The Rabbit's Paw Book Reviews

  A novel that is both historical fiction and a mystery is very appealing, indeed. I enjoyed experiencing a bit of India as it was in 1975,  through Danny Jacob’s eyes. He’s a young journalist, attempting to cover the news from India at a critical time for its democracy, which lends this story some relevance to our own times. The story is written in a simple, straight forward way that seems most appropriate for a journalist.  Since this is a mystery,  I will avoid any big reveals. Suffice it to say, Danny inadvertently puts himself in a couple or three dicey situations, depending on how one goes about counting. He’s got his job, social contacts, and a romantic entanglement. It turns out, all of them involve risks. Danny is definitely living dangerously.  Danny Jacobs is an extremely likable character, who has previously reported from Vietnam. That is, he is no stranger to danger or getting by in foreign lands. For that reason, I did find his naivete about a coup...

  Our Country Friends is impressively rich with details and backstory, the kind of fascinating intricacy that I relish. Also, it’s a pandemic story, one in which a few old friends hunker down together at one friend’s country estate to catch up with each other while in lockdown.  Since this is a Gary Shteyngart novel, I’d expected a comedy, but I feel that this story is mostly a tragedy. When I did chuckle, I did so heartily, though, because groundhogs are always funny. That’s not to make anyone think of groundhog’s day–it’s never the same old same old with this cast.  It’s extremely important that these friends are not all alone; the landowner, Sasha, has invited a man we know only as The (famous) Actor. Therefore, this out of the way place gets some unwanted attention on social media, along with the ominous presence of an outsider.  Sasha and his wife Masha, their young daughter Nat, and friends Vinod, Karen, Dee, and Ed are together, intensely, for about six months...