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 →
Jim Grimsley
The Blindfold by Siri Hustvedt
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 Morrison
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 Ellison
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 Gansworth
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 →
A Fine New House
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 →
The Long Stick and the Nice Nurse
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
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 →
Plays by Katori Hall
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 →
Samuel Johnson: The Major Works
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 →