Larque On The Wing ~ by Nancy Springer – 4.0 Stars

Tags

Contemporary Fiction, Magical Realism, Science Fiction, Women's fiction

  This ebook was provided by NetGalley and Open Road Media in exchange for a fair and honest review.

40 year old Larque Harootunian is having a mid-life crisis. She’s happily married, with teenage sons. She’s also a successful painter, but there’s something wrong. Unlike other women Larque can create doppelgangers which are actually psychic manifestations of her thoughts. This however is the first time she’s made them of herself. There are three of them in the form of a very angry version of her ten year old self, a gay teenager, and the Virtuous Woman who is basically what her name implies. The story follows Larque on a voyage of self discovery and her desire to have the life she really wants.

Nancy Springer is known for her fairy-tale style fantasies so Larque On The Wing is a bit of a departure. This is actually a re-release of a 1995 book which won the Tiptree Award for gender bending science fiction. I think Magical Realism would best describe it, as the fantasy elements are commonplace in a contemporary setting. Despite having been written ten years ago it’s not really outdated except for AIDS being terminal. I found the story a little hard to get into at first, but not for long. Larque is one of those mesmerizing characters who you wish you knew in real life. Her doppelgangers are equally fascinating but if I had to pick a favorite it would be Shadow, the young gay teen who can also magically transform people into who they wish to be. In Larque’ s case this results in herself being changed into a young handsome gay man, much to the confusion and consternation of her family. This is a book that is difficult to describe. I honestly think that every reader will take away something different from it. I can say it’s one of the most thought provoking books I’ve ever read. Although I finished it several days ago, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. If you like Margaret Atwood I think you’ll enjoy this novel. 

The Migraine Mafia, by Maia Sepp ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Health, Humor, Relationships, Women's fiction

I received this ebook courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Viive is a 30 something Canadian with a loving husband Nate, and a great career. She has it all right? Not quite. You see Viive also suffers from excruciating migraines, and now they have put her job in jeopardy. She’s lost countless friends to this disease, will she now lose her career? You would think a book about someone in chronic pain would be depressing and hard to read. Not so. The Migraine Mafia although a work of fiction is also extremely informative through the support group Viive joins, The Migraine Mafia.  The novel is also hysterically funny in parts. One of my favorite scenes is when Viive discovers that gluten may be aggravating her migraines. She and Nate embark on a gluten free shopping trip and purchase all sorts of wonderful things. Then they get home and discover not one single thing is gluten free!  I couldn’t stop laughing because that’s exactly what happened to my husband and I. And that’s an example of why this book is so wonderful. It speaks to migraineurs in a deeply personal way.Viive is lucky in that she has a loving and supportive husband, mother, and brother, yet one of the friends she has lost is Nate’s sister who just doesn’t get that migraines are so much more than “headaches”.  Maia knows the toll this horrible disease takes on sufferers from not only what I already mentioned, but also missed vacations, get-togethers, etc. I HIGHLY recommend this to migraineurs, significant others, family, friends, and colleagues of people who suffer from this disease. I also think fans of women’s fiction would enjoy this.