I picked up Moon Palace on a whim while perusing a sale rack outside the door at Half-Price Books. Bookstores…. one of the few places where it’s still a good idea to go home with a stranger. In this case, an excellent idea. It’s hard for me to summarize the plot because this was such a great read, and I don’t want to spoil any discoveries along the way. Moon Palace is the memoir of Marco Stanley Fogg – known as “M.S.” or simply “Fogg.” […]
The Faults in this Book
The Fault in Our Stars is the story of Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 17-year-old girl with terminal thyroid cancer, and her boyfriend, Augustus Waters. It’s a smart book without a lot of beef in the storyline. Read full review here.
It’s a very very mad world
Hassan Blasim was born in Iraq, but has lived in Finland since 2004. He has directed movies in both countries. He writes in Arabic, and the English translation of this short story collection won him some acclaim in Britain in 2010. In a way it could be said that he embodies the fears of some Europeans at the moment: multicultural, Muslim, The Other. But in terms of reviewing the book, that’s probably neither here nor there. What’s important is that
In the After
In the aftermath of an alien invasion, one girl and the child she rescues must live an entirely silent life to avoid detection. At least until they are discovered by a scientific enclave that changes everything. It was entertaining, I liked the investigation into the beginnings of dystopia, and there were some bits that were unique. Could quite easily be the far prequel to “Brave New World.” It falls into some of the same YA tropes as “Divergent” and its ilk, with the young adult […]
Beloved, like an ax to the heart
Beloved is the story of Sethe, an escaped slave surviving the transition of freedom after the end of the Civil War, and her community of people moving on after tragedy, abuse, debasement and a life less than human. Beloved is also the story of a stranger who appears at their door, bearing the same name as Sethe’s murdered baby, the same age if she had lived. She, Sethe, and Sethe’s last remaining child, quickly form an intense and dysfunctional bond. I found it utterly heartbreaking, […]
CB VI #1: Gone Girl
I wait to read stuff till it goes on sale on Amazon. I’m cheap, and I rarely feel the need to be completely culturally on the up-and-up (unless it’s Harry Potter or Avengers, but that’s a whole ‘nother kettle of fish). So