A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne: A Review

As I approach old age (I'm going to be 72 on the 23^rd of this month.), I know that I am not a homophobe. In fact, I have several dear friends and acquaintances that I know to be beautiful people who follow alternate life-styles. But, that being said, I would say that I have very little interest in reading novels from the category “Gay Literature.” And, I wasn't far into this read when it struck me that that was what I was reading.

I had been led to the book by a list of the 50 best books of 2018 on the Esquire web site. It's 40 or more years since I last subscribed to that magazine and I immediately wondered if maybe it had in the interim turned into a gay magazine. I mean, things happen.

I went back to the novel's amazon page and scrolled down. Sure enough, it was highly rated in the category of LGBT Fiction. But, it was also ranked in Psychological Literary Fiction. So, I read on. And I'm glad I did.

As the book went on, gayness became less and less a factor and the characters took over. On the amazon scale, I gave this 5 stars and it restored my faith in the Esquire list.

The Woman In The Window by A. J. Finn: A Review

A woman confined to her home who watches her neighbors through her windows witnesses a murder. To be honest, this whole scenario wreaked of same-old same-old at first glance. But, I was wrong and it didn't take long for me to become engrossed in this expertly conceived plot. NO SPOILERS HERE! So, suffice it to say there's a reason The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn wound up on multiple best reads lists.