Have you read a novel and you are still not sure what to make of it? I feel this way after reading The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings. I enjoy fantasy books that are unique and don’t have sequels, and I found out about this one recently. I’m glad it did...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 193: Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
by MHill | Apr 29, 2026 | Book Reviews, Magical Realism, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
In a hypothetical “most used copies” category for novels, Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima would stand among heavyweights like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Jon Steinbeck’s Of Mice & Men, James Hilton’s Lost Horizon, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 166: The Famished Road by Ben Okri
by MHill | Jul 17, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Magical Realism, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
"People who use only their eyes do not SEE. People who use only their ears do not HEAR. It is more difficult to love than to die. It is not death that human beings are most afraid of, it is love." These words come from the father of the protagonist, Azaro, in Ben...
Rereading Mr. Breakfast by Jonathan Carroll
by MHill | Jun 15, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Fiction about Artists, Jonathan Carroll, Magical Realism, Marion's All-Time Favorite Novels, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Rereading Series, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
In this rereading series, spanning several years, I’ve revisited books I initially read nearly a decade ago, sharing my thoughts on these second readings. My last rereading post was on the novel, A Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll, and my feelings upon that reread were...
Rereading The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll
by MHill | Jun 1, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Jonathan Carroll, Magical Realism, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Jonathan Carroll is on the top tier of my favorite author's list. He occupies a space with Charles de Lint as the authors I have read the most throughout my adult reading life. I have reviewed seven Carroll novels since I started this blog in January 2011 and the...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 165: Magical Realism by Maggie Ann Bowers
by MHill | May 21, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Magical Realism, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Over the past couple of years, I have tried to find a home as reader (and a writer for that matter). While I've enjoyed reading across genres and have broadened my reading life in immeasurable ways. Still, I've always wanted a reading home that I connected with the...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 164: Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami
by MHill | May 14, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Fiction about Artists, Haruki Murakami, Magical Realism, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
My previous review was a reread of A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami and admittedly I did not enjoy my reading experience the second time around for one of my favorite novelists and a book that introduced me to the Murakami fictional universe. However, I had been...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 147: The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
by MHill | Jul 22, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Haruki Murakami, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Can we truly become our authentic self? This is the question Haruki Murakami attempts to answer in his latest novel, The City and its Uncertain Walls. It was already released in Japan in April 2023 and will be released in the United States this November. Murakami...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 130: The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint
by MHill | Oct 29, 2023 | 2023 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Charles De Lint, Fiction about Artists, Magical Realism, Marion's Favorite Books, Newford, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
"I suppose the other thing too many forget is that we were all stories once, each and every one of us. And we remain stories." This sentence written near the end of The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint brings home an important point in human development. We are all...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 120: Mr. Breakfast by Jonathan Carroll
by MHill | Feb 4, 2023 | 2023 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Jonathan Carroll, Marion's All-Time Favorite Novels, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
"People want life to be their friend. Some even expect or believe they deserve it. But I think of life only as a companion, and an unpredictable one at that. If it were my friend, life would be hurting or disappointing me all the time. But if it's only a companion,...