I picked this up because I really like books like Like Water For Chocolate, stories that have a hint of magic, but that are otherwise kind of about everyday life. (Magic realism is one of our favourite genres). Rose Edelstein is turning 9 when her mother makes her a beautiful lemon cake with chocolate icing. …
Continue reading The Particular Sadness Of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Perhaps Hoffman's most well known book, and made into a film back in the 90's starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock, this book tells the story of the Owens sisters and their peculiar family. This is one of my very favourite books by Hoffman, and her most magical. Following the death of their parents, two …
If you've ever been to a small town, where everyone knows everyone and each house is full of old names and ancient history, this book should feel familiar. It's the story of a place, from its foundation to current day. Each chapter tells a different part of local history, and family names and traits flow …
Set in the last four years of the Jewish occupation of the Masada fortress in ancient Israel in the time of the Roman occupation, this book tells the events of the lives of four women there who work together in the Dovecotes. I suppose most of you who have an interest in the history of …
One of Hoffman's shorter novels, this fairytale-like story is of a girl whose impulsive wishes can curse those around her to die, and whose wrteched heart has turned to ice.Her first wish was as an eight year old girl, when she wanted her mother to stay home instead of go out to a birthday dinner, …
This one may in fact become my favourite Alice Hoffman book, though they're all pretty awesome and unique. In this story, the Sparrow family, a long line of women, have all woken up on their 13th birthday with a gift. Elinor was able to tell if someone was lying, her daughter Jenny can dream other …
When difficult teen Jody is sent to live with her grandmother, she sets her eyes on her neighbours husband, Andre. Andres' wife, Vonny, is not blind, but the families money problems and their son Simons health are bigger problems right now. It's a story about love, loneliness and the things we leave unsaid. The characters …
One of my favourite books by this author, this is Hoffman at her finest. Blackbird House is a series of short stories about one house, from the day it's built to the present, telling the stories of the lives that live there. Often tragic, but always beautiful, each story is different, but with certain themes …
Not an easy read, this book follows the story of Teresa, a young girl on the verge of womanhood whose unhappy mother has raised her to look for an idealised heroic man, what her grandfather called Arias, wild men who ride out of the desert on white horses and steal hearts. The image is personified …
Divorced single mothers often move to small town Florida, but none of them are aware like the local population, that the moon in March will make crazy things happen. The turtle moon can make the meanest teenaged boy in town run away with a baby to keep her safe. It can make a mother brave …
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