Prisons by Mary Lee Settle
Prisons by Mary Lee Settle My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a good companion read to Morrison’s A Mercy, from the same era of history, on the opposite side of the ocean, and with a different form of … Continue reading →
Prisons by Mary Lee Settle My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a good companion read to Morrison’s A Mercy, from the same era of history, on the opposite side of the ocean, and with a different form of … Continue reading →
The Blindfold by Siri HustvedtMy rating: 3 of 5 stars My first impressions of this novel were that the writing had a stiff, unpracticed quality at the sentence level, and that the method of the narrative was abrupt. The first … Continue reading →
A Mercy by Toni MorrisonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars One of those moments in reading in which I remember why I fell in love with books in the first place. It’s been a while since I read Toni Morrison. … Continue reading →
Juneteenth by Ralph EllisonMy rating: 2 of 5 stars It’s difficult to discuss this book, given that I was so enthralled by Invisible Man. I had heard that Ellison struggled for many years with a second novel and bought this … Continue reading →
Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric GansworthMy rating: 4 of 5 stars To call this book heartbreaking is in some ways to miss the point of it, for this is the story of a family that endured in spite … Continue reading →
There are only a few days in life, speaking relatively, when one places a book for publication, no matter how prolific one might be. Also there are the long winters to consider. There is a December in which one’s whole … Continue reading →
She tore open the plastic pouch with the long cotton swab and said, when they did this to me they had to hold me down, let me tell you, I mean they were two people holding down my hands, I … Continue reading →
A Tale of Flowering Fortunes: Annals of Japanese Aristocratic Life in the Heian Period by William H. McCullough My rating: 3 of 5 stars I read about this book when trying to learn more about The Tale of Genji and … Continue reading →
Katori Hall Plays One: Hoodoo Love; Hurt Village; The Mountaintop; Saturday Night/Sunday Morning by Katori HallMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Katori Hall’s plays are marked by such fierce honesty and incandescent writing that they stand head and shoulders above … Continue reading →
The Major Works by Samuel JohnsonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars I have been slowly making my way through this volume for some time now, and devoted a few days to completing the reading while fall settles the leaves and … Continue reading →