Ann S. Epstein Writer

My Goodreads and Amazon reviews of Hunchback: A Novel by Saou Ichikawa (Rated 5) – Invitation to Voyeurism. Hunchback, the award-winning Japanese novel written by Saou Ichikawa (and translated by Polly Barton), robs readers of breath in the same way that myotubular myopathy, the congenital muscular disorder that afflicts Shaka, the protagonist, clogs her lungs. An heiress, whose late parents left her the group facility where she lives, Shaka’s alert mind is the antithesis of her crippled body. She connects to the world by pursuing university degrees and writing website porn. Not having experienced sex herself, she relies on her imagination, and an astute understanding of what her readers want, to create steamy erotic scenarios. Ichikawa, who suffers from the disease herself, is matter-of-fact describing the daily rituals necessary for survival. She is equally down-to-earth detailing sexual fantasies. Reading them felt voyeuristic, and yet my guilt was assuaged by the fact that I was doing so at her invitation. More than her invitation — her insistence! She demands that readers not look away, but instead acknowledge that people with disabilities exist and have the same desires as able-bodied people. A novelist myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I create atypical characters who seek comparable recognition. Ichikawa makes this plea in a short and intense book that is initially unsettling but ultimately settles into a portrayal of basic human nature.

A disabled woman demands to be seen

Why writers read: “To find words for what we already know.” – Alberto Manguel

My Goodreads and Amazon review of Tick … Tick … Tick … by Steve Zettler (Rated 5) – Clever Countdown. Tick … Tick … Tick … by Steve Zettler is a masterful montage of literary genres and contemporary themes: a spy novel with aliens, a dire environmental warning, a satire of governmental (in)competence, and a mystery with white hats lurking in noir shadows. Zettler addresses a serious problem — global warming — in a highly entertaining way that includes an over-the-top narrative, wild imaginative leaps, belly laughs, and even puckered lips. As a novelist myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I admire Zettler’s ability to juggle so many elements in this meticulously plotted thriller. Suspense mounts as readers worry whether U.S. agents will turn around the world’s wasteful ways before the clock ticks down to the aliens’ final plan to destroy the “disease” that is planet Earth. Sit back, or perch on the edge of your seat, as you read Tick … Tick … Tick … to discover our fate. It’s a boom of a book!

A giddy romp through global warming

Why writers read: A book can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.” – Madeleine L’Engle

My Goodreads and Amazon review of The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR’S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience by Kirstin Downey (Rated 5) – New Deal’s Midwife. The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR’S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience by Kirstin Downey comprises multiple historical narratives in a single biography: the personal history of a pioneering woman committed to social and economic justice; a legislative history of the Roosevelt era during the Great Depression and Second World War; a post-suffrage but pre-second-wave feminist account of the stereotypes and discrimination that held back women; and an inside view of the rivalries and in-fighting among the elites of New York and Washington, DC. What emerges from this thoroughly researched volume is a portrait of a complex woman, whose determination served her well in overcoming roadblocks, but whose domineering personality could also work against her in a male-dominated society. Perkins was further hampered by the fact that her own husband and daughter were plagued my bipolar disorder, conditions she hid from the public as a matter of political survival as well as personal pride and shame. Perkins also adapted to her fickle boss, the “midwife” who birthed FDR’s most significant policies while being left behind as a battlefield casualty. Downey admits when her subject’s own prejudices and naivete led to her defeat. As a writer of character-driven historical fiction (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I admire Downey’s forthright presentation of her subject’s flaws as well as strengths. What is remarkable is how, despite many personal and societal setbacks, Perkins succeeded in pushing through legislation that changed the face of government in her time and that persists, albeit now under threat, in the U.S. today.

A pioneering woman fights for social and economic justice in the halls of government

Why writers read: “Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries.” – Anne Herbert

My Goodreads and Amazon review of Home for the Bewildered by Michelle Tobin (Rated 5) – Doctor, Heal Thyself. Set in a Michigan state psychiatric hospital in the mid-1970s, Home for the Bewildered by Michelle Tobin captures the confused minds of its residents and the personal floundering of Dr. Dorothy Morrissey, the young psychologist who is better at helping them than working through her own dilemmas. Tobin skillfully creates a diverse group of patients, each dealing with trauma, often originating in childhood, that interfere with their ability to function as adults. With compassion and competence, Dorothy helps her charges take steps toward insight and improvement. In the process of treating them, she also faces her own difficulties with her strict Catholic family and her ambivalence toward a boyfriend they deem unacceptable. As a novelist myself, who likewise delves into the human psyche from multiple points of view (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page, I admire Tobin’s ability to endow each character with a distinctive voice, and to evoke empathy for them, no matter how challenging their personalities. With engaging storytelling and emotional honesty, Tobin’s Home for the Bewildered leaves readers with a clear vision of how the past leaves an indelible mark on us and how we can nevertheless move forward to live satisfying and meaningful lives.

Facing the past to find a way forward

Why writers read: “If you want to learn something, go to the source. Dogen, a great Zen master, said, ‘If you walk in the mist, you get wet.’” – Natalie Goldberg