Jun 18, 2013Book Reviews

A Conspiracy of Faith by Jussi Adler-Olsen

A_Conspiracy_Of_Faith ★★★★☆
A Conspiracy of Faith
A Novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen
Translated from the Danish by Martin Aitken
(2009) 2013
/ 504 Pages

The current crime fiction landscape seems littered with at least a dozen Scandinavian writers that are being marketed to the English speaking world as the second coming of Stieg Larsson.  Glass Key Award winner Jussi Adler-Olsen is no exception.

On one hand the extra attention is a blessing, as many Scandinavian authors that would have otherwise never had the opportunity to find an audience outside their homeland are seeing their works translated for a wider audience.  On the other however, right or wrong, the added pressure of living up to expectations set by the popularity of Larsson’s Girl trilogy, and the iconic nature of his heroin Lisbeth Salander, make him an impossibly tough act to follow.

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Jun 17, 2013Book Reviews

Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls by Alissa Nutting

Unclean_Jobs_for_Women_and_Girls ★★★★★
Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls
Short Stories by Alissa Nutting
2010 / 188 Pages

Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls has been on my radar since it was released in 2010, but I have finally gotten around to this collection, and now, one of my life’s biggest regrets is that I did not read Alissa Nutting sooner.  I usually prefer novels to short stories, but these little vignettes are so unpredictable and distinctive that I found myself utterly entranced with wide-eyed curiosity and fear, unable to look away from the intensity and humor of Alissa Nutting’s bizarre and magnetic universe.

I know I know!  At this point, I’m just gushing, but seriously, do yourself a favor and read this book.  Some folks may find it disturbing and offensive, but the imagination behind each individual story is just so impressive and unprecedented that even the most conservative of readers should want to adopt Alissa Nutting as the new Dark Queen of the short story.

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Jun 16, 2013News

Verisimilitudes: Week Ending 06.08.2013

Typographical_EraWelcome to Verisimilitudes, our regular round-up of the past week’s activity. It’s your one-stop source for all of the bits and bleeps we’ve been posting here and on social platforms.

Happy Father’s Day!  Whether you’re celebrating with a barbecue, a game of golf, or a quiet trip to the bookstore, we hope you’re all having a wonderful day!  Here’s what’s been going on at Typographical Era this week:

 

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Jun 15, 2013Book Reviews

Love Bomb by Lisa Zeidner

Love_Bomb ★★★½☆
Love Bomb
A Novel by Lisa Zeidner
2012 / 272 Pages

Tess and Gabe’s wedding day has finally arrived, and the young couple has gathered with their closest friends and relatives in Tess’s childhood home for the ceremony.  But just moments before the bride and groom say their vows, the wedding is interrupted by a mysterious and terrifying woman wearing a wedding dress, a gas mask, and armed with a bomb and a shotgun.  When the guests finally realize that the woman’s presence is not part of some sort of creative and artistic wedding performance, everyone flies into a panicked frenzy.

But Tess and Gabe have many psychiatrists on the guest list, and as the hostage situation worsens, the doctors do their best to analyze and diagnose the uninvited psychotic guest.  As the psychiatrists try and fail to mentally overpower the woman, Tess’s mother, Helen, finds another way to relate to the “terrorist” – by talking to her and treating her like a real person.  Over the course of seven hours, approximately 60 people are held hostage in Helen’s living room, and they’re all trying to figure out who to blame for the unfortunate presence of the “Art Bride / Terrorist.”  Is she someone’s ex-lover?  A distant relative? Perhaps she is stalking Gabe’s B-list actress sister and her B+ list actor boyfriend.  Or perhaps the guests are all victims of a completely random act of violence and terror.  In order to sort things out, truths must be told, secrets must be revealed, and fates must be forever altered (pun intended!).

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Jun 14, 2013News

What We’re Reading / What You’re Reading 06.14.2013

What We're ReadingIt’s time for another Friday edition of the segment where we fill you in on what we’re reading, and we hope that you’ll reciprocate by telling us what you’re enjoying (or loathing) as well.

Don’t be shy, we want to hear from you! Feedback from our followers will play a role in helping us to determine what books to read, review, and feature on this site over the coming months. It will also give us a better idea of the topics and genres that interest you.

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