I’ve seen it said that the ending of The SafeKeep is unexpected. I thought it the only possible redemptive ending for a book about people who were longing for reconciliation and integration with the past, even when they didn’t know that’s what they were doing.

The best dystopian writing takes the undercurrents  lurking in contemporary attitudes and develops them into concrete actions. Hard Rain was published in April 2024.

The Book Thief is special. It’s narrated by Death.   ‘ HERE IS A SMALL FACT. You are going to die. I am in all truthfulness attempting to be cheerful about this whole topic, though most people find themselves hindered in believing me, no matter my protestations. Please, trust me. I most definitely can be cheerful. Agreeable. Affable. And that’s only the A’s. Just don’t ask me to be nice. Nice has nothing to do with me.’   So true. This story is not nice. It does not end hap