Literary Fiction Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: The Childless Ones by Cam Rhys Lay

The Childless Ones by Cam Rhys Lay is a remarkable debut novel that takes the concept of “story within a story” to an impressive level. This is essentially two novels in one, overlapping and interweaving thematically, reflecting and bouncing beautifully between two very different worlds.

In the real world, aspiring author Jack Ampong is dealing with a marriage that is coming unraveled, and a penchant for prostitutes. When an attack on his wife further disrupts his mental clarity and grip on morality, he turns to his writing as a respite. There, readers are introduced to an entirely new universe, a […]

A Child is a Piece of Paper by Lance Crossley

Raw… gritty…no single adjective can sufficiently describe the intensity of A Child is a Piece of Paper, Lance Crossley’s stark novel.

The year is 1960. Six-year-old Wanisin Blackwill and his older sister, Mitena, are forced to leave their Indian reserve outside of Fort Hope to attend a Catholic-run live-in school for Native American children. Once at the school, Wanisin and Mitena become Wally and Mabel, their former lives beaten out of them due to the relentless ministrations of their headmaster, Father Paxton. Childhood innocence is quickly replaced by humiliation, constant fear, and something much worse until the only recourse […]

Marta Cheng2018-11-02T10:09:18+02:00November 1st, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Literary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: McDowell by William H. Coles

In McDowell, tragedy and consequence lead an arrogant and narcissistic Dr. Hiram McDowell to examine his life and search for life’s meaning beyond winning and possessions.

Hiram is first glimpsed leaving his Mt. Everest climbing partner to die. If that’s not enough to establish his unreliability, he goes on to belittle his wife, trick a colleague and ignore his children. Hiram’s the quintessential egoist surgeon: busy, belligerent, brilliant, and self-absorbed.

Author William H. Coles paints a damning picture of the selfish Dr. McDowell. Married for the third time to Carole, he barely acknowledges her and openly cheats on her, […]

Greg Rideout2019-01-22T10:34:18+02:00October 15th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Literary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Some Rise (Furnass Towers Trilogy Book 2) by Richard Snodgrass

In the second installment of the Furnass Towers trilogy, Some Rise, Richard Snodgrass has again woven a complex family drama into a gripping work of literary fiction.

The novel focuses on the Sutcliff family: brothers Harry Todd and Dickie and their Mother Kittie. The fuse is lit when Harry Todd, after being away, comes back to town like the prodigal son to see Dickie and his mother. Although Harry’s return raises questions, they accept him at first – Dickie, however, keeps an ear to the ground, for what he knows about Harry’s past shades the present. Then, like a […]

SPR2018-09-27T09:35:41+02:00August 1st, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Only Everything by Keith Martin-Smith

Broken dreams shroud middle-aged Logan, once a promising novelist, as he stiffly settles himself into a nine-to-five corporate life. Logan marches forward with a beautiful and brightly positive fiancé. He writes marketing copy. He pays his bills. He lives in a well-appointed home. But Logan feels weighted by a past that might be an anchor or a lifeline.

Only Everything by Keith Martin-Smith is a profoundly affecting work of fiction that explores deep truths. With the narrative opening between the present and twenty-something Logan’s life in New York City as he writes his first novel, we get bright future and […]

Greg Rideout2019-01-22T10:58:58+02:00July 23rd, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Literary Fiction Book Reviews, Men's Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Chanting the Feminine Down by James C. McCullagh

Religion and history are the driving forces behind Chanting the Feminine Down, a novel of psychological awakening by James McCullagh with Roy McCullagh.

Colette McGovern is an intelligent graduate student with a secret. She’s committed a mortal sin in the eyes of God and now she’s plagued by stark, dramatic and disturbing “tumbleweed dreams,” as she calls them. One of them, about the late Pope John Paul II, wearing lace – who slowly sinks into the ground, no less – is particularly powerful and vivid. Colette records all her dreams in her journal, even going so far as to […]

Marta Cheng2018-07-05T11:52:57+02:00June 12th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews, Visionary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Sow’s Ear Café by Holly Quan

Ending up in Sweetgrass, Alberta, while on a drive to clear her head of thirty-nine years of bad decisions and emotional baggage, Lucie slowly finds love and acceptance in her new town. The Sow’s Ear Café by Holly Quan transports the tough and damaged Lucie from her shallow life in Vancouver to Sweetgrass’s potential for deeper human connections.

Staked to her journey by a friend, Lucie’s car breaks down in Sweetgrass. She soon finds herself renting a room from a goodhearted ranching couple, working as a waitress, and then dating Ray, the mysterious chef of the Sow’s Ears Café. The […]

Greg Rideout2019-01-22T10:59:32+02:00May 11th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The Building (Furnass Towers Trilogy Book 1) by Richard Snodgrass

The first book in Richard Snodgrass’ Furnass Towers Trilogy, The Building is an evocative work of literary fiction, in which the construction of an apartment tower acts as a pivot to unveil an eccentric cast of characters, allowing Snodgrass to deftly weave the stories of the people in this struggling mill town.

Usually, with a cast this big, it is possible to lose focus and drain tension. However, The Building works in the opposite direction: every point of view reveals a little bit more and every switch has the satisfaction of putting the right puzzle piece into place – slowly […]

SPR2019-01-22T11:00:06+02:00April 13th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews|