The Blue Orchard

The Blue Orchard

Rating:  The Blue Orchard, by Jackson Taylor. Touchstone (2010), 416 pages. Taylor’s novel about abortion in America, from the Depression to the early 1950s, is based on events in his grandmother’s life and on interviews with many of the central figures...
The Help

The Help

Rating:  The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.  Amy Einhorn Books (2009), 451 pages. Set in 1960’s Jackson, Mississippi, this novel lays bare the dynamics underlying the lives of white women and the black maids who take care of them and their families.  While...