For many years I taught English and was the International Student Advisor at a Massachusetts college, a job which stimulated my broad interest in international fiction. I found that by reading fiction set in the countries where my students and their families lived – usually books written by authors from those countries – that I was able to gain a different perspective and a deeper appreciation of the cultural similarities and differences between life in the US and life in other parts of the world, an appreciation one does not get from textbooks and guidebooks.
In recent years I have reviewed fiction by authors from Afghanistan to Zanzibar, representing 130 of the 195 countries in the world.
As far as my reviews are concerned: I’ve always tried to be fair and impartial in reviewing books, but you will know when I love a book! I don’t review books that I strongly dislike – life is too short. I try to describe the book as it is so that a reader will be able to figure out if s/he will like the book, whether or not I do – we all have different tastes. I usually post any reservations about the book in the last paragraph.
Numerous photos and graphics associated with the action or author are included for each novel. The explanations for photos, along with the photo credits are found at the end of each review.
I have a Facebook page: Mary Whipple Reviews. (Be sure to add the word “Reviews” to get to the right site!) You may get a live feed there whenever I post a new review. Just open the page and become a fan if you are interested. As I post brief summaries of the books I review on the site (limited by FB to 420 spaces, so extremely short!), it’s an easy way to keep track of new reviews.
To authors looking for reviews: This website is dedicated to reviewing books of international fiction, and I am already fully committed to reviewing books of that genre for the next several months. I am sorry but I will not be able to accept new books for review.
Comments: The comments feature here on the site is not activated. Comments may be left on the Facebook page.
Thanks for visiting. Mary
