Reading, Writing, and Me

The Ministry of Time  by Kaliane Bradley Overview: Our unnamed main character takes a promotion in her government position into a secret project at a new government branch called the Ministry. Her job is to help transition a man they yanked from the past into the twenty-first century. While she comes to love her job and the man she's been put in charge of, her job isn't as simple as it seems on the surface. As her year of being a "bridge" progresses, the truth behind the project progressively unravels to reveal a reality far darker. Overall: 4 Characters: 4 The characters are what make the book. Even though the time travel and sci-fi premise is obviously a large part of this book, it equally feels like literary fiction. Three quarters of the book is devoted to really diving into the "expats" transition to learning about the modern world and the relationships that are formed between the expats and the bridges. And it is a fantastic character study where every...

The Wren, The Wren  by Anne Enright Overview: Nell is a writer adrift. She's captivated by her poet grandfather's legacy and unsure of her next steps in life. She moves out of her mom's house, but only across the town. It's hard to make big moves when there's no direction screaming out to you. Then there's her mother, Carmel, who had Nell alone and poured her life into the girl. She dated here and there, taught school. But she never quite found her roots. Her turbulent family life growing up greatly informed her approach to family, and her father, who Nell idolizes, has left Carmel much to sort through in adult life, long after he's gone. This multigenerational family story weaves together the impact we make on those close to us. Overall: 4.5 Characters: 4  The book begins in Nell's point of view. Each character gets a very distinct voice and style to accompany their sections of the book. Nell is very stream of consciousness, no quotation marks, thoughts...