Oh my word. I have no idea where to begin with The Luminaries. It is amazingly complex, overwhelming, and a readable mystery all at the same time. I finished this 800 page tome and wondered what the heck I had just experienced. I’m not sure if that is a criticism or a compliment. Set in Gold Rush era New Zealand of the 1860s, it begins with a young man’s arrival to a small back water town on the south island. Relaxing in a hotel lounge, […]
MelBivDevoe’s CBR Review #4 – We Must Take the Current When It Serves
In Chang-rae Lee’s dystopian vision of the future, America is divided into three classes living in three extremely different types of settlements. At the top are the Charters, protected cities in which the rich and successful dwell, spending their money on whatever fancy suits their whims. These people also are referred to as “Charters,” so the name can mean either a place or a person who lives there. Next are the facilities, former cities that have been turned into processing plants that provide the […]
A Story Of Masks And Costumes
While not my favorite read so far, Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring is at least moderately enjoyable. More importantly, though it is set in the 1660s in Europe, this novel highlights the illusion of social mobility we cling to and our obsession with appearances. We like to think as a society that we have moved on from the prejudices of Griet’s days, but reading Girl with a Pearl Earring, some of what she faces feels all too familiar. Read the full review here.
On Catastrophe, Martian Potatoes, and Displaying Adaptability
I’m a firm believer in the First Paragraph Test. If you’re on the fence about a book, reading the first paragraph can be a good indicator of whether or not you should actually take the time to read it. “Hey, isn’t that like judging a book by its cover?” you may ask. Well, no, since an author often has little if any control over the cover. But the first paragraph, that’s where a smart author puts his best foot forward in an attempt to suck […]
It’s really all about the cat
It’s probably not surprising to anyone that I heard about To Say Nothing of the Dog [Or How We Found the Bishop’s Bird Stump At Last] (1998) by Connie Willis from another Cannoball review. Time travel and science fiction aren’t my go-to genres but the review was more than convincing enough for me to expand my normal boundaries. This was an impressive work: a mixture of romance, mystery, and science-fiction with the clever, lighthearted feeling of a P.G. Wodehouse novel. I enjoyed this book, but […]
CBR6 Love: An Internet Overview of John Green Edition
By my count, I’m the sixth person to review this book for CBR (this year), but this review is going to be different than the others, in scope, length, and amount of links. First, a few confessions: I finished this book two weeks ago, and writing a review has proven especially difficult because I keep getting sidetracked by Other John Green Stuff. The internet in general and youtube in particular is awash with John and his brother Hank Green, and almost all of it is […]