Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and all Denver Post readers, to share their mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email bellis@denverpost.com.
“In the Shadow of Liberty: The Invisible History of Immigrant Detention in the United States,” by Ana Raquel Minian (Viking)
Drawing on memoirs, interviews and archival documents, Minian demonstrates the costs, violence and futility of immigrant detention throughout U.S. history. She humanizes this now incendiary political issue through the experiences of individual immigrants, starting with Chinese immigrants in the 1890s, jumping to Central European immigrants in the 1940s, leading on to Cuban immigrants in the 1980s and ending her analysis with Guatemalan immigrants in the 2010s. Sadly, some things, like fear of the unknown “other,” remain the same across time. Both people and governments make the same mistakes over and over, despite strong evidence that these are failed policies. — 3 stars (out of 4); Kathleen Lance, Denver
“The Ministry of Time,” by Kaliane Bradley (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, 2024)
This genre-bending debut is part political thriller, part dystopian, part romance, part sci-fi — and almost all enthralling. Our narrator is a young, mixed-race woman in London whose civil-service career veers into a posting as a “bridge,” helping a 19th-century naval commander adapt to the 21st century. Several other time-travelers (“ex-pats”) are also part of an experiment run by the shadowy Ministry. At the beginning of each chapter are excerpts from a history of a 1845 voyage seeking the Northwest Passage between Europe and Asia, and I found those interludes particularly fascinating. As expected from a futuristic story, this novel has lessons we can apply today. — 3 1/2 stars (out of 4); Neva Gronert, Parker
“Confessions of a Curious Bookseller,” by Elisabeth Green (Lake Union Publishing, 2021)
Books about bookshops always seem to be popular, probably because there are so many bibliophiles out there. The unusual slant in this story
is that owner Fawn is definitely flawed, even petty in response to the sudden appearance of an indie bookstore in her West Philly neighborhood. Not always scrupulous in her dealings, she tries to scramble her business into economic sustainability, uncover some kind of emotional strengths in a flawed family relationship, supervise a dedicated if imperfect intern, and keep an aging structure in repair. The question is how anyone with such an unpleasant disposition can ever attract friends or lovers? Guess bibliophiles are irresistible. — 2 stars (out of 4); Bonnie McCune (bonniemccune.com)
“The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood and the Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History.” by Karen Valby (Pantheon Books, 2024)
A well-researched and beautiful history of the ballerinas who first danced with Arthur Mitchell’s Dance Theatre of Harlem is a recognition of how difficult it was for the ballerinas to establish themselves at that time. The stories of the ballerinas – their struggles to be recognized, the families who supported their dreams and the strength they received from each other – are significant pages of dance history that this book goes a long way to restoring. One of the ballerinas, Karlya Shelton-Benjamin, originally danced with the Colorado Concert Ballet (now Colorado Ballet). — 3 stars (out of 4); Susan Tracy, Denver