All Posts by Marvin Fein

Invisible by Paul Auster One of America’s most introspective writers again tackles his favorite subject-a writer.This one has a touch of mystery and romance but as usual is dominated by those head scratching moments when you are not sure if the narrative has ended and pure fantasy has begun.
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That Old Cape Magic is not Richard Russo’s best work but even his more mediocre work is better than most authors’ work. A wonderful look back at all that goes wrong and right in one’s life and how full those experiences can be no matter how they turn out.
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If you are into dysfunctional family dramas, you will love A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore. It concerns not one but two such families, each with better secrets than the other.
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The Privileges by Jonathon Dee presents an amorality tale that unfortunately is more fact than fiction. A well written story about a golden couple who hit it big illegally in the hedge fund racket, spend obscene amounts of money and never seem to reflect.
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Colson Whitehead’s coming of age novel, Sag Harbor, is centered in an upper middle class black summer resort community on Long Island. Because it is probably more fact than fiction, it gives white readers a different perspective on black culture and life than we get from the more popular hood books and movies.
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South of Broad offers the usual larger than life situations and characters we have come to expect from Pat Conroy juxtaposed against compelling narrative and beautiful poetic descriptions. If you have the time and want to be transfixed to the world fiction is supposed to send us to, read this, “Beach Music” and “The...
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Not only John Irving’s best since “Garp” but his novel most like “Garp“.  Last Night in Twisted River is another multi-generational family saga filled with great characters and situations you love to read about but hope never to personally experience.
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If you are looking for an excuse never to buy a piece of jewelry, you must read How to Sell by Clancy Martin, a novel about two coke head brothers and the world of high end jewels. Probably based somewhat on fact because the author sold jewelry before going to writing school.
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire, the first two books of a trilogy (the third coming out on May 25th and available now for pre-order) and really much more of a character study than your ordinary crime novels and proof that crime novels can be literature in...
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No, this is not the number of electoral college votes Walter Mondale received in his race against Ronald Reagan in 1984 (he could only wish-in fact, he received only 13 votes), but instead the number of games Hoss Radbourn won pitching for the Providence Grays in the 112 game National League season in 1884....
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