This was pretty good for an anthology, but I really prefer longer stories, as it really takes a talented author to make me care for characters in such a short period of time, or to have a plot immediately interesting enough to trump my interest in the characters. Short stories also tend more towards the self-important and annoying. Anyway, this was worth it just for the Martin and Sanderson stories alone, and there were several others I really enjoyed as well including ones from Robin […]
King of the severed hands
This work describes King Leopold II’s land grab of the Congo River area during the scramble for Africa of the late 19th century, which led to the deaths of 8 to 10 million Africans, the destruction of their societies, and the devastation of the area’s wild rubber plants. Each chapter takes on a different character or episode through the history. Starting with Stanley’s quest to find Livingstone and journeying through Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Hochschild does a fabulous job telling this brutal story through the eyes of […]
The Golden Notebook: A Novel by Doris Lessing
There is a part of me that feels brazen and shameless for daring to write reviews of literary classics. Who am I to judge Tolstoy’s War and Peace, for example (which I did for Cannonball Read 5)? The Golden Notebook is another such a book, but it is also one of those novels that I have wanted to read because it appears on so many “must read” lists, particularly among feminists. So I will boldly proceed with this review in the hope that I do […]
How did we get human rights?
This semester I am taking a graduate class on the history of human rights. It has been fantastic even though snow has interrupted it twice now. One of our first books was Inventing Human Rights by Lynn Hunt. She examines the language of human rights as it emerged with the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the American Declaration of Independence. She argues that before and during that time period we see a change in thinking and a rise in empathy towards other people. This coincided […]
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.
White Magical Horse and Other Stuff
I bought this book over four years ago based purely on this review. I didn’t actually get around to reading it till last week, when I decided that the movie preview looked intriguing, and that I should read the book before seeing the film. Having read the book, I definitely still plan on seeing the movie, if only to see how they turned this mess into a coherent, focused story line. Full review.
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