Book Reviews: April 2015

Stone Harbor Bound
Madeleine Mysko (Bridle Path Press)

This nuanced novel will leave you wondering whether the title refers to movement, restraint, or both. That’s because Mysko, a Hopkins Writing Seminars grad, crafts characters struggling to balance rich inner lives with external, sometimes tragic, circumstances in these interweaving narratives. And Stone Harbor, the Jersey Shore town where the book is set, represents the sort of idyllic simplicity so many folks aspire to, until the complexities of real life intervene. Mysko’s writing shows that real life is
interesting enough.

Celebrating a Museum
The Baltimore Museum of Art

The title may be unimaginative, but this 296-page catalog does, indeed, celebrate the BMA. Published to coincide with the museum’s centennial, it’s the first book to survey the BMA’s substantial holdings and history. Handsomely designed, it nods to all areas of the collection—basically, the BMA’s greatest hits—through a generous selection of images accompanied by succinct and enlightening text. And it comes in four different covers, so you can choose the one that suits you best. I went with Dan Flavin.