am, Cody's drunken father. As college approaches, his homelife situation de= teriorates until his tolerance reaches its breaking point. One day, the mot= her and son decide to flee while Sam is out of town. In the process, everyt= hing goes horribly wrong, and Cody's actions inevitably alter his future.

He is left with a choice between years of jail time or disappearing for a d= angerous new career. As a result, his life changes forever, and he's forced=
to develop his expertise in order to survive. Becoming a killer was the la=
st thing Cody imagined for his destiny. But you don't always get what you w= ant from life, and it's his only chance to get his life back.

Critique: A deftly scripted and original suspense thriller of a read from f= irst page to last, "Rip" by author, Rip is an inherently riveting novel sho= wing how an ordinarily good man can be turned into a killer given the circu= mstances he finds himself in -- and that with great resolve and effort he c=
an nonetheless achieve redemption. With a very special appeal to readers wi=
th an interest in crime fiction, "Rip" is a highly recommended addition to = community library collections. It should be noted for personal reading list=
s that "Rip" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99).

Impossible to Be Human
Robert Kalich
Bunim & Bannigan
https://bunimandbanniganbooks.com
9781933480510, $23.95, HC, 216pp

https://www.amazon.com/Impossible-Human-Hardcover-Robert-Kalich/dp/19334805=
13

Synopsis: Facing the idiosyncrasies of his life and character, David Lazar = mercilessly analyses his success. Can we accept irreconcilable contradictio= ns? Can people change? And what does it mean to be human? Peeling layers of=
conventions and domestication, Lazar is gradually facing the man he once w= as, his past emotionless and cold existence. He cannot help but wonder: is =
he still that man or has the love of his wife redeemed him? Can a driven sp= orts handicapper, who climbed 'Mt. Gamble' to become the most successful pr= ofessional handicapper of his generation, become a loving, devoted husband = and father? Can writing his life story purge his flaws?

The puzzle of life's inconsistencies grows as Lazar is baffled by his cland= estine meetings in his NYC penthouse with Duck, the US president. They go w=
ay back when David was Duck's object of admiration. These days Duck represe= nts everything Lazar rejects: racism, greed, callousness. The two of them m= irror all that is opposed in American society and echo the doubt whether th= ese dividing gaps can be bridged. And while Lazar dislikes these secret mee= tings he is turning into Duck's confidant, knowing all too well that he is = acting against the people he loves.

The fragility of existence is further exacerbated by the spread of Covid-19=
.. The presence of death is more tangible than ever. However, counting his b= lessings only intensifies the fear of loss. Lazar is trying to help the nee= dy, but the knowledge of his own limitations and all that is still required=
haunts him. And the old, battered question is as relevant as ever: what is=
then the meaning of it all?

There is no straight answer, but as Lazar's identical twin brother observes=
, David did everything wrong, and yet bounced back lucky in his old age.

Critique: An impressively crafted and original novel by a master of the nar= rative driven storytelling style, "Impossible To Be Human" by author Robert=
Kalich is a fascinating and compelling read from beginning to end. While e= specially and unreservedly recommended for community library General & Lite= rary Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists tha=
t "Impossible To Be Human" is also available in a paperback edition (978193= 3480527, $17.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $3.99).

Editorial Note: Robert Kalich (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kalich)=
is a born-and-bred New Yorker. He is the author of several non-fiction boo=
ks and four novels. Three of his novels are works of autofiction based on h=
is life and intimate knowledge of sports and gambling.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promo= ting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no fund=
s from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these=
reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, inte= rnet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested indivi= duals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.

The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "Califo= rnia Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwat= ch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available=
for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview=
(dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugal= muse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publish= er, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number=
, and list price).

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review

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