Great reads can be penned by either sex, but there’s no denying that a good tale written by a gifted woman author seems to “tell it like it is” in a way that can’t quite be reproduced by a masculine counterpart. Following are reviews of books written by women who hail from all parts of the globe. Pelletier is from Maine, while Calcutta gave birth to Lahiri, and McAuley calls England her home.

Singing Bird

Roisin McAuley

Copyright 2005; 312 pages

McAuley, a former radio producer for the BBC, shows a talent for Irish drama in this debut novel about an adoption with some surprising consequences. The title is taken from one of the book’s main characters, an adopted Irish lass who grows up to become an opera singers. Though there are all the usual props of a Catholic Irish saga - nuns, pubs and castles - McAuley’s voice is fresh and the tale is intriguing from start to finish.

The Bubble Reputation

Cathie Pelletier

Copyright 1993, 290 pages

If this is your first Pelletier novel, you’re in for a treat. The author has impressive credentials, including the New England Book Award for fiction, but her style remains breezy, unaffected and scathingly, darkly humorous. In this book, Pelletier skewers a modern day family crumbling at the seams - Mother is more than a little dotty after a fall from a stepladder, Uncle builds dollhouses and tussles with the neighbors, and the book’s main character, Rosemary, is grieving the death of her lover while trying to keep the peace. All these elements ought to produce a chronicle of misery, but instead Pelletier manages to infuse a humanity and sense of humor throughout the pathos. A skippingly paced, shockingly good read.

Unaccustomed Earth

Jhumpa Lahiri

Copyright 2008, 333 pages

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lahiri has written eight lyrical stories in this collection, all with simple themes of family togetherness and the pull of ambition and duty. Lahiri is especially eloquent writing about the challenges of being a “stranger in a strange land” - in her stories, Indian born and American raised characters never quite achieve a balance between their two worlds. Reading about their struggles is engrossing, and the author’s deft touch with the everyday details of their lives makes this a fascinating journey into another culture as well.

And finally, heads up to all Jane Austen fans.

Learn all about the famous novelist with an immersion program hosted on her native soil. Jane Austen - Her Novels, Life and Times, is an adult cultural exchange program offered on the campus of Oxford University, August 2-15, 2009. The two-week course cost is approximately $4550 and includes tuition, most meals, lodging and several sightseeing options. Airfare is additional. Oxford University, the oldest English-speaking university in the world, is located about 50 miles from London. For details, visit www.oxford-royale.co.uk.

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