“I…dipped my finger into the saucer and wrote my initials in sugar-water on the windowsill. I waited to see my name spelled out for me in ants: a living legend.” Lady Oracle opens with the narrator Joan in Italy, after faking her own death back in Canada. The story then flashes back to the events leading up to this, including a difficult relationship with her mother, and relationships with three influential men: Paul, Arthur, and the self-fashioned Royal Porcupine. Joan has been writing historical romance […]
Rogue Sociologist Indeed
When Sudhir Venkatesh entered Chicago’s poorer neighborhoods as a graduate sociology student with a survey in hand, he inadvertently formed a relationship with JT, a gang member of the Black Kings instead. This allowed Venkatesh to tag along with the gang on their daily activities and to learn directly about life in the Robert Taylor Homes (these projects were later torn down in the late 1990s). Six years studying the Black Kings and the residents of Robert Taylor became the basis of Venkatesh’s research as […]
Gone Again
After struggling to remember who Neil Patrick Harris is supposed to play in the movie, I decided I needed a reread of Gone Girl, so that I am properly prepared to see the movie with the appropriate mix of excitement and righteous indignation. Gone Girl opens on the day of Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Nick and Amy moved to Missouri two years ago after losing their jobs in New York City. In addition, most of Amy’s trust fund from her parents’ Amazing […]
2 for 1: Harry Potter and the Cuckoo’s Calling and Harry Potter and the Silkworm
The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm are the first two entries in a new detective series featuring Cormoran Strike and written by much-beloved J.K. Rowling (her pseudonym should hopefully not be a spoiler, as it has been well-publicized and Rowling has been interviewed as Galbraith by now). Strike is a veteran and an amputee, struggling to turn a profit as a private detective in The Cuckoo’s Calling when he is approached to investigate the death of a famous model Lula Landry. Strike is accompanied by […]
The Bell Jar
I read The Bell Jar this summer somewhat accidentally; two people traveling with me happened to read it and vehemently disagreed on it, so naturally I felt curious and wanted to participate in the arguing. I was fairly surprised by how relatable this book was (plus for whatever reason, I’ve always associated Sylvia Plath with 1800s Edgar Allan Poe era, so I also get surprised when she know what telephones are). The Bell Jar is semi-autobiographical, describing the life of Esther, a young woman in […]
That Time Lady Macbeth Went Hunting
Serena is described on the cover as a “retelling of Macbeth in Appalachia” and that is the most accurate five-word description that can be given to this book, except in this version, Lady Macbeth quickly outdistances her husband. George Pemberton is the owner of a timber business in 1929, and he and his new wife Serena seek to dominate and to expand this business by any means, often ruthless, necessary. When Serena discovers she cannot bear children, she turns this same ruthlessness towards Pemberton’s illegitimate […]