The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence SterneMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I am trying to be more cautious with five-star reviews, but in the case of Tristram Shandy the rating is inevitable. This is the … Continue reading →
Ingathering: The Complete People Stories by Zenna Henderson My rating: 4 of 5 stars When I read these stories now, they remind me of Laura Ingalls Wilder; they’re all written about earnest, kind, unhappy, lost people, and the refrains in … Continue reading →
A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. DickMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Philip Dick’s novels have permeated our culture through the many movie and television adaptations of his work; this particular novel, though, is the one that I think about … Continue reading →
Omensetter’s Luck by William H. GassMy rating: 3 of 5 stars I owned this book for nearly 40 years, tried to read it a couple of times, failed to engage, put it down, and repeat. Finally picked it up again … Continue reading →
Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope MirrleesMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This is one of those books you don’t hear about unless you have a friend who is very devoted to reading, or unless you are one of those people yourself. The … Continue reading →
Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite YourcenarMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This epistle of Hadrian to his successor, imagined and composed by Marguerite Yourcenar, is a perfect book in very many ways, yet proceeds so quietly about its work that … Continue reading →
Brave Mardi Gras A New Orleans Novel of the ’60s by W. Adolphus RobertsMy rating: 3 of 5 stars The title of the book is Brave Mardi Gras; the typo above is unfortunate. Roberts was a prolific author in the … Continue reading →
The Planter’s Northern Bride by Caroline Lee HentzMy rating: 1 of 5 stars It is instructive, particularly in 2020, to read a book like this one, written as a refutation of Uncle Tom’s Cabin; in this syrupy novel about a … Continue reading →
Miss Ravenel’s Conversion from Secession to Loyalty by John William De ForestMy rating: 2 of 5 stars I encountered this book while doing research on a project, and thought it would interesting to read this kind of conversion narrative, a … Continue reading →
He felt he was in the bell jar, too. Separated from the world by the thin surface of a screen. The world flashed onto the screen all day, one image after another, and he was trapped in front of it, … Continue reading →