Sasee Magazine

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson The Orphan Master’s Son, by Adam Johnson, is a remarkable and timely novel about a man living an unbelievable life in North Korea. This literary thriller, so to speak, is about the hidden world of North Korea with all its misery, violence and impossible circumstances. Pak Jun Do [...]

A Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling It is understandable that everyone is excited about a new J.K. Rowling novel, her legendary Harry Potter books opened new worlds in literature for the young and old. A Casual Vacancy is Rowling’s first adult novel, and believe me – it is definitely not for children. The novel begins [...]

The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian I liked Chris Bohjalian’s books, Midwives and The Double Bind and thoroughly enjoyed his latest, The Sandcastle Girls. Inspired by his grandparents’ background, this novel explores the suffering of the Armenian genocide of 1915 during the First World War and brings us to Bronxville, New York, in 2012. Bohjalian [...]

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern Erin Morgenstern’s debut novel, The Night Circus, is a smashing tale of magic, greed and love at the turn of the 19th century. “The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black and white striped canvas tent [...]

Heading Out to Wonderful by Robert Goolrick Heading Out to Wonderful by Robert Goolrick I thoroughly enjoyed Robert Goolrick’s first novel, A Reliable Wife, and was equally pleased with his new book, Heading Out to Wonderful. Another love triangle, this one is set in Brownsburg, Virginia, the kind of town where no crime has ever [...]

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell When the Pulitzer committee decided not to award a prize for fiction this year, it passed over a finalist, Karen Russell’s novel, Swamplandia! The book does indeed have great brilliance, and how could you live in this area and not be intrigued by a story about a family who owns an [...]

in One Person by John Irving Critics are saying John Irving’s new novel, In One Person, is his most political book since Cider House Rules and A Prayer for Owen Meany. While that may be true, and I do agree, it is also a beautiful story of desire and sexual identity. It is a story [...]

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins I had the opportunity to take a book and a chair down to the beach a few weeks ago, and I could not believe how many people were reading one of The Hunger Games series. Having not read them at that point, I felt I needed to see what [...]

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach You do not have to be a baseball fan to enjoy the new novel by Chad Harbach, The Art of Fielding. This is Harbach’s first novel, and I agree with many critics – he has a huge hit on his hands. At Westish College in Wisconsin, near the [...]

The Time Inbetween by Maria Duenas The lovely ladies at Litchfield Books assured me The Time In Between, by Maria Duenas is a great read and they were right! This very well researched historical novel of fiction that travels from Madrid to Morocco to Portugal and back again will keep you captivated and intrigued to [...]