Jessica Knauss

It's been labeled as magical realism, but this entertaining book is actually more surreal. The engaging style draws the reader in: even if s/he is not sure why, the desire to keep reading becomes overwhelming. Luckily, it's not very long, so it won't take half your life to indulge in it.

The story of the way the main character becomes conscious of her past mistakes and girds herself to take more pride in herself, with the help of some eccentrically admirable "strong" women, is very show more satisfying. You will find yourself wishing you knew or were Geraldine! Women who are unsure what to do with their careers or their relationships will find this an inspiring read. It could also be good for book groups and college seminars. The imagery is evocative and meaningful, but never abstruse. show less

This is a book of short stories and, you know, you cannot expect consistent quality from a collection of this kind. However, in this book, the truly enjoyable short stories are unusually few, let us say one per section, while the others seem like those slightly drawn-out stories that every student of a creative writing course writes to impress their teachers. They would have been better left in the drawer.

The Cantigas (collections of songs) in these documents are often accompanied by multipanel illustrations that picture what the song is about. The songs are usually descriptive of moral or religious principles.

Author's guest post at my blog:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2017/11/foodfic-please-welcome-jessica-knauss.html