Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Jack, in his dark camps, saw Ennis as a night fire, a red spark on the huge black mass of mountain.

Brokeback Mountain by E. Annie Proulx

December 19, 2025 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

Going up, the day was fine but the trail deep-drifted and slopping wet at the margins. They left it to wind through a slashy cut, leading the horses through brittle branchwood, Jack, the same eagle feather in his old hat, lifting his head in the heated noon to take the air scented with resinous lodgepole, the dry needle duff and hot rock, bitter juniper crushed beneath the horses’ hooves. Ennis, weather-eyed, looked west for the heated cumulus that might come up on such a day […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Romance, Western Tagged With: 1960s, American West, Annie Proulx, closeted, cowboys, e. annie proulx, film adaptation, forbidden love, gay romance, Homophobia, myth of the American west, novella, queer romance, Ranchers, short story, tragedy

carmelpie's CBR17 Review No:45 · Genres: Fiction, Romance, Western · Tags: 1960s, American West, Annie Proulx, closeted, cowboys, e. annie proulx, film adaptation, forbidden love, gay romance, Homophobia, myth of the American west, novella, queer romance, Ranchers, short story, tragedy ·
Rating:
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Ferrante Never Misses

The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante

March 7, 2022 by andtheIToldYouSos Leave a Comment

…I state, after only reading two of her novels and two of her shorter pieces…but at this rate, I am all-in on Elena Ferrante and I am STILL mad at myself for taking this long to catch on. I’m two books deep in the Neapolitan Novels, but I had to interrupt my trajectory for two reasons: I needed to read this story before seeing the new (read: 2021) film adaptation I need to see the film in order to solidify all of my (mostly negative) […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Ann Goldstein, Elena Ferrante, europa edition, film adaptation, independence, italian literature, Italy, Motherhood, novella, short read, translation

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR14 Review No:15 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Ann Goldstein, Elena Ferrante, europa edition, film adaptation, independence, italian literature, Italy, Motherhood, novella, short read, translation ·
Rating:
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Beware of Bored Women!

Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District by Nikolai Leskov

January 18, 2022 by andtheIToldYouSos Leave a Comment

ESPECIALLY if you are the one to damn them into a life of boredom. I sought out this short story after being utterly enthralled by the 2016 Florence Pugh tour-de-force Lady Macbeth. If you are a sucker for a brutal period drama chock full of female desperation-disguised-as-power, then hustle your bustle to your  nearest ye olde video rental and check. it. out. The film is phenomenal, and I was immediately curious about the source material! A little Wikipedia creeping led me to Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Short Stories Tagged With: 19th century, boredom, class, doomed love, film adaptation, Florence Pugh, Lady Macbeth, nikolai leskov, novella, Quick read, Russian Lit, short read, translation, wealth

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR14 Review No:3 · Genres: Fiction, Short Stories · Tags: 19th century, boredom, class, doomed love, film adaptation, Florence Pugh, Lady Macbeth, nikolai leskov, novella, Quick read, Russian Lit, short read, translation, wealth ·
Rating:
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I have never read anything as bleak or upsetting

The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock

October 25, 2020 by Mobius_Walker Leave a Comment

[TRIGGER WARNING: Violence, sexual violence, animal abuse] I have written and rewritten a summary of the plot of this book, and I end up in one of two camps: either I have written nothing substantial that would be worth keeping or I have written 4-5 paragraphs to explain everything. Author Donald Ray Pollock has created stories that weave and connect back on each in such incredible ways that it is difficult to summarize. I’ve decided on the insubstantial camp. The book tells the story of […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Donald Ray Pollock, film adaptation, poverty, Religion, Trigger Warning, violent

Mobius_Walker's CBR12 Review No:35 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Donald Ray Pollock, film adaptation, poverty, Religion, Trigger Warning, violent ·
Rating:
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A Stiff Upper Lip and a Blind Eye

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

May 17, 2020 by andtheIToldYouSos 2 Comments

Oh, Mr. Stevens. A tragic hero if ever there was one. As a butler to a great house of Britain, he kept his eyes to the floor while the ravages of post-WWI Europe came to a boiling point in the halls of his dear Darlington Hall. Kazuo Ishiguro is a master of quiet suffering. His characters come to slow, stark, and utterly devastating conclusions just a moment before the enormity of their despair hits the reader. The Remains of the Day is arguably  his most celebrated […]

Filed Under: Fiction, History Tagged With: Booker prize, classics, facism, film adaptation, great britain, historical fiction, Kazuo Ishiguro, landed gentry, merchany ivory production, post war europe, unrequited love, WWI, WWII

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR12 Review No:48 · Genres: Fiction, History · Tags: Booker prize, classics, facism, film adaptation, great britain, historical fiction, Kazuo Ishiguro, landed gentry, merchany ivory production, post war europe, unrequited love, WWI, WWII ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

Delightful stubbornness

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

December 3, 2019 by teresaelectro Leave a Comment

A Man Called Ove is about a delightfully stubborn widower in Sweden. He has a strict logic that he applies to the world. He yearns for consistency and routine. Anyone who deviates from the order is likely inefficient and an idiot in his mind. He is suspicious of most things and prefers to abstain from all social things. I enjoyed his rising frustration at the computer store when he attempts to buy a computer. Despite his crankiness, Ove fell in love with a woman named […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Fiction Tagged With: A Man Called Ove, black comedy, Cats, dark humor, film adaptation, Fredrik Backman, grumpy, old man, Sweden, swedish novel, widower

teresaelectro's CBR11 Review No:15 · Genres: Audiobooks, Fiction · Tags: A Man Called Ove, black comedy, Cats, dark humor, film adaptation, Fredrik Backman, grumpy, old man, Sweden, swedish novel, widower ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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