The Joke by Milan Kundera
"So here I was. Home again after all those years." This is Milan Kundera's first novel, and of all the one's I've read it's more or less the most straightforward. It's not straightforward, but the conditions of the plot are. We meet Ludvik in the opening pages returning home to a small town in … [Read more]
A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn
Lured to an island by the promise of rare butterflies, lepidopterist Veronica Speedwell finds herself delving into another mystery. The charismatic Lord Templeton-Vane is a friend of Malcolm Romilly, whose wife disappeared shortly after they said their wedding vows. After his loss, and the … [Read more]
Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
Cora has returned from the Moors but feels the Drowned Gods whispering to her. They want her back. Feeling too close to open doors at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, she asks to be transferred to its sister school. There, students are not searching for their doors or a return to other … [Read more]
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
A great time was had. People were slain, revenge was had, plots were foiled, and women of a certain age came out of retirement to clear their names and kick some ass. There's also a cat named Kevin in here, and I just think that's important. I don't actually think I have too much to say about … [Read more]
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
"She scowled at her glass of orange juice." Robin McKinley is not one of those writers I ever read when I was younger, so I don't have any in-born fondness for her. Which is perfectly fine because from the outset of this novel, I really enjoyed it. It's a fantasy novel that begins in a far flung … [Read more]
The Style's the Man by Louis Auchincloss
The full title of this book is "The Style's the Man: Reflections on Proust, Fitzgerald, Wharton, Vidal, and Others" and there's lots of others. In fact, the essays here about William Gaddis, Ivy Compton-Burnett, and the failures of Henry James's theater career are the more interesting of the essays … [Read more]
